Mable: Here we are with the next chapter! I'm still trying to pull all of the threads together in time for Christmas, but I think that I'll be able to hit my deadline at this rate! 83 Anyway, I don't own 9, Enjoy!
Next Stop, North Pole
Chapter Two: On Thin Ice
The wind whipped around Nine's body as he stood on the top of the train. Part of him suddenly wondered if he was making a mistake as he started to step along the thick snow, using it to somewhat secure his footing between the movement and wind. After passing along the caboose he jumped the small gap to the second cart, then walked along the top of that one to the next gap, then at this time jumped over again. The snow on this cart was thinner and as he landed his foot hit the slick roof of the train instead of the snow.
Thankfully he merely fell onto his front instead of plummeting off the side. He groaned and lifted himself, only to suddenly notice a light close by that he hadn't before. It looked like a fire on top of the next train car and he started to stand again before continuing onwards. Soon, after leaping to the next car, he found what looked to be a Stitchpunk sitting at a fire. The Stitchpunk sat on a box with a back turned towards him, wearing a patched jacket at some sort of page looking hat on his head. "Umm, hello? What are you doing on top of-?"
The Stitchpunk turned around to face him and he gasped, "Two!" The Inventor smiled at his cry and responded, "I could ask you the same thing! Seems difficult to lose your way all the way to here!" He gestured to another box on the other side of the fire, "Sit, sit! Warm yourself by the fire." Nine moved and sat down as instructed, studying the older Stitchpunk. It occurred to him that Two was like One was, as he wasn't acknowledging anything strange about what was going on, and didn't seem to recognize him.
"What are you doing on top of the train?" Nine asked in confusion and Two chuckled, "Sitting at a bonfire, of course! Couldn't make one inside with all of One's pestering about safety. It's not as though safety is a problem on a train like this; we all know there's something different about this train." Nine blinked and tilted his head, "What do you mean?" Two opened a small tin and sorted through it, "Well, no train travels this distance in such a short time in these conditions. Whether it's enchanted or elsewise it is certainly not normal."
He then offered the open tin to Nine. "Sufganiyah?" He offered and the male peered in to see a group of small, dough spheres. They were covered in white powder which looked like snow and red gel oozed out. "Umm… Sure," Nine shrugged and lifted one to look it over. "Do I eat it?" Now Two actually laughed, "Of course you eat it! Go on." Now he took a bite out of it and a sweetness filled his mouth. He sighed in delight at the taste and smiled, feeling as the item seemed to dissolve in his mouth.
Two ate one as well and Nine dared to ask, "So I thought that you were in the front of the train, as One locked the door behind him." Suddenly Two flinched and sat upwards in alert. "Oh dear, I should be getting on down there…" He stood quickly and grabbed two rectangular pieces of metal. As he touched them they unfolded and lengthened, then he tethered them to his feet. "Climb on the back of my skis. I'll take us both down to the front in a flash." Nine was surprised at the sudden change, but agreed, and a metal box was put into his hands.
"And hold the sweets. We don't want to lose them," Two pointed out playfully with a wink. He then braced himself and now climbed on the back on the boards or skis. Two lifted two metal poles from under the snow and used them to push off. Nine clung to Two's back as they suddenly started to slide down the train that seemed to suddenly take a downward decline. The zippered male tried to see through the dark and the snowflakes, but was unable to as they continued to slide down.
"We're jumping in three, two, one-!" Before Nine could even question it the shorter was hopping, the skis coming with him and Nine unsure how he lifted him as well. The skis landed on the next cart and they rode down until Two repeated. "This is the tricky one! When we jump start to tuck!" The zippered male didn't know what he meant about that, but managed to hold on as they hopped off of the cart. Suddenly Two ducked down and plummeted into an open entrance to the next cart. Nine followed down, tumbling over a mound of coal and onto the floor.
Two managed to land on his skis and feet where he started to undo them, "Are you alright?" Nine pushed himself upwards with a groan, "Yeah, that was just a… Rough… Landing…" His optics now turned to look at the large set of train control stretched out before them. "So this is the front of the train?!" He was in awe and Two chuckled, "It certainly is! I-." Suddenly the door opened and there stood One with Seven, Three, and Four behind him. "Ah hah! I knew it!" He accused and moved forward.
"One, wait-." Nine was about to explain when One passed him and faced Two. "You've been running around on the roof again, haven't you?! I suppose you were what was banging around up there!" Two gave an innocent smile and the zippered male looked to Seven, "How did you get One to let you through?" She got an amused look, "I knocked." An embarrassed smile passed Nine's lips as he looked over towards the older males. "You're supposed to be driving the train, and why on Earth are you dressed like a transient?!"
"I'm not dressed like a-," Suddenly Two stopped as he looked out of the front window, and gasped in alarm. He hurried over and continued to look out. "The water's high…" One tilted his head and crossed to the front, looking out and sputtering. "What water?" Seven suddenly asked before moving closer and seeing past to what was up ahead. "Is that a lake?" Two nodded and fooled with a crank above him, "It is. Unfortunately the water is above the tracks."
One sputtered and looked to him, "Is the ice thin enough to break through? Submerging the wheels can't…" Suddenly he noticed the twins there and gestured to them. "You two, head back to your seat. It's not safe for children to be here, especially not now!" The twins looked confused at each other and the Leader started to guide the two out, through the next train car, and Seven followed, "I'll tell the others." Nine nodded and stayed with Two. The next car was, oddly enough, darkened and full of old toys shoved into the seats almost lazily.
Three and Four looked around curiously as One desperately tried to coax them along, finally getting them through the door and nearly running into a couple of Stitchpunks standing there. Five stumbled back as the Leader suddenly stepped out, Three ducked and slid past him, and Four walked right into a Stitchpunk that almost resembled her. It took her aback to see the Stitchpunk; it's hood matched her own, height too, but it color scheme was of black and grey tones, and it didn't look to be of the same material.
He stared at her and she stared back before reaching out and grasping her twin by the hood, pulling her back. Three stared as well at the silent male who looked between them in confusion. Then he suddenly got a slight smile of confusion and amusement. The twins saw it and then suddenly pounced, starting to search and study him. "Everyone, may I have your attention?" One called across the train and the Stitchpunks looked to attention.
"We will be hitting rough tracks in a short while. I need you all to seated, including you triplets," He gestured to the twins and the new Stitchpunk before hesitating, "Or… Including you three. Remain seated until we get past." Seven tapped Five's shoulder and caught his attention, then gestured back towards the front of the train. "We found Two. He's running the train, apparently." Five gasped and hurried past towards the front of the train while she crossed over towards the twins.
"Come on, you two. Leave that poor boy alone and come sit down," she guided, Four waving goodbye to the male and Three giving an apologetic smile. The male waved back and headed over to where Six, Sky, and Velvet were still seated. Seven didn't really want to sit patiently and wait for whatever was coming, but she knew it was best to get them seated. Meanwhile Five entered into the front, seeing Two and smiling wide, "Two!" The Inventor looked back and got a smile past his worry, "Five, my boy! I didn't-…"
He suddenly stopped and stared as though in a brief daze. He blinked a bit until Nine shook his shoulder, "Two, the ice!" The older male finally was pulled back to reality, "Sorry, I… I had a strange feeling like I was… Forgetting something- Don't worry about it." He looked back to the lake while Five blurted out in dread, "Wait, what ice?" Nine answered him quickly, "The tracks are iced over." Now Two hissed a bit, "Oh, this isn't good…" He looked around desperately before pulling levers, "Our best bet is to go faster, and maybe we can break through the ice and continue on safely."
He sounded doubtful and pressed on, and suddenly the train hit the ice. To their horror the ice didn't break, and the train suddenly skidded off of the ice. Two gripped the throttle tightly while Nine and Five both cried out in horror. Meanwhile in the back the carts suddenly shifted awkwardly. The sudden motion was enough to send everyone off balance. One even fell over, catching himself on the back of a seat. Seven managed to brace the twins, but Eight who was leaning out of his seat fell directly into the aisle, the female Stitchpunk he was flirting with managed to hold herself onto the table.
Six looked out the window and sputtered, "We're sliding! We're sliding on the ice!" Sky gasped and looked for her brother across the train, Seven's optics widened and she struggled to regain footing, and Velvet began to hyperventilate with, "We can't tip, right?! The train's made so it can't tip!?" One straightened as the train began to level and looked towards the front. "What on Earth-?!" Suddenly there was a loud cracking along with the cart shifting back and the Leader cried out, "The ice is breaking!"
He called towards Two in the front, struggling to make it to the front past the toys that had tipped over, "Two, the ice! You have to go faster! We'll sink!" Naturally Two heard his cry, but all he could do was keep the speed even, though high, and focus on aiming the train. "Five, grab that lever on the right wall and wait for my command!" The one eyed male rushed over and grabbed ahold of it, waiting for when he was going to be told. Nine looked to Two, "What is it?"
"It's a master break that controls the wheels on the passenger cars. If I get us lined I'll use it to keep the back wheels from moving and risking turning us further," The Inventor explained and stared forward. This was when One burst in, "The back of the train broke through!" Two didn't look away from where he was going and continued forward, "I was afraid of that." One looked ahead as well across the seemingly endless lake, before Nine pointed out, "Look! Land!" Now the older males could see it and knew that they had to be precise.
Back in the train, Seven managed to look through the back door and saw what happened, "The caboose is underwater and flooding! The next cart's starting to follow, and then it'll be ours!" She called back to the others. Now the pale male Stitchpunk called over, "There should be a release between train cars. We'll have to sacrifice the back two or we'll all go under!" Seven looked to him and nodded before Eight stood and started to approach, "I can do it. I'm strong enough to pull any release and can use physical force if I have to."
Seven nodded and the female Stitchpunk with the leather legs called after him, "Oh, be careful, Mister Guard!" The Warrior glance to the Guard and raised a brow, "You're a 'mister' now?" She smirked as he silently moved by and started down the sloped cart. Six watched his friends go and suddenly became alert, looking to Sky and Velvet, "The weight could break the ice more. We need to move everyone closer to the front." Velvet looked anxiously towards him, clutching her hair tightly, "Do you think the front will crack too?"
"No, I don't," Six assured as he stood, "Or it would've already." He looked almost nervously to the other Stitchpunks before instructing, "W-We need to move further to the front. We need to get further away from the sinking carts!" At first they simply stared until Six insisted, "I mean it! We have to go!" Finally the Stitchpunks started to hurry, the albino leading with his two companions behind him, then the twins who hurried past, then the patched legs female, a green hooded male, Velvet, Sky and her brother, who was the male the twins ran into, and finally Six himself.
The next car was a mess with all of the scattered toys and it didn't help that the lights were out. The Stitchpunks stumbled around in the dark until the twins alit their optics. Now they could see some and first thing they did was point out the window at the ice cracking. It was no longer behind the train and now cracked in large fissures on each side of them. In the back Eight and Seven had to creep down into the filling, icy water until Eight managed to force the other door open and lean down, trying to kick the release between the carts.
It wasn't until the water was nearing his neck that he stopped and looked to Seven. "I can't do it! The water is slowing me down!" The pale female looked back at the cart they were in, also filling, and now looked to him again, "This one's release should still be above! We'll let them both go!" The Guard nodded and she helped tug him out quicker, then the two hurried to the next one. Now Eight brought out his knife and Seven brought out her spear. The two went at the connection at the same time and finally it gave.
Both got securely onto the next train car as they watched the two splash into the water and begin to sink. The ice was cracking worse than before, but the train was now skidding on the ice again, going faster than before. Two noticed this from his driving as they suddenly began to move faster along the ice. He knew they would swerve if they waited. "Pull the break! I'll handle it!" Five did so, there was a skidding noise, and they started to approach the tracks on the other side of the lake, nestled in a crevice between two cliffs.
"The ice!" Nine pointed out as the ice cracked around the train, closer towards the front. "Two!" One began, looking to the male who was focused, "Steady…" He answered, pulling a lever to shift the train slightly to the side, aiming it. One watched in agony, as did Five behind him whose optic was wide and mouth gaped open. Nine ran to the door to head into the next car, "I'll warn the others!" He stepped over to the next car only to open the door and suddenly be face to face with the albino male.
"Gah!" He cried out in alarm and the male responded dryly with, "Please tell me you were screaming at me and not something else going wrong." Nine tensed and decided to lie, "I, uh… I was screaming at that puppet hanging at the ceiling." The albino looked unimpressed, "Don't spare my feelings-." He looked back and saw the puppet Nine lied about, stared, and shivered, "…Forget the caboose, that's the thing that should've been dumped into the ocean." Nine honed in and gaped in shock, "Into the ocean? What are you…?"
Six interrupted from the other side of the cart, "Seven and Eight are coming back! They did it!" Nine started down towards the other side before tripping over a box of building blocks and face planting in the carpet. All of the Stitchpunks just stared at him until he scrambled to his feet, passed Six, and opened the door to reveal Seven and Eight waiting on the other side. "We did it, but it's not going to mean anything if we can't get off of the ice," Seven pointed out and the others nodded.
In the front the remaining three were desperately holding on. "Two…" One started quietly and Two insisted, "Trust me, One…" Five held on tightly before blurting out, "We survived the Machine only to die like this!" One turned back and gave him a slightly unimpressed look, "We aren't… Machine?" His optics widened out of slants and suddenly he seemed to have a realization. Then, suddenly, there was a bang and the entire train shivered as it came in contact with the tracks. A few seconds passed, then Two began to laugh in delight.
"Yes!" He cried out as the train rose out of the water and followed the tracks, "Yes! We've made it past! We're in the clear!" Five smiled in immediate relief and One almost collapsed against the wall. The Healer turned and ran back towards the doorway to head through and inform the others. Two affixed the train and then separated himself from the controls. He rested his arms behind his back and playfully approached One with a teasing smile, "I suppose that's impressive for a hobo?" He smirked and One lazily looked back at him.
"Only for someone who dresses like one." He actually got a glimpse of a smile and as a reward Two patted his shoulder, chuckling playfully. Meanwhile Five burst into the toy filled car. "It's good! Two got us on the tracks, we're safe!" Everyone cheered in delight at the news. Three and Four nearly danced together, Sky hugged her brother, Six collapsed into a seat, and Nine, Seven, and Eight looked relieved. "Now, uh, let's move into the sitting car again," Five offered, "There's something unsettling about all of these broken doll parts."
The group started to move into the back again and Five followed, passing Velvet who was sitting on a seat, still looking like she was panicking. "Breathe," Five instructed, taking her hands and talking her through it. "We're safe. No more ice." She sputtered out a, "I thought it was going to sink and we were going to get trapped and drown!" The one eyed male nodded, "I… I didn't think we were going to make it either… But we did! So let's go into the back and celebrate with the others!" He smiled encouragingly and she smiled back awkwardly, but sincerely.
They led Six along as well and continued into the sitting room where the others were waiting.
Mable: Well, the Stitchpunks just dodged being in hot water, didn't they? Err, well, cold water more like. XD Also I keep seeing Velvet having that awkward smile of Peridot's from Steven Universe. It was unintentional, but I still see it there somehow. Anyway, anyway, the next chapter will be posted very soon! I hope everyone enjoyed!