[ Cruel Winter - A Inanimate Insanity Invitational AU ]

Chapter 20 - Nickel does a thing again

Yin-Yang ran through the woods, running and running until he couldn't anymore. He panted to catch his breath, sitting down on a tree stump. He was nowhere near the mountain by now, was he? Good. At least he'd be away from Silver Spoon.

The night sky was splattered with stars. Yin-Yang let out a sigh as he looked around. He might as well start making a fire.

He walked into the woods, collecting every stick he could find. He could've sworn he heard leaves crunching and crackling under something, but decided to ignore it for now.

As he tugged a stick off a tree branch, he heard the leaves crackling again. Yin-Yang's gaze darted to the sides nervously. He winced, climbing onto the branch of the tree for safety. Little did he know that it would be the most unsafe place to be at the time.

He climbed up the tree until his head poked out of the brushy leaves, uncovering the black sky. The stars glimmered and glistened. He stared at the sky, mesmerized. He hadn't truly known what the sky looked like from the tip of the trees, he never had.

His eyes glistened in the reflection of the brilliant light the stars radiated. All at once, it was peaceful. That was until the tree he was settled on began shaking violently.

He screeched, scrambling to stay on the top of the tree. He grappled at the tree branches, trying to remain in contact with the tree, but failing by the second as he slipped, his hands scraped by the rough bark.

Once he slipped down, he was faced by a giant spotty cat. He whimpered as the cat lunged for him, thinking it was the end.

That was when he felt himself get dragged away into another tree. "A-" He yelped.

He felt himself get landed into the branches of a nearby tree, eyes still shut tight. He could hear the noises of commotion. Where was he?

He opened his eyes to see someone above him. "...Clover-?" He asked. "Hi Yin-Yang..! Ehm- What are you doing here?" She asked, a look of curiosity plastered on her face.

"Well, I ran away from–" Yin-Yang was cut off as a voice called out for Clover. "Clover! Get down from there! We have an important meeting!" Lightbulb wheezed. "AGH- Coming, Light! I'll be right back," Clover grabbed a grappling hook out of her pocket and practically bungee jumped to the ground.

These trees were 20 feet tall, and Yin-Yang seemed shocked. It appeared he was... above Nickel's 'kingdom'? No! He let out a quiet scream. Everyone seemed to be gathered around a throne of sorts.

Yin-Yang watched from above with wide eyes. Nickel hopped up onto the throne, beginning to speak.

"As you all should know by now, I'm going on a journal to retrieve something. I'll be gone for a week at least, but until I'm back, Balloon is in charge." He called to the crowd.

Lightbulb and Fan eyed him. "Nickel? Where are you going?" Fan asked. Nickel shot him a glare, as if telling him to shut up. Fan jumped back, almost falling until Lightbulb caught him, staring at Nickel blankly the whole time.

"Now, I'm going to have a talk with Balloon, and I'll be on my way." Nickel stepped off the throne instantly.

Everyone seemed to un-crowd, heading back to their cabins as Balloon and Nickel talked. Yin-Yang saw Nickel turn to Clover, say a few words, and turn back to Balloon.

Clover nodded, grabbing her grappling hook. She grapple-hooked back up the tree, landing beside Yin-Yang, seemingly panicked. "Oh god... Oh god..." She panted. "What-?" Yin-Yang tilted his head.

Clover grabbed Yin-Yang's arm. "We need to go." She ordered, grabbing her grappling hook with the other hand and rocketing the grapple to the ground. "What are you- AHHH-" Yin-Yang screamed as they began rocketing toward the ground.

Clover put the grappling hook in her pocket and started running. "Wha- What's going on–?" Yin-Yang asked, startled. "I think Nickel knows you're here. Oh my god, he's gonna kill us if he finds out!" Clover replied, still running.

The 'kingdom' had a lot of clearing space, and it'd be easy to spot them. Why did Clover bring him HERE? He didn't have time to think as Clover pulled him behind a tree. "What was that for?" He whispered. "Shhh–" Clover covered his mouth.

Lightbulb and Fan seemed to pass by on the side of the tree that was facing the kingdom. "Nickel's acting kind of... Weird..." Lightbulb muttered. "Maybe it has something to do with Test Tube? She also had to go somewhere... She didn't say where, though. Just like Nickel." Fan replied.

Lightbulb shrugged it off. "Eh, probably just a coincidence." She laughed. Fan laughed too and they left. "Phew..." Clover let out a sigh of relief.

Before Yin-Yang could ask any questions, Clover dragged him off to a far part of the forest. "Ok, we should be safe her-" Clover was cut off. "Hey, Clover!!" It was Bot's voice. "Quick, hide...!" Clover whispered as Bot approached. "Clover, Clover!! Guess what? I got a LEAF!!!!" Bot exclaimed, spinning and holding a leaf in the air.

"...That's great, Bot, but I'm really busy right now-..." Clover stammered. "Busy? Busy with what?" Bot asked. "Just- Er- taking a stroll." Clover lied.

"Oh, ok... Bye Cloverrr!" Bot scrambled off. Clover waited until Bot was out of sight. "Ok Yin-Yang, come on..." Clover signaled.

Yin-Yang stepped out from behind the tree. "Got it..." He mumbled. "Ok, we're almost out of the forest. Come on, come on..." Clover dragged Yin-Yang through the woods.

The dried leaves crunched and crinkled under their feet as they ran, a bit too loudly. Snow continued to fall, their footsteps imprinted in the snow. Then, they saw another trail of footsteps, leading to the exit. "Oh... Those are Nickel's foot prints. Let's hope he's gone by the time we get there.." Clover whispered.

They headed all the way to the exit, step after step until they got near. As they stopped at the exit, they saw a horrifying sight. Nickel. Nickel whipped around, smirking.

"Great work, Clover." He sneered. "W–What...?" Clover started shaking. Yin-Yang tore her grasp from him. "Clover...?" He stared at her in disbelief.

Clover was shaking in a completely nervous and terrified manner. "I—I—" She couldn't speak as Nickel dragged her over to him. "You did great, Clover! I'm /so/ proud of you." Nickel's grasp on her shoulder seemed to tighten, making her wince.

"Clover- I– I trusted you! I thought you were going to get me home!" Yin-Yang snapped. Nickel shot a glance at Clover. "...Clover, is that true...?" He shot a sad glance at her.

Clover, not wanting to hurt Nickel's feelings, shook her head. Yin-Yang continued to stare at Clover in angry disbelief. "I can't believe you, Clover..." Yin-Yang whispered.

Clover displayed a look of guilt, but Yin-Yang believed it was just a way to deceive him. "Well, yknow, I'm not going down without a fight." Yin-Yang grabbed a shotgun from his hat.

Nickel scoffed. "Well, go on Clover, fight him." He huffed. Clover froze up at the sight of the gun, stuttering instead of saying words. It was clearly a PTSD response, but neither Nickel nor Yin-Yang seemed to care. Yin-Yang glared.

"Hmph. Pathetic." He retorted, firing two shots at Clover's head. Clover yelped, ducking. "I–I'm sorry, Yin-Yang..! I didn-" Clover cut herself off as Nickel stared at her expectantly.

Clover shook her head, trying to focus. "Yin-Yang, I– I don't understand!" Clover winced. "WELL YOU SHOULD, BITCH!" Yin-Yang knocked her to the ground. Clover stared up at Yin-Yang.

"I trusted you, Clover. Guess I was wrong!-" Yin-Yang was cut off as Nickel dragged Clover away. "Look, Yin-Yang. This isn't where you belong. Leave before I make you." Nickel retorted.

"...Fine. I don't want to be here anyway," Yin-Yang snapped, shoving Clover as he left. Clover stumbled to her feet, trying not to cry, but failing.

Nickel sighed, pressing against Clover in an attempt to comfort her. "Shh... It's ok..." He whispered. "Come on, I'll take you back to camp before I leave..." He added.

Soon enough, they began walking back to the kingdom.