The group poked their heads out the door as the music played.
"Hey... You hear that?" Aelita asked.
"I hear it, too!" the lonely boy said.
Jeremie rose an eyebrow. "Hear what?"
"I don't hear anything besides that music..." Chase said.
"Me neither..." William said.
Dylan rose an eyebrow.
"I hear something too..." Dylan said.
"You seriously don't hear it?" Anne asked incredulously.
"The sleigh bell!" Aelita stated as she climbed off the cart with the others following her.
"What bell?" Jeremie asked.
"Sleigh bell? Like from SANTA'S sleigh?!" Chase asked with wide eyes
"Come on..." Aelita told them as she gestured for them to follow them.
The group walked over to where the track led into the tunnel. Anne looked down and her visible eye widened seeing how high up they were.
"Heh... Anyone afraid of heights...?" Anne asked as she looked down
Aelita carefully placed her feet on the rail and slowly walked on it, spreading her arms out to keep her balance.
She looked back at the others and motioned them to follow her. "Come on."
One by one, the group started carefully walking across the rail with Aelita in the lead.
"Try not to fall..." Dylan muttered as he struggled to keep his balance.
Anne tried not to look down as they carefully walked across.
"Don't look down... Don't look down... Don't look down, Anne..." Anne muttered to herself
The lonely boy nearly slipped due to the boots he was wearing, but quickly recovered.
Chase also nearly slipped, but Aelita grabbed his shirt collar, keeping him stable.
Ulrich tried not to look down, as Jeremie had a very nervous look.
"H- How much further?" Jeremie asked
"Not much, I think..." Dylan replied.
Aelita paused walking. The others stopped too, but had trouble keeping their balance.
"What?" Jeremie asked.
"Come on, guys..." Aelita told them as they resumed walking.
The group nodded as they resumed walking.
Eventually, they made it to the tunnel and ran through it with Aelita in the lead.
"Where are we even going?" Dylan asked as they ran.
Suddenly, Aelita made the group stop. She looked at them.
"Do you hear something?" Aelita asked.
Everyone except for Chase and Jeremie nodded.
"I don't hear anything..." Jeremie said.
"Seriously?!" Odd asked.
"Seriously." Jeremie confirmed
Chase shook his head. "I don't hear anything either..."
"You can't hear the bell?" Dylan asked.
"Nope..." Chase confirmed.
The group sighed as they resumed rubbing. They soon found themselves running through the brick streets of the North Pole.
William quickly ducked as he passed by a low lamp post.
Chase snickered until he accidentally hit his head on another low lamp post.
"Ow!" Chase said as he cringed.
"Watch where you're going." Yumi advised.
Chase nodded as he rubbed his head.
The group kept running through the sreets, following the track.
They kept running as Dylan shook his head.
"Where are we even going?" Dylan asked.
"No clue, Dylan." Chase replied
Dylan sighed and nodded. Soon, they came to a dead end where the track stopped and they came to a tunnel.
Jeremie could hear Silver Bells playing and skipping on a record.
Chase had an extremely annoyed look as he listened to the skipping record.
Aelita paused, listening. "Yes... Yes, I hear it..."
"I can hear it, too!" said the lonely boy.
"I don't hear anything..." Jeremie said with a shake of his head.
"Okay guys, it's down this way..." she told the group as she pointed to the tunnel. The pink haired girl headed towards it.
"Are you sure?" Jeremie asked.
Aelita paused for a moment before turning around and looking at Jeremie seriously and nodded. "Absolutely."
Jeremie nodded as Aelita locked her hand with his, making him follow her towards the sound.
The group followed Aelita into the tunnel, which led to a set of stairs.
"So once we get to the song, then what?" Chase asked
"It's the BELL, Chase." Anne retorted.
"What bell?" Chase inquired.
"Bell?" Jeremie inquired with confusion.
"Can't you hear it?" Anne asked.
Chase and Jeremie both shook their heads.
They continued to walk down the steps.
"I seriously don't hear anything..." Chase said
"Why can't we hear anything?" Jeremie asked as they approached a light near the bottom of the steps.
"Shh!" Anne hissed as they crouched down.
The group crouched down as they got to the light.
They then found themselves on a balcony, which showed a large room with a bunch of machines, screens, and a few elves. They all got down on their stomachs so they wouldn't be spotted.
"Woah... Look at this place!" Chase exclaimed quietly
"Shh!" Aelita hissed. "Look!"
The group saw a group of elves in front of a large screen.
They all remained silent as they observed.
"Uh huh... Uh huh... Okay!" they heard an elf say into the phone before hanging up and turning to an elf carrying a candy cane wearing some type of hat. "Well, that was the wrapping hall, chief. They just finished the last one."
"How's it wrapped?" the elf with the hat asked.
"It's wrapped in candy striped red with a number seven bow." the elf answered.
Odd smirked as he stared at the elves.
"Candy?" Odd asked as he smirked.
"Shhh!" Anne scolded.
The group looked back at the elves.
"A number 7 bow?! When we're this close to liftoff? What're they thinking down there?! Are they meshuggenah?!" the elf with the hat asked.
"Meshuggenah?" Chase asked with curiosity.
"I think that means crazy." Yumi whispered.
Chase nodded.
"Where's the routing?" the elf with the hat asked.
"It's going to Boulogne-Billancourt, France." the other elf said.
Ulrich's eyes widened. "That's our town, guys!" he whispered.
Jeremie also went wide eyed while nodding in agreement. "Y- Yes it is!" he confirmed.
Just then, they heard a loud blaring noise as a sign with the word NAUGHTY on it lit up.
"Hehehe... Someone's in trouble..." Dylan whispered as he smirked.
"Shh!" Anne whispered as they all watched closely.
"We got a troublemaker, now! Just what we need! Things aren't bad enough. What's his twenty?" the elf with the hat asked.
An elf checked a large globe. "Apparently, some kid from Maplewood, New Jersey. Stuck some gum in his sister's hair."
Chase bit his lip to struggle not to laugh. "I think I did the same thing to Aelita, last week..." he muttered.
"Quiet..." Aelita hissed.
"New Jersey? Wait, is that the same kid that put that tack on the teacher's chair last year?" the lead elf asked.
Another elf shook his head. "No sir. This kid's name is Steven."
"So, what do we do, chief? Alert the big man! We talking nothing for Christmas here?" another elf questioned.
The group looked up at one of the TV screens, showing a boy.
"I didn't do it. I didn't do it. I didn't do it..." the boy said as the video repeated.
They could see the desperate look on his face.
"Tell me that kid's getting coal or something..." Yumi muttered.
They heard the lead elf sigh. "Look, it's... It's almost Christmas, huh? We'll cut the kid a break."
Aelita smiled.
"I like these elves..." Aelita said as she smiled.
"But put him on the check twice list next year. Alright, boys. Let's shut it down. That's it for this year. Come on." the lead elf ordered as he and the other four elves walked in a straight line.
"Hey, boss. Are we taking the pneumatic?" an elf asked.
"Of course we're taking the pneumatic! It's only way to get to the square on time!"
Quietly, the group on the balcony followed Aelita down.
"And time is money!" the lead elf continued as the elves reached a tube like contraption. "Ready, and mount!" he ordered as he and the other four elves hopped in.
The lead elf pushed a button and the kid closed before they zoomed off.
"Woah... What is that thing? Like a subway?" Dylan asked
"Sorta, I guess..." Chase replied
The group reached the pneumatic, but due to their size, only three people could fit in at a time. Aelita, Jeremie, and the lonely boy climbed into the pneumatic.
"We'll wait for you when we get there, okay?" Aelita told the others.
William nodded. "Alright."
Aelita, Jeremie, and the lonely boy all smiled as the pneumatic started going.
The lid closed and they took off speeding away.
The speed that the pneumatic was going was so fast, Jeremie's hair was flying back and his glasses nearly fell off.
Once it had reached its destination, the pneumatic jerked to a stop and Aelita, the lonely boy, and Jeremie stepped out.
The bespectacled teen looked around with confusion. "Well, this isn't the square..." he muttered.
Just then, the next pneumatic came with Anne, Dylan, and Chase in it.
Anne, Dylan, and Chase all stepped out of the pneumatic with curious looks.
"This isn't the square..." Dylan said
Yumi, Ulrich, and Odd came out of the next pneumatic.
"This is NOT where we're supposed to be..." Ulrich said
Finally, William was the last to arrive.
The teen shakily stepped out. "Where are we?"
The group looked around, finding out they were in some sort of giant factory assembly room.
"Some big factory..." Chase said.
"Well, great..." Anne sighed as she crossed her arms.
(REVIEWS ARE LOVE! SO LOVE US!)