Black Rose

Ch.21 He Who Tames the Iron Horse

After fleeing from the Contessa's castle estate, the gang headed for their next destination, following the spice trail to Nunavut Bay, Canada. The next member of the Klaww Gang, Jean Bison, used to be an old pioneer, wanting to strike it big during the gold rush, but got stuck in the avalanche. Thanks to the quick freeze, he was kept alive and, thanks to global warming, he thawed out. Now, wanting to "tame the iron west," He goes chopping down every tree there is, using a fairly large amount of the Clockwerk parts to fuel his "Iron Horses," i.e. his three trains. Now the gang has to put a stop to whatever it is he's planning on doing with these trains before it's too late.

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Rae sat in the back of the van, typing on Bentley's computer. She was trying to gather information on Jean Bison and to see what share of the Clockwerk parts he received, but wasn't getting very far. After a while, she sighed and turned the computer off, figuring she wouldn't find anything else out that they didn't already know until they arrived in Nunavut Bay. However, in the corner of her eye, the fox noticed Sly. He sat at the far end, near the doors, absentmindedly staring at Rae's cane. She knew why of course, gently placing her hand on the patch over her neck from when she was cut, but gave a stern look as she stood up, seating herself next to the raccoon. He didn't notice her sit down until she reached up, placing her hand on her own cane.

"Sly, are you alright?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah, I'm fine. Sorry, I didn't notice you get up."

Rae took her cane from him, setting it aside. "Look, I know you're still thinking about what happened after the Contessa's castle, but I told you already, you don't have to worry about it anymore."

He just sighed heavily. "Can you blame me for dwelling on it? I mean, I could've killed you..."

"I know, but you didn't." She said. "You didn't kill me because you knew that deep down, you couldn't, not under her control. You could've killed me, but at the same time, you couldn't because you refused to stay under the Contessa's hypnosis, so then how could I be angry at someone whose will wasn't their own?"

"Well, when you put it like that..."

"You see? You don't have to focus on what happened because she can't hurt us anymore." Rae reassured. "I know this journey hasn't been easy for any of us, and I don't expect it to get any easier either, especially once we finally catch up to Mira and Neyla. However, despite that, despite all the hardships we may face from here on out, we'll all stick together because that what family does so that we can finally put an end to Clockwerk."

Sly stared into Rae's big, blue eyes for a long moment, knowing she was right about all this as he gave a nod before a small grin appeared on his face. "You know, it's kinda funny..."

"Hmm? What is?"

"To think not too long ago, I was trying to cheer you up, and here you are, doing the exact same thing to me now. If that's not irony, then I don't know what is."

Rae suddenly chuckled. "Yeah, you're right, but that's why I'm here. You helped me once, and now it's time I helped you."

He nodded again before pulling the fox into a tight embrace. She was a bit surprised at first, but smiled, wrapping her arms around the raccoon. "This won't be easy, that much I know, but with you and the guys here with me, I know we can put an end to this once and for all."

Rae nodded. "Yeah, and we'll do it together."

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"Sly, Rae, can you two go out on a mission for me?" Bentley asked once they had arrived in Canada, everyone setting up a Safe House.