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“Don’t forget to wrap up warm, Hayley.”
“I will mum, don’t worry.”
“And Roy, make sure she keeps her scarf on. If she catches pneumonia I’m holding you responsible.”
“I’ll do my best.”
“But muuuuumm… it’s itchyyyy….”
“No buts Hayley, now shoo. Stay out of trouble you two!”
The mother waved off the brown-haired child and her eccentric uncle as they left on their day out. She smiled at the odd-looking pair, thinking back to how quickly they had bonded when the strange man and his rainbow locks had turned up on their doorstep almost nine months ago. She’d always heard stories about her husband’s brother, but meeting him was certainly something else. A chill wind sent a couple of rogue snowflakes tumbling into the house where they promptly melted, so the mother quickly ducked back inside, still smiling softly.
The same wind caused the once-hero to pull her green parka tighter around herself, the faux-fur around the hood tickling her nose and making her sneeze loudly. The ex-monster chuckled slightly, shifting the package under his arm as he walked.
“Glad to see you’re enjoying my present,” he remarked, smiling down at his charge. “I wasn’t entirely sure you’d like it.”
*
“Glad to see you’re enjoying my present,” remarked the TV-headed man dryly. “I didn’t think it was possible to use a coat for quite so many things other than it’s intended purpose, but you certainly proved me wrong.”
“It’s so big! And fluffy!” replied Hero, who was currently using the garment as a hooded cloak. With the arms trailing by the side and the young girl almost completely covered it looked like a giant, furry slug-creature was following the very worst monster.
“Fluh fie!” shouted Assok, snuggling himself into the dark fur. RGB raised a gloved hand and rubbed at what would have been his temple.
“At least you’re not trying to toboggan with it anymore.”
“Why did you even get me such a big coat anyway?”
“Because it’s going to get very cold very soon; you’ll be glad of the layers then.”
“What about you?”
“Pardon?”
“Won’t you get cold?”
The man hesitated for a second, looking down at the young face poking out from the mound of fur. Although this hero was one of the few that had lasted this long, nevermind gotten so far, he was still cautious about telling her facts about himself. Possibly because she had lasted this long.
“I don’t feel the cold,” he said finally, a slight frown curving his screen. “Now come on, spit-spot.”
*
“Brr!” The rainbow-haired man shivered overdramatically, attempting to rub at his arms without dropping his package or his cane. “This winter is certainly bringing the cold in full force, isn’t it?”
“Do you want my scarf?” Hayley quickly unwound it from her neck, scratching at the skin with one hand. Her uncle hesitated for a split-second, then graciously took the offering, wrapping the warm wool around his slender neck. It only took a few moments to realise why the girl had been so eager to part with it, but self-control stopped him from scratching furiously at the garment.
“So where are we going today, RGB?”
“You’ll see.” The man patted the box under his arm and smirked slightly.
The pair caught a bus to the edge of the city, Hayley insisting they ride on the top deck. As the tall buildings and pollution lessened a light sprinkling of snow could be seen coating the houses either side of the road. The brown-haired girl had her face pressed up against the glass, watching the world go by with an interest only children possess.
“Are we there yet now, RGB?”
“Unlike the last seven times you have asked that, yes. We are actually here.”
“Yay!” The ex-hero clambered over her companion and dashed towards the stairs. She grabbed the railing just in time for the bus driver to hit the brakes and all but flew down the staircase, laughing all the way. Roy shook his head and sighed, mimicking the exasperation he had so often felt when travelling with the girl months before.
*
RGB shook his head, a sigh crackling out of his speaker. If he had eyes they would be rolling. He, Hero and Assok were trying to climb a treacherously icy and snow-covered pathway between the mountains and the girl was trying to initiate a snowball fight. Thankfully the snow was too powdery to form into proper balls, crumbling to pieces in the would-be attacker’s hands.
“You’re going to get frostbite if you keep doing that.” Another spray of snow clouded his vision before falling to the ground without touching him.
“Pthbp!” replied Assok, sticking out his tongue. He had been rolling in the snow and was now covered top to toe in chunks of the powder. Hero laughed at the sock’s response, also blowing a raspberry at her guide.
“Charming.” One of RGB’s antennae twitched slightly as he spoke. “Now will you please stop? I’d rather not get any snow in my vents.”
The girl did as he asked, albeit reluctantly. Instead she crossed her arms, the extra-long coat sleeves flopping about, and sulked. At least she’s being quiet thought RGB.
The trio continued their trek up the mountain path in silence. The biting wind that whistled down the trail stung Hero’s face, forcing her to keep her head down and follow close behind RGB. She stared at his fake spats and tried to focus on anything but how cold it was getting. Her feet started to drag and scuff as toes froze, slowing her considerably. It didn’t help that some snow had seeped in earlier from when she’d been playing in it.
“Would you pick up the pace? I want to be on the other side of the lake before nightfall.” RGB stopped, turning around to find Hero several metres behind him, slowly shuffling through the deepening snow. There was a slight bob of her head that could have been a nod, but her speed didn’t increase.
RGB frowned, antennae bending in a mixture of concern and irritation. By the time he’d made up his mind Hero had worked her way over to him, stopping when her gaze once again alighted on the man’s shoes. She looked up, eyes squinting against the harsh glare of the white sky. RGB turned around and knelt, reaching his hands just a bit behind him.
“Hop up then,” he said, trying to keep his voice flat and emotionless.
Hero stared at the man’s burgundy-coated back for several seconds before shuffling closer and all but flopping against it. She tried to to squirm up a bit but the cold had sapped her strength. RGB hooked his arms under her knees and hoisted her up, standing at the same time. He could feel the girl trying to suppress the shivers that jolted through her body in waves, but didn’t comment. Using a hand to wrap the trailing end of the fur coat over her legs RGB continued the trek.
*
Roy and Hayley trekked through the snow, the nine year old complaining all the way.
“I thought you said we were there…”
“I said we were here, actually. We are always here, no matter where we go.”
“Uuuuuuugggghhh……”
“Do you expect a response to that?”
“Uuuuuuuuuuugggggggggggggghhhhhh…….”
“I’ll take that as a no.”
They continued onwards, the thin layer of snow crunching under their feet as they headed towards a destination only one of them knew of. Eventually they reached a copse of slender trees; an icicle laden willow leant towards a large, frozen pond in the centre. Hero gasped and ran to the edge of the ice, stopping just short and reaching out a toe to prod at it cautiously.
“It’s safe to walk on, I checked it yesterday,” called Roy, clearing some snow off a root protruding from the ground and using it as a seat, facing away from the pond.
Hayley grinned and stepped out carefully, boots slipping on the clear ice. Lifting a foot to take another step she began to lose balance, so she stuck her arms out and flailed around long enough to put her foot back down. Unfortunately, her movement had sent her slipping across the ice several feet and essentially trapped her.
“Uh… RGB?” The man didn’t even look around from what he was doing.
“Just walk back, you’ll be fine.”
“It’s slippery.”
“It’s ice, what did you expect? Come now, you’re the big Hero, don’t tell me you’ve forgotten our lesson now.”
*
“I don’t suppose you’ve ever had ice skating lessons, have you?” asked RGB, letting Hero slide off his back and onto the ground.
They stood in a wide and shallow valley, staring out over a frozen lake that went on as far as the eye could see. A slight mist had replaced the falling snow, the air near still after exiting the wind-tunnel pathway.
Hero shook her head, prodding the mirror-like ice with a toe. RGB sighed and stepped onto the lake, pushing one one foot and skimming out about three metres before turning to look at the girl still standing at the edge.
“Step out onto the ice. Try not to fall over,” instructed RGB, irritated that it had to come to this. What sort of child had never gone ice skating? Or even slid about on wooden floors in socks?
Hero took a tentative step, but as soon as she put weight on that foot it went slipping out from under her. The brunette tried to catch herself, but her arms got caught in the overly-large coat sleeves and she ended up landing on her backside. Thanks to the fur on the garment and the extremely smooth surface she ended up sliding into RGB’s feet.
“Fallover!” chirped Assok, crawling out of a coat fold and perching on Hero’s head. The girl looked up at her guide with pleading eyes.
“I’m not going to carry you again, if that’s what you’re about to ask.” Hero opened her mouth but was cut off before she could speak. “Or drag you behind me. You’re going to have to learn to skate; now up you get.”
The girl slowly climbed to wobbly feet, clinging to RGB’s coal grey trousers as support. The very worst monster grumbled quietly about this, but didn’t make any attempt to pry her off. Once she was standing he stepped away slightly.
“Like this.” He pushed forwards with exaggerated movements, skating another few metres. “Don’t step, push. You should be sliding rather than walking.”
Hero did her best to imitate the older man, hesitantly slipping one foot forward then the other. This resulted in a skidding shuffle; it got her over to RGB, but barely faster than a snail. The TV-headed man placed a hand on his screen and muttered something that sounded like ‘give me strength’.
“You actually need to push yourself, you’re still stepping too much.” He skated off again and the process repeated, the shuffle-slide a bit faster this time. RGB heaved an irritated sigh and held out a gloved hand. “Just hold on, you can learn as we go.”
*
“Just hold on, I’ll pull you back.” Roy, awkwardly balancing on the frozen ground in new black and white ice skates, reached out his cane towards the stranded girl. She shuffled forward until her fingertips brushed against the stick then grabbed hold. He uncle heaved and soon enough Hayley could step off the ice.
“Thanks,” she muttered under her breath, cheeks flushing with embarrassment. Her attempts to get off the pond had been just as disastrous as her first time ice skating.
“Now, shall we try that again with the proper footwear?” Hayley looked up to see Roy holding out a pair of bright red skates, eyebrow raised and smirk curling his lip.
“Are they for me?” asked the girl, eyes wide in amazement. The rainbow-haired man smiled warmly so she took the skated and cradled them to her chest. “But why?”
“Because every child should know how to ice skate,” came the mildly dismissive reply. Then the man sobered up, kneeling down until he was eye-to-eye with the girl. “And also as a thank you.”
“For what?”
“For being a hero, for being my Hero. For giving me-” he looked down and gestured to himself. “-this.”
“But you already said thank you, when we first came back.”
“Yes, but that doesn’t mean I can’t say it again.” Roy stood and ruffled his niece’s short hair. “I’ll tell you more another day; for now let’s have some fun.”
Hayley quickly pulled on her new ice skates, lacing the boots tight. Standing was rather tricky on the thin blades, but she had both the tree and her companion to lean against. Roy stepped onto the ice before she did, warming up with a quick lap of the pond before stopping and holding out a hand.
The girl grasped tight at the proffered hand, wobbling as she stepped onto the smooth ice. Once she was standing Hayley tried to take a step and would have fallen if it weren’t for the ex-monster still holding tight. She smiled and pushed off, falling into a routine as they skated around their makeshift rink.
*
Hero had somehow managed to find some sort of routine as they skated over the lake. Her shuffle-slide from earlier had evolved into long, slipping steps; RGB still picked at her technique occasionally, but at least she could keep up now.
They had been travelling for long enough that mists had shrouded the shore behind them, but still nothing was visible in the distance. Hero could have sworn there were shapes moving about in the fog, but her guide hadn’t said anything so she dismissed the thought.
“Are we getting close? My feet are sore.”
“We’re just over halfway, I’d say. There should be a small island soon however, we can rest for a few minutes there.”
“Ooouurrrghh rest.” moaned Assok from the top of Hero’s head. He had flopped there half an hour ago, not saying much other than echoing the occasional groan from the girl. Hero herself merely nodded slightly, exhaustion from the cold and the skating quickly catching up with her.
Less than ten minutes later a slight blue glow could be seen through the mist. Slight shadows loomed, then resolved themselves into a small and rocky island. A couple of scraggly trees grew amongst the boulders, their leaves casting a turquoise glimmer on the nearby ice and snow.
Hero and RGB stepped off the frozen lake, legs slightly wobbly and uncooperative after hours spent on the ice. The young girl found a sheltered alcove by a large rock and immediately collapsed into it, taking off her wellies and tucking her freezing feet into the folds of her coat. RGB brushed the snow off a small rock with a gloved hand and sat as well, reclining against a larger crag and rubbing his neck.
They had the chance to rest for all of twenty seconds before a rumbling growl reverberated across the lake. The travellers immediately sat straight, glancing around nervously. The mist grew thicker, darker, obscuring all that more than a few feet away from the viewer.
“Hero?” called RGB, voice muffled and crackly from all the moisture in the air. He stood, but immediately regretted it as his his head spun and vision swum. Thoughts slowed as humidity short-circuited wires. “Hero, just- just stay where you are… I’ll come to you.”
“Okay,” came the quiet reply. RGB was unsure whether it was quiet because of the dark-grey fog or because Hero was falling asleep. The monster frowned, racking his circuits for what could be causing this as another growl -groan?- ran through the valley.
“Keep- keep talking to me.”
“Why should I?” Her voice sounded tired, disinterested.
“So I can find you in this fog of course!”
“Oh.”
With that she went silent, seemingly oblivious to the man’s calls. RGB stumbled about, clutching one hand to his spinning head.
“Hero! Hero, where are you?”
“Find yu! Ge ting close!”
“Assok?” With the sock calling out RGB quickly found his way to the huddled pair. Hero was curled into a ball, staring with drooped eyes at the rock wall beside her. “There you- you two are. Come, we need to get… out of here.”
The girl merely shrugged and curled up tighter, refusing to look up at her guide. RGB stared down, nonplussed.
“Hero, get up! We need to go; there’s something in the fog.”
“…don’t care.” The fog seemed to thicken again, swirling clouds of grey carrying the creatures moans and sighs to the uncaring girl’s ears.
Apathy.
The realisation of what the creature was struck RGB like a bolt from the blue. He shook his head in an attempt to clear the grey fog from it, batting hands around his vents while grateful that he didn’t need to breathe.
“Hero, g-get up.” Slight sparks were jolting off the monster’s screen while he spoke as moisture soaked his plastic and glass. His hands shook slightly; his thoughts sluggish and jittery.
“Gettup gettup!” Assok jumped up and down on Hero’s head, the mist ineffective on him. When the girl didn’t respond RGB leant down and scooped her, and Assok, up with both arms, carrying them for the second time that day.
He began to quickly step towards the lake, the world tilting and swirling around him. The man didn’t realise he’d reached it until his foot flew out from under him on the extremely slippery ice. RGB was sent sprawling, Hero falling from his arms and zipping across the ice on her fur coat. He metaphorically grit his teeth and stood, ignoring trembling limbs, jolting pains and the static on his clothes from where the dampness was soaking in.
He needed to get out of there.
RGB pushed himself forward in a shaking facsimile of his earlier graceful skating. He headed through the grey fog in the direction of Hero’s slide, using Assok’s panicked cries to guide him. They had drifted much further than RGB had expected them to, the fur coat now covered in a thin layer of ice which reduced friction even more.
An idea formed in the man’s mind and he peeled the layers of fur from Hero. Stripping off his own jacket he draped it over the still unresponsive girl so she wouldn’t freeze too quickly. RGB scooped her up again in arms only just strong enough to hold her, Assok burrowing into a pocket.
The very worst monster backed up several meters, leaving the coat spread out on the ice before him. He steeled his nerves, shoved away the pain and started skating at the coat as fast as he could. Just before he tripped over it RGB jumped slightly and knelt on the fabric, continuing to skid across the ice with reasonable speed.
The man winced at the pain that shot through his body as knees collided with solid ice but for some fabric. RGB curled up around the lethargic girl in his arms to shield her from the wind as they zipped across the ice. His body jolted with electric shocks every so often and his clothes and screen still crackled with static occasionally; but as they sped through the grey fog all he could think was
We’ll get out of here. It will be okay.
*
“Don’t move Hayley, just stay right there.” Roy held his hands palm out in front of him, attempting to calm the girl stranded in the spiderweb of cracked ice. “I’ll get you out of this, it’ll be okay.”
The brunette gave a tiny nod, eyes wide as saucers. There was another cracking noise from below her and she gulped. Roy edged his way off the ice and scrabbled for his cane with one hand, refusing to break eye-contact with the paralysed girl. As soon as he stepped back onto the the pond an ominous creaking rang throughout the trees. Roy whipped his foot back, perching on the very edge of the ice.
“You’ll just have to reach for me, Hayley. Grab onto my cane and I’ll pull you to safety.” The man leant out on his toes, using his long limbs to extend his cane as far out as possible. Hayley slowly reached out one hand, feeling the ice gradually fracture as she shifted her weight.
“I-I can’t.” Roy could see tears welling up in the girl’s eyes as her hand grasped at the air a foot short of his cane. “It’s too far away.”
“Hayley, Hero, listen to me,” said Roy insistently, falling back to the name he first knew her by. “You’re going to have to shuffle a bit closer to me. I know you can do this, Hero, just go slowly.”
The once-hero gave another minute nod, sniffing slightly but refusing to cry. Excruciatingly slowly she inched one skate forward. The sharp cracks that echoed beneath her with each movement terrified Hayley but she continued on, focussing on the cane that was so, so close and-
“No!”
Roy’s cry rang through the trees and neighbouring fields as he dropped to his knees on the edge of the ice. The cane fell to the ground as he reached out desperately with a hand towards the jagged hole in the pond.
There was silence for half a second, then Hayley’s head burst out from the freezing water, arms flailing to grasp onto anything to keep her afloat. Chunks of all too thin ice broke off from the edge of the hole as the girl sputtered for air. Roy all but dove forward, sliding closer on his belly and trying to grab at Hayley’s hands. They slipped out of his grasp as she panicked and her head ducked under the water again as her heavy skates pulled her down.
Roy sat, tugging off his own skates and removing his coat and jacket and anything else that would weigh him down, tossing it all back towards the willow on the shore. He knelt at the edge of the hole, tremors shaking his body in a mixture of cold and nerves.
The icy darkness surrounded him, dragged him down, down, down and he couldn’t breathe, couldn’t move, couldn’t feel anything but the blanketing cold filling his lungs and-
He stared into the hole Hayley had fallen through, eyes looking at the depths but mind dwelling on the past.
It burns, it burns and sizzles and everything is sharp and static and stabbing and electric as it fizzes over invisible skin and too-attached clothes and it burns and-
Some logical part of his mind told him he was starting to hyperventilate, heart pounding and mind racing at a mile a minute. It felt like he’d been staring at the water for hours, but truthfully he’d only wrestled with his fear for a few seconds before he tipped forward and dived in.
The first thing that stuck him was the cold. Icy knives stabbed into his body from all angles and if Roy hadn’t taken a deep breath before he jumped he would have gasped. As it was, several bubbles of air escaped his lips as his body froze in shock.
It was all around him and it was in him and he didn’t want this, not anymore not like this and-
A pit of dread settled in his gut as the man reminded himself not to breathe. He quickly oriented himself, keeping the hole as up. Peering down through the murky water he could just about make out a child-sized shape floating just above the bottom of the pond. Roy pushed down the rising panic as best he could and fought through the pain freezing up his joints, swimming down and grasping a too-cold hand.
When pulling at it didn’t work the man resurfaced, gasping for air and scrabbling for the solid ice. His breathing was harsh and fast, heart thudding in his chest and vision starting to dim around the edges. Roy forced himself to calm before taking another deep breath and diving back under.
This time he swam to the bottom of the freezing pond, wrapping one thin arm around Hayley’s waist and kicking up from the soft bed of mud. The agonising seconds it took to reach the surface again stretched forever, muscles locking and pins and needles jabbing into every part of the body.
As soon as his head breached the water Roy pulled up the near unconscious Hayley beside him. His free hand reached for the solid ice, using it to keep him afloat as the man attempted to push the sodden and frozen girl out of the water. Teeth chattering he heaved, head dipping back under for a split second, and eventually got her out.
With something semi-solid underneath her, Hayley began to cough, murky water spilling from her mouth and freezing to the ice. Roy quickly pulled himself up after her, rolling away from the hole as fast as he could before leaning back to snag Hayley’s hood and drag her with him. It wasn’t until they were both on solid ground again that the ex-monster allowed himself to panic slightly.
“I-i-i-it’s a-all m-m-my f-fault, m-my fault, I-i-i’m s-s-s-so s-sorry,” he stuttered, teeth chattering violently and shivers wracking his body. His hands were shaking badly as he undid his niece’s coat, stripping off the wet clothing until she was down to her underwear. Roy wrapped her up in the clothes he’d abandoned earlier in an attempt to keep her warm. “I s-said it was s-s-safe and i-it wasn’t, I’m s-s-s-s-sorry H-hero.”
Waves of shivers ran through Hayley’s body, but she seemed to be back in the moment. She looked up at the panicking man, one hand tearing at ice-coated hair and eyes wide in fear, The girl carefully extracted an arm from the over-large coat and grabbed Roy’s other hand, grounding him. Light grey eyes filled with concern for his charge, the ex-monster looked down at his Hero.
“Th-th-thanks…” she stuttered, a lopsided smile working it’s way onto her face.
*
RGB woke to find Hero leaning over him, once again wrapped in the over-large coat and peering down with a mixture of concern and curiosity. When she noticed him waking up she smiled.
“Thanks.”
RGB groaned as he propped himself up on an elbow, aches shooting though his body and reminding him of the previous afternoon’s events.
“You’re welcome; now, where are we?”
“Iunno.” Hero stood up straight, shielding her eyes with a hand and looking around. “The other side of the lake, I think.”
“Oh, good.” The very worst monster got to his feet and dusted snow off his slacks, ignoring the twinges from bruised knees. “I suppose we should mosey on then. Er, I don’t suppose you could tell me what happened since yesterday, could you? It’s all a bit fuzzy; that mist really wasn’t good for me.”
Hero stared at him for a moment before turning away to pick up the fallen hat, coat and cane from the snowy ground. She dusted them off and handed them back to the man before speaking.
“I don’t know. The last thing I remember yesterday was arriving at the island. Then I woke up here and you were asleep.” She decided not to mention waking up with him curled around her protectively.
“Hmm, oh well. Let’s continue, shall we?”
*
When the paramedics arrived at the pond they found Roy and Hayley huddled together for warmth, the older man curled around his niece protectively and a large coat draped over them both. They both had moderate hypothermia and spent the night in hospital, Hayley’s parents rushing into the room barely half an hour after being admitted.
They fussed and lectured and yelled, but the relief on their faces was apparent. Hayley’s mother nearly insisted on staying the night to watch over her daughter, but both the doctor and Roy talked her out of it. Later that night, once the ward was quiet and no one roamed the halls but for the night nurse, the ex-tellyhead was distracted from his contemplation -not sleep, he didn’t sleep much anymore, dreams still didn’t agree with him- by a hissing noise.
“Psst!” whispered Hayley. “RGB? You awake?”
The man turned on his side to face the girl, smirking at her attempts to get his attention.
“Yes, Hero?” Roy spotted a small smile on the girls face in the dim light of a monitor at the nickname.
“…thanks. For saving me.”
“You already said that, remember?”
“Yeah, but that doesn’t mean I can’t say it again, right?” This elicited a slight chuckle from the man, remembering their earlier conversation. “I know you’re scared of the water, but you saved me anyway.”
“Of course; what sort of person would I be if I didn’t?”
“It’s kinda like before though, isn’t it?”
“What do you mean?”
“Before, in the other place, before you were…” a hand waved vaguely in the general direction of the man. “…Roy. When we had adventures.”
“Hmm, I suppose you’re right. Today really was an adventure.”
“Are we ever going to stop having them?”
The ex-monster smiled warmly at the question, glad that he had long thrown out his ‘don’t get attached’ rule.
“My dear, I would loathe to stop having adventures; life would be rather dull without them.”