Operation: FROST, Part 2

Chapter 2: The Unwanted Spirit

Mr. Dru's Candy Store

Cleveland's candy store was crawling with excited kids and filled with colorful Christmas decorations. Since it was nearly Christmas, it was having a sale on candycanes and gingerbread men. Cheren and Aurora had just arrived, and Panini immediately ran over to greet them. "There you are, Cheren! Anothuh 5 seconds and Ay wouldn't have saved yer spot."

"Almost surprised you did." Cheren smirked.

"So where's the Gingerbread Town?" Aurora asked.

Francis approached them and said, "It's over here, come on!" And they hurried over.

A bunch of other kids like the Gilligans and Dimalantas were standing around a huge, round table covered with a green curtain. Cheren and his friends squeezed through the crowd. Their eyes were wide with wonder: it was a great, expansive town made of gingerbread. There were tiny gingerbread men "walking" about the streets, and also in little candy cars. There was a robber gingerbread man being chased by police, and around the fountain square (of chocolate water), there was a carnival taking place.

"Coooool!" Timothy Gilligan drew out with awe.

"Wow, Mr. Dru!" Aurora said to the candy man as he approached the crowd. "This must've taken days!"

"Boy, do I have the strong desire to eat it." Cheren said, unable to bear staring at the tasty town for much longer.

"Heh, and Sigmund said I was lazy." Mr. Dru laughed. "I mean, it isn't PERFECT, but I figured it was now or never."

"Why's that?" Aurora asked.

Before she got an answer, the doors to the store were kicked straight open. Panini looked up first, then tapped Cheren's shoulder. "'ey, Cheren, guess who." He and everyone else looked up. In stepped the smooth, grinning man from Goofy Goobers, the toothpick in his mouth and the nickel flicked up and down in his hand.

Mr. Dru perked with slight fear as he and his buff guards walked in. "Ahhhh, don'tcha just love the holidays?" the man asked slyly. "Spendin' time with the ones you love and seein' their happy faces when they receive yer gifts? I was just here to finish my Christmas shoppin'. I wanted to buy Mama the best of gifts… and low and behold, there it is."

"Yer not thinkin' of TAKIN'-" Panini was about to yell.

"Okay, step aside, kids." Mr. Dru shuffled the crowd away as the men stepped forward. "All yours, Sirs."

"WHHHAT?!" Panini screamed.

A bunch of the men took the table from different angles, lifting and carefully carrying it off. "Just carry that haul out through the garage." The slim man spoke. "I don't wanna wreck any walls, it's the HOLIDAYS-"

"Hehehaha!" Hikari Gilligan was joyfully running down an aisle, carrying a string of wrapped lollipops. "Ooof!" The 5-year-old bumped into the man's legs, falling to her bottom. She looked up, seeing the man's creepy grin peering down on her. Timothy gasped when the man raised his leg, and the boy quickly ran to shove his sister out of the way before the man kicked down.

They both looked up, seeing his expression hasn't changed. "It's the holidays, kiddies, so Ah'll let it slide. But remembuh this: name's Nickel Joe." He flipped his coin. "And seeing as yer minds aren't fully developed… I should let ya know: lots of the world is all about business. Oft times it's best not ta bother people in their business." He held his right, nickel arm out and took aim at a shelf, getting ready to flick. Still keeping his grin, he flicked the nickel like a bullet, and the shelf exploded on contact.

The two kids shielded their eyes, then reopened with wide gapes, seeing the ruined collection of candy. Nickel Joe reached in his pocket, pulled out a wrap of nickels, and picked one out, beginning to flip it. "This business was a pleasure." He said as he started to walk out. "For the Missus." He flicked Mr. Dru a nickel, which landed in his palm.

"Uhn; thank you, Sir." Dru nodded. With that, Nickel Joe left.

"Uuugh… I can't STAND that guy." Panini yelled.

"What's up with these guys, anyway?" Aurora asked.

"I wonder if he's connected to that pirate that attacked Sector W7." Cheren thought aloud. "Now that Viridi's over… I should look into these guys more. I'll get on it after the holidays."

With no more else to do in the store, the four friends began their walk home. "Siiigh, well I'm glad we came while we could." Panini sighed. "Ay KNEW I should've looked at it before Cheren!"

"Yeah… hey, you guys go on." Cheren told them. "I need to grab something real quick." He ran down another road in a hurry.

"What's up with him?" Francis asked.

"I'd like to know…" Aurora spoke. She didn't wanna tell them about what Rumpel told her. "I should watch after him. You know… brothers."

"Aye. Brothers." Panini nodded.

"Sisters." Francis remarked.

"Thank you!" Pan smiled.

"Hm hm hm!" Aurora laughed. "Catch you guys later!" With that, she ran off.

The Polar Express

Suki and Jack Frost had boarded the mystical train as it was driving at high speeds on its course to the North Pole. Suki sat on her knees on the red, velvet seat as she stared out the window, the snowy scenery whipping by with the sounds of the rushing wheels heard from outside. Jack Frost walked down the red carpeted aisle to see the curious girl, eyes glued to the window. "Not much to look at, is it?" he said with a chuckle.

Suki turned and plopped to her back, looking glum. "It's boooooriiiiing. There's no one else on here and it's too WAAARM. My feet're hooooot."

"Heheheh. Maybe you'd like a seat on the… upper floor."

And so, Jack and Suki were now on the roof of the train. The wheels were heard louder, smoke flew over their heads from the chimney, and the cold was even colder as Suki gave a wide smile. "This is greeeaaaat!" She squealed, twirling on her left toes. "I'm NICE and chilly!"

"Yeah, I like it up here, too." Jack chuckled.

Suki fell to her back, spreading her arms and legs in the roof's snow. "Hey, Jack? How come no one else is on the train?"

"Well, it used to get more passengers. But people just haven't been that into Christmas lately."

"But a LOT-a people I know are happy for Christmas!"

"Well, maybe. But a lot of kids are mostly into getting what they want. They don't have the kind of spirit you have. And it's because of that that Santa isn't as strong as he used to be."

"Whaddyou mean?"

"Well, Santa kinda gets his power from positive feelings. It's what gave him the strength to use the Reindeer. …Um, the magic Reindeer I mean. But the happy feelings he gets from kids from how they are now is enough for him to fly around on his sleigh. It isn't very efficient, but as long as-" The train suddenly shook just then, making the two wobble.

"Yuh-oh! We have a problem!" the Conductor yelled from inside the train. "Someone must've taken our tracks! Aw, and always when we're driving over the frozen lake."

The tracks were coming to an end as the train drove off and began driving hazardously and zigzaggingly across a slippery, frozen lake. Jack and Suki kept a tight stance as they watched the ice begin to crack below. "Well, this complicates things." Jack said. "Stay here, Suki." With that, the boy flipped off and began swiftly sliding across the icy surface. He glided to the back of the train where some of the ice began breaking, but he was able to freeze it up quickly.

Suki looked directly ahead, seeing a chunk of ice collapsing in the distance. She looked back, seeing Jack too busy fixing other gaps. With a determinate look, Suki ran off the roof, and began to slide swiftly on her bare feet. She waved her arms quickly to ski faster, getting ahead of the train as quick as she could as she zipped across and froze the gaps just in time. She kept sliding the opposite direction of the train, seeing gaps appear on its left side. She shot toward the train and froze the gaps, but before she crashed in the train, she jumped and created an ice path, sliding sideways beside the left of the train. Jack Frost kept freezing gaps as he kept up, and when he looked up, he watched in amazement as Suki slid over the train on her midair path.

Jack smiled to her as both were on opposite sides, freezing any crack or gap they spotted. But when they looked ahead, they saw the train was about to collide with a huge, jagged boulder at the lake's edge. They skied to the front of the train quickly, grabbing tight to the bottom front with one hand and aiming their other hand at the ice ground. They launched a ray of ice directly down, forming a path as they went and catching the wheels. They pulled their hands upward to make the path rise, and for the train to drive up, avoiding just inches from the boulder's tip as they made it away from the lake.

They saw the tracks continuing down below and carefully allowed the train to lower and get back on. After finishing, the two decided to head inside, where they met with the Conductor. "Well, kids, I say that was a VERY risky move, but I suppose I've seen my share of that. Now sit down! The North Pole is only minutes away!"

North Pole Station N

The Polar Express soon came to a screeching stop inside a bright, colorful station. "Ah-hem, attention lady and gentleman, we've officially arrived at Station N!" the Conductor announced. "Of course, up here, the only station we have IS N! Oh HO ho ho ho ho! Please take all personal belongings with you and be extra cautious when stepping off the train!"

The moment the two left the station, Suki once again filled with wonder and glee. The Elfin village was so beautiful. The streets were filled with frolicking Elfin children, making snowmen, sledding down snow hills, or simply wrapping colorful Christmas lights around their colorful houses. In the very center of the town, a huge Christmas tree towered over everything, its star at the top rivaling that of Polaris'. "This village was actually made about 18 years ago." Jack explained. "When the Elfin Forest on Avalar was blown up by the Big-o-Blaster, they all had to relocate here on Earth. Some elves moved back to the forest after it grew back, but some liked it here better."

"Hey, Jack? How come some of the tracks weren't finished?" Suki asked as they walked down the street.

"Remember when I said that Santa was powered by positive energy? Well, the same goes for a lot of things up here; including the Polar Express. We share a lot with the Star beings of Galaxia. If there's negative energy, the train tracks disappear. But just a while ago, the tracks were just fine. Something must've happened…"

"Maybe they forgot to restock on joy!" Suki cheered.

"Heheheheh! We'll ask Santa Claus about that!"

Santa's Workshop

"Huuurr. Hurrrrr…" Santa groggily wobbled to his sleigh, slumped over as he held his back.

"Honey!" Mrs. Claus yelled worriedly. "Are you okay? Why don't we send Elfa Strike to deliver presents?"

"Ohhh, I'm fine." Santa lied, standing up straight as he rubbed the side of his sleigh. "Just need to see if the sleigh is steady. Gonna be a loooong night."

"Honey, I really don't think you should fly out there in your condition."

"Someone has to do it. Santa takes… no winter vacations."

"Hey, Santa, we got a problem." Wintergreen yelled, hurrying over. "Jack's back."

"Ohhh, that wretched skeleton…" the jolly man mumbled.

"No, not that one. It's Jack Frost."

"Jack FROST?!"

Outside, Jack Frost and Suki finally made it to Santa's factory. Jack knocked the door with his staff, and a little elf answered. He gasped in his squeaky voice. "Jack Frost? ! What are YOU doing here? ! And Merry Christmas!" He smiled happily.

"Heheh. Well, I-"

"JACK FROST!" Santa shoved the little elf aside, looking furious. "WHAT are you doing here?! And who's this little girl? ?"

"Calm down, I just felt like showing her around." Jack argued angrily. "Not like you HAD any visitors in a while."

The bearded man bent down and studied the child. "Say… you're Suki Crystal! Decided not to wear your shoes again, eh? Hooo, you really set some bad examples, Jack." He shook his head.

"SANTaaaaa!" The 7-year-old cheerfully hugged the large man. Her tiny arms didn't wrap around him very well.

"Ho ho ho!" Santa patted her head. "Ahhh, it has been a while."

"Santa? Are you mad at Jack?" She looked up curiously.

"Ahhh, it's a long story. Why don't you two come in." Santa led the little girl inside, followed by Jack as he shut the door.

"Three-hundred-twenty years ago, Jack was a rich child that lived in a palace, but he was killed by an avalanche." Santa explained as they walked. "His family were renowned icebenders, so Polaris decided to make Jack an ice spirit, and let Jack roam the worlds to ensure kids' protection in Winter." As Jack followed, a couple elves stopped him and demanded he put on shoes. Jack shook his head and kicked the shoes away. "Granted, he does a rather fine job at it… but he oversteps his boundaries. He made it snow around a school for a week after summer ended, and when this one boy got in a fight with his sister, Jack froze the sister solid. A spirit is only supposed to come out when they're needed, but Jack feels like jumping out whenever."

"Awwww, he's just having FUN, Santy!" Suki beamed.

"Too MUCH fun. A couple years ago, he made it snow so hard in one town, that when I flew OVER there, I ended up crashing, and it took me 5 hours to gather all the reindeer and rewrap some of the presents! That lousy Jorgen was all set to steal my holiday again, too. But HO HO no! No one steals Christmas from me!"

"Hey, I swiped 20 cookies for you!" Jack argued.

"I don't NEED any more cookies! All I need is for Christmas to go without any hitches!"

"Is it HARD being Santa Claus, Santy?" Suki asked.

"HO ho ho! I've done this job longer than I can remember! When you've been my age, the years and the work just breeze by!"

"Even so, I STILL wish you'd take the year off." Mrs. Claus spoke as she approached them.

"Mrs. CLAAAUUUUS!" Suki jumped with joy.

"You have millions of presents to drop and your BACK suddenly hurts." Mrs. Claus tried to reason.

"This back pain is just a MINOR setback."

A few feet away, an elf grinned and made a drum solo at the pun.

"The funny thing is that he was fine a few minutes ago." Snow Angel explained.

"Aerrrrr. In fact, EYE just got a CALL from the ConDUCTor." Nutcracker explained in his creepy voice. "The TRAIN tracks were missing on the LAKE."

"Then there IS something going on!" Santa concluded. "I wonder what."

"Sandy! SANDY!" Rumpel Stiltskin frantically hurried over, a panicky expression on his face.

"Rumpel?"

Jack whispered to Suki, "And Santa thinks I'M a troublemaker." Suki grinned.

"Sandy!" Rumpel stopped before him, panting. "I was checking the terminals! A bunch of children suddenly became upset!"

"Hwhhaat?"

"I was in the camera room checking the terminals, and when I turned them on, I saw a bunch of kids began to feel really upset! A lot of them think their parents don't care about them, and SOME don't think they'll get what they want for Christmas!"

"LET me see!" Santa demanded, stomping toward the elevator.

They all went to the monitor room, where Santa originally sent presents to kids using his Reindeer. He pressed a button on the sleigh, and the buhmillions of terminals sparked to life. Indeed several kids, like Kirie, Rupert, or Haruka, were sitting in their rooms in depression, and other kids were yelling at their parents. "My, what could've happened?" Mrs. Claus asked with concern.

"I have a few ideas." Wintergreen said, glaring at Rumpel and aiming his candycane claws. "What'd ya do, Rumpel?"

"Hey, don't look at me, I was only cleaning up and I saw them!" the elf raised his hands in defense.

"I would say Rumpel hacked it… but this negative energy is coming from somewhere." Santa spoke. "Hmmm…let's see how things looked beFORE." Santa pushed a Rewind arrow, and the scenes began to roll backwards. Santa stopped them when the children were happy, a few minutes before. Everybody watched intently, while Rumpel felt nervous. And finally, the culprit appeared. Santa gasped. Mrs. Claus gasped. Elfa Strike gasped. Rumpel gasped more quietly. Jack Frost gasped in horror and shock.

The person delivering all the bad news to the children was, in fact: Jack Frost. "Ho ho HOOOOH! So THAT'S your game, JACK!" Santa yelled accusingly. "Too upset about ME hogging all the stardom this month, you thought you could ruin me!"

"Wait a second!!" Jack yelled. "Suki's the only human that can see me! How WOULD I talk to all these kids??"

"If I may speak," Rumpel spoke, "I've been developing a new potion that allows one to see invisible spirits. When drunk by spirits themselves, they can be seen to anyone. But recently, I've noticed my potion went missing."

"That doesn't make any sense!" Jack argued still. "Why would I care about what RUMPEL'S doing?"

"I don't see your magic stand." Rumpel mumbled.

"All that matters is it's YOUR image on those screens." Wintergreen said with a glare. "TAKE him outta here, Elfa Strike!"

The spirit boy was immediately grabbed by Nutcracker and Coniferous. "I didn't DO anything!" Jack yelled, trying to shake free. "Let GO!"

"Tell it to Polaris." Wintergreen said coldly as they led him out.

When everyone else had gone, Rumpel stayed and smirked at the ceiling above the screens.

Behind the many terminals, Koume and Kotake had fiddled with the wires. "Our Photoshop skills have improved, Koume! Ho ho ho!"

"Why yes, they HAVE, Kotake. Eee hee hee!"

"Rumpel's plan should carry out soon."

"And ensure SANDY Claws' doom."

"Let's see what plan the man has now."

"To soar in the sky?"

"OR COME ON DOWN!" they both yelled. "EEEE HEE HEE hee hee!"

At the entrance

Jack was forcibly shoved out the front door, landing in the snow. "Now GET your frostbitten butt out of here BEFORE I make you a double-spirit!" Wintergreen threatened. Jack glared at him with hate, proceeding to walk away in the snowing fields.

"Waait!" Suki tried to run to him, but Santa kept her back. "Jack Frost wouldn't do anything baaaad! He MUST be innocent!"

"Suki, I admire your spirit, but you'll just have to accept." Santa told her. "Jack Frost isn't who you think he is. He may be a spirit, but he's still just a depraved troublemaker. Just like a LOT of those teenagers. Now, come on. I'll drop you off at home when we deliver-"

"NO!" Suki's tiny arm slipped from Santa's mittened hand. "I know Jack Frost is innocent and I'm NOT gonna leave him!" The child tried to run, but Coniferous grabbed her.

"El SNOOZO!" Rumpel launched a spell and put the girl straight to sleep.

"Siiiigh." Santa sighed with regret, lifting the child in both arms. "I really hate when this happens. Seeing the disappointed faces on little children when they find out… Ooooh." He reached his right arm behind and rubbed his back.

"It's one hour before you hit the first town." An elf reported.

"Halright, then. Wrap up the last bit of presents and line up the reindeer." Santa ordered, carrying Suki away.

"Honey, I really don't think you should go out in your condition." Mrs. Claus said, still worried.

"Yeah, Santa!" Wintergreen perked up. "We can handle it just fine! And we'll get the kid back, too!" The Elfa Strike members made poses.

"I can handle it just fine." Santa insisted, continuing to the sleigh's launch room.

"But Honey-" Mrs. Claus spoke.

"Don't try to stop me." He grunted. "There's only one Santa Claus."

They all felt worried as they watched him leave. Except for Rumpel, who gave a witty smile.

Downtown Cleveland

The town had become darker as night came, and the streets had mostly cleared. The only soul roaming these streets was Cheren Uno, looking around carefully to make sure he wasn't followed. A tiny fly buzzed around the cold, keeping quiet and staying out of his sight. That fly was secretly a tiny spy cam, and from her treehouse, Aurora Uno could watch Cheren's movements on her computer.

As Aurora watched her brother quietly, carefully driving her fly, Chris Uno walked in. "Are you STILL spying on Cherry? Since when do you trust Rumpel anyway?"

"I don't. I just… well, it doesn't hurt to make sure. You know?"

"Okay. Just come down soon." With that, he walked off. Aurora went back to spying.

Cheren eventually turned into an alley, and the fly-spy followed. Loitering in the darkness of the dead end was a man in a hood. Cheren approached him quietly, then stood in place. A few seconds passed before the hooded man turned to acknowledge his presence. They stood quietly for several more seconds. Aurora patiently watched them, very eager. Cheren's eyes were very serious, as was the man's glaring red eyes. After a while, Cheren nodded.

The man pulled off his hood, revealing his horns. Aurora gasped, seeing he was a Bulblin. The demon reached into his pocket and pulled out a folded paper. He gave it to Cheren, who opened it, seeing a map of the area. A circle was drawn around the beach, and a date and time was labeled, January 5, 7:30 pm. Cheren folded the paper and reached in his own pocket, pulling out a wrapped, round object and giving it to the demon. When Aurora zoomed in, she recognized the package's shape. It looked like the Code Module.

Aurora looked with horror when the demon took it. Without another word, he disappeared through a gap. Cheren unfolded the map and studied it again. The serious look remained on his face. "I'll see you, too… Majora."

Aurora gasped.