Mable: Here we are with the next chapter! I meant to post it yesterday, but had to push it back a little bit. Anyway, I don't own 9, Enjoy!
Next Stop, North Pole
Chapter Three: Down into the Mines
"There you are!" Sky chirped to the three as she approached with her brother, "This is Sparky, my brother. This is Five and… And Six." She slightly hesitated between the names as she looked to the striped male. Honestly, she wanted to thank him for being so bold and leading them away earlier, but wasn't sure how to go about it. Sparky gave a nod and a wave at the two. "You're the Stitchpunk looking for a new voice module?" Five inquired with a warm smile and the shorter male nodded.
"My mentor would probably be better at it, but I could probably take a look at it." Sparky perked and mouthed the word, "Really?" The one eyed male nodded, "Let me go look through the toy cart and see if I can find something that'll work." He looked to Six and inquired, "Can you tell Nine and the others I'll be right back?" The striped male nodded loyally. The one eyed male then turned to Velvet, resting a hand on her back, "Why don't you go sit down and rest a bit?"
The female Stitchpunk nodded and watched as he headed into the next car before taking a seat. Six was now left alone with Sky and Sparky, and for a moment he wasn't sure what to say. "Umm… it's nice to meet you," He added in and Sparky smiled to him with a nod. Sky hesitated before adding in, "Six, I… Thank you, for moving us." The Artist felt a light blush on his cheeks and grasped his key nervously, "That was- It was my job. Or it could've been the others, if they were here." He tried to explain before noticing the twins inching closer.
They were obviously not trying to alert the others, but Six needed them to come in and help the conversation. "Oh! Three, Four, this is Sky and Sparky! They're friends we met at the table." Three came forwards curiously and eagerly while Four slightly lagged. Sparky smiled to Three before waving to Four eagerly, seemingly interested in her. This spurred her on enough to move forward. "Hello, to you both! You… Kind of look like us?" She questioned curiously and now Seven spoke, "Maybe we're related. Do you live near Luxembourg?"
Both of the Stitchpunks nodded in agreement. "Outside the city a little ways. We were worried being close to the Beasts." Seven hummed and quipped, "It's very possible that somehow we are all related…" They continued to talk while the others settled in. Nine noticed them and was relieved to see them in a calm state; after everything it was a relief to have a moment of peace. As he passed Eight's seat he could see the male currently with the female with the leather legs. Unlike Seven he was wrapped in a thick blanket and seemed to be slightly shivering.
He could hear her say, "That was so brave of you, but you got yourself soaked! Here, maybe we can get you another blanket or more hot chocolate." Eight responded with a weak shift like a wave and, "I've survived worse, but that's all part of being a protector." She smiled sweetly at him and Nine was amused by the obvious fawning on Eight's part. Part of him wondered if he should be currently fawning over Seven like that, but things between the two weren't as romantic as they once had been.
Part of Nine noticed it during and after the Machine War, that his feelings had cooled a bit, and while they were still friendly he was no longer felt such a strong attraction. Instead Nine just felt like he wasn't ready for it. As he sat down in the back it occurred to him that there were a lot of things he was not ready for. Nine was basically just starting out still and there was so much he didn't know; such as what he would do now that his primary goal, to stop the Machine, was long over. Sometimes he wasn't sure what his future plans were and even now it returned to haunt him.
Before he could focus on it more, One appeared back through the door again. "Now that everyone is calmed down and everything is stable, it is time for me to take your tickets. Please check yourself and retrieve your ticket for punching," One instructed and first approached Six and his group. Six seemed to suddenly spawn a ticket out of nowhere, it almost appearing in his hands, and handed it over. One pulled out a hole punch and quickly worked and punched away. When he was finished there was an 'l' and a 'd' punched in the golden ticket which were separated by a space.
Six looked at it curiously as the four remaining Stitchpunks found their tickets hidden in their hoods, even Sparky whose hood was currently down, and handed them over one by one. Three's had a 'd' on it, Four's had a 't' on it, Sky's had a 't' as well but further down the card, and Sparky's had a 'e' on it. One then continued down the line doing others. "…'T'?" Sky questioned and Six turned the ticket over, "Maybe it means something…? It doesn't feel finished."
Now Five and Two stepped into the hall and Six looked to him, smiling, "Your ticket, Five, go see what your letter is!" Five blinked and tilted his head slightly, "What?" Now One blurted out, "What- You're not manning the train?!" He stared across to Two who waved him off. "Keep your hat on, One. We're on a stretch of flat ground for a short while, so I can't do anything but stand in the front anyway," He then looked towards Sparky, "I apologize about my disappearance earlier. I got quite a bit distracted."
He started to open Sparky who willingly and eagerly assisted, hoping to regain the ability to speak like his sister. "Very well. Just don't dawdle," One reached into Five's quiver, suddenly pulling out his ticket from seemingly nowhere and punched holes into it. Five looked to him in confusion before being rewarded with Two's expectant look. "Oh, the module! Sorry." He handed over the object, "I don't know if it will work, it's a little small." Two chuckled in amusement and checked it over, "It looks to be in good condition. You've got a good eye on you."
Five cracked a smile of amusement and One didn't look like he approached the comment. Then he handed over the ticket as Two started to work. Five's ticket was branded with a 'G' on it and nothing more. The Leader and conductor continued down the rows and branded the other tickets before arriving to Nine, who had already found his in his zipper. He handed it over and One punched the holes in it. It came out with a clear 'S' on it. As One started to leave Nine stared at it, "…It's probably a shortening of 'Save' or something…"
He didn't intend to say it loud enough to be heard, but the older male did hear and looked back at him. "You sound as though you are disappointed," He pointed out and Nine looked to him, "Is that what it means then?" One narrowed his optics in thought before answering, "I'm not certain. That's for you to figure out." He answered simply and continued along, leaving Nine more confused than before. "Now I must forewarn you all that we will be entering the mines shortly. They should be safe, but we must be careful."
He locked the door that led to the now absent next car. "There are an abundance of glowing crystals that I am certain you will be impressed with. They are breathtaking, but unfortunately they do get their glow by sapping electricity and manage to drain at the train when it is in close contact." There were a few horrified looks and One coughed, "Which is, of course, why the train runs on coal and not electricity primarily. While we will be able to continue there is a chance of the lights going out and leaving you in the dark."
A few Stitchpunks pointedly cringed at this, such as the twins and even Nine got a twitch of disturbance, and the green cloaked male even shuddered. "This shouldn't be a problem for long as the crystals should keep the train alit well enough, but we need to keep an eye out in case psychotic behavior sets in." Two choked at the comment and turned to look at One, "One, I doubt anyone's going to go 'psychotic'." He responded, "What One meant is that claustrophobia may set in and it is important to keep calm."
"What happens if the train stops?" Nine suddenly blurted out from the back and the green cloaked male blurted out as well, "It can just stop down here?!" He began to grow frantic, clutching his chair tightly. Two protested eagerly, "No, no. It shouldn't, but if it somehow did we would either try to leave the train and walk along the tracks." He was immediately interrupted by One, "Which we would absolutely not do." Two fought the urge to roll his optics and continued further.
"Or we would wait until the two way cart would arrive to retrieve us. We also have flairs and candles for lights during an emergency, but the darkness will be so quick that it would be a waste of time," He continued further in an attempt to calm. There was a crackling test of a cough from Sparky before he tried with, "You- You… You say that like it's happened before." His voice was awkward, going in and out of range, and Two leaned forward to adjust it.
Two returned Sparky's playfully joking smile, "No, no… But this Stitchpunk back here has been absolutely adamant about having everything planned to a 't'." Immediately Four raised her ticket in her own type of a joke and Sparky snickered a bit at it, now able to do so. Once the Inventor was content he gave a nod and straightened, "I'll be in the front manning the engine to make certain everything's in order." As he headed off One followed him, speaking back in a gentler but still authoritative tone.
"All of you return to your seats until after we're safely out of the mines yet again. I will return with more refreshments later." With that One was gone as well and most of the Stitchpunks moved to sit down. Sky hugged her brother, "Do you feel any different?" Sparky shrugged a little as he sat down, "Actually, not really. You?" Sky shook her head and the twins sat across from them. Six sat down beside them and Five eventually moved to go see if Velvet wanted to sit with him.
"I'm going to ask Seven and Nine if they want to sit together. Want to come sit with us too?" He invited and the female nodded eagerly. "I'd love to! Sounds better than sitting alone in the dark. Lead the way!" She chirped and stood, following him to Seven's seat. Nine was still in the back when the green cloaked male peeked over the seat on the other side of the table. "How dark do you think it'll get?" He asked and Nine shrugged a little, "I guess with the crystals it can't get pitch dark."
He then noticed something odd. "Hey… Your voice sounds kind of like mine," he pointed out and received a wide, playful smile in return. "That's not all! We kind of look similar too." He pulled back his hood to reveal his face, and Nine was shocked to see that it looked very similar to his own. "We could be twins!" The green hooded male pointed out and Nine was still in awe. "That's… That's unbelievable!" Nine cried out, smiling a bit at the sight, "You look just like- We look just like each other!"
The green cloaked male chuckled in amusement until Nine inquired, "Where were you created? Where have you been living? Do you have a number or name?" The male explained, "You probably wouldn't know about it. It's just a little, walled in city, in an old, abandoned house. My name's None. I gave it to myself a long while back, but I don't remember why really." Nine caught on to 'walled in city' and his smile started to drop. "Do you… Know about your Creator any?"
"A little. He was a Scientist, but he was… He wasn't alive when I awoke. I left his home soon after I was created. Why?" Nine's optics widened slight; he wasn't sure if this was all a big misunderstanding or not, but he couldn't help but believe it. "Because… That sounds like the Emptiness where we live in and that sounds like the Scientist who created us," Nine admitted and None's smile dropped. Now they just stared at each other with widened optics and agape mouths, not sure what to do next.
Then suddenly the train shifted at a downward slope as it entered the tunnel, the stony walls of the mines blocking the views from the windows. Small crystals began to appear one by one on the walls passing the windows until suddenly the lights flickered. None ducked down in distress and Nine leaned upwards after him, now noticing Five, Seven, and Velvet approaching. They hurried to sit down, Seven sliding in next to him, and as the crystals on the walls got larger the lights flickered even more.
"Looks like it's going dark now," Five announced and got an amused smile. "Though after all of this, we couldn't really expect something easy, right?" Nine looked at him before stating, "My twin brother's on this train." Five stared for a few seconds and was about to ask more when the lights finally died for good. There was a murmur from the Stitchpunk groups who were clearly distressed. Six especially was becoming concerned, which was predicted by Five who called over. "Six?"
"I'm okay…" He murmured, shivering a bit and sliding down in the seat. "Just a little… Claustrophobic." He looked in the direction of the nearby twins. "We can't- It won't run out of air, will it?" For an answer he felt a hand suddenly on his arm and glanced through the dim lighting to see Sky smiling at him. "It's okay, Six. We're safe. The train's moving so we won't be hear long." It seemed to ease the Artist slightly, but a new, strange sensation was tickling at his center.
As more gems appeared on the walls the train began to alight in soft colors. This part was not as expected, considering what a big deal One and Two made about the lights going out and it being dark. Yet here was the colorful glow, like a rainbow casting across the train. The twins flickered their optics in delight in an attempt to record the beauty with their optics, but were unable to do so. It was too fragile to be pictures and could only be recorded in the moment as it was. Almost all fear was drained away from every one of them.
"This is beautiful," Seven gasped as she looked out of the window. Both Five and Velvet nodded in agreement while Nine added in with a, "Yeah…" Suddenly he was soothed. That was, until suddenly the crystals halted and they were thrown into pitch blackness. There was an eerie silence until suddenly the world seemed to shift. Even in the dark there was a change of gravity and suddenly an increase of movement. "Are we- Are we going down?" Five asked in confuse before gasping as more crystals appeared.
With the light back in the cart added in with the shift he could tell for certain. "We're going down!" Five warned the others, almost falling out of his seat as the train continued to gain speed. Then, suddenly, it leveled and actually sent Five falling forwards. He fell into the center isle; Eight raised a brow at him, Velvet clenched in her mouth, and Nine called out with, "Five!" The Healer started to straighten, "I'm okay- I just-." There was another shift right as he started to fall and sent him against the table.
Now Nine jumped forward to grab ahold of him before with a final burst from the train the two were sent falling over onto the floor. Seven now partially covered her mouth in a mix of surprise and amusement, trying not to laugh at all at the scene. Velvet meanwhile tried to get out, "Uh… You two alright?" Promptly again light filled the train and the windows became uncovered. They were out of the caves and now the train climbed onto a bridge lined with tracks over an ocean frozen solid.
Three and Four suddenly leapt to the window and peered out, practically climbing on Sparky and the table. Though Four seemed to notice quicker than Three did and shuffled off of Sparky's leg, giving him an apologetic look. At first he was going to wave it off, but then remembered that he could now talk, and quickly forced out. "It's okay, no, don't worry about it!" This caused the tiny female to smile a bit, though she was still embarrassed. The door at the end of the cart suddenly opened and One stepped through.
He immediately looked down the way at Nine and Five. He quipped a brow before giving a slightly amused scoff, "I'm not surprised." He simply stated before pointing out of one of the windows, "If you look you can see the lights of the North Pole, along with the Aurora Borealis in the sky." He gestured out and now Eight asked quizzically. "So we're almost there?" One got a small smile and nodded, "It shouldn't be much longer now. Thankfully, since it's almost Midnight. We must arrive before then."
He stared out along with the others, Five and Nine managing to get to their feet, looking embarrassed as Seven now lightly giggled and the albino male sent a small smirk at them both. "Mr. Conductor?" None asked quizzically, "You never said what happens when we get there or why we're going." Nine almost gasped as he realized the male, possibly his twin, was completely right in his inquiries. Surprisingly enough One explained without hiding it and crossed to the other side of the cart and to the door.
"When we get there you will all attend the ceremony of the first Christmas gift. One of you will receive the first Christmas gift of the year from Santa Claus himself. It is a great honor bestowed by the sheer spirit of Christmas." As he peered out the back window he added in. "Though he will choose that. At the current moment I am uncertain which of you is most eligible." Seven was baffled at One's comment, "One, you believe in Santa Clause? You don't believe in anything unless you see it firsthand, and even then it needs to be hammered in to sink."
The Leader scoffed a bit and turned to her, "Perhaps… Or perhaps the most real things in life are the things you can't see." He pointedly looked to her with his hands folded behind his back, a small smile back on his mouth. The entire thing actually had Seven surprised even considering his previous change in character. He then added in to the rest of the group, "The back two carts have returned, but please don't be tempted to venture into them yet until we are certain they are fully repaired."
Eight suddenly straightened, "No. It didn't. It couldn't have." He said in alarm and the female with the patched legs stood, hurrying over to the door as the Guard started to stand in surprise. "They are!" She gasped in surprise, "I can even see the caboose way back there and… And the carpet's even still wet!" The larger male couldn't believe it. "They sunk into that lake; how are they back again!? That doesn't make sense!" It was at this point that Six chimed in with delight.
"It's just the train's magic! How else would we have survived the ice, and go through the cave fine, and now going to the North Pole while it's still Midnight?" Six's explanation held water when stated like that and there was a calmness settling over the coach. The Stitchpunks stared out at the approaching lights with a growing wonder and delight. They were almost at their destination.
Mable: Finally they're almost there! Almost to the North Pole and to whatever waits there! I hope everyone enjoyed and the next chapter will be posted very, very soon!