Frozen Odyssey

Chapter I

Testing, Testing, 1 2 3 4

Ten years ago.

The child let out a groan as he sat up in bed. As he opened his teal eyes he looked to his right to see a pair of red eyes glaring at him. The sight made him jump in surprise and he pulled the covers over himself. The girl ran to the door and yelled. “Hey he’s up!” The sound of feet hitting the steps filled the home and two adults entered the room.

“Jade, what did I tell you about bothering him?” The woman said as she crossed her arms.

“To not too.” The girl grumbled. Slate shook his head and approached the bed. The boy peeked out to see the two adults.

“Sorry about her, she’s is a bit of a trouble maker.” The green haired girl crossed her arms and pouted. The child flinched as the man sat on the bed. “I bet you’re a bit confused huh?” He only nodded. “Well, my names Slate,” He turned to his wife. “the lady is Aqua and you’ve already met Jade.”

“Nice to meet you.” The woman said with a warm smile. The child only nodded. The man thought back to the photo.

“Is you’re name Navy?” The child looked down and shrugged. “Okay, how about Cerulean?” The boy instinctively looked up. “Okay now we know each other’s names, we can figure out how to get you back to your folks.” Slate said as he stood up and walked towards the door. “If you need anything then just holler. The doctor will be by soon.” The boy didn’t bother to give a nod at the words and just sat in silence.

Soon the doctor from last night came into the small home and walked up to the child’s bedroom. Meanwhile, the blue haired man walked outside to see that the storm had passed and people were hard at work clearing off their homes.

“Where are you going?” Aqua asked.

“I’m gonna see how bad the road is.” He said as he whistled and the dogs went to the sled.

“Just be careful.” Aqua sighed. He gave her a quick peck on the cheek. The man nodded and headed towards the gate with his sled dogs. Thankfully the road was still semi intact and headed off down the snow covered road. He stopped at three miles out and saw that most of the road was still intact.

“Well, that’s good. Better head-” He stopped as he heard his dogs barking and a metallic clicking sound of a gun. He looked towards the mine to see a tall person in a heavy fur coat holding a rifle trained on him. The strangers face was covered by a hat and scarf, but he could just make out his green eyes.

“You even think about moving and I will shoot.” The voice was male and his tone meant business.

“Look friend, I don’t want no trouble.” Slate said raising his hands up away from the sled. The dogs started to bark more as the stranger approached. Slate whistled at the dogs and they piped down, but kept their fangs showing.

“You got any food or medicine?” The stranger asked.

“A little food, but no medicine.” Slate pointed back towards the giant wall of ice. “There’s a village and-”

“Village? Is there a doctor?” The man asked as he stepped closer making the dogs growl again.

“Yeah.” He said looking at the stranger. “You don’t look like you’re hurt.” The stranger sighed and put the rifle on his back before pulling his scarf off of his face to show his short white hair and piercing green eyes.

“My wife is injured we-”

“Your wife? You mean Sapphire?” The man trained his weapon on Slate again.

“How do you know that name? Are you with them?” He yelled pulling the hammer back on the long rifle again.

“With who?” He gulped. “That means you’re Silver?”

“I won’t ask again!” He said as he breathed heavily.

“Last night, I was coming home and we found this kid, Cerulean.” The shooter’s face softened and he dropped the gun.

“Where? Where is he?”

“He’s at the village I was talking about.” The miner stated.

“Then you’re....gonna take us there.” Both men turned to see a woman with long light blue hair. She was leaving bloody footprints and fell down in the powdery snow.

“Damn it Sapphire.” Silver said as he ran to his wife. “I told you not to leave-”

“Screw that.” She said before coughing up some blood. The man picked his wife up bridal style and turned towards the man.

“How far from the village?” He asked.

“Three miles.” Slate said making room on his sled. Silver set the woman down as she clutched her bleeding arm. “What happened?”

“Less talking, more sledding.”

“What about-” The man was cut off as the snow seemed to move around the man on it’s own accord. The snow formed what looked like a large wolf and the man climbed on the back before he took off towards the wall. “Never mind.” He said getting on the sled and double timed it back towards the wall. The massive gate opened up as the two returned to the small village.

“Now, where’s my son?” As Slate was about to open his mouth the two heard a crushing sound and looked towards the miner’s house to see several ice spikes shooting out of the windows and sides. “Oh no.” He said as he kicked down the door and startled the two green haired girls. He ignored them and climbed the stairs towards the frozen door.

“Cerulean?” He yelled as he kicked down the door. Silver saw the boy curled up on the bed with his arms wrapped around his knees. “Oh thank the Creator.” Cerulean looked up as the man hugged him. The doctor scrambled to his feet and adjusted his glasses.

“Well, that was...startling.”

“You the doctor? How’s my son?”

“Aside from some minor injuries that are healed for the most part, he’s fine physically.” The man gave a sigh of relief at the words.

“You’ve got another patient doctor. She’s hurt bad.” He said pointing out towards the sled.

“Right, duty calls.” The man said running down the steps. Silver looked at the ice spikes and sighed as he made them vanish.

“I-I’m sorry.” Cerulean said as he cried. “I-I was scared....I didn’t mean-” The man wrapped him in tight hug.

“It’s gonna be okay.” He said as he gently rubbed his son’s back.

Present.

Cerulean groaned as the sun beatdown on him. He wasn’t used to the temperature change and needed to shed another layer of clothing so he was only donning a loose dark blue T-shirt. “Ugh! I hate this heat!” He panted. The man was still looking for a place to eat in the town since the guild food was only available to members. The man saw a small bakery and sighed. Might be able to get a bagel of something. He made his way inside and saw a thin man with orange curly hair behind the register.

“Morning there fella. Grab a seat and I’ll be right with you.” He said in a cheery tone. Cerulean nodded and looked around to see that most of the seats were filled. There was still a booth partially unoccupied. He walked over and saw it was the girl that he had bumped into while he was exiting the guild.

“Hey, do you mind if I sit here? Everywhere else is full.”

“Go ahead.” She said gesturing to the empty seat from across from her.

“Thanks.” Cerulean set his package next to him. He then stuck his hand out to the girl. “Cerulean Frostwork.”

“Sunset Shimmer.” She said shaking his hand. Soon the orange haired man came around to them and took their orders. “So you wanted to join the guild?” She asked sipping her tea.

“Yeah. You too?” She gave a nod. “What kind of magic can you do?” She set her cup down and held out her right hand. An orange fireball with green tips then appeared from her hand.

“I’m a fire mage. What about you?” Cerulean put his finger on his cup of coffee and the girl saw it turn to ice. “Ice magic?”

“Yup.” The door then opened and a man in a dark brown coat then came up to them. Cerulean looked at the man and saw he had a set of grey wings and was one of the men that were hanging out with Blueblood.

“Hey glad I caught you two.” He said.

“Look whatever Blueblood is offering I ain’t buying.” Cerulean deadpanned.

“Yeah about that,” The man rubbed his head at the words. “he’s just angry because the last people we had completely screwed up their jobs and made the guild look bad. Name’s Endzone.” He sighed.

“How’d they screw up?” Sunset asked.

“Trust me you don’t want to know. Needless to say, Blueblood is a bit touchy about allowing just anyone in.”

“Okay, so why are you here?” Cerulean asked.

“Hey I’m here to help you.” The flyer frowned. “Look in order to get into the guild you need to pass a test. Just to let the lady in charge know you’re legit.” Cerulean looked at Sunset with a raised eyebrow.

“What’s the test?” She asked. The man looked towards the window and pointed to the mountain in the distance.

“See that mountain? You need to get up that mountain, grab a pice of gold from the dragon’s nest and come back.” The two sputtered their drinks.

“A dragon!?” The two said.

“Relax, that thing is long gone.” Endzone reached into his pocket and pulled out a gold bit. “See, I did it no problem and I don’t even have any magic.”

“How does that prove we’re good enough to be in the guild?” Cerulean asked.

“Show’s you can brave the terrain and you’re in descent shape. You complete that and the guild leader will have to let you in.” He said standing up. “Well, I gotta bounce.”

“Thanks.” Cerulean said getting up.

“Where are you going?” Sunset asked.

“To the mountain, duh. Want to come?”

“I...I don’t know.” She said a she shrank back a bit. “I don’t think it’d help me get in.”

“Hey you want to get in don’t you?” Sunset bit her lip. “Fine stay here.” He said grabbing his package and headed out the door. The mage weighed her options and went after the man. The two made their way out of town and found a dirt road that lead towards the mountain.

From a distance away from the two mages, Endzone walked over to the blonde haired Prince with a smile on his face.

“They bought it?” The Prince asked.

“Hook. Line. Sinker.” The flyer chuckled. “Morons.”

Cerulean was awed by the different kinds of trees and plants that were growing in the Summer. The sound of crickets chirping and frogs croaking filled his ears as they neared a small wetland in the forest. The gravel crunched under their boots.

“So Cerulean,” Sunset said finally breaking the silence. “you don’t look like someone from around here.”

“Yeah, I’m from the far North. I live just inside the Wall.”

“What’s that?” She asked.

“A giant wall made of ice, stone and steel. It separates the wilds from my village Zircon. Tiny place, but business is booming now.” He said as he hoped over a log.

“Why?” She asked as she went over the same log.

“Well, since the Crystal Empire returned, it opened up a new place to trade with.”

“Trade?”

“Mostly pelts, recipes and jewels. My friend’s dad owns a mine that hit the jackpot a few months ago. Rubies and emeralds as big a bear skull.” The girl’s eyes widened at the words. “Yeah, you need a pair of sunglasses to look at the cave.”

“What’s it like in the North?”

“Cold. Very cold. Winter lasts nine out of the twelve months and it barely gets over sixty degrees.”

“Sounds harsh.” She said. “I’m from the far South and grew up on the coast. Sunny beaches and sand under foot.” She smiled at the memory. “Been a while since I’ve been home.”

"Never seen the ocean myself." Cerulean stopped walking and felt a shiver run down his spine. “Sunset, don’t move.” He said as his hand started glowing with magic. The man spun around and an ice hatchet formed in his hand. He threw it in the girl’s direction and passed over her shoulder to hit a timber wolf in mid jump. As the blade hit the beast’s face, it was encased in ice and shattered into frozen wood fragments as it hit the ground. Sunset skirted away from the shards in shock.

“Wh-what? H-how did you do that?” She yelled.

“The things been trailing us for a little while now.” He said walking over to the shards. “We’d better keep going, wolves usually hunt in-” He was cut off as four more of the beasts emerged from the trees. “packs.” He sighed. Sunset reached inside her robe and pulled out what looked like a long whip.

As the first wolf charged at her, she cracked the whip and the rope was ignited with flames. The whip struck the wolf and it was encased in flames and howled in pain. Cerulean started throwing ice knives that were hitting their target with great precision. After the first two wolves went down, the rest of the wolves ran off the two relaxed. “Nice whip.”

“Thanks.” She said holding out the weapon. “It’s woven from a Unicorn mane. Helps the magic flow better.” She coiled the weapon back up and put it back on her waist.

“Where’d you get it?” He asked. Sunset’s eyes dropped at the words.

“It was my mother’s.” She said in a somber tone. “She...left it for me in her will.”

“Oh. I’m sorry to hear that.” He gulped.

“It’s fine. It happened years ago.” She quickly wiped a tear from her eye. “Let’s just keep moving.”

“Right.” He said as the two continued down the path nearing the mountain.

“What’s that thing on your back?” She asked looking at the large object.

“It’s-” He was cut off as the two heard a loud screeching sound. “What was that?” The girl shrugged at they followed the noise off the path to see a fox caught in a bear trap. It’s back left paw was caught in the metal clamp.

“Awe poor thing.” Sunset said looking at the trap. “I thought poaching in this forest was illegal.”

“It is. This trap looks like its been here a while.” Cerulean said looking at the device. “It’s meant for small game like foxes and rabbits.” He tapped the metal with his finger and the animal turned it’s ears back and barked.

“That hurt you ass!” Both mages looked at the fox in surprise.

“Sunset?”

“Yeah.”

“Did you hear that fox talk?”

“Yup.”

“Good. Didn’t want to be the only one.” He said eyeing the caught animal.

“If you two are done, can you please get this fucking thing off me?” The fox’s voice appeared feminine.

“Hang on, how do we know you’re not some spirit that’s trying to trick us?” Sunset asked glaring at the cat.

“Right, I deliberately stepped in a trap that is slowly crushing my leg just so I could trick the first two people I came across.” The fox said in a dry tone. “Look, get me out of here and I’ll make it worth your while.”

“How?” The girl squinted at the animal. “What could a fox possibly have that I’d want?”

“We should still let her out. I know if I were a timber wolf, this would be a good meal.” The scavenger started whining again. “Fine. I’ll let you out, hold still.” He said as he found the locking mechanism. “This may hurt a little bit.” Cerulean focused his magic on the metal and ice started forming on the metal. Soon the metal snapped and the jaws fell open releasing the scavenger.

“How did you do that?” Sunset asked.

“I froze the metal which caused the springs holding it together to shatter.” He looked at the fox who was favoring the hurt paw.

“Thank you! Give me a second.” The fox walked away from them and sat down. The fox’s body started to glow bright orange and the two mages had to cover their eyes. The animals form started to shift. It grew and it’s limbs started to lengthen while the fur started to move up it’s back and become hair. Her face went to that of a normal human’s and her whiskers vanished.

The two opened their eyes to see a human girl with long auburn hair, golden eyes and a pair of fox ears, the same color as her hair, were coming from the top of her head along with a similar colored tail with a white tip was coming from her lower back. The woman stood at 5'9” and her hair went down to the middle of her back. She cracked her back and sighed in pleasure. “Staying in that form for a long time gives me kinks.” She looked at the two mages.

The man’s face was red as an apple while the girl was in shock. “What? Never seen a fox turn into a woman?”

“No, but that’s not the issue.” Sunset said adverting her eyes.

“Then what is it?” She said crossing her arms under her chest.

“PUT SOME CLOTHES ON!” Cerulean said turning around with crimson red cheeks. The fox woman looked down to see that she was in fact naked.

“Right, thought it felt a little drafty.” She said turning around and heading into the bushes. Cerulean’s face was dark red, sure he’s seen naked women before, what boy his age hasn’t? He’d still like a little warning before an attractive woman show’s up naked in front of him. “There we go.”

Cerulean turned around to see that the cat girl was wearing a black tube top and dark brown cargo pants with similar colored boots. On either hand was an armored gauntlet and a pair of metal shin bracers were on each leg. Sitting atop her head was a dark brown Stetson hat that had holes for her ears to fit through. “I usually don’t wear clothes when I go into that form.”

“Why?”

“When was the last time you saw a fox wearing clothes?” The two mages gave a nod at the words.

“Right, so do you have a name?” Cerulean asked.

“Amber Jackal.” She smiled.

“Cerulean Frostwork and Sunset Shimmer.”The man said shaking her hand.

“Am I intruding on a date or something?” The two looked at each other and chuckled at the question.

“No, we’re just trying to get to the top of that mountain.” The fire mage pointed to their destination.

“So why are you taking the long way around?”

“Long way?” Cerulean asked.

“There’s a smaller trail that’ll cut your travel time in half.” Amber said as she pointed down the road. “Since I owe you one, I’ll show you.” She said as she lead the way into the brush. The two followed her through the foliage and kept quiet. “So why are you two out here anyway?”

“We need to pass a test to join the local guild.” The man said.

“Cool. Never been in a guild myself.” Amber smiled.

“So what are you doing out here?” Cerulean asked.

“I’m a traveler. I like exploring different places and meeting all kinds of people.”

“How’d you transform into a fox?” The man said eying her tail.

“She uses Therianthropy magic.” Sunset explained.

“Um....what?” Cerulean never did enjoy studies.

“She uses her magic to change her form into animals.”

“Any animal?” He said looking at Amber.

“No, it’s restricted to one type. For me it’s foxes.” Her body glowed again and she transformed herself into a fox with white fur. “I can change into any kind of fox, but it’s not the best in combat and it uses up a lot of magic.” She started to change back and the two mages covered their eyes. Cerulean peeked through to see that she was still wearing clothes.

“Why aren’t you naked?” Cerulean asked.

“Would you prefer if I was?” She said batting her eyes. Cerulean’s face went red and the girl giggled. “Ha! Your face! Priceless!” She laughed. “Seriously though, it just feels more natural being naked when I transform.” The girl’s left fox ear twitch and she sniffed the air.

“What’s going-”

“Shh!” Amber said as she closed her eyes. Cerulean did the same and the three heard a gunshot. “Someone is shooting at something in that direction.” She pointed to her left.

“Well, let’s go check it out.” Cerulean said.

“Sure going towards the gunshots sound like a great idea.” Amber deadpanned.

“It could be dangerous Cerulean.” Sunset said.

“Awe c’mon, where’s your sense of adventure?” He said following the sounds. The two girls reluctantly followed him with a sigh.

“If I get shot, I’m blaming you.” Amber groaned. The trio made their way through the underbrush. Sunset wasn’t used to bushwhacking so she was constantly getting hit in the face by branches and the like. “Sorry!” The fox girl said looking back.

“Shh!” Cerulean said as he crouched behind a large boulder. The three peeked over to see a girl standing at 5’1” run out of the bushes. She had shoulder length purple hair that was held to the right side of her face by a jeweled butterfly clip. Her dark purple sleeveless vest was torn and muddied along with her pants. She was holding two nightsticks with brass knuckle guards that had runes etched on the knuckles.

“She ran this way!” A man said. The girl sighed and got in a defensive stance as five men with swords found and surrounded her. The girl looked at each man and cursed under her breath. “Give it up you little thief.”

“Bring it.” She spat out as she reached for a vial on her belt. The girl heard a gunshot and moved just out of the way for the bullet to graze her side and shatter the vial. Damn! That was my last one too! She looked at the leader of the group and saw he had a standard spell pistol.

“Give up now and we’ll make the ride back less painful then it has to.” He said as he aimed for her chest.

“Go fuck yourselves! I’m never going back there!” She said panting as she held her stance.

“Defiant to the end. Take-” Before he could get a word out several things happened at once. First, there was a bolt of blue magic that froze the man’s hand and pistol. Then a girl with a hat leaped out from nearby rock and spin kicked one man into a tree, shattering it and most of his bones. A fire rune was placed beneath two mens’ feet and were sent flying as it exploded. The purple haired girl clapped both her hands together and slammed them on the ground.

Purple sparks came from the surrounding area and the ground shot upwards in the shape of a fist that connected with the man’s jaw. He flew off his feet and fell unconscious. The gun user looked at the four fallen men and gulped as the four set their sights on him. He raised the frozen gun at the group.

“That won’t work.” Cerulean said. “The ice has completely frozen the mechanisms. It’d be more useful as a club than anything else.” The man gulped and pulled out a small purple ball.

“This isn’t over bitch!” He yelled as he threw the ball and a cloud of thick purple smoke enveloped the group. By the time it cleared the man was gone and the mystery girl started going through the fallen mens’ pockets.

“What are you doing?” Sunset asked.

“What? They’re not gonna need it.” She said as she took their bit bags and started counting. “Seriously, only twenty-five bits each?” The girl grumbled as she examined their swords. “Still might be able to hock these and get some profit.”

“You’re welcome.” Amber said crossing her arms under her chest.

“I didn’t need your help. I had everything under control.” She said standing up.

“Sure didn’t look like it.” The fox girl mumbled under her breath.

“What kind of magic was that?” Cerulean asked looking at the rock fist.

“I think it was Alchemy.” Sunset said tapping her chin.

“What?” Amber said.

“Ugh, it’s the deconstruction and reconstruction of matter.” The girl scoffed.

“Huh?” The fox girl said with a dull look on her face.

“She takes things apart on a molecular level and puts it back together as something different. Like the ground, she broke apart the earth with her magic and put it back together in a different shape.” Sunset stated.

“Oh! I get it now.”

“Took you long enough.” The brunette hissed at the purple haired girl’s words.

“Anyway, why were those guys after you?” Cerulean asked getting between the two. “They said you stole something?”

“No, they stole this from me first.” She said as she pointed to the jeweled hair clip. “I was just stealing it back.” She said turning around. “Now if there’s nothing else you need, I’ll be on my way.” She said.

“Can I at least get your name?” Cerulean asked.

“It’s Nix Orchid.” She said walking away.

“Let’s just get to the dragon lair already.” Sunset said looking at her watch. The other two nodded and went back towards the road.

“Wait, dragon lair?” The trio looked back at the young woman.

“There’s an abandoned dragon lair at the top of this mountain.” Cerulean said pointing to the peak. “Sunset and I need to go there, grab something and go back to the guild so we can join.” The girl scratched her chin for a moment. Dragons were notorious for hoarding hundreds of thousands of bits and jewels. Cerulean could almost see her pink irises change to bit signs.

“Count me in!”

“No way shrimp!” Amber grumbled. The girl hissed at the mention of her height and in a flash vanished from sight. “Well, that was-” As the fox girl took a step she fell face down. “What the?” She looked at her boots and saw that the laces had been tied together.

“I’m good at sneaking.” The girl said as she dropped her invisibility spell.

“You want to come? Then come.” Cerulean groaned. “I just want to get there before I’m an old man.” The man said as he went back towards the path. Sunset helped the fox girl up and the group continued up towards the mountain.