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dzthenerd490 · 5 months

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Tales: The Polar Express

It was 1993 and Iris just sat in her room curled up in her bed. She knew that it was Christmas Eve, but she didn't care, the last thing she wanted was to be around more Foundation staff. Sure, the ones that cared for her greatly outnumbered the ones who enjoyed bullying her but right now she wanted nothing to do with ALL of them. She hoped that those that cared for her would understand her desire to just be left alone. Though her hopes were dashed almost immediately as she heard the door to her room open.

"Go away!" She was desperate for alone time, so she didn't bother being kind to whoever was at the door.

"Iris, what's wrong?" She instantly felt regret as she heard the only voice she enjoyed listening to even now. She quickly got up and turned around to see it was Meri. Iris groaned at her own frustration and just sighed as she looked at Meri.

"Sorry, Meri, I really just want to be alone right now."

"... I, I heard what happened, you should know that jerk got fired today."

"I don't care! not after... It's not what she said, she broke my camera! That was the last thing I had from my parents and she broke it." Meri was shocked by this; she had heard Foundation staff risk their entire careers by insulting anomalies protected by the Anomalous Employment Division. She herself was the victim of quite a few of those insults but never had she heard of something so vile happening before. Meri walked over to Iris and opened her arms for a hug, Iris blushed and tried to look away, but she couldn't resist and hugged Meri.

"Thanks Meri, I do like the hug." Iris then let go of Meri so they could be face to face.

"But I would really rather be alone."

"Oh... I see, but um... if you change your mind, we're having a Christmas sleepover, also it's in celebration of Sigurrós recovery. She's getting healthy and doesn't have to take as much of the drugs anymore. So just this once Ms. Corvio and Harvey are allowing her to have a sleepover with the rest of us on Christmas. Maybe being with everyone will cheer you up? We going to stay up till midnight to open our presents early!" Meri smiled beautifully but Iris was still feeling moody.

"I... I don't know Meri, I think I'll just bring everyone down with my negativity, I'm still pretty mad after all. I don't wanna ruin one of Sigurrós only days where she's out of bed. Besides you know I don't believe in Santa Claus." Meri then let go of Iris but looked down in disappointment, she really wanted Iris to come after all.

"Well, I won't force you, but just know the doors to the lounge will always be open. It's going to be hard to not have fun without you... Merry Christmas Iris." Meri then left the room finally leaving Iris alone. Iris felt bad making Meri sad like that, but she just couldn't bring herself to leave her room right now. She just wanted to be alone and maybe cry in peace with no one around her. Iris laid down on her bed not even bothering to read one of her favorite books like she normally does. She did end up crying a little and surprisingly that was what she needed to fall asleep.

***

The Sound of a train could be heard even within the Foundation Site, it woke Iris almost immediately. She only ever heard such a sound in audio recordings and the occasional cartoons Dr. Zeek and Daniel allowed her to watch. Suddenly it stopped and her door suddenly opened wide which it never would unless someone was trying to enter but no one was. Suddenly she heard a ring of a bell, she looked around but couldn't tell where it was coming from. Then it rang again this time out of her room, she went out of her room and looked around. Again, the ringing happened and was coming from down the hall.

Iris knew this was a bad idea especially to do it this late, but she was curious and also didn't care about making Foundation staff mad right now. She went down the halls and past every door and room she could while following the ringing. At first it sounded like a normal bell but soon as she continued it sounded like a soft jingle of sleigh bells. Finally, Iris made it to the place where Foundation security never let her even get close too. She made it to the exit lobby of the Site, the only entrance in and out of the Site. She looked around; it was quite big, probably to ensure that no matter how big the Foundation would be able to transport anything in and out. Though she noticed on the ceiling for cameras and on the walls were miniguns, electrified net launchers, and missile launchers. Though all the turrets were turned off, and weirdest of all despite Iris being here none of the alarms were going off.

"Iris?" Iris turned around and saw all her friends, Stella, Cidney, Sigurrós, Meri, and even little Abby was there with her necklace that kept them from feeling the effects of her anomaly. Besides that, they were all wearing different colored nightgowns much like Iris was.

"Wha- What are you guys doing here?"

"We could ask you the same question." Sigurrós then stepped forward, Iris couldn't help but smile and actually ran up to her and hugged her, Sigurrós giggled and hugged Iris back.

"Sigurrós! Meri told me you were recovering but I still couldn't believe it!" Iris then backed off from Sigurrós to get a better look at her; however, suddenly her head felt itchy, so she touched the top of her head to suddenly realize she has cat ears.

"Oh sorry." Sigurrós closed her eyes and raised her hand to Iris and suddenly the cat ears were gone.

"I still have a little time to go before I'm fully recovered but Dr. Alvik assured me once he's done, I won't ever hurt anyone again." Iris smiled; she didn't know if there was anyone more scared of Sigurrós powers than her. She was happy for Sigurrós to finally be getting some control over the dangerous powers that forced her into a coma for almost her entire childhood. Then suddenly everyone heard the bell again, that soft and lovely jingle clearly coming out from outside the Site despite the doors being locked shut.

"Is that Santa?!" Abby walked over to Iris and hugged her out of excitement, Iris smiled and gently patted her head. She soon felt guilt as Meri was right about her feeling better if she hung out with her friends. Soon Cidney inched forward of the group so that everyone could see her and said, "What should we do?" is ASL. Thanks to the AED she recently received modifications to make her augmentations easier to manage and her hands not so blade like anymore.

"Should we not go back to our rooms? It's already a bad idea to be here." Stella, who was clinging to Meri, agreed and nodded her head furiously to show it. Iris knew it as well, but her rebellious spirit was already on the rise, so she huffed and walked forward toward the door. Cidney quickly grabbed her and as soon as Iris turned around, she said "Iris! What if it's a trap from one of those bad groups or maybe a bad SCP! I heard there were lots of bad SCP's that look like Santa!" in ASL. Iris sighed, she couldn't deny the possibility that it was an evil anomaly or perhaps the Black Queen's Insurgency finally coming to finish her off. However, as they all heard the jingling of bells again Iris smiled and looked back at all of her friends with determination.

"I'm not afraid, you all should go back to sleep but me, I'm going."

"Iris!" Meri called out to her, but Iris didn't listen, instead she just kept going to the entrance of the lobby. Iris looked around and saw a button on the side of the walls saying emergency open. She ran over to it and pressed it. The hatch doors started opening and from it the cold air blew in but for whatever reason it wasn't too cold. Maybe it was because they were in a desert but still something about it felt odd. But still Iris left the Site and wandered outside without fear, though it was mainly because she was overtaken by wonder. She had never been outside before, so this was a new experience for her, even if it was a little mundane.

Meri was watching Iris with great concern and fear, hoping she would eventually come to her senses and come back. However, the opposite ended up happening as Abby went running after Iris and so did Cidney. Meri tried to call out for them, but Sigurrós grabbed her hand and pulled Meri so that she and Stella would follow the others.

"Come on now, it's not like there's anything out there strong enough to hurt us." Meri was shocked by Sigurrós recklessness but just sighed as she did kind of agree with her. Meri then started walking alongside the rest of them without resistance. Stella still wanted to go back but she continued to cling to Meri out of fear and because she couldn't see. Though as soon as they continued outward they heard someone shouting, "all aboard!"

"What the heck?!" Everyone turned to Iris and were shocked to see her staring at a train that was right in front of the Foundation Site. How this was possible none of them knew, nor did they know why it was here of all times and places. Iris continues closer to the train only to suddenly get confronted by the Conductor.

"All Abo- oh! Ah! There you are! Iris Thompson! What were you trying to pull? Fashionably late? On Christmas Eve of all nights?"

"No I was... wait. you. know me?"

"Uh... Of course! This is you correct?" The Conductor showed her a clipboard showing a list of all the passengers. Sure, enough when Iris looked at it her name was on the list, in fact all of their names were on the list. Soon Meri, Sigurrós, and the others caught up to Iris and were shocked to see their names as all.

"Ah! Good, you're all here! Now then girls, are you all ready to go?"

"Go? Go where?"

"Why, to the North Pole of course! This is the Polar Express!" Iris and the others looked at one another in confusion. They had heard and experienced weird stuff before, but this really took the cake on the weirdest, at least for now.

"Hm, now normally we don't make stops at the uh... SCP Foundation? Am I saying that correct?" Iris nodded so the conduction continued.

"Well, the higher management considered that after years of allowing them to feel nothing but fear for this time of year, that a change was needed. Most certainly with the younger generation. Besides, this seems like a crucial year for all of you, as I'm sure you're aware some of you don't even celebrate Christmas." The Conductor looked at all of them when he said this, but his gaze fell to Iris as he seemingly appreciated that last part. Iris lowered her gaze, she felt she was justified for not wanting to celebrate Christmas but right now the Conductor was making her feel bad.

"Come now girls, the time to go is now as we are-" The Conductor then pulled out his pocket watch to check the time.

"Oof! On a tight schedule! So, the time to decide is now!" Meri and Sigurrós looked at each other in confusion, not sure if this was a trap or not. Cidney was holding on to Iris now out of fear, having a very bad feeling about all of this. However, like before Iris took the initiative and stepped onto the train. Meri sighed but she knew protesting wouldn't get through to Iris right now, so she quickly followed. Cidney was shocked by this and even more shocked when Sigurrós escorted Stella and Abby onto the train as well. Cidney stood there panicking in fear not sure what to do, she then looked to the Conductor who was still there.

"The Polar Express is under no jurisdiction to force you to come. However, it would be such a shame for your friends to meet Santa without you." Cidney was still scared but she didn't want to be alone, so she nodded. The Conductor then extended a hand and helped her as she got up onto the train.

"Alright girls, right this way." The Conductor opened the door for them and inside was a comfortable looking passenger cart. Though that's not what surprised any of them it was the fact that inside the cart were lots of other kids. The kids were all singing and laughing around though some of them noticed the girls leaving the air awkward. Though it wasn't hard to see the reason why, Stella had black eyes, Cidney was part cyborg, and Mira had deer horns and legs. The only ones who looked normal were Sigurrós, Iris, and Abby, ironic considering they had the most elaborate anomalous properties. Thankfully the silence was broken when one of the younger boys looked over his seat and spoke.

"... are you guys' superheroes?" Iris chuckled at that but didn't answer and instead went to get a seat, she grabbed Meri's hand so that they would sit together. Abby noticed this and grabbed Stella's hand so that they could sit together and Sigurrós did the same for Cidney to help her calm down. The six of them made sure to keep sitting close to each other but also in the back as they didn't know anyone in the front. Suddenly a little girl walked up to where Meri was sitting and stared at her for a little while to which Meri looked at her in confusion.

"Uh... Yes?"

"... You're very pretty, are you an angel?" Iris snorted though she did have a similar opinion about Meri.

"Ah... ahem, no I'm not, why do you ask?"

"Hm... I don't know, my mommy says angels are pretty girls with bird wings, but you don't have bird wings, you have deer horns and legs. but deers and birds are both animals and you're pretty, so I thought that maybe you were from a different kind of angle."

"Oh, she is actually." Meri looked at Iris confused while the little girl's eyes sparkled.

"Really?!"

"Yup! You know how normal angles make lights with their halos and stuff. She can make flowers grow." Meri looked at Iris with disappointment but then looked at the little girl who was looking at her with eyes full of wonder. Meri didn't want to disappoint the little girl, so she sighed and held out her hands in front of her. Thanks to the anomalous device within her rosary she was able to control her powers to the point that she could even make flowers grow from anywhere without damaging anything. As such it was no effort for her to grow a single flower within the palms of her hands. The girl was speechless at the sight as her eyes widened with amazement. Meri actually smiled and decided to let the girl keep the flower, the girl did and put it on her hair. The girl giggled and thanked Meri, then ran back to her seat while showing the other kids.

"Ha, and you say my power is cool."

"Your power is wonderful Iris; you just don't give yourself enough credit." Iris blushed as she looked down in embarrassment. Suddenly Meri leaned forward but it was because someone was grabbing her horns.

"Ow! Hey!"

"Woah so they are real."

"Please let me go!"

"Or what, deer? You know men like me hunt you in the forest and eat you right?" Iris got on her seat and punched the boy in the shoulder making him let go of Meri.

"Meri, are you okay?"

"Ah, yeah, he was so rude."

"Hey!" The boy then got off the seat in front of them and faced them from the side.

"What's your problem! I was just trying to see if they were fake or not."

"You were hurting her!"

"So what? She's a freak, stop being such a drama queen!" The boy tried to walk away but Iris got out of her seat and stopped him.

"Hey, apologize to her!"

"Iris stop!"

"No, not until he apologizes."

"Go back to your seat, drama queen!"

"You don't get to tell me what to do!" Iris then pushed the boy which grabbed the attention of all the other kids. They started watching intently at the incoming fight, Meri facepalmed, Cidney covered her face in fear, Abby watched thinking Iris could win easily, and Stella had no idea what was going on. The boy blushed at the idea of being pushed by a girl of all things and felt like he had to act tough with everyone watching him, so he raised his fists despite shaking in fear.

"You know what, my dad always says to my mom that girls need to learn their place!" He threw a fist at Iris, but she easily dodged and punched him back. He held his nose in pain, but he just glared at Iris with even more anger.

"You! Girls aren't supposed to know how to fight!" He threw another punch only for Iris to dodge again and hit him in the stomach. Now the kids were cheering her on, which only angered the boy more, so he tried to throw another punch but suddenly he was frozen into place. Suddenly he was pushed back by an invisible force, Iris was just as shocked as everyone else by this, or at least she was until Sigurrós showed up.

"Ah, freaks! They're all freaks!" Soon all of the kids looked at Iris and Sigurrós, making Iris scared but Sigurrós disappointed. Sigurrós didn't want to hurt people but what mattered to her most was keeping her friends safe. However, her worries were dashed away when all of the kids started cheering both to their and the boy's shock.

"I knew they were superheroes!"

"Some of them are angels too!" As some of the kids continued to praise Iris and Sigurrós, the boy started crying and hid in one of the front chairs. Some of the older kids walked up to Sigurrós and Iris to compliment them directly.

"You guys are awesome!"

"Thanks by the way, that kid was Brandon and he's a massive jerk."

"I know right, why is he even on this train? He doesn't deserve to see Santa."

"How did you guys do that? You were fighting like a ninja but you! You made him move with your mind! Like a real superhero!"

"Was it magic? Can you teach us magic!"

"Ahem! Tickets! Tickets please!" The Conductor was back and quickly everyone got back into their seats. Iris got back into hers in a rush only to be confronted by a very disappointed looking Meri glaring at her with arms crossed.

"What?"

"Iris, I appreciate you sticking up for me, but sometimes it better to just let things go rather than starting violence." Iris pouted but looked down in embarrassment, though she really should have seen that coming. Meri was the most responsible of them all and was a well-known pacifist, so she hated violence especially unnecessary violence. However, they both looked up to the Conductor who was standing beside their seat.

"Tickets?"

"We don't have tickets."

"Come now, check your pockets." Iris and Meri looked at one another but did as the Conductor asked. Surprisingly Meri found a ticket in the pocket of her nightgown and Iris found one for her in her pajama pants. The Conductor took their tickets and started using his puncher to imprint letters on them and quickly gave them back. They both looked at their tickets with Meri's having the letters F and H and Iris's having the letters H and P. Both looked at one another in confusion and then to the conductor.

"Uh what does this mean?"

"It means you are now official passengers of the Polar Express."

"No, I mean-"

"Next! Who's next?" Iris just sighed in annoyance while Meri just shrugged.

"It must be some kind of processing code."

"I guess." Iris then looked out the window and saw that they were going through different towns and places. Iris was quickly wide-eyed at all of the stores and other buildings, but also the beautiful snow that fell from the sky. She had never seen so much of the outside world before; it was for that reason alone that she didn't regret getting onto this train.

Iris looked over to Abby who was describing everything she saw out the window to Stella who was listening with excitement. Cidney was also excited by having small glimpses of the outside world, making Sigurrós giggle at how cute she was being about all of it. Iris only felt more and more justified for getting onto the train, Meri noticed this and rolled her eyes. Though after she turned her gaze from Iris she smiled as she secretly was glad, they were here too.

Suddenly the train stopped leaving everyone confused. Iris looked out the window and saw they were in a place with lots of large buildings that looked worn down and had lots of graffiti on them. The Conductor got off the train and shouted "all aboard!" to the nearest building. After a short while a little boy came out of the building looking very tense and scared. He didn't have hair, had dark skin, and was wearing worn pajamas. He walked up to the Conductor, and it seemed they were having a similar conversation to what Iris had with him earlier. However, the boy backed up seeming not wanting to come so the Conductor simply said, "Suit yourself!" and got back on the train.

The train then slowly started back up, leaving the boy behind, though as it passed, he noticed Iris who was still looking out the window. Iris noticed him looking at her and waved at him to get on the train quickly. He tried to turn around and forget about it but in the end, he gave in and ran for the train. Iris quickly started cheering him on getting the attention of the other kids who were doing the same. The boy was shocked to see so many cheering him on, he never had that before so he was determined to run as fast as he could. However, he ended up falling on the road making him lose any chance of the train. Or at least that would have happened if he didn't start floating in the air.

Iris was shocked by the sight but then turned around to see Sigurrós raising her hand. She was helping the boy float in the air and fly right towards the nearest steps onto the train. Everyone was in awe at the sight and cheered as he was slowly getting closer to the train. Once he got on the steps, he was confused but got on and entered their cart where he was overwhelmed with kids walking up to him with excitement.

"That was awesome!"

"How did you do that?"

"Are you a superhero too?"

"Uh... no... Superhero?"

"Yeah, like them!" One of the younger kids pointed at Iris and Meri, both of which looked at the boy. The boy blushed at the sight of them but then looked at Sigurrós and Cidney and was shocked by her appearance. Then finally his gaze went to Stella and Abby, Stella was once again confused on what was going on, so Abby whispered into her ear what was happening. He was so confused on why Stella, Cidney, and Mira looked so different from everyone else but before he could ponder anymore Brandon pushed past the crowd and glared at the boy.

"Hey, get off the train."

"Leave him alone Brandon!" Brandon looked at the little girl speaking to him and pushed her away, scaring the boy.

"I said get off the train, your kind doesn't belong here." Before things could escalate Iris got in-between Brandon and the boy.

"Want me to beat you up again?" Brandon looked scared now, but he tried to keep up his cool appearance. Though that fell apart quickly when one of the older kids stood beside Iris and faced Brandon.

"You don't get to decide who stays on the train, you wanna mess with them, you'll have to go through me." Soon other kids started joining Iris's side in defending the boy.

"And me!"

"Me too!"

"Yeah, back off Brandon!" Soon all the other kids joined in on jeering Brandon which made him start tearing up. Iris noticed this and actually kinda felt bad.

"Fine! Then I guess your all just a bunch of filthy freaks!" Then her guilt faded as he ran back to his seat while insulting everyone. Everyone started cheering again and were complementing one another at how brave they were. Iris smiled at this but then looked back to the boy and extended her hand to him.

"Hi. I'm Iris, what's your name?"

"... Ethan... I don't wanna fight."

"Hm? Why would I fight you? You're not another jerk, are you?"

"No... I just... I don't wanna fight... "

"Hm, well don't worry Ethan, I won't hurt you."

"... Thank you." Ethan finally took her hand and shook on it; Iris smiled at him and led him back to her and Meri's seat. However, Iris quickly realized they would be cramped if he sat with them.

"Hm... oh! Why don't you sit in front of us!"

"I don't mind that." Meri smiled at Ethan, making him blush again. He couldn't say anything out of embarrassment, so he just nodded and sat in the seat in front of them. Since Ethan was sitting alone, he sat up and turned around to face Meri and Iris.

"Nice to meet you Ethan, I am Meri Clef."

"Hi... are... are you an alien?" Meri and Iris looked at one another in confusion but then quickly started laughing in joy.

"No. Not at all."

"Okay... sorry... " Ethan then slumped back to his seat in embarrassment to which Iris and Meri giggled joyfully.

"He's cute, isn't he?" Iris nodded but then felt a little bit of jealousy hearing Meri say that about someone else. Though she shook her head as she knew it was petty to feel jealousy especially towards Ethan who she just met. Meri noticed Iris blushing in embarrassment and smirked.

"Though, he's not the one who's in my heart."

"Really?" Iris jolted back to facing Meri but realized her and Meri's face were too close together and quickly backed off while blushing in embarrassment.

"Ahem, good to know." Meri giggled and blushed at Iris's cute embarrassment. Though quickly the Conductor entered their Cart again and went for the train's telephone.

"Ahem! Your attention please, are there any Polar Express Passengers in need of refreshments?" Soon all the other kids raised their hands; Stella, Abby, and Sigurrós raised their hands as well and finally so did Iris.

"I thought so." The Conductor then opened the door and suddenly a bunch of waiters that all looked exactly the same, came tap dancing into the cart. Some of them even shifted the seats around to make some kids face one another. Then along with the Conductor they started singing the Hot Chocolate song. The waiters and the chiefs were dancing and jumping around with great reflex and coordination. The waiters even displayed anomalous abilities, being able to make their clothes float in front of the kids as if they were on tables. With amazing precision, the chefs were able to spray the hot chocolate into large cups for the kids to enjoy.

Iris watched them dance while preparing the rest of the hot chocolate with a smile on her face. Never had she seen adults try so hard to entertain children and make them smile, she wished the Foundation was at least half as great as these guys. Once they were done serving the hot chocolate they took the plates, the cloth, and danced away while setting the seats back in place as if they never moved to begin with. Once they were done Iris and Meri looked at one another and saw that they had chocolate mustaches from drinking the hot chocolate. They both giggled joyfully at the silly sight of one another but also hiccupped because of how good the chocolate tasted.

"Ahhh... Still think it was a bad idea to get on the train?"

"No, but I still think it was reckless of you to just get on without knowing how dangerous it could be." Meri smiled at Iris with a hit of mature superiority in her eyes, Iris pouted at her and rolled her eyes afterwards. Meri then giggled though she did actually mean what she said, but she knew that Iris knew that, so she said nothing else.

Cidney noticed Iris and Meri together and smiled, especially since Iris was doing better, she heard what happened earlier today after all. Cidney then heard slurping behind her and saw Sigurrós still drinking hot chocolate. Sigurrós was drinking from it and then using her power to refill the bowl with new hot chocolate allowing her to drink even more. However, upon Sigurrós trying to drink the hot chocolate a fourth time Cidney placed her hand on the bowl to stop her. Sigurrós turned to Cidney who glared at her with disappointment and said in ASL "too much chocolate is bad for you!" Sigurrós smiled at her and with a wave of her hand the bowl disappeared.

"Hey! Aren't you going to have your chocolate." Sigurrós and Cidney as well as the other girls noticed a fat kid talking to Ethan who was still holding a cup of hot chocolate.

"... I... I didn't pay for it..."

"Hm? I don't think that matters. They served it to us, and we all drank some. Nothing happened so why worry?"

"My dad... he says... nothing in this world is free."

"hm... well if you're not going to take it then can I have it?" Ethan looked at the kid but handed him the bowl. The kid thanked him and went back to his seat to drink in peace. Meri went over her seat and looked down on Ethan who still seemed to be afraid of something. She reached down to gently touch his shoulder.

"Ethan?" Ethan jolted up in fear, which also spooked Meri as well.

"Sorry! Sorry... I just wanted to know if you were, okay?"

"... I'm okay... I just... do you think we're really going to the north pole... to meet Santa?"

"... I'm not really sure about that last part, but... I think we'll be okay as long as we stick together."

"You really think we'll be, okay?"

"Of course, Ethan!" Iris stood up and leaned on Ethan's seat right beside Meri.

"We may not look it but we're all really strong, me, Meri, Sigurrós, Abby, Cidney, and Stella. We all may not be strong, but we can do cool things especially when we're together. So don't worry, if something goes wrong, we'll protect you!"

"... but who will protect you?" Iris stopped smiling after she heard Ethan say that she then slumped back into her chair. That was true, she was destined to become another soldier in MTF Alpha-9 of the Foundation. A protector of those that don't see her as fully human, sure some people are nice to her, but they are a minority in the Foundation. No one was going to protect her, but she was going to be expected to protect everyone, even after... No, she didn't want to think about that right now. Though what she couldn't deny was that there was seemingly no hope for her future.

"Iris? What's wrong?" Iris then looked to Meri with sad and gloomy eyes.

"We're going to have to go back to the Foundation once this is over, right?"

"... I would assume yes." Iris then curled up and faced the window with clear depression on her face.

"Then I hope this train ride never stops." Meri was now filled with sadness knowing that Iris was depressed again. So, Meri stopped talking as well and just sat while remaining silent. Ethan looked over his seat and saw how drained of hope both Meri and Iris were. He then looked over to Cidney who noticed this as well, when she saw Ethan she said, "It's not your fault, they've both been through a lot". Ethan then nodded and said in ASL "I think it's something I said though." Cidney looked down for a moment but then said, "it's not your fault, you just met, mistakes are bound to happen". Ethan looked at Cidney for a moment and then said, "Mistakes get people hurt." before turning back to the widow of his seat.

Cidney wasn't sure what Ethan meant by that but as he turned away there was nothing left for her to say anyways so she just left it at that. However, Ethan then noticed that something was in his pocket that wasn't supposed to be there. He pulled it out to see an expensive looking ticket, he was so shocked that he didn't even bother reading it was a polar express ticket. He looked around in fear thinking someone was going to accuse him of stealing it. So he quickly threw it out the window, he then sighed in relief as now there was no evidence of him stealing anything.

"Ahem, your ticket sir?" The Conductor then showed up to Ethan's seat scaring Ethan to the point that he didn't even hear him.

"Sir? Your ticket please?"

"I... I don't have a ticket..."

"Come now try your pockets."

"There's nothing in my pockets."

"Come now... TRY." Ethan then reached into his pockets and pulled out the ends showing the Conductor that they were empty.

"Hm? Now that can't be right, there should be a ticket here somewhere." Suddenly Ethan's ticket flew out of one of the vents and flew close to Brandon. Brandon saw the ticket and took it, Ethan saw this but also saw Brandon mouth to him "my ticket!" Ethan assumed he was telling the truth and nodded, then he faced the Conductor again.

"Yes Sir, I didn't pay for a ticket, so I don't have one. I swear." The Conductor then raised his eyebrow at Ethan.

"Hm, very well. In that case, young man, you will just have to come with me."

"Hey no he doesn't!" One of the other kids stood up and faced the Conductor.

"His ticket was stolen from him by Brandon!"

"It's true! I saw it as well!" The Conductor looked at Brandon who tried to hide in his seat, he then turned back to Ethan.

"Is that true? Did that young man steal your ticket."

"... No! I swear I don't have a ticket!" The Conductor seemed disappointed and so did the other kids as they were confused as to why Ethan was defending Brandon of all people.

"Very well then, please come with me." Ethan nodded and followed the Conductor to the Cart behind them. Iris noticed him and grabbed Ethan's hand to stop him.

"Ethan?! What are you doing? Why are you letting Brandon steal your ticket."

"He didn't steal it, he told me it was his."

"He's lying! Why are you letting him take advantage of you?"

"... I'm not really good for anything else." Iris was shocked to hear this as it shot right through her heart.

"Thank you, Iris... for being nice to me but... I'm really no good... And I don't deserve anything..." Ethan then gently pulled Iris's hand off of him and followed the Conductor as the two left the Cart. Iris looked at her hand as tears fell from her eyes, what Ethan said filled her with sadness as it's how she felt for most of her time within the Foundation. She hated being miserable and she hated how Daniel, Dr. Zeek, Meri and Sigurrós were the only ones who actually helped her. But things were worse for Ethan, he didn't have anyone and thought he didn't even deserve the simplest things in life. She couldn't stand for it, so she stood up and wiped her tears away as she walked over to Brandon. Out of fear he quickly surrendered the ticket, so she took it and walked over to the cart door where the Conductor and Ethan disappeared.

"Iris?! What are you doing?" Sigurrós, Meri, Cidney, Stella and Abby

"I'm going to help Ethan!"

"Why? Iris he's a normie, you hate normies!"

"I don't... ugh... look I hate my life in the Foundation okay, I know complaining isn't going to make things better but that doesn't deny the fact that I hate it! I've suffered a lot because of the Foundation... possibly more than you all can understand." Iris looked to the ground seemingly in despair but then Cidney placed her hand on Iris's shoulder. Iris looked up to see Cidney who said in ASL "You're not the only one who remembers the Reset." Iris was shocked to learn about this, she thought she was the only one, but not apparently Cidney remembered too. Sigurrós then nodded her head and so did Meri, finally so did Abby as tears fell from her eyes. Iris started crying and all the girls hugged each other in comfort.

"That's why we wanted you to join us in the sleepover."

"It's also why we followed you onto the train, we don't want to be separated ever again!"

"We want to stick together, for better, for worse, and within the Foundation!" Iris smiled as she hugged the girls tighter than before then they all let go of each other and Iris wiped her tears away.

"Thank you, guys, I'm sorry I haven't always been a good friend."

"That's okay Iris, just know we're all here for you. So, if you wanna save Ethan then let us help you!"

"We wanna help too!" Some of the other kids from the cart showed up and faced the girls.

"We don't know you guys well but your awesome heroes! So please let us help!"

"Yeah, let us help you!"

"We can help!" As the kids continued to show their Sigurrós and Meri smiled at the sight while Cidney was shocked and so was Iris. She actually shed a tear again, Sigurrós wasn't wrong about saying Iris hated normies or non-anomalous people. She couldn't help it as she experienced anything but hatred from them, but these kids right now were showing here there were people who didn't show hate but kindness, even to strangers like her. However, Sigurrós stepped forward to address everyone.

"If you guys really want to help them, please make sure to watch over Brandon so that he doesn't follow us or do something stupid again." Some of the older kids glared at Brandon who hid in his seat again.

"Besides that, please watch over Abby and Stella." Abby and Stella looked at Sigurrós in shock.

"What?! But we wanna help!"

"Come on you guys, you won't be able to help much where we're going." Abby pouted in annoyance, but Stella held her still and nodded to show she understood. Sigurrós then faced Cidney and Meri.

"Maybe you guys should stay as well." Cidney was surprised by this but before she could nod her head, Meri stepped forward.

"If Iris is going to them, I'm going too." Iris blushed upon hearing this but quickly shook her head and tried to hide her lingering embarrassment with a smile of determination. Cidney admired Meri's bravery despite her anomalous abilities not being able to help in their situation. As such Cidney decided to step forward as well meaning there were four of them now.

"Is that everyone? Alright then! Let's go!"

Part 2

SCP: HMF Tales Hub

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