Oliver was having the time of his life. He couldn't explain why that was exactly. Up until a few moments ago, the boy couldn't even recognize his own name, yet there he was, as calm and happy as can be floating through, what he had assumed was a cloud made of pour bliss.

By all accounts, he should have felt terrified or at least a bit worried, but he didn't see a real reason to be as well. That worry was only the impression he got from a feeling that'd long since passed. All he really knew was that where he was now, wherever he was now, was an extremely peaceful experience.

He was so calm, his body felt weightless. It was the strangest feeling for Oliver. He could still feel his mind, could still think clearly, but the concept of his body was vaguer to him then. Almost as if he doesn't have one at all. All that was left was tranquility like a missive weight slid fall off his shoulders and into the ether of colors, he couldn't properly comprehend.

Wherever he was before then most have been too hard on his mind and body, and getting away from it all causes those previous worries to vanish. Oliver couldn't remember with all the fuss was about, though he was grateful to be away from it, nonetheless.

His life before, the fear and loathing, his troubles and self-regard didn't exist with him in his cloud of comfort. It was like coming home after a long day, where he could leave his stress by the door and bask in bliss, ignorance, certainty, contentment, and happiness for the rest of the evening. He could stay in that mass of color forever. Only he couldn't.

The more time passes the more reasons for not staying complacent in the void arise in his once thoughtless mind. The cloud was beautiful, his own peace and joy, but it wasn't his life. It was only a means to an end. A midpoint in a long journey he couldn't afford to stray too far from.

Oliver would have let his conciseness float on through the ether for the rest of eternity if he didn't have people waiting for him. It wouldn't be far if he'd up and quit just as the going got tough.

He loved this place, whatever it was, but someone from his previous life gives him more love than the multi-colored cloud ever could have. He couldn't abandon her now.

"Woah-" Oliver's mind resembles as his body blanks into existence. He had landed on something that jolts his nervous system right back to life. It was soft and extremely cold. "What the-" He brings his face out of the soft, white, and cold mass, giving his eyes some time to adjust to his new surroundings. "Snow?" He reaches out for the snow only to stop shortly after.

"Huh?" His hand was... well there was nothing wrong with it exactly, but he could see that it'd been covered up with a heavy snow glove. During his observation he notices that his whole body was covered up, from the hat engulfing the top of his head down to the boots on his feet, he was wrapped up in snow gear. Oliver can't help but find it weird. He doesn't remember putting any of it on. He was sure by the time they had been teleported he was wearing the same jacket, jeans, and sneakers he always did. His hat was just like the original, only thicker and white. Where was his red hat anyhow?

Oliver stops worrying about his new clothing and brings his attention back to his snow-covered surroundings. There hadn't been much to see besides frozen slopes and white dunes. He wasn't one hundred percent sure, but the boy could take a guess on where he ended up. And it would appear that he was alone. "What...?" He whispers at the sound of crackling.

"Ack!" Just as quickly as the thought comes to mind, however, a small spark and the sound of somebody hitting the soft surface of snow clears his mind. It was about time; he was starting to get worried Hedgehog didn't actually follow him through. "Ooow." Only once he rushes up to the kid in distress, he sees it's not Hedgehog.

"Jason?" Oliver narrows his eyes at the other kid. "What- H-how... are you here? Wait, did you and Max already get one of the pieces?" He tilts his head with a confused glare.

"What? No, we..." Jason looks around, inspecting his surroundings much like Oliver had done when he first landed. "Wait, what am I doing here?" He looks around in worry. "Oliver?" He said, bringing his eyes back around. "What's happing? Where's Max?"

Oliver shrugged. He was about as lost as Jason was then. "I have no idea. But I'm pretty sure where in the mountains." He holds out a hand to the other boy still lying in the snow.

"Are we?" He takes Oliver's assistance as he's plucked out of the snow and onto his feet. "Woah." He brings his arms up, staring at them before bringing his eyes down to the rest of his body. "At least we won't freeze to death. How convent huh?" He aimlessly tugs at the sleeve of his heavy jacket.

"Yeah, you're telling me..." Oliver was still having trouble trying to figure out how the both of them even wound up together in the first place. "Hmm..." His mind starts to drift as he speculated what could have possibly gone wrong.

"Well, in any case, we probably shouldn't stand around, taking in the cold," Jason said, walking to the pondering boy's side. "Let's see if we can find some civilization. Or something close to it." He dawns a small smirk to go along with his teasing tone.

That seems like a good idea to Oliver. He didn't know much about the mountains, but he did know that the yetis called the frozen tundra home. No doubt they had to be around there somewhere and hopefully, one amongst them could help the pair out with the little scavenger hunt they've been tasked with.

"Yeah, that's smart Jason." Oliver agreed, turning to the barren white wasteland. They knew how to start but he doesn't know where to begin. In all directions, from snow-covered hill to hill, there had been not even the slightest sign of anything. "Okay... where to first?"

"Hmm." Jason takes over scouting duty for Oliver. "Oh... you're right." He comes to the same conclusion, though soon shutting his eyes as he begins to spin his body slowly in a circle. He hums out something as he moves, a song Oliver's heard before. Or thinks he's heard. The boy's humming wasn't so clear amongst the mountain wind. "Okay." Jason stops, picks a direction, and starts walking.

"What?" Oliver said, bewildered. "Where are you going?" Jason turns back briefly, offering a sharp shrug, and keeps walking.

Oliver's eyes dirt around the tundra. Did Jason just pick a random direction and just started walking? Oliver begins to wonder if he should follow. Doing so could have been dangerous in so many ways, especially when they didn't know where they were. But looking back at his ice-cold surroundings, he thinks there are worst plans. Anything that doesn't involve freezing to death was most likely a good plan in Oliver's eyes.

Seeing the boy getting further away from him, Oliver stops his wondering and takes off from where he had landed or blinked or manifested into existence, he wasn't quite sure. He catches up without much trouble, except for dragging himself through thick heaps of snow of course.

In hindsight, Oliver should have stopped the boy from walking off so suddenly. He should have discussed a proper plan instead of flipping a coin and choosing a direction to trek blindly into. He should have been stopping him right then instead of following along like a gullible child. Though for some reason he doesn't do that.

He just keeps following, past snowy slopes and icy planes. Each heavy step he takes across the snow feels like walking through wet concrete, or a chore he'd rather put off until it was too late. The extra effort was an unforgiven side effect of staying warm unfortunately and the mountain trail only seemed to go on forever with no end in sight.

He should have been stopping Jason, but he doesn't. Even once they come up to a vertical incline. One they would have to climb up to continue.

"So, who's going first?" Jason asks, looking up at the inverted terrain with a smile. He would soon bring his head back down the mountainside and to Oliver next to him.

Oliver sighs. He knew where this was going, the boy could take a hint. "Fine, fine..." He gives into Jason's soft smile without putting up much of a fight. One of them had to be first and either way both of them were climbing.

To call the steep climb rough would be underselling both boys' stubborn determination. Oliver never had to work so hard in his life before. The cliffside was rigged, the terrain rocky and hard to get a good grip on. The rocks below were sharp and not something Oliver wanted to focus on.

One wrong move and he was going to get really acquainted with them, so it was best to not worry about falling, to begin with. The climb up was all that mattered.

Eventually, he reaches the top ahead of Jason. The other boy had still been climbing at a much slower pace. Oliver almost couldn't believe he had gotten up so quickly. He doesn't know if it was the fear of falling off of the rock wall or the thought of failing his friends, but he doesn't really care. As long as the climb was over and done with, he'll take any excuse.

"Here." Oliver holds out a hand for Jason and pulls him the rest of the way up. Oliver must have pulled harder than he meant to however when Jason came tumbling down on him, sending both boys down onto the snow.

"Thanks." Jason giggles, lying on top of Oliver with cheeky blush painting his face.

"Uhh, no problem." They both lie on the snow, their minds unconcerned with the time that passes them by. They each take turns passing awkward glances and bashful blushing. Now there's something Oliver had yet to experience with another boy. With Jason lying on top of him he can't help but feel a strange sensation coursing through his semi-cold body.

"Oh!" Jason's blush disappears, immediately jumping off Oliver and back onto his own two feet. "My bad." He mutters almost uncertain.

"No, it's no problem." Oliver helps himself off of the ground, patting the snow off of his protective gear. He's never sat with another boy like that and not for so long either. Sure, it was weird, but in a way, it was also comforting to him.

"Yeah, well..." Jason stops and his eyes widen. His attention had been drawn to something off in the distance. "Look." He motions ahead of him and takes off before Oliver could get a good look at what the other was pointing out.

Again, he runs after his excited partner. He has no outward objections or worries, even if he felt he should have. Instead, what was left rattling in his noggin was a slight curiousness that got him to go along with Jason the first time around.

But it wasn't a bad thing this time. Turns out what the boy had seen was a village. Mostly made out of the mountain and the snow it was enveloped in. It had been quiet and cozy and maybe a little too so at that.

They weren't expecting much, given the situation back on the island, but finding nothing at all wasn't what either of them had in mind.

"Hmm... No one's around." Jason restated what Oliver'd already deduced.

"Yeah, no kidding..."

Jason steps up to one of the buildings with a small hum. "Maybe we should check inside?" Deep down, Oliver wanted to protest, sit down, take a deep breath, and come up with a proper plan. But as always, his body moves without his mind's input.

"Right Jason," Oliver says, following the other boy inside of the seemingly abandoned snowy structure. "By the way, I never asked. How do you know Max?"

"Oh..." Jason's body slightly locks up. "Well..." He turns to Oliver with some uncertainty. "We actually go way back. We were even all in school together. Back when Max use to talk to us anyway." He pauses, picking up a mug resting on a windowsill. "We were super tight, but after a while, he just started distancing himself from us, I really can't blame him either." He lets out a soft laugh. "Not many people would want to stick around Micael... I don't really know why I have though..."

Oliver remained mostly silent. He wanted to say something that might cheer Jason up, or maybe to offer his condolence to the boy for having to put up with Michael for so long. He had all these things he wanted to say but not one of them seems right.

There were plenty of words running through his thought process and only a few felt good enough to express.

"Hey-"

"What was that?" Just as Oliver was ready to say something, something sweet albeit simple in his mind, the sound of something dropping within the home gives them a hasty start. "I think it came from over here?"

Jason starts moving toward the noise but is stopped and startled once again when Oliver grabs him by the arm. "Jason waits." He whispers. Oliver was willing to go along with his friend before, back when the situation didn't look so dangerous. But he feels he needed to put his foot down on this one. "Maybe we should regroup before rushing into the dark at random noises?"

"What?" Jason stares admittedly confused.

"Like, uhhh..." Oliver checks around the house, grabbing onto the mug sitting on the windowsill. "Get behind me." He corrals Jason behind him with one arm and holds up the mug in a defensive stance as he progresses further into the snowy abode.

Oliver couldn't hide the fact that he'd been nervous. Running into an empty town during the potential end of the world was hell on the nerves. The thought of the world ending by itself doesn't help ease his mind.

Oliver held an arm out in front of Jason as he slowly moves through the sizable snow hut. Besides his curious soul, the main goal was to keep his friend safe. Even though he wasn't exactly the best fighter, and he was sure Jason could handle himself anyway, Oliver's mind had defaulted to guardian mode automatically.

The closer he got to where the sound had come from, the more scared he gets. He wasn't sure how much of an effect a coffee mug would have on a ravenous monster. They should have been getting out of there if anything. Ran out of the house and the abandoned village, but Oliver just had to know what they were dealing with.

They cautiously step into what looked to be a kitchen, carefully bringing one foot in front of the other to make as little noise as possible. When Oliver hears a slight rattling coming from somewhere inside, he anxiously readies his mug, slowly ambling over to the base cabinets of the kitchen pantry. He holds out a hand, hooking his fingers around the edge of the cabinet door then swiftly opens it.

"Ahh!"

"Ahh!" Oliver along with Jason and the thing hiding away from them in the pantry all scream out in shock. "Wait please don't hurt me." The furry thing holds its hands up in surrender. It wasn't the kind of monster Oliver'd been expecting one bit.

He was a yeti, with fur as white as the surrounding snow, one big bright pink nose on his face, and matching pink paw pads on his hands. Oliver was sure that it was the same case with his feet as well. "Oh... jeez." Jason strains a sigh, holding a hand over his chest. "It's just a yeti." His relieved laughter stops suddenly as he rises a hand to his head. "He's a bit smaller than usual?"

"Hey look, I'm sorry." The little yeti stammers, still holding his hands out as if pleading for the boys not to hurt him. "I didn't realize anyone was still living here... wait, small?" The yeti mumbles. "What's that supposed to mean?" He got up and out of the undercroft, stepping past Oliver and coming face-to-face with the boy behind him.

"W-what?" Jason sputters quickly. "No, I-i didn't mean it like-"

"I'll have you know that for my age, my height is perfectly normal." The yeti corrects him with a condescending sneer. Jason could hardly afford a word, every time he tried to explain he wound up offending the little yeti even more than was intended.

Oliver drops his temporary weapon. He was grateful that there wasn't an actual monster in the hut with them, but he'd hardly let it show. "Hey, don't worry, we're not here to hurt you... physically at least." He catches the attention of the yeti, reassuring him that the pair came, more or less, in peace. "But what happened here? Where is everyone?"

"Oh?" The yeti looks up at them, his confused gaze already conveying everything Oliver needed to know. "Haven't you heard?" He asked getting two separate shrugs in response. "Oh... well..." He stops again, bringing his eyes around the abandoned home. "It's too dangerous to talk here. I know a safe place."

The yeti steps back out in front of Oliver, taking one of his hands as he passes by. He would guide the boys to his safe place from there. Seeing as how he was a yeti; he'd most likely know his way around the mountaintop. Certainly, better than Oliver and Jason did.

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

They quickly gather into another abandoned house the little Yeti had directed them to. It was about as empty as every other place they had come across, cold and lonesome, and not because of the snow. A blizzard had started to take form outside not too long ago so they would take the shelter, nonetheless.

"Welcome to my home. I know it's a bit modest, and I hope you won't judge me too hard on the state of it. I hadn't gotten around to cleaning." The yeti giggles nervously. Cleaning was probably the least of his worries in all honesty.

Yeah, the place doesn't look great, but the entire village was going through a bad case of disarray at the moment.

"Right..." Oliver mutters. "Do you leave here alone?"

"Oh heavens no. But could you imagine?" The yeti makes his way from Oliver's side and over to a small round table in his mostly bare living room. "I leave here with my yums."

"Uhhh... yums...?" Oliver said, caught in between the thought of what a yum could be.

"Yeah, there like, uh..." The yetis' thoughts waver, thinking of the right label for the things he was talking about. "They're basically our young, and they kinda look like puppies? Or like walking marshmallows. Whichever one you think is funniest." The yeti chuckles as he plants a seat on his couch. "You know what I mean?" The boys turn their heads from side to side. They had no clue "Oh..." The yeti frowns though only for a brief time before a smile returns to his face. "I'll show you. Real quick, it won't take long."

The yeti takes off to somewhere in his snowy home before either boy could protest. They didn't really want to see what a yum was, but they also didn't have the heart to refuse the young yeti.

After some time of waiting and doing anything from watching the blizzard rage outside to touching the wood-forged furnishings, the yeti returns. Oliver wanted to know what'd taken him so long though before he could get a word out, the yeti was already speaking.

"Alright, you ready." He held his arms behind his back with a wide, way too exacted grin on his face. The boys nod, though reluctantly. "Okay." He slowly brought his once-hidden arms into view and with them a yum.

"Woah." Jason gasped as loud as he could. It really did look like a puppy. it was small and with droopy ears, a soft round face with a little round body and it set on all fours in the yetis' hands. "That... is actually adorable," Jason spoke stepping closer to the yeti and his pet.

"Yep, and there's more where that came from." The yeti rips a short whistle that calls in even more of the same little creature he held in his arms.

The little puppy dog-like babies waste no time in swarming the two boys, wrestling the pair to the ground and bombarding them with licks and cuddles. Jason was over the moon with infatuation for the young yetis. He always seemed to be in the best mood whenever he was around good friends. Even if the situation they were in was time sensitive.

Oliver however was far from having a good time. The yums may have been cute but cuteness aside, he had a job to do.

"Okay, okay... this is cool and all..." Oliver struggled to get clear of the yum pile, eventually breaking free from the needed babies. "But I thought you were going to tell us what happened here? Not sit around, playing with kids." Oliver said, getting the entire room to go silent, yums included.

It was clear that the subject was one he didn't really want to talk about, but he needed it to be discussed. If Oliver and Jason were going to find the object, they need to find whoever was in charge. Otherwise, they didn't have a hope in the world.

"Wait... Right." Oliver spoke up again. His previous thought had reminded him of something important he was given. "Look, we need to find somebody who might know where this thing is." He said pulling their portion of the torn scroll out of his pocket and handing it over to the yeti.

"Oh..." He takes the bit of an old scroll and stares at the drawing displayed. The illustration had finally steered some seriousness out of the young yeti. "This?" He stares at the slip of torn paper a little longer. "That's not possible." He spoke bluntly, handing the drawing back to Oliver.

"What's that supposed to mean?" The answer was too vague to make any sense. Oliver needed more to go off of.

"Because..." The yeti stops, tilting his head to either side. "I'll tell you why... come on." He motions the boys over to the rustic sofa, picking up a yum as he went. "I guess I can't keep avoiding it." He takes a seat in an arm chare, settling himself in with the yum splayed out across his arms.

Unsure of where to start exactly, the yeti would ease into his tail from the beginning. "So, about two weeks ago, I want to say. Everything was normal, normal as things can be up here on the mountain. Nothing ever happens around here you know. We live semi-boring lives with the occasional community event to take part in. Though lately there was a change. Things felt different, strange and everyone could tell." He stretches his body out on the chair, clinging to the yum that rested in his arms. "I don't really know how to explain it, nobody did. All we knew was that the feeling was old, freeing in some weird way. The wind smalt malice and even the snow felt unfamiliar under our feet. There was something wrong and instead of trying to figure out what that may have been by heading down to your camp for guidance, we ignored it. Figured it was just your witches being weird again."

"But it wasn't that," Jason says, picking up the pieces of the story. He had been holding onto a yum of his own, hugging the little creature close to his chest.

"Yeah..." The yeti breaths in and back out slowly. "All of a sudden a rumbling like an earthquake occurs, the sky turns red, and these people start showing up in droves." He scoffs. "I guess I can't say people exactly. More like, uh..." He squinted his eyes in search of the best term. "Imitations. Of elves, monsters, and aliens. It was bad, they looked changed and just downright wicked." He brought a hand to his eyes and rubs away his conflicting emotions. "Then they started taking everyone. All of the other yetis. Well except for me and the yums that is..." He shrugged, wanting to come off as indifferent though he was to hurt for such a thing to matter.

Oliver was left speechless. Everyone was gone. The little Yeti's friends and family. All taken. Was he and the kids really the only ones left?

"And... all this happened recently?" Oliver spoke genuinely, though it would still cause the yeti to chuckle lowly.

"Nah. That was a week ago now." He broke the news with no warning or lead-up. Oliver nearly choked on his own astonishment and Jason almost drops the young yum from of his arms. The blizzard begins to wail loudly, beating against the silence that he fell upon the old hut like a drum.

"Did you say a week?" Jason confronts the yeti; half expecting the boy to crack a smile and admit he was joking. No such thing would happen. The yeti's face remains in the same deep frown as he nods his head in confirmation.

Oliver rubs at his knees for a bit before standing up. He has no words to share, no insight on how them missing an entire week could have happened. He just stands and stares at nothing in particular and he does so until he's ready to turn and face the yeti again.

"A week?" Oliver restates the question posed by Jason. "And everyone's gone?" The information relayed to them couldn't have been true. That so much time had passed them by without even realizing it. He didn't want to believe any of it, the missing time, the missing yetis.

"As far as I know, we're the only ones left. Otherwise, someone would have come around... right?" The yeti lowers his head and gently rubs at the yum.

Oliver hasn't the slightest idea of what to do next. They have no leader to take them to the shape they were supposed to be finding. No friends by their side, no way off the mountain, and the world was ending. For all he knew, it could have been over and done with by now.

"Well, don't look like that." The yeti boy said, smiling at Oliver. "It's not all bad you know."

"Not all bad?" Oliver brings his eyes to him again. He was irate, his mood was so far down that the notion of being happy again didn't exist. "The world's ending, we have lost an entire week just getting here, every yeti on this mountain is gone and you're telling me that it's not all bad? What's not all bad about it?" Oliver scoffed at the yeti who keeps a flat look on his face.

"Well, they're not really missing. They're just being held up." The yeti admits, placing a hand on the yum and running his fingers gently across its back.

"Wait...? Where are they then." Oliver asked desperately, his once despairing tone now a little more hopeful.

"Near the bottom, there's this place where we would usually hold festivities. The things that came had turned the whole area into a mining camp. Grousom stuff. I like to watch from a distance most days, but it gets so dangerous outside." The yeti trails off-topic. "There being held prisoner there."

Oliver coughs out a relieved snicker. The severity of their predicament was still present, though less grave now that he knows there was still a chance. "Really?" He runs over to the sitting yeti. "Then we have to go get them."

The yeti lets a small chuckle escape his mouth. "That's not gonna happen."

"What?" Oliver blurts. "Why not?"

The yeti leans forward in his seat, lifting the yum in his lap up and placing it on the floor. "Because it's too dangerous. You know dangerous, like you could get killed." He elaborated for the boy.

Oliver felt it was unneeded. He knew how bad things were getting but that doesn't give him an excuse to sit around and watch the whole world unravel around them.

"Well if we don't do something fast, everywhere going to be too dangerous." He said, not trying particularly hard to convince the young yeti to help. Either way, there was no use. The yeti turns an ashamed gaze away from Oliver with his mind already set. "Whatever." He turns to leave, waving at Jason on his way.

"Hey, Oliver holds up," Jason said, stopping the other boy in his tracks. He turns his eyes back to the scared little yeti. "Please, uhh..." Jason goes to say his name but he realizes that he had never gotten it.

"It's Fife." He says, seemingly reading the other's mind aloud.

"Fife. I understand you're scared; I think we all are. All of this, people disappearing, scary monsters springing up out of nowhere. It's like a nightmare, and we all want to wake up from it, only we can't do that without lending a hand to one another." Jason offers out a hand to Fife and waits for the young yeti to take hold of it.

Fife looks at it for a moment. He considers grabbing on, hand shaking as he reaches out slowly. "I... I can't..." He retreats back into his chair. "I-I have to take care of my yums..." Nervous laughter leaves his lips once again as he stares away from Jason and rubs the back of his furry neck. "I'm sorry..."

Jason sighs and gives the yeti an understanding nod. "It's okay." He stood up from the finally crafted sofa and makes his way over to Oliver. They couldn't force Fife to help if he didn't want to.

"Wait." The yeti yelps suddenly and the boys turn to face him. His eyes continued to avoid them. "You don't know where it is..." He mutters a little. "I can at least tell you where it is."

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

They arrive at the destination Fife'd told them about. It was an open valley with a labor camp slapped smack dap in the center just like the young yeti said it would be.

Oliver would like to imagen that the open area used to look nice once upon a time. Festivals going deep into the night, only stopping at the break of dawn, friendly gatherings of family and friends. His nonexistent recollection of the area leaves him with a good impression of bygone times.

Now all that was left were large inclosing fences, uprooted trees, chained up yetis, and thick black smoke irrupting from the camp. Not the image of serenity he would expect from a people like the yeti. it becomes clear that the pair would have their work cut out for them.

"You okay Oliver?" Jason asked. He doesn't get an immediate answer until he places a gentle touch on the boy's arm.

The sudden feeling causes Oliver's body to shiver slightly. He had nearly forgotten Jason was there. He'd nearly forgotten he was to some extent. His mind was so focused on the camp below them and coming up with an idea of how to get inside.

Freeing the yetis would be no small feat, the attempt could even be fatal. He only wanted to make sure that they were prepared to face whatever was to come.

"Yeah..." He responded, still looking through a pair of binoculars Fife had given them. Oliver still wished the young Yeti would have ventured out with them, but he couldn't shift any kind of blame on the poor kid. Fear was a powerful thing and he had been alone for some time. Oliver would also be scared.

"So, what are you thinking?" Jason lets another question fly at Oliver while still keeping a hand on his arm.

He let a warm hum rumble in his throat before speaking. "Well, it's bad. Lots of yetis in chains and it looks like there keeping the bigger ones in cages." Oliver said. The camp was huge, but the guards seemed to be few and far between.

Why have so little guard for something like this? It's as if they didn't really care. Though he knows he shouldn't complain, the less the boys had to deal with, the better.

"Okay, so what's the plan? How are we approaching this, man?"

He hums again, looking at the edges of the camp with his binoculars. "For some reason, there are a lot of holes in these fancies and there just out of sight too," Oliver said. The holes were made in such a way that it almost seems deliberate. He thinks maybe the carvings in the fence were a result of failed led escape attempts. Though if that were true the holes would have long since been patched up. "I'm thinking we can use them to sneak in, free the big yetis then... wing it from there."

He turns his head to Jason, wondering what he thought about the hastily cobbled-together plan. He should have known that the other boy would have no qualms whatsoever. Jason agreed with it wholeheartedly as he nods his head and smiles.

"Well... do you want to lead the way? Or should I?" Jason said, slightly teasing Oliver. He felt that it was a trick question, that he knew what Oliver wanted to do before he had the chance to even think about it.

"Come on." He smirks at the boy and begins his descent down the steep hill.

The journey from the hilltop, down to the camp came off longer than it actually was. In no time the boys were standing at a tall dark fence, either being hesitant about entering. Now that they were so close, they see that the camp was more frightening than it'd been from a distance.

Now was not the time for fear, they had a job to do and people to save. Not just the yetis but everyone they knew and loved, from summer camp island to the entire world. It all rested on his and the shoulders of his friends. Oliver taps Jason on the arm as he steps through the hole on that side of the fence wall.

It was just big enough for them to squeeze through. He counts his luck for the conveniently carved holes. Either Elizabeths guards didn't care about maintaining their own defenses or there had been a bit of divine intervention. Whatever the reason was it doesn't matter once they're in.

"Over here." Oliver waves a hand to Jason. The goal was to find the cages holding the big yetis and from what he could remember from their position on the hill, they were on the right track. Still, the layout of the camp was a bit weirder than how it looked from above.

As Oliver is about to round a corner, Jason pulled him back quickly by an arm. "Wait." The young musician was about to ask what the big deal was until a guard passes by, leaving them unnoticed. "Don't you know you're supposed to check a corner before walking out?" He quietly scowled at Oliver, though there was no outrage in his tone.

"Okay, sorry." Oliver approaches the corner again. After a few minutes and one quick glance around the corner, he deems it safe to proceed.

They reach the cages, slowly but surely, and Oliver shuffles over to the largest one. There had been a giant sleeping yeti on the inside. He tugs at the door but finds it locked, of course, it was. Not everything could be so easy.

He grunts and turns to Jason who offers him a quick shrug. He has no idea what to do from there besides seethe at his recently spent luck.

"Hey, who's there? And why are you making so much noise?" The yeti in the cage questions them. His body shifts in the tight space, coming around to meet them as his big eyes flutter open. "Hmm... You're not guards. Who are you?"

"Oh!" Oliver's a bit startled by the yeti's movement and deep, soothing voice. "We're here to rescue you." He kept his tone low. They were out in the open so there were already pushing their luck by stopping in front of the cages for so long.

The yeti pears down at them with callous eyes. "Oh..." He draws out his simple response. "Not interested." He said, closing his eyes once again though not bothering to move his body back the other way.

"What?" Oliver nearly shouts. "What do you mean not interested? We came all this way to get you and you don't want to leave?" He was livid though not to the full extent he wanted to express to the yeti. Oliver had to contain his frustration, otherwise, they would be spotted for sure.

"Exactly." The large yeti agrees with Oliver's fuming question. The boy is about to start up again when Jason steps in.

"Why don't you want to leave? This all seems pretty awful, doesn't it?" His tone was soft and welcoming. Much more friendly than what Oliver had in mind for the stubborn yeti.

"To tell the truth, why would we want to leave? Escaping's a useless endeavor, we've tried many a time. None of which ever worked out."

"So, you were the ones making the holes in the fences?" Jason snaps his fingers as he points to the resting yeti.

"hmm? No, no. We usually just try to go through the front." The yeti pauses and wonders to himself. "Though digging our way out would have been a much better plan..." He stops again. "Eh, nothing we can do about it now. Just wait around and sleep while the younger work themselves half to death."

Jason breathes out a sympathetic moan. The look in his eyes expresses a kind of pity for the poor creatures. "Is that really what you want though?" The yeti doesn't respond. "Then... what about Fife? He's all alone out there with no one but his yums to talk to... and they just lick mostly."

"Wait." The yetis' eyes shoot open immediately. "The children are still out there?" Jason nods to him. "I thought everyone was taken..." He stares off into the distance, going over something in his seasoned mind before bringing his eyes down. "Okay boys, listen. I'm not holding out much hope but if you're truly here to help, I will indulge but a little." They nod again. They can work with that. "The key to our cages normally resides within the warden's quarters. He never takes it with him, and he hasn't been seen for days so the key should still be there."

That would explain why the security was so lax Oliver thinks. For there to be no replacement for the missing warden was even more jarring. Oliver can understand not wanting to work so hard, but this army's work ethic was obscured, to say the least. He can't believe they were the ones trying to take over the world.

"Right, warden's office got it," Jason reassures the yeti as he pulled Oliver away from the cages. He was officially taking charge.

It doesn't take them long to find out where the warden's quarters were located. Jason had figured that it would most likely be the most important looking building out of the bunch, i.e., the one that doesn't look like it was suitable for housing a massive number of prisoners.

After narrowing it down, they came to the conclusion that it was the one with black, rigged spindles protruding out of the top right by the main gate.

When stepping in, the boys find the place surprisingly normal, by dark magic standers at least. Office chairs were pushed into metal disks, pens and pencils were set in many metal cups scattered about the tight space, and documents were laid out without a care.

Oliver takes a quick peek at the shuffled-up papers. They mostly read about the yetis in the camp, who was suitable to work, and who was more trouble than they were worth, and who was more liable to compile.

It was all anti-climactic in his eyes. This office even sort of reminds him of his dad's study back home. When the thought of his dad springs up, Oliver begins to feel a little nervous. He hoped his dad was alright, he hoped his mom was too.

"Found it," Jason says, giving Oliver a sudden jolt of shock.

"Wha-what?" He looks over to the other kid.

"The key." Jason held the freaky-looking thing up. It was long and black with red streaks running between its edges. The bottom of the keys was shaped like a black widow spider with the legs included and stretched out to its sides. "I think it is anyway."

Oliver continues to stare at it. Some part of him was too afraid to take his eyes away. It was shaped like a key that much he knew. "Only one way to find out." He shrugs, walking toward the door of what was essentially a regular office. He holds the door open and ushers Jason out.

He gets a sly comment about being a real gentleman as the other exists.

"Hey!" As they step outside, they run right into one of the camp's hooded guards. That was just their luck.

"Uhh." Oliver tries to manage an explanation but fails to come up with anything that could get them clear of the situation.

In almost no time at all, the boys were surrounded. Granted there weren't that many of them, maybe only five or so. But he and Jason were still just two kids, who didn't exactly know how to fight.

"Where did you come from!" One of the guards hissed at the boys.

"Well, y-you know, we were sent by upper brass, and the constant leaks you guys have in the restrooms are so unsanitary." Jason steps up with a quick explanation. Though not good enough if the expressions past the guard's black hoods were anything to consider. "Oliver, help me out, I'm dying here." He whispers over to Oliver who had been caught in his endless stupor.

"Trespassers..." One guard concludes. "I think you boys are going to enjoy toiling in the mines." The guard signals to the others. They reach out for the boys though before they could take hold of them, a sudden howling brings all of their attention to the other side of the camp.

Fife had made an appearance along with the many, many yums. Way more than either boy could remember seeing during their stay at his home.

The guards break off from the boys and rush toward the invading younglings. Oliver was sure that there would be a bloodbath, but he wasn't expecting Fife to be the one delivering it. Once the guards get close enough, there sat upon and all but devoured by the little yetis.

Seeing an opportunity, Oliver taps Jason, urging him to follow quickly. They run back toward the cages and as they do more guards begin to spill out of the mines rushing past chained up yetis and over to them. Oliver guesses the rest weren't really gone, just overseeing the mines.

"Fife," Jason shouts. He was barely able to contain his excitement after seeing the young yeti. "You came."

"Well, I figured I couldn't sit in the house with my feet kicked forever." He giggles, looking past the boys and to the oncoming guards. "But we can talk about it later. Right now, we need to even the odds." He motions to the cages.

Jason, remembering the key they'd found, quickly runs up to the first cage with the largest yeti inside and places the key in the lock. With a quick pray and a gulp, he turns the key. It works and the cage door bursts open as the large yeti makes his way out, scaring off the encroaching guards when he does.

"Ha Ha!" The yeti bellows out a deep laugh. "I've never felt so alive in my life."

"You probably haven't felt so awake either," Jason remarks opening up the other big cages as well.

"Ah, yes. And now I think it's time for some proper payback." He looks to the other yetis gradually stepping out of their cages and quickly stepping to his side. "Start scouring those mines for the rest of our people." He orders the others to begin the process of freeing the other yetis. They start with the ones they could see, breaking the chains off of many yetis before they advance into the mines.

"I gotta admit Fife." Oliver steps up to the young yeti. "I really wasn't expecting to see you again... or the yums either." He quivers when the memory of the yums eating the surface guards down to the bone races past. "That was... brutal."

Fife laughs. "Yeah, yums can be especially vicious. A lot of young yetis can be. Me trying to get into this place to free everyone proves that."

"Oh..." Oliver hums. It was Fife making holes in the fence then. He thinks the effort was commendable, but he wonders why the yeti never followed through. "Well, do you think we can get help with the artifact now? We still need to find the person in charge."

Fife giggles at the boy again. "No worries, you're in luck." He flashes a cocky sideways smirk at Oliver. He turns to the large yeti, waving his hands in a reviling fashion.

"What's that now?" He looks down at the smaller yeti, seemingly confused.

"Please elder Lithophone. They're in desperate need of help." Fife holds his hands together, pleading with the elder for his assistance. He nods his head over to Oliver, hinting at something the boy doesn't pick up on at first.

It takes a few more nods and a clearing of the throat from Fife for Oliver to understand what he was urging him to do. "Right!" He reaches for the paper in his pocket and shows it to the large yeti.

"Ohh... I see." He takes a good long look at the illustration. "What could you possibly need with my torus now?"

"Ramona said it was the only way to stop Elizabeth. That along with three other pieces."

"Hmmm." So, the old girl's putting all the paces to getter after all this time huh?" The elder brings a hand up to scratch his chin. "Well, I will no doubt be too busy here to help you... Unless... Fife could you possibly guide-"

"Yes, yes. I already know where it is" He answers before Lithophone could finish. "I did not mean to jump the gun like that." He mutters with a nervous smile and some regretful laughter.

"Hmmm... you're not supposed to." The elder glares at the young yeti. "We'll discuss it later. You just hurry and get them to it now." Fife gives a courteous bow then pivots to leave the camp behind with the boys and yums in tow.

The group takes another long trek, this time back up the mountain to a completely separate valley. Oliver was grateful that the walk was so calm. Despite taking every adult yeti on the mountain the corrupted were surprisingly lacking.

Say for the camp, the boys had yet to see head nor black hood of anything trying to kill them.

"In... here." Fife struggles with the cave door at first but manages to force it open. It wasn't his first time breaking into the elder's home, given the information he wasn't supposed to be privy to. "Back there."

He points to a chest at the far end of the cave. It was simple, iron with snow-white jewels incrusted into the top.

Oliver hovers over the box. He holds his hands over the top, a bit hesitant to open the thing. He didn't know why, could have been the thought of the artifact not actually being there. Coming so far only for the trip to be a thud wasn't his idea of a good time.

"You okay Oliver." Jason's voice brought his mind back to the matter at hand.

"Yeah... kinda." He said. His tone lies in an uncertainty that even he could pick up on.

Jason walks beside him and looks down at the box. "Don't worry." He chuckles placing a hand over Oliver. The situation feels him with familiar warmth. The kind only one other person could give him.

"Okay." He sucks in a deep breath and blows it back out. On the count of three, the lid flings open and the two are met with a brightly shining shape. Oliver quickly reaches in and pulls out the source of the shine.

He lifts it up. The torus shone bright gold, its surface etched with gemstones and curved with an ornate design. Seeing it gave him a great sense of comfort. They had actually done their job. He can hardly believe he'd done something difficult and didn't quit halfway through. Though not without some help

"Man..." Jason gasped. "It's actually kinda cool." He says, admiring the magnificent object. "Alright, let's get out of here." He turns away from the shape and Oliver and starts toward the exit.

"Uhh Jason." Oliver rushes to his side, stopping the other. "I just wanted to say that I probably couldn't have gotten this done without you." His eyes hit the ground. "You're so kind and patient. I really don't know how this would've gone with Max honestly, but I'm glad you were here." He smiles.

He waits for Jason to speak. A simple thank you, fist bump, or soft smile to let him know that appreciated the words, but none of that would happen. Instead, what Oliver gets in return is a hug, warm and gentle.

"No problem, Oliver." He whispers, holding the boy in a comforting embrace for a time. "Let's get home." He says, breaking up the hug. Oliver only wished it'd lasted a few minutes longer. "I can only hope everyone else is alright."

"Same." Oliver agreed. They may have done their part, but they had no idea about the others. For all he knows things might not have gone so well for them. The only thing he could do was hope. For them and especially Hedgehog.

They walk back to the entrance of the cave and to Fife leaning up against a wall in waiting. "So, how'd it go?" He asked with a typical smirk on his face.

"Great." Oliver brought up the object to show the young yeti.

"Nice." He whistles when the object came into view. "I never actually got a chance to see it in person." He looks away. "Good on you."

"Yeah..." Oliver said, placing the torus in the pocket of his heavy snow jacket. He still had a litany of questions for the yeti. Mainly about his reluctance to help his fellow yetis for so long.

"Hey, Fife?" Though Jason would beat him to the punch. "So, you dug the holes in the camp gates, right? Why didn't you go through with saving the yetis? Or at least tried to?"

"Oh." He looks to the snow-covered ground with a slight blush across his cheeks. "For the first three days, I really did try. but when I realized the elder's cage needed a key, I had to change up my approach. So, when I went to look for it, I only found out that the warden carried it most days. I kinda, sorta gave up after that, cause I knew I wouldn't be able to get close enough to snag it." He snaps his eyes to them, the shame clear as day on his regretful expression.

"I see," Jason said. "At least you got to make amends in the end." Fife gives a few quick nods. Oliver could tell the young yeti didn't really believe that.

"I think there's a lot more I have to do to make up for being so slow."

"I still can't believe that warden just up and disappeared." Oliver chuckles. "Like how does that even happen?" Fife's frown turns upside down as his eyes connect with Oliver's.

"Like I said..." He rubs the back of his neck. "Younglings can be pretty vicious. Who's to say a group of yums didn't take him and his entourage by surprise one day hoping that the key would be on him."

Bout Oliver and Jason share a sideways glance at each other, then look back at the smiling yeti. The thought of the yums jumping on guards returns.

Oliver shrugs. "You know... he probably deserved it."

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

"Hmmmm." Elizabeth dispirited hum echos throughout her lavish throne room. Her face lies in a constant scowl as she slouches on her throne. "Wa can't anythin jus bay simple? Wa can't anyone jus listen fer once." She grumbles to herself, though keeping her staff close at hand.

The door to her throne room opens up as Barb Junior lurches over the fine white fur carpet of the throne room. "My lady." The elf kneels.

"Ah, Harold. Back from Heartford are ye?" Elizabeth pricks up in her chair. "Haow fairs the fairs da matta back home den?"

"The resistance has shown some great tenacity." She brought her hand up to face the witch. "Though the gift you bestowed upon me has been tremendously useful." She chuckles and brings up her hand. The witch responds with an apathetic shrug. She already knew what was happing she just wanted to hear the elf say it. "Is something the matter my lady?"

"Hmmm..." She groans. "Just a matta in da mountains. Ma warden keeps deliverin' news a don't want to ear about the fur balls. It was alreada a shame I couldn take any of 'em without a more powerful spell. Their souls are too pure." She threw her head back with a sigh. "Jus leave me be fer naow." Junior bows and obeys the witch. Once the elf was gone, she picks up the staff next to her. "Wa do ye suppose I do Susia?"