DISCLAIMER: Originally, the chapter had around 16 pages and was completed. I was about to submit until I accidentally saved the House of the Woods episode over this one. Now I have to start over. Great. Sorry if this is short, but I have been getting demotivated with writing, so I have to do what it takes to get it back. I hope I can make the next chapter longer.
Somewhere in the streets of Trolberg, Frida was having a stressful walk. Ever since her blowout with Hilda, she has been really stressed. Yes, she was upset at Hilda for not getting her book back, but she wouldn't want to go that far to be harsh with her. The girl noticed that the weather was getting cold, so she had to hurry up on getting home. But she was soon caught on a trap, which she was suspended in the air as her leg was caught by a snare rope trap.
Damn it! Frida cursed herself. Things got worse for her when she felt some sniffing. Upon feeling something furry, her pupils shrank in fear. She pleaded that it was just a St. Bernard dog behind her, but she knew that it was something worse. Frida felt pushed as the dog whimpered and scurried away. She ended up falling on a trash can when the rope trap was cut.
"Finally…" a voice muttered. "I thought that stupid mutt wouldn't let go of it."
Frida poked her head out to notice a girl with blond hair. She had a star on her shirt. She was busy cleaning something, though Frida couldn't make out what it is. She decided to follow her unexpected savior.
Johanna left her apartment to drive to the art supply store for supplies. She noticed that something was wrong with her children. For starters, Hilda hasn't been in the brightest of moods when it comes to exploring with her friends due to her argument with Frida. Not to mention that she is still pissed off at her brother for the ghost incident. Speaking of which, the boy wasn't in the best of shape. Since their argument, he hasn't been getting much sleep due to what Hilda said. Some of his inventions weren't even completed since distractions involving that got in the way.
God, I can't believe I have a bastard brother, Johanna remembered her daughter's words. I have to put up with his crap every day whether I go on an adventure or try to be with Mum!
Johanna shook her head, being disappointed at those recent events. However, she ended up reaching an obstacle. There was a lot of snow covering the buildings. It's unexpected since the storms they had were never this bad. She knew that it would be a risky day for the twins, so she decided to make a call to advise them to stay inside.
Back with Hilbert, he has been creating yet another invention to forget about his troubles. Yet again, it was a fluke. Spark even knew that this was going nowhere. Recently, Hilbert gave him the ability to talk properly without relying on zaps. "You are really just a nut job, you know that?"
"Come on, let's just keep working on-"
"No," Spark objected. "I said no! Enough is enough! This isn't healthy for you, Hilbert."
Hilbert sighed, knowing that his mechanical friend was throwing in the towel. Just as he was about to drink some soda to drown away his problems, the phone was ringing. "Hello?"
"Hilbert, I have to tell you this," Johanna was on speaker. "The weather is currently in a rough spot; it's best you don't go anywhere until this all clears out."
"What do you plan to do?"
"I have to take shelter in one of the buildings here with the other people. It's not safe for people to go out in this cold," Johanna explained. "I left some pie for you and sister to have for lunch. Stay safe, Hilbert!"
Hilbert frowned as the call ended. Trolberg was going to be in rough shape for the next couple of hours, and Hilbert would be upset that he would be alone again. However, his thoughts were interrupted when he felt a cold breeze. Before he knew it, he started shivering. Hilbert was flabbergasted when he noticed one of the windows open. After closing it, he noticed Twig popping out of the snow. "What's with the snow, Twig?"
Alfur leapt on Twig's antlers. "It's Hilda. She left with David and Raven to check up on Victoria Van Gale."
Hilbert was flabbergasted. "The crazy weather hag?"
"I'm afraid so. The weather is brutal today. Not only that, but Mum is stuck somewhere, she can't drive back here."
Suddenly, the phone started ringing again. Once Hilbert answered it, he heard Vivian's voice. Apparently, she is unable to come over the apartment since snow has covered her home, so she and her family must make the most of it to avoid freezing to death. "Just take care, don't go out when it's freezing cold."
"So, what do you want to do?" Spark asked his master.
"Well, we got no other choice," Hilbert put on his weather clothes. "We have to help Mom out of this snow day."
"But that's risky!" Alfur cried. "Mum clearly said to not go outside!"
"I know, but for my reason, I'm doing it for a noble cause. Unlike my braindead imbecile of a sister," Hilbert went for the door. "We got to clear the snow for people."
Twig whimpered, feeling unsure about this deed. But he had no choice, deciding he wanted to help Johanna as much as Hilbert does. It wasn't before Alfur piped in and joined. With that, the group of four exited the place
In a snowy station far from Trolberg, some clouds gathered. They were brushed away by an eagle, or in this case, a raven. The raven landed in front of the station, dropping off its two passengers. Hilda and David managed to break inside the place.
"You sure this is a good plan, Hilda?" the boy shyly asked.
"We have to," Hilda grunted. "Victoria Van Gale seemed to be in trouble, and we have to help her."
"Boy, breaking in sounds less fun, now that I think about it," Raven commented.
The three friends managed to break inside, and who should they bump into but the weather lady. "Who the hell are you? Are you spies?"
"What? No!" Hilda interjected. "We are guests! We were just checking up on you because your last report ended abruptly!"
"If it helps, we didn't break anything," David meekly added.
"Hmm, well in that case, make yourself a home. I'll bring in the food for us," Victoria Van Gale walked to her fridge.
"Phew," Hilda breathed a sighed of relief. "For a second there, I thought we would have been arrested for trespassing again."
"Don't remind me," David shivered. "Those orange jumpsuits make me feel queasy."
"David, you normally wear an orange shirt," Raven deadpanned.
"Didn't I say not to remind me?!"
In another part of Trolberg, Hilbert was riding on his mechanical sled. He used Spark to combine with a pre-built sled that he made when he still lived in the wilderness. Together with Alfur and Twig, the quartet started their plan to clear out much snow in the area as much as possible. They managed to clear out some roads that blocked some areas such as their schools and Frida's house. Some citizens such as Mr. Ostenfield were freed from the cold.
"We are making good progress," Alfur noted. "At this rate, we will have half of Trolberg cleared in no time."
"That is, if it stops snowing too much around here," Spark sarcastically added.
"Indeed," Alfur nodded. "The clouds are not giving us the best time here."
Just as Hilbert was about to resume cleaning Trolberg, he got nailed by some snowballs on the face. Trying to find the culprit, he dismounted Spark and looked around. Suddenly, he was grabbed and received a wedgie. It was Trevor. "Hey, dorkus. You got snow business being in my turf."
The genius boy rolled his eyes. "This isn't even property you own; the public can go here as they please,"
Trevor had other plans. "Normally I would set your hair on fire, but that won't do any good since it's snowing," The boy noticed Spark. "And I think I know what I will do instead."
"Huh?" Hilbert wondered before he was tossed into a snowman. After popping out, he noticed that Trevor kicked out Alfur and Twig before starting up Spark. "What the hell are you doing?!"
"Grand theft auto!" the other boy cried as he turned on the ignition. After a matter of time, the kid drove off to cause chaos in Trolberg. "Merry Christmas, you filthy animal!"
"It's only November!" Hilbert was pissed as he cursed Trevor. There was no time to complain as he pulled out Twig and Alfur.
"Sorry about that bastard," the elf sheepishly apologized.
"That's fine," Hilbert sighed. "We just have to stop that bastard from causing harm to other people."
Luckily for Hilbert, the junkyard was nearby, so he can check by Flint's place to see what some use for him can be.
"Hey, are you doing ok?" the old man was concerned. "It is a total crap storm here!"
"I'm fine," Hilbert sighed. "I need some sort of powered sled that I can use. The one I invented got stolen by that Trevor bastard."
"Sorry to hear that, bucko. Let's see what old Flint got,"
After a few minutes pass, Flint gave the boy some keys. His metal sled pulled up just in time.
"I used to play with this back in my 30s. Now it seems appropriate to hand it over to the next person in line," Flint adjusted Hilbert to be in the riding position as he noticed Twig and Alfur. "Are these your friends?"
"Well, they're more likely acquaintances,"
Twig snorted while Alfur was offended. "Hey!"
"Well, don't let me stop you. You got a bastard to catch,"
"10-4, doc!" Hilbert pressed on the gas pedal so he can take off. It wasn't that hard to find where Trevor is, since he noticed the constant destruction that he left behind. Teachers buried up to their heads, windows broken by stones, kids stuffed inside snowmen. "Man, this kid has issues."
"I think I see him!" Alfur pointed.
"Where?" the boy can barely make out the distance far ahead of him.
"Near the Trolberg pool!"
"Buckle up, guys," Hilbert tightened the grip on the handlebars. "It's time for a need for speed!"
At the Trolberg Pool, Trevor was enjoying controlling Spark around. He did figure 8's at the frozen pool, ran over children, and hit pedestrians. "This is the most amount of fun I had in years!"
"And it's gonna end!"
Trevor stopped and noticed Hilbert in the distance with another sled. He spotted Twig and Alfur.
"Ugh, you couldn't just let me live my life, could you?" Trevor complained.
"I could say the same to you, bastard!" Hilbert showed a fist.
"Well, let's do a race to settle this!" Trevor sped off, hitting Miss Hallgrim on the way.
"My word," Alfur cried. "He can't keep getting away with this."
"No, he won't. Grab on!" Hilbert pressed a button and activated some rockets. And so, the chase was on.
In a different house in Trolberg, Frida was at the entrance. She seemed nervous trying to strike a conversation with an older girl. But she knew she had to give gratitude to the person that saved her, even though it was unintentional. Just as she was about to knock on the door, it ended up opening by itself.
"Who the hell is breaking in again?" a voice demanded.
Out came the same teenage girl from earlier. She was carrying a wooden plank, preparing to defend herself. But she seemed confused when she noticed Frida in front of her. "What the hell?"
"Uh, meow?" Frida made a nervous smile.
The teen was unamused. "Who are you and why do you look like you want to break in?"
Frida tried to get her words out. "Um, I'm Frida. I came here to thank you for saving me from that furry monster."
The other girl gave a doubtful look, but when she took a close look to her visitor, she made a sneaky smile. "Ah, yes. I heard so much about you. You're that perfect girl from school,"
Frida cringed. "Don't remind me,"
"Trust me, you wouldn't want to be class president anyway. Especially not with that brat and wimp dragging you down,"
Frida felt even more guilty at that mention. After sighing, she knew she had to thank her properly. "Uh, what's your name?"
The teen girl smiled as she started to glow a little. Even her eyes lit up green. "You can call me… Kelly."
In a snowy Trolberg, Hilbert was still trying to chase Trevor to get Spark back. It was getting annoying for him since he had to undo the damage the troublemaker was making. "Stop ruining Trolberg, you asshole!"
"Make me, runt!"
Hilbert sped by a nearby building. He avoided hitting the pedestrians, though he did get a short glance at his mother, who was busy inside noticing him. "Heh heh, hi mom."
"Hilbert!" Johanna complained in an annoyed tone.
Trevor noticed some grenades and decided to toss them at his enemy. "Up yours, bastard!"
Hilbert had a hard time avoiding the explosions, but Twig came in and kicked them with his hooves. They ended up being launched to some children, who were harmed by the grenades.
"Damn!" one kid shouted.
"Not here!" another cried.
Hilbert eventually got sidetracked when Alfur accidently got on his eyes. This made him unable to see where he was going. As if that weren't bad enough, they started to spin out of control.
"Sorry! Sorry!" the elf tried to avoid blocking his view. It was tricky since they were moving at such a high speed.
Twig whimpered since Trevor starting planting land mines during the chase. These were not easy to dodge either.
Trevor began laughing until he got shocked by lighting. This thankfully did not harm Spark, though the floor became more slippery for them. Hilbert had to avoid more hazards since more kept coming his way. The chase managed to end when Trevor crashed through an abandoned shed.
Hilbert got off Flint's sled to check on Spark. "Are you okay, boy?"
"Well, apart from the fact that I was manipulated, driven against my will, scratched by other cars, nearly blown to smithereens, used as a weapon, and almost sent to the scrap heap, I am peachy. Yes, I am okay." Sparky said in a huff.
"No time for arguments," Alfur cried. "We must get back home before the weather gets worse!"
"Agreed. Though we need to make one stop first," Hilbert and his allies got on Spark, hooked up Flint's sled, and took off.
In Victoria Van Gale's weather station, she was busy giving food to her visitors. She is trying her best to keep them distracted from a certain room, but David is starting to get suspicious.
"So, that's what your childhood was like?" Hilda wondered.
"Yup. Got kicked, punched, lit on fire, chased by angry mobs," the lady explained. "They laughed when I claimed that the weather is held by my hand. But what the hell, who's laughing now?"
"If anything, she belongs in the funny farm," Raven hissed.
"Look, do you know if there's a way to stop that snowstorm in Trolberg? It's snowing like heck there and my mom can't even make it back home!"
"Well, I can try," Victoria pondered. "Do you know if there's a way you can help out?"
Hilda felt a lightbulb above her head. "I can fly up there and consult with the weather spirits. It will make the heat die down."
"Ah yes," David sarcastically commented. "Let's use therapy in thundering beings that won't zap us to death. Very assuring."
"You have a better idea, David?"
David said nothing.
"I rest my case," Hilda grabbed Raven and headed outside. "Stay out of trouble!"
Once the proper flight has been made, Hilda interrupted the weather spirits from their arguments. One by one, the storm started to cease.
Inside a Trolberg building, the adults were crowding around. With the storm increasing, several people were getting hunched to take shelter.
"Damn, this room is getting crunched!" Frida's mom cried.
"We need more room," David's father complained.
"Honey, there is no more room," David's mother soothed.
"I know, Erika. We just have to find a way to create some more,"
Miss Hallgrim sighed as she can't see much due to the number of adults towering above her. "This is starting to piss me off…"
Johanna was looking out the window. It was bad enough one of her kids was out in the dangerous snowstorm, but she is relieved that her daughter is staying safe and sound at home. Just then, some of the areas started to clear up, though it was still snowing. Several roads were now functional as cars were freed.
"This is peculiar," Frida's father commented.
Everyone soon went outside the building. They were satisfied that the snowstorm was no more. Soon, a sled pulled up and its driver was seen.
"What the hell?" Frida's mom asked.
"What is that egghead doing in this snowstorm?!" Miss Hallgrim questioned.
"I'll handle this, he's my kid," Johanna got on Flint's sled. "The rest of you, stay safe!" The group were driven back to their apartment.
Back at the sky, Hilda and the others managed to complete their objective. They got the weather spirits to cease their arguments, causing the snowstorm to come to a halt. But they weren't out of the woods yet. David grabbed some keys away from Victoria Van Gale so that he can get access to the room she tried to block off. "We gotta wait for Hilda,"
Eventually, things went bad when one weather spirit confronted the weather station, and it was pissed off. Hilda returned to the station and grabbed David's keys. Despite Van Gale's protests, Hilda broke in and was surprised. It was a baby weather spirit! Victoria held her captive to control the weather! The girl flipped off the crazy lady before releasing the baby weather spirit. Although the deed has been done, chaos still occurred. Eventually, the station was going to blow up in a few seconds. David, Raven, and Van Gale managed to escape the explosion.
"No!" Van Gale cried as she witnessed her weather station explode.
Suddenly, she was grabbed by the Raven. "Where is she!"
"Huh?"
"Where is Hilda?!" Raven tried to look around. He examined the area and felt guilty. "No…"
"Hilda…" Victoria Van Gale was worried as well.
"Where are you?" David wondered.
Back at home, Johanna and the rest of her family entered home. "Hilbert, I know you were trying to help, but when I said to stay home, I mean it."
"I couldn't just leave you there," the boy argued. "I did at least try to make an invention to make something good out of this bad situation. And it didn't even explode this time."
Twig trotted to Hilda's room to check what's up with her. But the deerfox was shocked when he found out that she wasn't here. Spark went to scan for her whereabouts only to come with no success.
"We can talk about this later," Johanna sighed as she went to look for her daughter. "Hilda? I'm home."
She was confused when the room made no sound. Upon inspection, Hilda was nowhere to be seen. The mother went further to find if she is there, but she started to feel less relaxed when she has no sight of the girl.
"Is she there?" Alfur asked.
"I'm afraid not," Johanna shook her head. "You don't think she left the place, did she?"
"I hate to admit it, but yes," Hilbert sighed. "You know how she is, dying for adventure."
That sentence made Johanna shudder.
"Forget I said that, Mom."
Johanna is about to get desperate. "No need to panic, Hilda could be with one of the neighbors around here. I just need to check with them. Hilda's probably just stayed inside,"
A few minute later…
"She didn't stay inside!"
Hilbert looked up when he was eating some cereal. "Damn,"
Johanna got close to him. "Please tell me you still got your invention that can track her location,"
"Well, I got good news and bad news regarding that. If I have it, that is good news. However, the bad news is that when the snowstorm hit, it ended up rusting it. It is pretty worthless now."
Johanna's eyes widened. "Can't you make another one?!"
Hilbert inhaled sharply. "I would, but the stuff that I need to make it, it is very limited. And we can't just get them right now since the places that have them are closed because of that snowstorm."
His mother gulped. "Hilda's out there. We have to find out where she is. She could get hurt out there!"
Johanna left the apartment in a hurry. Twig and Alfur leaped onto the couch as Hilbert sat down with a sigh. Alfur took notice. "I know you and your sister usually don't get along, but we have to find her right away!"
"No, Alfur," Hilbert shook his head. "We can't do much. That's only going to make Mom worry more."
"But we must do something. Hilda's lost out there. She could get hurt!" Alfur got onto to Twig's antler. "Come on, Twig. Let's look around in Trolberg for any leads."
Spark couldn't help but feel sorry for Johanna. He glared at his master. "You're the inventor; invent a way to find your sister!"
Hilbert said nothing as he looked out the window. He was still upset at Hilda due to what she said, but he knows that she won't make it all by herself. He has to help get her back.
"Stay safe… sis."