Animal Crossing
The Jingle Express
Chapter 4
(Laina, Mrs. Jingle, Joy, Noel, Jangle and his Shadow Dogs, Karangle, Bangle, Durangle, Narangle, and Fandangle are © me, but Laina's player is Animal Crossing. All other characters are © Nintendo.)
One of Jangle's Shadow Dogs sat on top of the roof looking out at the sea of frozen fir trees. The golden collar around his neck glittered in the winter moonlight as he contemplated on his master's orders.
Jangle had been pacing up and down the icy stairway ever since he had sent his fan letter to the Forgotten Wolves. He was too afraid to look through the telescope again in fear of seeing the Wolves fail of foiling all who was aboard the Jingle Express from getting to his frozen mansion.
Seeing Jangle troubled saddened his loyal Dogs as well. That is when Chan, head leader of the pack, paced with him and gave Jangle his words of comfort and assurance. It calmed Jangle enough to ease him into sleepiness.
Chan followed him up the stairs and to his room. Just as Jangle went behind the door and was about to close it, he opened the door again and looked down at Chan.
His orders were still ringing in Chan's ear, as if he were standing next to him saying it over and over again. "You're in charge, Chan, and I wish not to be disturbed. Keep the dogs on patrol. I'm not saying they have…but it could be possible that Jingle and his pests could have gotten past the Forgotten Wolves' territory. If that may be, I want you to put this place on lock-down. Put all the dogs on guard and pull up the drawbridge on the sight of that cursed train. And if they do somehow infiltrate the premises, don't be afraid to tear them limb from limb. I will see my wish of ruining my brother's career this year and forever or you'll be the one suffering the consequences."
Chan nodded and bowed to Jangle respectively, "As you command, Master Jangle. I promise that your sleep will not be disturbed and will be sure to take care of Jingle and his friends. They won't stand a chance."
As soon as Jangle closed his doors, Chan marched outside to the kennels in the back and shouted out orders to the other Shadow Dogs. Four dogs quietly patrolled inside the castle, two upstairs and two downstairs, while Chan and four other dogs kept guard outside.
The other eight Shadow Dogs began to get restless after hours of sitting around and staring at the snowy and icy environment, seeing hardly any movement, and hearing nothing but the winter wind, that nipped at their noses. While the other dogs were sluggish, Chan still kept his eyes ahead, never slumping or yawning.
"I knew I'd find you up here."
Chan turned his head and saw another Shadow Dog, this one half his size, standing on the top step. He walked up to Chan, yawning loudly. "Still no sign of that train, huh?"
Chan shook his head, "Not yet, Akii, but I expect them to come out of those woods any second now."
The young Shadow Dog sat next to Chan staring between the trees across the drawbridge with him. He waited for about eight minutes and then scoffed. "Well, either they're very good at hide-and-seek or they haven't gotten here yet," he said sarcastically.
"I don't like that tone in your voice." Chan stared at Akii from the corner of his eyes. "What are you up to?"
"Aw, c'mon, Chan, you need to lighten up." Akii replied, grinning like an idiot. "We've been sitting here for hours and hours and there's still no sign of Jingle or his partners. And if they're still on their way here, they'll be too late. Midnight's only two hours away. Why don't we turn in for the night?"
Chan snorted. "And let you mess up my guard duty? You heard my orders from Jangle. He wants no foul-ups, and if that means staying up until dawn, then so be it."
Akii sighed and shook his head moving around to sit and stare at his leader in the face, "Look, Chan, you need to lighten up. You're acting like we're soldiers in war looking out for enemy jets to come swooping over us. With Jingle's heart locked in the safe, his friends don't stand a chance. We've all been sitting here in the cold and those Forgotten Wolves have probably turned all of them into kibble by now. What do you say? Let's turn in for the night. We'll wake up early before the kids and make it look like we we're up all night."
"You turn in for the night!" Chan snarled. He was getting tired of hearing all of Akii's complaints. "At least Jangle has someone to depend on in a situation like this! I'm not like the rest of you!"
"Aww, don't be that way, Chan," Akii said in a subdued tone, his ears drooping briefly. "What are you so worried about anyway?" he continued. "Like you told Jangle, those fools wouldn't stand a chance against us if they had gotten past the Wolves. We could use a break for once. Jangle's gonna work us so hard, we'll get arthritis next week. We'll just let the drawbridge up before we go to bed, alright?"
"Do whatever you want," Chan stared to look ahead, looking past Akii, "Like I said, I'm keeping my guard up, but if Jangle wakes up and catches all of you asleep on the job, I'm not going to get the blowtorch once he freezes you all into solid ice blocks. At least he'll see who's the most responsible in the pack."
Akii shook his head slowly with a smirk and he walked past the stubborn leader and headed down the stairs. A pack of Shadow Dogs were waiting at the bottom of the steps and stared at Akii eagerly. Chan just nodded.
They all howled and barked in excitement, running around in circles and wagging their tails before heading to the backyard to the kennel. One dog ran to the front of the building dashing past the front gate and skidding to a stop next to the drawbridge crank.
He pushed his cold nose against the green button and there was a soft groan of metal in the air. Chains connected to the drawbridge were hidden in the snow clinked and clanked as they were pulled back while the rotating cogs inside the cranks pulled them. The chains pulled the wooden drawbridge up from over the 1000-foot deep pit around the castle and made it stand up just as tall as the fortress behind it.
Being cautious, the Shadow Dog walked to the edge of the deep moat and squint his eyes to look between the trees for any movement. He began to notice something skipping behind one of the frozen trees and leaned forward, momentarily forgetting about the deep drop in front of him. The second he realized that, his eyes went wide as saucers and he scooted back quickly, kicking up snow. He looked over the edge and watched the snow fall toward the arctic waters below as he tried to regain his breath. "I've got to be more careful…" he wheezed, his heart beating a thousand times a second. The small snowballs disappeared from his sight as it neared the water and he couldn't see the ripples at all from when the snow hit the water.
The Shadow Dog looked back up when he heard rustling from the icy woods and saw a snowshoe hare hopping about in the snow, probably searching for grass to nibble on. The Shadow Dog growled in disappointment and frustration; he couldn't get the rabbit now with the drawbridge up! He barked loudly and viciously at the hare, scaring the skittish thing back into the icy trees, before turning around to walk past the gates, closing the icicle-barred doors behind him, grumbling.
While still traveling the course to Jangle's home, the Jingle Express was under construction. Noel had put the train at a reasonable speed to where it was going fast, but not fast enough to throw him off the top of the train's cabin as he fixed the ripped roof with a mallet and driller.
It was a bit more crowded inside with Spike in the group. He was able to squeeze in a corner at the end of the cabin and watched as Laina, Mrs. Jingle, and Joy hurried along with their cleaning.
"I think that's everything." Joy picked up the dustpan and dumped the mess she had swept up in the wastebasket. "I think that was the scariest part of this whole trip."
Laina sat on the stitched-up couch that she and Mrs. Jingle had sewed up earlier, her fingers and thumbs wrapped in band-aids, "You think that was scary? It's gonna get worse once we actually reach Jangle's ice castle. This was crazier than what happened two years ago."
Mrs. Jingle walked from the bedroom. She had just replaced Jingle's blankets and tucked him back in bed, "Jingle did tell me that that was a troubling experience for both of you."
"Now it's happening all over again, but this time it's a hundred times worse now." Laina had frustration in her voice and Joy and Mrs. Jingle sensed it. The pink-haired girl got up and walked to look out the back window staring at the empty sleighs again. The loud drilling Spike whimpered and leaned over to nuzzle her cheek.
Joy's ears folded down as she moved to stand next to Mrs. Jingle, whispering to her, "She's very upset."
Mrs. Jingle nodded and sighed softly, "I think she's taking this the hardest out of all of us, Joy, since she saw this happen once before. Seeing it again can be infuriating."
Laina's tension and temper was filling the air and it was making everyone feel really uncomfortable. "Laina, do try to calm down," Mrs. Jingle advised, trying to prevent her from losing her cool. "Why don't you take a rest? It'll help you relax."
"I can't rest. If I do that, I'll-HEY! What the-?!" Laina felt herself being pulled back by her shirt collar. Spike had lifted her up in the air with his teeth. "Spike!" Laina reached back, trying to wriggle herself free, "Put me down! Let me go!"
Spike ignored her whining and dropped her next to his side and curled tightly around her like a protective dog protecting his pup. Laina squirmed in the hold, her arms pinned by her sides, and yelled at Spike, but it only made Spike curl up tighter.
"Settle down, dear. You're acting as if you were getting ready for war." Mrs. Jingle watched as Laina tried to free one of her arms from the hold, "Take a nap. I'll wake you when we get near the fort. By that time, we'll have cooked up a plan to retrieve the gifts from Jangle."
Laina refused to cooperate and continued struggling until she tired herself out. Spike slowly uncurled from around her, watching for any sudden movements, then relaxed when she just curled against his side.
The train began to pick up speed. Noel walked into the train cabin slipping off his winter gear and shaking the snow off. "Whoo, it's snowing up a storm out there. Spike, I fixed the roof so that you can get in and out of the train no problem. Hopefully we'll be out of it before we reach Jan-"
"Shh! Noel!" Joy waved her paw and pointed at the napping Laina. Noel blinked confusingly and shrugged, "What's wrong with the kid?"
"Tired, just tired," Mrs. Jingle sighed, sounding worn out herself, "Now, we need a plan. Where did Jingle put those blueprints?"
Joy watched Mrs. Jingle head into the bedroom while Noel went back outside to control the train's engine. She looked back to where Laina was sleeping, and then back to the bedroom where she heard Mrs. Jingle rummaging through drawers. She walked into the room and saw the female reindeer turning on the light on a nearby desk and unrolling the blueprints to Jangle's home. She walked up by her side with her curiosity and wonder piqued. "Mrs. Jingle, what'd she do?"
Mrs. Jingle was more focused on the blueprints and was startled when Joy's soft voice broke the silence. She lifted her glasses above her eyes, "What is it, dear?"
"I'm starting to have second thoughts," Joy spoke softly, "Laina's nice and all, but she's not Jingle. She doesn't know magic like he does and I'm not sure if she has the strength to go against Jangle. I think we made a big mistake bringing her along. She's only going to get hurt."
Mrs. Jingle stared at the pink firefox as she began to lower her head in doubt. She kneeled down to be eye level with Joy and placed two paws on her shoulders, "Laina may not look physically strong and she may not know any of Jingle's magic, but she has something that you don't see most humans with nowadays."
"What's that?" Joy looked up at her.
The female reindeer smiled. "A heart of gold," She sat down in front of Joy and began to explain, not knowing that the sickly Jingle was listening in, "Two years ago today, Jingle was just beginning his deliveries, visiting each town in alphabetical order, until he came upon Laina's town, Anime. He didn't know it at the time, but one of the naughty villagers lived in Anime and was preparing to do the unthinkable."
Joy listened intently, "Really? What'd he do?"
"He disguised himself and took the name Captain Coal. He caught Jingle by surprise and stole all the gifts for the villagers of Anime." Mrs. Jingle continued, "Laina happened to be walking by at the time that all happened and decided to help Jingle. As grumpy and distraught as he was, Laina stood with him the whole time as they inspected the entire town."
"Wow, he stuck with him while he was upset?" Joy's mouth hung open, "Either she was really brave or had thick earmuffs on because we all know how Jingle is when he's mad. He doesn't want anyone near him."
The reindeer nodded, "They came to Captain Coal's house in time and they had some complications getting the presents and themselves up the chimney without waking him up, but they managed to get all the presents back and deliver them to their rightful owners."
Joy knew the story couldn't be over yet, "What about Captain Coal?" she asked.
"Well, after delivering the last gift, Captain Coal appeared and he was really angry." Mrs. Jingle waved her paws around to give the story more oomph as she told the tale, "He blew soot clouds and chucks of hot coal at Jingle and Laina as he hopped after him. Laina's shirt had got caught in a low branch, but she was so panicked that she didn't notice. Jingle turned around to go help her, but when he did reach her, she had gotten herself free and the branch flung Captain Coal into a nearby pond."
"Oooh, I know he was cold when he crawled out." Joy shivered, getting more and more into the story, "Then what happened?"
"Both Jingle and Laina pulled Captain Coal out the pond and turns out the water had washed him clean. Captain Coal turned out to be a shivering and embarrassed Leopold. He had been planning his plot forever and was upset when his plan was foiled-" Mrs. Jingle didn't get enough time to finish her tale just yet.
"Leopold?...wait, Captain Coal was just an ordinary villager?" Joy blinked confusingly, "Then how'd he blow soot and coal? And you did say he 'hopped' after them."
The reindeer nodded, "That I did. You see, Leopold had covered his costume in soot from coals in his fireplace to keep him from being discovered. He filled his vacuum with the same soot and coal and had it in reverse so that it blew soot clouds out, instead of sucking them in, and the interior of the vacuum case was fire resistant so that's why the coals didn't destroy the vacuum. And he 'bounced' using spring shoes that he bought from a marketplace out of town two weeks ago."
"Wow, I have to admit, that was pretty cool, but he learned in the end that the bad guys never win." Joy shook her head, beginning to feel sorry for the antagonist of the story. "I bet Jingle gave him a HUGE lump of coal for what he did, huh?"
"Actually, no," Mrs. Jingle giggled when she watched the firefox's mouth hang open again, "Laina took up for Leopold saying how good of a citizen he has been for the past year. With that, Jingle gave him a gift. After Leopold returned home, he was really touched by Laina's courage and heart that he gave her a gift as well. They've been friends since."
Jingle lay under the warm blankets and gave a weak smile remembering that story as if it had just happened yesterday. He was wary of Laina in the beginning, but after what she had done, he could see a lot of good in her. Joy smiled and clasped her paws, "That's really cool on how they met, but I still don't see how it's gonna help us against Jangle. She helped Jingle against a common villager. This is a dark ice mage we're talking about."
"I'm sure she can help in a way. I mean, she got us this far. She led us to the Tanuki lord after that horrible avalanche. If it wasn't for Laina, we would've spent all night shoveling snow to find him. And she risked her life to save us and Spike from the Forgotten Wolves and their corrupted leader."
Mrs. Jingle leaned over to look in the train cabin. Laina still lay asleep against Spike's side and Spike had also fallen asleep, "I have faith in my husband and in Laina also. She's just like Jingle in a way; they're selfless, kind, caring, and loyal. And although she knows no magic, she still can perform miracles. They wouldn't think twice about putting themselves in danger to save the ones they love. If he believes that she can help us, then I have faith in his decision." She returned to her desk and looked over the blueprints.
"Need any help?" Joy climbed up to the side of the desk with a pencil.
As they whispered ideas to each other and circled one the blueprint, Laina felt butterflies in her stomach from all that she had heard. Shivers went through out her body remembering back to that day when she ran from the disguised Leopold and almost got singed by the hot coals he threw at her and Jingle. Although she took up for him and promised to never reveal what happened that day, she never looked at supposedly mild-mannered, bookworm-ish Leopold the same way again. He had moved away the day after New Year's Day but not before sending Laina a thank you and farewell letter.
"Courage and heart?" Laina slowly shook her head, "All that happened two years ago was nothing but flukes and my ditziness. I heavily doubt I can do that all over again." She was thinking of getting up to correct Mrs. Jingle, but she felt Spike tense up every time she moved. She sighed and decided to just relax and take a small catnap, but her nap turned into a deep sleep and she started to dream.
"And that's the last of it," Jingle placed the last gift in one of the many the glittery bags that were set behind Laina's house,, "I thank you again, Laina, for helping me. I wish I knew how to show you that I appreciate your kindness."
Laina shook her head and hands smiling, "There's no need, Mr. Jingle. After going through all that, I really don't want anything. The best thing now is that you're safe and the presents haven't been burned and you can continue deliver your presents and good cheer to the good boys and girls. I'll let you be on your way now. I know what a busy reindeer you are. Good night and Merry Christmas."
She buried her nose in her raggedy Anju's shirt when a cool wind started to blow as she headed to the front of her house. She felt a tap on her shoulder that made her turn around to face a nicely wrapped gift and a smiling Jingle, "Merry Christmas, Laina."
Laina stared at Jingle, then at the gift, and then back at Jingle again, "For me? Really?" She held her hands out and Jingle placed the gift in her grasps.
"Go ahead and open it." Jingle smiled, "I'm sure that gift will be more useful than that tattered shirt you're wearing."
Just like a child on Christmas morning, Laina hastily ripped open the gift and gasped as she pulled out a Jingle shirt, velvety-red on the outside and wool cotton on the inside, with white mittens hanging out the right pocket.
Jingle felt his happiness soar into the sky seeing Laina's eyes light up. "Try it on. It'll warm you up."
"Thank you, Jingle. How'd you know I wanted new clothes?" She slipped the Jingle shirt over her old one and slipped the mittens on her numb hands. If she were a cat, she'd be purring from the warmth from the shirt, "It feels nice and warm. I hardly feel the wind blowing. I really needed this."
The clock above the train station rang echoing Anime's theme song in the air as it struck 10, "Looks like better be on my way. I still have these gifts to deliver and I'm still stuck in town's beginning with A." Jingle turned to the bags and slowly raised his arms up.
Laina watched in awe as the giant silver bags began to float a few feet in the air and hovered in mid-air.
"I must be going now, Laina. Thank you again for your help. I will never forget you, little one." He smiled, his starry eyes glittering as he bowed, "Buh-bye."
Jingle headed toward the train station with the floating bags following behind him in a straight line. Laina watched him walk off awhile, then ran after him until she stood in front of him again, "Will I ever see you again, O Saint Jingle?"
The reindeer smiled and let out his signature, jolly laughter, "I will return like I do every Christmas night and with more gifts for good boys and girls."
"You're really something, Jingle." Laina smiled back, "I wish I could tell how everyone how great and caring you are, but…I know if I told me friends, they'd just laugh and tell me how silly I am…just like how I was laughed at in first grade for believing in Santa Claus."
"They laugh and tease because you believe in something that they've never seen. They have to see me to believe your words, but you know I'm not allowed to show myself to animals. The rules never said anything about showing myself to a human though and plus you've been a big help, so I won't erase your memory like I did with Leopold's. But besides all that, even if they don't believe you, tell them that Jingle still exists within you."
"Really?" Laina looked at him puzzled, "Where's that? You mean like a gut feeling?"
Jingle chuckled, "No, right here." He tapped at the spot where her heart was beating and she thought she felt a soft, comforting tingle surge through her body for a second after he took his paw away and it made her giggle.
After another good-bye, Laina began to walk into the house. She stopped at her front door, her Gyroid greeting her by wiggling around wilding, and looked over her shoulder to watch Jingle walk up to the empty train station, but he had disappeared along with the bags.
Warm air from the radiator greeted her and her big festive tree trimmed with ornaments and blinking lights made her smile. And before she entered her home, she thought she heard Jingle's "Ho ho ho!" echoing from the train tunnel.
Laina woke up with a smile on her face and sat up feeling a whole lot better. Spike was still curled up around her with his head laying comfortably in his arms and snoring softly. She smiled, gently patted his head, and got up to stretch her limbs.
She sat on the couch and looked out the window at the snowy fir trees all crowded together left green and white blurs as they passed by them. She looked toward the bedroom and saw Mrs. Jingle still sitting at the desk with Joy and Noel by her side still planning on how to get in and out of Jangle's ice fort safely.
Noel circled around the blueprint with a pencil, "Maybe if we sneaked around the backdoor, we'd be right in the living room, right?"
"You would, but Jangle has his Shadow Dogs kennel in the backyard." Mrs. Jingle reminded him, "And I don't think they would greet you with friendly tail wags and tongue slurps."
"Shouldn't this plan have a name?" Joy said as she stared at the map quizzically, "Like Operation: Revenge on the Scrooge?"
"This is a rescue mission, Joy," Noel glared at his sister, "Not a puppy."
Joy blinked twice and stared at Noel, "Operation: Revenge on the Scrooge would be an awfully long puppy name."
Mrs. Jingle lifted her head to peer out the window and saw the roof of a white fort in the distance, "Noel, we're nearing our destination. We're gonna come to a bend in the track and it'll take us into the valley of the Frost Canyon. We'll park there so we can't be detected."
Noel looked out the same window and saw the fort getting closer and closer. A cold chill went down his spine and he quickly leaped off the desk, tripping over a bag, and skittered through the door not noticing Laina.
But she noticed the tipped over bag and saw some colorful, but strange-looking objects that had spilled out the bags. They looked like miniature toys to stuff in stockings, but they looked important. Laina walked with soft steps over to it, peering inside at the gadgets and objects inside.
Mrs. Jingle heard something clinking behind her and quickly got up. "Be careful, hon.," The lady reindeer walked over picking up the bag, "That's Jingle's Bag O' Magic. He has all kinds of things in here from sleeping sand to his winter cloak."
"Jingle told me about most of his magic that he uses on his trips," Laina replied, "And I saw things in there that might be useful to getting in and out of Jangle's fort. Mind if I look at the blueprints?"
Joy handed Laina the blueprints, "You've gotta plan?"
Laina looked over the blueprints, studying each area carefully, "Is there any other traps other than the Shadow Dog kennels in the backyard?"
"The whole ice fort itself is a trap," Mrs. Jingle began to explain, "Unless you've learned magic or wearing no-skid snow boots, you'll have a hard time keeping a steady foot inside the place. His castle is made purely from ice and snow from the inside out. Any thief that dared to sneak in can set off the alarm just by slipping and falling on the floors."
Laina listened to Mrs. Jingle and her eyes continued scanning across the blueprint. Joy looked closer and saw a gleam in Laina's eyes and a confident smile on her face as she asked Mrs. Jingle for a pencil. Joy shouted excitedly as she ran up to the train engine, "Laina's gotta plan, Noel!"
Chan was using all his willpower to hold his head up from weariness as he trudged down the hallway on the ice floor. Sleepiness was getting to him and settling down for that long winter's nap was sounding like a good idea.
He came to the back door and poked his head through the doggy door. All the Shadow Dogs were curled up in their assigned kennels and snoring loudly. Since they were born magically of cool shades of anything that casts shadows, the winter weather didn't bother them at all.
He began to step all the way through the door and make his way to his kennel until Jangle's voice echoed in his ears, "I will see my wish of ruining my brother's career this year and forever or you'll be the one suffering the consequences."
He shook his head to get rid of the drowsiness and backed away, pulling out the doggie door. "That stupid Akii…he's trying to get me demoted or worse." He growled as he made his way upstairs and into the family room where the gifts were stacked in piles underneath and round a Christmas tree, made of ice and snow, which was so tall that the tip top of the star reached the ceiling.
Chan squirmed and squeezed his way through the cluttered room and snorted as he curled up under the open window and stared up at the tree and presents. "If Jingle's meddling friends do manage to make it here, they'll come up here looking for the presents. And when they do," he smirked evilly, "I'll be ready for them."
Minutes felt like hours as nothing but silence moved through the house and before he knew it, Chan had nodded off to sleep.
Upstairs in the master's bedroom, Jangle and Karangle were in a deep sleep. They were unable to hear Jingle's warm heart that Jangle had locked in his safe. It was beginning to glow brightly and beat faster feeling that its owner was somewhere close.
Hidden behind the tall icy walls of Frost Canyon and hidden from the fort's view, the Jingle Express sat silently on the tracks while inside, Laina went over the plan one last time with everyone.
Noel peered through the telescope studying the castle in the distance, "Hmm…seems like everyone's asleep, even the Shadow Dogs. There's some asleep in front of front gates and doors and I bet there's a few roaming around inside."
Laina nodded, "Alright, if we are quick and quiet, we can get the gifts and Jingle's heart and Christmas will be just about saved."
Mrs. Jingle handed Noel and Laina rucksacks with Jingle's magical tools inside of them, "Please do be careful. I wouldn't want to picture what'll happen to you if Jangle or anyone else inside found you roaming around."
"We'll be careful, Mrs. Jingle," Laina slipped on a pair of ice boots after slipping on her rucksack, "Tell Jingle we'll have the gifts and his heart back in no time. Anything else we should know before we get going?"
The missus reindeer nodded, "There is one more thing. All the ice and snow inside of Jangle's home can be melted, but it will take quite. I know wherever Jangle has Jingle's heart locked up has to be made of ice. Use that Ice Cutter in your bag with caution and patience, Laina."
Spike came beside her and rubbed his large muzzle against her cheek, beginning to whimper worriedly.
Laina rubbed his muzzle and shook her head gently, "No Spike, you can't come with us. You're too big to fit through the windows. You'll be our back-up. When things get too rough, that's when you come running in, okay?"
Spike lowered his head and nodded sadly. Laina kissed his nose and ruffled his head fur, "We'll be okay."
Noel rolled his eyes, "If you're done exchanging long good-byes, we have to get going." The green firefox opened the door and jumped to the snowy ground.
Spike whined as he watched Laina follow after him and curled up back at the end of the train.
Mrs. Jingle stood in the door and waved to them, "You two be careful now."
"And hurry back!" Joy stuck her head out the window shouting, "Christmas is only a few hours away now!"
After walking through the wintry forest, Laina and Noel made it to the deep drop that separated them from Jangle's property. Laina lied down to look over the edge of the cliff and felt faint of seeing how far a fall it was to the icy ocean waters below.
"Can't go around and definitely can't jump over it. We're gonna have to go over it." Noel climbed up the tree near to him.
Laina watched the green firefox climb to the top of the tall fir tree taking a large, pearl-like marble in his paws, "Over it??? How?"
Noel balanced himself at the treetop and held the pearl over his head trying to aligning it with the full moon's beams. The pearl gave of a luminous glint when the rays shined on and reflected a bright beam of light that traced across the night sky above the deep moat. As the flat beam headed toward the castle, a long curtain of shimmering light came down from another it glowing shades of light green, blue, and violet.
The green firefox smiled down at Laina whose mouth had dropped in awe, "This pearl shining in sun or moon light makes the Aurora Bridge. It can be used a tool for work or for show. The beam serves as a curvy bridge and the Aurora lights is a distraction to keep us from being seen," he watched as the beam stopped at the Jangle's room window, "Come on. No time to waste."
Laina grabbed around the icy tree trunk and tried to climb up but it was very difficult to grab onto it. Thinking of a quick idea, she took the scarf from around her neck, wrapped it once around the trunk, and used it to pull herself up to the top. Noel was already standing on the beam when she reached the top.
He reached down and grabbed her hand helping her up on the bridge of light. Laina looked down and saw how high up she was, "Eep!" She quickly dropped down, hugging close to the bridge.
Noel shook his head and walked along the path while Laina crawled close behind, keeping her eyes closed and trying to keep her mind off what could happen if she fell off the high bridge, "Are we close to the castle?"
"We're just about over the moat. Just keep walk-err…I mean crawling." Noel looked back at her and shook her head, "If you just don't look down, you can walk instead of crawling across the bridge."
"Then that's when reverse psychology to come in," Laina explained, "If you tell someone not to do it, they'll do it anyway so if you told me to look down, I'd look down anyway."
"So should I have told you to look down?" Noel asked.
She shook her head wildly, "No! Then that would've made everything worse!"
Noel sighed and saw that they were only a few feet from the window and he could see the side of the safe, "I hope you'll feel much braver once we get inside because dealing with Jangle is no laughing mat-." He didn't have time to finish when his footing slipped and he went tumbling to the ground below.
Laina put a hand over her mouth to keep from screaming and watched in horror as Noel spiraled toward the snowy ground below. Noel looked down and saw a sleeping Shadow Dog curled up under a window on his landing spot. He flapped his arm in panic as if he were trying to gain altitude.
Laina closed her eyes when Noel got near to landing and cringed waiting to hear a loud commotion of screaming and barking and growling from down below, "Oh man…this is it…and we came so far…"
But then she noticed something after awhile: there was no noise. None of Noel's hollers or Shadow Dogs barking filled the air. She looked down and saw the green firefox had grabbed the ledge of the window and was hanging above the undisturbed Shadow Dog.
He was struggling to get into the window without kicking ice from the wall or waving his tail on the mongrel below. He was able to get up on the windowsill and quickly looked around to see if any other Jangle's security dogs had spotted him. Seeing the coast was clear, Noel sighed in relief and gave a thumbs-up to Laina.
Laina sighed to and smiled. She heard Noel's voice in the earpiece in her right ear, "That was a close call. Looks like it's up to you to get Jingle's heart. Be careful when you get it out of the safe. It's very fragile and must be treated with care until we get it back to him. I'll go after the presents."
She gave him a nod and watched him disappear from the window. She crawled the last few inches to the window and grabbed the windowsill. She cautiously leaned her head in the room and looked around. A loud snore made her heart leap into her throat and she looked to the right. She saw Jangle and Karangle in a deep sleep in their bed and she saw what Noel and Joy meant. Although the wicked reindeer was fast asleep, Laina sensed great evil and wickedness in him and it made her shiver in her warm Jingle clothing.
She began to have second thoughts and wanted to crawl back to the other end of the bridge, but then a glow caught her attention from the left. She looked and there was Jangle's safe against the wall. It looked like a large, clear cube of ice that was masterfully sculpted to look like a tightly secured safe. There was a red glow that illuminated the inside of it and Laina could hear a soft, audible beating sound from inside it.
"That's Jingle's heart in there alright. I just hope Jangle doesn't wake up before I get to it." Laina slipped through the window feet first, grateful that the soles of her snow boots were slip-resistant, and tiptoed to the safe, keeping her eyes on the snoring Jangle.
She slowly kneeled down to the frosty floor and reached back in her rucksack pulling out a red and white stick (that was about the size of a PEZ candy dispenser). She snapped it a couple of times between her thumb and finger like if she were trying to get a failing writing pen to work. A small flame began to flicker on the tipped end of the stick and Laina kept waving the stick until a circular flame formed at the tip. She gently neared the small flame to the face of the ice safe and slowly began tracing on it to melt a hole in it.
Inside, Noel was still in search for the presents Jangle had stolen. He was walking down the corridor and looked around at the interior designs that were beginning to dull him: the walls, the floor, furniture, chandeliers, even paintings and potted plants inside the fort were made of ice and snow.
"Now I'm not interior decorator or anything," Noel said to himself, "But he could at least add some red or yellow or something. I'd be going insane waking up everyday to see everything white."
He made his way up some stairs and noticed a huge doorway in front of him. He walked up to the opening and he looked in. He smiled gleefully when he saw that he had found the room that had the huge ice Christmas tree and mountains of presents all around it.
"Jackpot!" Noel pumped his fist in the air in a small victory dance and walked into the room, looking around at all the gifts, "Looks like they are all here and all of them still in tact. Phew…" He reached into his rucksack and pulled out what looked like a music conductor's cane painted to look like a candy cane stick and holly leaves and berries wrapped at one end.
He held the end with the holly plant away from him, "I just hope this works. How did Mrs. Jingle say to work this again? I just think of a tune, concentrate on it, and wave this stick around as if I'm conducting a music orchestra…sounds kinda odd but if it worked for Jingle all these years, it should work for me too."
Noel held the stick up as if he were a conductor quieting down the musicians on stage. His favorite Christmas melody, Bells of the Opera, began to play in his head and he began waving the conductor's stick to the tempo of it. Out of his view, one of the wrapped gifts began to shake slightly as if it were coming to life, then it began to float in the air bouncing to the same rhythm that Noel waved the stick.
Noel's imagination was getting the best of him. He was so into the music in his mind that he felt like he was actually controlling an orchestra. He didn't notice the floating gift until it began to circle around him twirling in circles. His eyes flew open when he saw the 'possessed present' and froze. Unfortunately, when he stopped waving the conductor cane, the present began to fall. Noel dived and caught the gift before it fell to the floor.
"Oh, I see now." Noel smiled and placed the gift on the floor. He began to wave the conductor cane again this time over the gift and watched with a smile as the gift began to 'dance' again to the same tempo.
Before he knew it, other gifts were lifting one by one from their piles and began twirling and bouncing in the air, Noel carefully aimed the conductor's rod at the high window and the dancing packages bopped to and fro as they flew up and out the window in an evenly separated trail.
They continued 'dancing' even as they were out in the winter air hovering over the castle's icy fence, over the deep moat, and over the forest of fir trees heading toward Frost Canyon.
Noel had to bounce around himself going from stack to stack to make sure each gift had got on to his tempo from the conductor stick and was heading out the window, but he didn't notice Chan fast asleep near the fireplace…
Joy was sitting on top of the train cabin looking up at the sky. Snow began to fall from the cloudy sky above but the bright full moon continued shining through a hole in the clouds.
"Joy," Mrs. Jingle opened the window and looked up toward where Joy was sitting, "Come on in, dear. You'll catch cold sitting out here."
The pink firefox nodded and climbed down from the roof and slid in through the window. She looked up at Mrs. Jingle solemnly, "I'm worried."
"I know, dear. Me too." Mrs. Jingle closed the window and returned to her husband's bedside, "Jingle's beginning to show some color. I guess since we're a few yards from his heart."
Joy stood up on the chair and looked out the window at the falling snow, "I should've gone with them. I bet with three of us, this would've been over a whole lot faster."
Mrs. Jingle shook her head slowly, "You heard your brother and no means no. It's too dangerous. Noel would have a heart attack if something awful were to happen to him."
"Well how do you think I feel about him?" Joy flailed her arms in frustration, "I'm his twin sister after all. If anything happens to him, I'll-" She suddenly got quiet, her eyes gazing on what she saw out the window.
"Joy?" Mrs. Jingle turned her attention to the firefox staring out the window, "Are you alright?"
Joy whispered something that the missus reindeer couldn't quite make out and she jumped from her chair and out into the train cabin. "Joy!" Mrs. Jingle got to her feet and followed Joy.
Spike lifted his head Joy and Mrs. Jingle rushed outside. He poked his head through the 'doggy door' in the ceiling and he looked in confusion at what looked like twirling gift boxes dancing in a line and heading toward the back of the train.
"The presents!" Joy laughed, "They got to the presents! Way to go, Noel!" She and Mrs. Jingle watched as the gifts slowly descended from the sky and began to drop one by one in the glittery silver bags in the sleigh cars behind the train. Joy climbed from each car to make sure that they bags were wide open and that the children's Christmas gift fell inside them.
Mrs. Jingle clapped her hooves, "Well done! That makes part one of this mission complete. If Laina can get to Jingle's heart and brings it back safely, then the mission will be accomplished."
As Joy continued her job collecting and counting gifts, Mrs. Jingle hurried back in the train cabin and dug through her husband's magic bag. Spike pulled his head back in and watch the lady reindeer walk up to him carrying a paint can labeled 'Shadow Paint'.
"Spike, they might need your help with this part." Mrs. Jingle pried the can open and the glowing colors of simmering black made Spike back away gently, "Don't worry, dear. It's just like body paint but it will give you a helping hand when you go help Laina."
The paint in the can looked odd and frightful to Spike, but he did want to help Laina since she helped him. He sat up straight and nodded to Mrs. Jingle, wagging his tail.
Mrs. Jingle smiled as she reached for the paint brush and dunked it in the strange, black paint.
"Just about got it…I wish this thing could melt the ice faster…" Laina was getting frustrated and felt like time was running out. The Ice Cutter was slowly melting inches of ice away and Laina was close to reaching inside to Jingle's heart.
She kept looking over her shoulder to make sure that Jangle was still asleep and she could hear her own heart beating at a quick pace. Finally she felt the fiery tip of the Ice Cutter burn to the other side of the safe and began to cut a circle with the small fire wheel. She carefully pulled out the carved ice and reached into the safe.
Jingle's heart felt warm in her hold and it made her feel calm in the tense situation. She pulled it out of its prison and held it close in both hands, feeling it beat in her hold. Laina stood up with a confident smile, "Well, that was more easier than I-"
Then a panicked child's voice filled the air, "Daddy! Mommy! There's a human in the house!"
Laina whirled around in sheer fear and saw Jangle's three boys, Bangle, Fandangle, and Durangle, glaring at her. Narangle was bouncing on the bed trying to wake her parents up.
Jangle was half asleep during his daughter's entire screaming, but when she said her last sentence he jolted up in bed, "WHAT??? A human???" His dark eyes went to the safe and he saw Laina, literally shaking in her boots, holding his brother's heart in her hands. Karangle tried to comfort her panicked child and gave Laina a look that could kill.
"Well, well, if it isn't Jingle's little human helper. We finally meet." Jangle leaped out of bed. An icy wind enveloped around him and he was dressed in his gloomy black suit.
Narangle growled, "What is an ugly human doing in our house, daddy?"
"I bet you she was trying to steal our presents back." Bangle said.
Then Fandangle chimed in, "Presents?! Do you think she-."
Without giving it a second thought, the children ran out the room and headed down the stairs.
Jangle chuckled, "Excellent. With my children ready to rip open the gifts, all the toys will soon be destroyed. There will be no Christmas this year or ever."
"That's what you think!" Laina summoned up the bravery to speak up, "I'm not alone, Jangle, and by this time he's probably got all the presents to the train"
The ice reindeer growled, but he quickly calmed himself and his evil smirk appeared on his face again, "So you have the presents? But you still have Jingle's heart. How are those presents going to be delivered in only 5 hours without the help of Jingle's magic, hmm?"
"We-we'll think of something," Laina stuttered, "We made it this far."
"Don't be foolish now, little girl," Jangle reached out to her, "Give me the heart and I promise not to turn you into the center ice piece in the middle of my music room."
Laina backed away into a corner shaking her head, "No way."
Karangle snarled and summoned her ice staff in her hands, aiming it at Laina, "You want me to freeze her, dear? Just say the word and I'll do it."
Jangle eyed his wife out the corner of his eyes and smiled as he stepped to the side, giving Karangle a clear view of her target, "Be my guest, love."
Without hesitation, Karangle fired pointy ice shards from her staff and they flew at Laina at a great speed. Laina ducked out of the way in time, but one sharp shard skinned her on the shoulder making her shout loudly.
Her scream echoed throughout the castle, waking up the Shadow Dogs and making Noel jumped to his tiptoes. He had just sent the last set of gifts flying out the window and they continued dancing to the train even after he dropped the conductor's cane, "Laina!?"
"Intruder!!!" Noel jumped at another loud voice that came from his right and saw Chan on his feet with his back fur ruffled and his teeth in a snarl.
Noel slowly backed away as Chan began to advance toward him, "Nice doggy…good doggy…wanna play a game of fetch?" He laughed nervously waving the conductor's cane at Chan, but almost jumped out of his fur when he barked at him, "Okay…maybe not."
Bangle, Durangle, Fandangle, and Narangle ran into the family room to see no Christmas present in sight. "No!" Durangle cried in disbelief, "They got ALL of them?! But only Uncle Jingle could do that!"
"Look!" Bangle pointed and everyone stared at the last present left that was nestled underneath the icy tree. He ran toward it with his siblings stampeding after him, "I call first dibs!"
Noel saw Jangle's kids running toward the gift and made a mad dash for it with Chan on his tail. It was like a suspenseful horse derby race with Jangle's children running ahead of each other and Noel both running to the gift and running from the Shadow Dog. Just when it looked like the kids would reach for the gift first, Noel dived and slid across the icy floor and slid by them grabbing the gift
"You stupid dog!" Narangle screamed at Chan, "Don't just stand there! Get him!"
Chan galloped toward the green firefox barking viciously. Noel slid toward the wall and bounced from it, did a quick leap from Chan's noggin, and grabbed onto the end of the icy Christmas tree. He wrapped one arm around the gift and used his free paw to climb up to the top using the jagged edges of the tree like a ladder.
"No! Get back down here!" All three brothers gathered at the trunk and began pushing against it. The trunk began to snap from the pushing and began to lean over. The tree slowly began to topple over when Noel reached the top. He tried to leap to the high window, but he lost his balance as the tree began to fall over. The tree fell over like it had been chopped down with an axe. Noel waited until the tree was close enough to the ground and he leaped from it and in front of the doorway of the room.
The tree crashed to the ground and it shattered into chunks of ice that scattered everywhere. Seeing the beautiful tree destroyed made Narangle burst into tears, but the boys were more focused on catching on the thieving firefox that stole the present that they stole from Jingle.
Noel ran down the stairs and halfway down the corridor until he saw his way out was blocked by more snarling Shadow Dogs. He dashed down another hallway with screaming children and barking dogs on his tail.
Laina was in some of her own trouble. Running around the room dodging Karangle's ice darts, she was able to get to the window where the Aurora Bridge was waiting for her, but Jangle zapped an ice bolt at the top of the window, making her jump back, and a sheet of ice blocked her way out.
"You can't leave now." Jangle chuckled darkly, "Why not just stay with us awhile and, how do you youngsters say it now…chill?"
Karangle cackled as she shot more darts at her with her ice staff at the defenseless girl. Laina ducked and rolled to the door. She ran out the room and down the hall holding the beating heart in her hands close to her chest with Karangle wildly pursuing her now shooting ice 'lasers' at her heels. Jangle followed close behind his wife, pleased to see she was having fun.
She reached the spiral stairways that lead down to the foyer. She quickly climbed up on the banister and slid on the slippery ice railing to the bottom, giving her more chance to run safely without having to worry about Karangle freezing her feet to the floor.
When she reached the bottom, Noel crashed into her and both of them was sent skidding into a corner. They quickly picked up their recovered items and got to their feet, but the pack of Shadow Dogs had already stood around them so they couldn't get out of the corner.
Jangle came to the bottom steps standing behind his security dogs. His children gathered around their mother excitedly exclaiming on what 'Noel did to their tree'.
"I'm so sorry I have to cut your visit so short," Jangle said as he pulled out what looked like a dog whistle, "But I can't have you breaking into my abode, destroying our Christmas tree, or ruining my Christmas."
He didn't notice but Laina and Noel had one arm behind their as if they were holding something. Noel and Laina exchanged looks and they nodded in unison to each other. Jangle raised the whistle to his lips to signal the attack when suddenly there was a loud explosion and there was a blinding light that made him drop his whistle and shield his eyes.
The very bright light seemed to glow for a long time until it finally decided to fade. Jangle shielded his eyes, letting them get adjusted to the normal lighting, and he gasped when he saw his whole pack of Shadow Dogs had disappeared before his eyes. He noticed something on the ground and saw two black canisters, then he glared up at Laina and Noel.
Noel smirked at him, "Flash grenades: the best weapon against a Shadow Dog attack."
"Against my Shadow Dogs, yes, but it won't help you against my ice magic!" Filled with rage, icy winds flew around Jangle, making him hover slightly from the ground, and his eyes glowed white. Laina kneeled down and hugged Noel as saw ice forming in his hooves. Karangle just smiled watching the power her husband was building up and their children were singing teasingly at Laina and Noel.
"First I'll freeze the both of you in cubes of ice, and then I'll push you over the edge and into the sea below." Jangle chuckled loudly with no heart at all, "Got anything to save you against that?!"
There was another sound that filled the air. It sounded faint, but Laina smiled when she heard loud thudding sounds heading toward the castle wall next to them getting louder and louder, "Spike!"
There was a loud crash and large pieces of frost ice that made up the wall were destroyed. A Shadow Dog, this one larger than all the Shadow Dogs Jangle had made, leaped through the hole in the wall standing protectively in front of Laina and Noel.
Jangle was confused but stepped away as the huge Shadow Dog growled at him, "It can't be…is this one of my creations?"
Laina ran up to the huge Shadow Dog and hugged him around the neck, looking over him, "Spike? How-how'd you-"
"Escape now and questions later, Laina." Noel leaped up onto Spike's back still having ahold on the last present and Laina climbed up after him still having Jingle's heart in her grasp.
"Why you—you won't escape me!" Jangle began to summon his cloud as Spike ran off with Laina and Spike holding onto his fur.
"Nice entrance, Spike." Noel petted the large wolf's head, "And nice makeover too. Haha! Did you see the look on Jangle's face?!"
Laina began to think as Spike ran through the hole in the fence he had made, "Something's bugging me though. Spike…how'd you get over the moat?"
Noel gasped as he looked ahead seeing that they were getting closer and closer to the cliff, "Looks like we're about to find out!"
"Ahh! Spike, slow down!" Laina screamed, "There's no way you can jump that!"
Spike smiled as he just continued to gain speed. He was getting closer and closer to the cliff. Noel and Laina clung onto Spike's fur tightly and waited to feel their stomachs to sink from the drop. But they didn't feel themselves dropping at all. It felt like Spike was still running on solid ground.
Laina slowly lifted her head up, "Huh…seems like that moat is much farther away than I-WHOA!!!" She kept her fingers tightly clung into Spike's fur as she saw that instead of falling into the Arctic oceans, they were flying high above the forest. Spike's legs rotated in the air as he continued running forward. It was like the snowy wind had made a special path in the air just for him.
"Wow," Noel blinked in amazement, "I thought that paint was only used as a disguise. I didn't think it'd make you just like a Shadow Dog." He sat up straight on the wolf's back and slipped off his rucksack, then slid the present he had into his rucksack for safe keeping.
Laina decided to do the same with Jingle's heart. She began to take off her rucksack until a blue flash zipped beside her face, scaring her and making her drop the rucksack.
"Careful!" Noel helped Laina regain her grasps on Jingle's heart and then looked back to see where that flash came from.
Right behind them, Jangle and Karangle sat on the front of their black cloud with their children whooping and hollering behind them. Jangle smiled evilly down at them, "You two don't hear very well do you? I told you wouldn't escape me."
Mrs. Jingle shoveled the last pile of coal in the train engine's furnace and pulled the green lever forward. The train's wheel squeaked as they moved forward on the railroad tracks and the train slowly began to pick up speed.
"Mrs. Jingle! Mrs. Jingle!" Joy ran up to the engine panting, "Laina, Noel, and Spike haven't returned yet!"
Mrs. Jingle nodded, "I know. I'm just getting the train into a head start so that we'll be on our way to delivering gifts once they get here. Spike is fast enough to catch up with us with his temporary powers. You it takes awhile for this old locomotive to get going."
Joy looked more alarmed than just the early train start, "There's another thing. I counted all the gifts probably like seven or eight times. We only have 50,789,125 gifts, but I remember us making 50,789,126! We have one present missing!"
"Oh dear, that is a problem." Mrs. Jingle was wondering on how they could replace that last present until she heard someone shouting from outside.
"Jangle is coming! Get the train going now! Move! Move!" Mrs. Jingle and Joy looked out the window and saw Spike carrying Laina and Noel in the air and Jangle and his family on their large black cloud following close behind.
"Oh my word…" Mrs. Jingle grabbed the shovel and began to put more coal into the fire. Joy helped by throwing armful of coal into the furnace.
Noel ducked ice darts and lasers that Jangle fired on them. Karangle stood on the cloud and blew a sharp whistle from her lips that sounded almost like sharp whistles from a snowstorm and within seconds, Spike was blinded by in a snowstorm as he dodged the ice attacks from behind him.
"Oh no! Where's the train?!" Laina looked down trying to see through the blowing snow flurries, "Do you see it Noel?"
The green firefox shook his head, "No. Just see snow, snow, and more snow. And a very mad Jangle on our tails."
Spike panted heavily as he began to grow tired and inhaling the cold air so quickly was harsh on his lungs. Then he suddenly yelped as one of Jangle's ice attack made a direct hit on his hind leg.
"Spike's been hit! Hold on!" Noel held onto Laina's hand as they began to drop from the sky. The snowstorm was so thick with snow and fog they couldn't tell how high they were and what they were going land on or in.
Jangle could see through the snowstorm and smiled victoriously as he watched them fall. He separated the cloud in two and sat on one of the clouds by his lonesome, "Karangle, you take the kids back to the house. I can take this part by myself. I'll have the presents back before you know it."
The strong winds were too much for Laina and she couldn't hold on any longer. Noel gasped when her grip released from his paw and she tumbled off the big wolf's back, disappearing into the fog below.
She grunted when she landed and laid there motionless for awhile. Whatever she landed on was made of metal and it was very cold. She sat up when she came around, holding where her ribs were, and groaned in pain, "Oiy…that hurt." Then she gasped. She remembered holding something important but it was no longer in her hands.
"Jingle's heart! Oh no! Where'd it go?!" Laina looked around to see if she could see the red glow anywhere through the thick snowfall, but saw nothing. Tears welled up in her eyes and she fell on her side as she began to sob, "What have I done?"
She lifted her head up when she heard a dark chuckle near her and saw a pair of hooves land right in front of her. She looked up and saw Jangle standing before her.
"I'd say you helped me a whole lot, Laina," he grinned coldly, "Thanks for getting rid of my brother's heart for me."
Laina got to her knees and stared up at him, "Why?...Why are you so dark? Why are you so cold?"
"Why was Jingle so jolly and caring???" Jangle kicked Laina down to the ground, standing on her chest and putting more pressure on the pain on her ribs, "He's the bringer of good joy once a year and I'm the bringer of bad luck on everyday. All the presents on Christmas Day are from him and I bring romantic break-ups and freak accidents that happen every other week. Everyone loves him and everyone despises me and I'm sick of it! Let's just says I decided to bring Friday the 13th on Christmas Eve."
Laina squirmed and whimpered as the pain began to get intense in her chest as he put more pressure on his heavy hoof.
"I've taken out my brother once and for all, but I'm still angry," he stared down at Laina as his paws began to cover in ice again, "I know. Why don't I take my anger out on you next? I did promise to make you into an ice cube." Jangle lunged down at her starting to grab at her neck until a red beam knocked him off of her and sent her flying back.
Laina sat up wondering what had just happened and looked back to see someone walking forward out of the snowstorm. A smile curled on Laina's face when the foggy figure came closer to her view. It was a reindeer but he wore a red suit with black boots, his hooves were clean and both of his eyes had a twinkle in them although he had a furious look on his face. "Jingle," Laina whispered, "You're…alright?"
Jingle didn't stop walking until he stood next to Laina. He shouted to his brother, "Jangle! I know you can hear me! Both of us know why you have the job you hate so much. Growing up, while I was the obedient and more disciplined, you were always bullying others around and disrespecting your elders. For that, the Great Elders cursed you to bring misfortune while I was blessed merriment."
Jangle had recovered from that beam shot and quickly got to his feet, glaring and growling at his brother, hiding his hands behind his back as he began to summon another ice attack, "But I'm…older than you."
"Age didn't matter back then," Jingle reached down to help Laina up, but didn't take his eyes of Jangle, "But you personality did."
Jangle raised his hand to fire another ice attack, but Jingle held up the conductor's cane Noel had earlier and shot another red beam from it. That shot sent Jangle flying back even further.
"Come on, Laina." Jingle held her as he ran back from where he came on the cold metal path.
"But Jingle, where are we?" Still dazed and confused, she felt herself being lowered into a hole below here and fell right onto something big and furry.
Noel suddenly leaped into her face, "Laina! You're alive! Are you alright? I didn't mean to let you go. Honest!"
Laina sat up, holding her chest, and looked around to see she was back in the safety of the train cabin with her friends all around. Spike leaned over to her and began nuzzling and licking at Laina's cheek.
Mrs. Jingle looked over her, "You gave us all quiet a scare, dear. We thought we had left you behind."
"What happened?" Laina rubbed her head. Everything had happened so fast that she hardly had time to recollect it.
"Well, Spike got hit from one of Jangle's ice blast. It froze Spike's entire hind leg. Then we began to fall and I told you to hang on…" Noel rubbed the back of his head, "But you couldn't hold on. You fell over the side. Spike and I fell in the soft snow so close to the railroad tracks. The train came by and Joy yelled at us to get our attention. We were able to get inside alright."
"But I dropped Jingle's heart." Laina watched as Jingle squeezed through the fire escape in the ceiling and Mrs. Jingle ran to him hugging him tightly, "How is he up walking and about?"
Joy chimed in excitedly, "That's where we came in. I had opened the fire escape in the ceiling earlier because it had gotten hot in the cabin and when we started the train, I had forgotten to close it. Then the snowstorm hit and I was all in a panic that I didn't know I was standing under the fire escape. Next thing I know, something falls on my head and I grab it and its Jingle's heart. When I gave the heart to Mrs. Jingle, I heard a loud crash on the roof. I thought it was just a large snow clump on the roof."
"No, that was me." Laina laughed a little, wincing from the pain in her chest, and then sighed in relief as she lay back against Spike's side, "So…is that it? We're done?"
"It seems that way, dear," Mrs. Jingle smiled, "We saved Christmas…well, almost."
"…Almost?" Laina didn't like the way she said that.
Jingle nodded, "We still have to deliver the presents to all the children in the world," He walked over to the map on the wall near the bedroom door, "I think we can hurry if we take the trestle up ahead and then head west, but that means we'll have to start with towns that begin with the letter Z and finish with A-named towns."
"Eek! I just remembered!" Joy squeaked, "The 50,789,126th gift is still lost in Jangle's castle somewhere! Someone won't get their Christmas gift this year."
"50,789,126th? You mean there's…Oh!" Noel slipped off his rucksack and took out the gift, holding it over his head, "Is this what you're talking about?"
Joy grabbed her brother in a hug and twirled him around the room, "Noel, you are awesome!"
"I know." Noel snickered and everyone laughed.
Laina slowly sat up looking up at Jingle, "So are you okay now?"
"Okay?" The twinkling in Jingle's eyes sparkled, "I fell better than okay! I feel like a million Bells! Ah, it feels so good to be warm again."
She smiled, "I'm glad." She winced in slight pain when she lied back down against Spike's side.
Jingle saw Laina's face of hurt, "That was a pretty bad fall. Let's get that looked at. I don't think you would want to explain to Quetzal why you are hurting." He handed her a white band-aid strip with Christmas tree print on it.
Laina arched an eyebrow, "Uh…I think I'll need more than a band-aid strip, Jingle."
"Trust me." Jingle leaned down and placed the band-aid on her aching side.
Laina suddenly felt a comforting wave of warmth enveloping her side and her sore ribs began to heal quickly. She lied back down and felt no pain. She looked down and saw the band-aid had disappeared.
Jingle winked with one eye and smiled, "Speedy Recovery Band-aids. The best thing to have in your first-aid kit if you have bad falls."
Joy looked out the window as the snowy ground disappeared and she was staring down at the wide river below as the Jingle Express rode down the tracks on the trestle bridge. She sighed in relief, "I'm glad this whole thing is over and we don't have to worry about Jangle anymore."
"Oh no?" An infamous voice came from the window sent chills down everyone's spine. Everyone turned to the window and saw Jangle smiling menacingly at everyone as he floated right beside the train and waved at Jingle and Laina.
Jingle growled behind his teeth and Laina hid behind the snarling Spike staring in fear. Jangle cackled manically and flew past the train, flying high into the air.
"What's he doing?" Laina pressed closed to Spike and looked to the windows on the opposite side to see if Jangle was circling the train.
Jingle ran up to the window and pulled the window up. He leaned out the window watching his brother ascend higher and higher into the sky, staying ahead of the red and white locomotive, "I don't know exactly, but when he laughs like that, that usually means he's going to do something drastic."
Jangle flew higher until he was flying above the tallest tree flying a couple of miles ahead of train. He raised his arm up in the air, holding a long spear of ice shaped like a bolt of lightning, and threw it at the train track. When the ice bolt hit the middle of the trestle, it became engulfed instantly in ice. He dive-bombed towards the trestle traveling at top speed. He quickly used his frost magic to create a giant mallet and held it over his head balancing himself on his cloud. When he was close enough, he swung the mallet and the heavy head collided with the frozen part of the trestle, shattering the middle part of the bridge.
Jingle saw at what his brother had done and gasped as he saw that the train was heading right for the destroyed bridge. He hurried to the train engine while quickly telling everyone to hold on.
Noel was immediately pushed out of the way when Jingle charged in. The reindeer kneeled down and placed his paws palms down on the floor. Noel was confused on what was going on until he leaned out the window and saw that they quickly approaching the broken part of the bridge. He turned to warn Jingle about it but saw he was a deep trance and decided not to disturb him.
Jingle began sweating from his forehead and grunted as a warm, bright glow shrouded over his paws. He slowly raised his paw as if he were picking up something that weighed a ton. The glittery glow from his paw began to spread out on the engine's floor and crept on the walls, beginning to make it the engine sparkle with a comforting shine. The glow began to envelope the train cabin and the sleigh cars holding the presents behind it as well.
The warning whistle blew as the train came within inches of reaching the drop, but instead of dropping like a heavy weight to the freezing rapids below…
…The train lifted up and began to ascend high into the sky traveling on an invisible track.
With the whole train engulfed in his magic and safely flying out of harm's way, Jingle released his hold on the engine's floor and fell back, holding his chest and panting heavily. Noel came to his side, but the reindeer waved at him and weakly smiled, signaling that he was alright.
Mrs. Jingle walked from the train cabin, trying to steady herself as the train tried to straighten itself in the air, and went to help her husband to her feet. Joy and Laina looked out the window and saw that they were flying over sea of trees.
"Oh, I see now!" Joy said with a nod, "The train can move without Jingle, but it needs him to help make it fly."
Laina quickly staggered away to the middle of the room. She felt airsick and thought she had enough flying and dropping for one night.
Jingle walked from the engine room and comforted her with a pat on the shoulder. He smiled, "Santa needs eight tiny reindeer to pull his sleigh. What do you think of just one reindeer making a train fly?"
"I hate to say it, but you kinda put Santa to shame, Jingle," She giggled, "So is that it or do you think Jangle's gonna try again?"
"Oh he will try again," Jingle walked out the back of the train cabin with Laina behind him, "If there's one thing I know about my brother, he's not an easy quitter."
She saw he was right when she saw Jangle a distance away coming right at them with anger and madness in his eyes.
Jingle slowly shook his head and sighed heavily, "I didn't want to have to come down to this, but his stubbornness leaves me no choice." He raised his arm in the air and waved it left to right as if he were gradually waving good-bye to his mad brother. His paw glowed again and a glittery transparent curtain draped right behind the last sleigh car.
Jangle kept flying towards them until he crashed into the shimmering wall almost falling off his cloud. He hovered right in front of the magical wall and placed his paw against it. It looked like you could go straight through it, but to him, it felt solid and unbreakable. He began banging his fist against the wall wildly screaming angrily at the top of his lungs, "Curse you, Jingle! Curse you, your friends, and your blasted holiday cheer! CURSE YOU ALL!"
Laina watched in amazement as they flew farther and farther away from the trapped Jangle and looked up at Jingle questionably.
Jingle already knew she wanted an explanation, "Aurora Walls. I encased my brother, his family, and his home in a wall barrier that will keep him from leaving this end of the world. He's a prisoner on his own property until he becomes calm enough to reason with."
She smiled at him, "Is there anything you can't do?"
"Just don't ask me to cook anything," Jingle looked away from her blushing in shame, "Even without magic, I can still manage to blow up a Christmas turkey in the oven."
Laina laughed loudly, then she realized that the danger was really over and let out a loud side of relief and leaned over the railing, "This has been the weirdest and most dangerous Christmas ever, but at least we saved it."
"And we're not quite done yet," Jingle smiled and took an extra Jingle hat out of her coat, placing it on Laina's head, "Think you can be Jingle's little helper again this year."
"You bet!" Laina smiled with a nod and followed Jingle inside the warm cabin.