Poke.

Chapter 37 – Frostrex: Reunion

I awoke to the sensation of something nudging my head.

I mumbled something unintelligible and batted my hand at whatever was nudging me, eyes still closed. I felt cold and sore all over for some strange reason, and I didn’t feel like being disturbed. My hand made contact with fur, and something yelped. It sounded suspiciously like a Wolver.

A Wolver…

My eyes shot open, the memories of the recent past suddenly flowing into my mind. The escape from the Swarm-infected passage, the snow, the Vog, and the Skolver… It was all coming back to me now. The light hurt my eyes, my vision blurring. I blinked rapidly a few times, sitting up, and found myself staring right at the snout of a Skolver.

“AUGH!”

I pushed myself backwards with my feet, and tumbled awkwardly. My arms flailed in the snow, sending flurries of the freezing powder into the air. I felt something solid and grasped it, swinging it around and pointing it at the Skolver. It looked at me strangely, as if wondering what its lunch was doing.

My BlizzardHale was pointed directly at the Skolver, its blade glowing. I was just about to fire of a bolt of Everfrost when a large fiery Wolver jumped down in front of me, knocking my sword awry and the bolt firing harmlessly into the snow. It snarled at me, teeth bared and hot breath flowing out of its mouth. I could smell Brimstone and smoke. Flames flickered along its flank, and embers fell from its pelt to land sizzling in the snow.

I screamed again.

I rapidly pushed myself up, my BlizzardHale swiping at the Vog. It leapt back as the blade narrowly missed its snout. I tripped over something and fell over again with an oomph. The two Beasts advanced on me, and I screamed again, flailing my sword in their generally direction and firing off a stream of tiny Everfrost bolts, not bothering to take the time needed to charge up a powerful bolt. The Vog pranced and yelped as the Everfrost bolts stung him like tiny needles, but the Skolver continued to advance, the Everfrost simply being absorbed into its pelt.

Suddenly, a bolt of purple energy shot right past me with an audible thrmm. I dropped my sword in surprise. The purple bolt hit the Beasts. They yelped as a transparent purple bubble suddenly formed around them and floated several feet into the air, the two Beasts jumbled around inside.

“Don’t worry, they aren’t trying to hurt you.” I heard Grimalkin shout. I glanced over my shoulder and saw her walking towards me, her right hand surrounded by a dark purple aura. She had an amused look on her face as she continued her way to me. I supposed I looked ridiculous, a terrified expression on my face and snow all over me.

“What do you mean, they weren’t trying to hurt me?! They were trying to eat me!” I shrieked. I still hadn’t quite recovered from the shock of almost becoming lunch for a pair of hungry Beasts.

“Ha! They were just having some fun!” Grimalkin replied.

I decided I didn’t like having fun very much.

She knelt down and looked at me. “I trust those two didn’t scare you too much?” She asked me, pointing at the two Beasts in the bubble.

“Scare me? I nearly had a heart attack!” I yelled. My pulse was still pounding, adrenaline flowing through my body. Grimalkin’s grin widened.

“I suppose that was a bit of a rude wakeup call.” She admitted. She snapped her fingers and the bubble popped, the two Beasts tumbling down with more yelps. They fell into a pile of snow, snow flying into the air as the two Beasts were buried underneath. “But no harm done, right?”

I scoffed.

Grimalkin shrugged. “All right, have it your way. But anyway, how are you feeling?”

“Well, for one, I feel quite offended that you don’t seem to care that I was nearly eaten by a pair of ferocious beasts. Besides, why aren’t they dead? We plugged the Vog full of bullets, and… well, I don’t know what happened to the Skolver. But you should have been able to kill both of them!”

Grimalkin rolled her eyes. “I may be an assassin, but my enemies are long gone. Anyway, while you were frozen in ice, I had a little chat with them. Turns out that they were just looking for food.”

“Of course they were looking for food! That’s why they just tried to eat me!-” Grimalkin rolled her eyes again. “-And what do you mean, frozen in ice?”

“Blame the Skolver.”

I supposed being frozen in ice explained why I felt cold and sore all over.

I heard a muffled back and glanced back at the pile of snow where the two beasts were buried. The Skolver poked its head out of the snow and blinked, an innocent look on its face. The Vog came up as well, and sneezed, snow falling from its head. Grimalkin went over and scratched their heads.

“They’re quite cute once you go beyond the teeth and claws, don’t you think?” She asked me.

I was about to say something, but I heard another voice.

“Frostrex! How you feeling?”

Dusk walked over. I looked at him, and saw massive tears across the front of his Snarbolax Cap. Blame the Skolver, indeed.

“Not too bad, all things considered.” I mumbled. “You?’’

Dusk shrugged. “I had my face torn apart by that Skolver, and bled out what seemed like enough blood to fill the fountain back in Haven, but I’m good.” He said casually.

Leave it to Dusk to make light of a situation like that.

“What about Red?” I asked.

“Red? Well, he…” There was a pause. I suddenly remembered what Grimalkin had told us on the elevator.

“Did you see that? How did-”

“It certainly helps if you’re a regenerative Jelly.”

Well, strictly speaking, she’d only told me. Dusk had fainted. Although he had probably figured it out by himself. And if he hadn’t, Grimalkin would have probably had told him while I unconscious.

“Do… Do you really think that Red’s a Jelly?” I asked Dusk quietly.

“Well, it’s the only logical way he’d… Would you even classify Jellies as he’s and she’s?”

“There’s a Jelly King and Ice Queen, so I would think so.” I reasoned.

“All right then. As I was saying, it’s the only logical way he’d be able to survive getting his head blown to pieces by that Swarm Turret. And regenerating a new head as well.”

“So… I suppose it’s all right to assume he’s perfectly fine right now?”

“Yeah. Red seems to not have suffered any damage at all, though that’s most likely a result of him being a Jelly. You know how they can heal wounds and whatnot.” Dusk said. “And I personally think it’s impossible to have fought that wild Skolver without being shredded at least a bit.”

There was an awkward silence, filled only with the sound of the howling wind and the Skolver and Vog running around in the snow.

“I still can’t believe Red’s a Jelly.” Dusk finally said.

“I know, right? It just seems so… weird, I guess. I’m surprised the Order never found out.”

Dusk shrugged. “Maybe they did know. We’re already working with an entire host of monsters. We already got those two Emberlight Gremlins sort of helping us out-”

“They blew up poor Vatel’s shop, along with half the Bazaar when they moved it. I’m not too sure that really counts as ‘helping us out.’”

“-along with that pink Devilite whose name I can never remember-”

“Well, technically he’s working for King Krogmo.”

“-And that other Gremlin who works for that adoption agency, and our Kat contacts down at Moorcroft Manor, and-”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, I get the idea here.”

“Anyway, the point I’m trying to make here is that with all those other monsters working with us, Barrus and the others might not care about another doing so. Or something like that. I can’t really explain what I’m trying to say here.” (SEERUSLY, I REALLY CAN’T EXPLAIN. – LON)

“I can see what you’re getting at. But keep in mind that they can’t really let anyone just join the Spiral Order like that. Much too risky. For all we know, Red could be a spy.” I said.

“I suppose so… But anyway, Jelly or not, he is still our fiend. He’s loyal, a good fighter, and has gotten us out of some nasty spots more times than I care to remember.”

I turned and looked around for Red. He was sitting under out makeshift tent, fiddling with his Antiguas. What Dusk had said was true; Red was our friend, even if he was a Jelly.

I turned back to Dusk and let out a sigh. “Yeah, I know. It’s just gonna take some getting used to knowing that he’s a Jelly.”

Cue even more awkward silence. We glanced at the two yelping Beasts, who were still chasing each other across the snow. Through the shredded front of Dusk’s Snarbolax Cap, I could see a faint smile.

“Pretty cute, aren’t they?” Dusk asked me. I stared at him.

“Am I the only person here who seems to think they’re savage creatures?” I said, exasperated.

“Probably. How could you not think they’re cute?”

“Please! You of all people should know!”

“I should?”

“Yes! The Skolver tore out your face, didn’t it?”

“She.”

“…What?”

“Not ‘it.’ ‘She.’ Skolvers are she’s.”

“All Skolvers?”

“Yes. Ask Grimalkin.”

“Oh really? Most ridiculous thing I heard. You can’t have an entire species be just one gender!”

“Tell that to the Skolvers. And Grimalkin. I’m sure she won’t take kindly to being told she’s wrong.”

“Uh huh. And I suppose next you’re going to tell me that all Vogs are he’s.”

“That’s right?”

“What’s right?”

“Two things. One, that you’re right in saying that I’m going to tell you that all Vogs are he’s. And two, that you’re right in saying that all Vog’s are he’s. Oh, by the way, all Vog’s are he’s.”

“…I’m completely lost now.”

“Yes, you are.”

“Excuse me?”

“You are lost. Or rather we are lost. Think about it. We’re in the middle of a vast Winterfest wonderland, surrounded by miles and miles of snow dunes. It’ll be a miracle if we ever find the Elevator again.”

“Clockworks Depths aren’t that big…”

“You’d be surpr-”

“WE ARE DERAILING FROM OUR ORIGINAL CONVESATION.” I said loudly.

“Yes, we a-”

“DON’T.”

Dusk shrugged. “It was fun while it lasted But anyway, yes, the Skolver tore out my face. Big deal. I’ve been dealt worse. And my face healed. No harm done.”

“I swear Dusk, I will never understand you and your logic.” I shook my head. “If I was you, I’d be chasing that Skolver around with a sword right now, looking for revenge. And a nice Skolver Coat.”

“Yes, but you aren’t me.”

I decided not to reply. I didn’t want to continue the insanity that was our conversation any longer. I looked away from Dusk and at the two Beasts. Still running around. Did they do nothing else? Grimalkin’s Arcane Salamander had joined in on the fun, running around as fast as its stubby legs could carry it.

Just then, I saw the Skolver stop. It – no, she - perked up her head and sniffed the air. It spun around looking in each direction before suddenly bounding away. The Vog quickly followed, but the Arcane Salamander stood in place. I glanced at Dusk. He’d noticed it too.

Dusk and I got up, dusting snow off our armor. Grimalkin and Red didn’t seem to have noticed the two Beasts having run away; they were engaged in conversation under our shelter. I looked at Dusk.

“What are they doing?” I asked Dusk. He shrugged.

“I dunno. We should probably follow them. Might be something important.”

“Probably should tell Red and Grimalkin.”

We ran over to the shelter, interrupting Red’s and Grimalkin’s conversation. Grimalkin looked up at us, obviously annoyed.

“Sorry to bother you guys, but the Vog and Skolver just ran off.” I quickly said.

Red stared at us, silent as always. One of the disadvantages of being a Jelly, I supposed. Completely mute. Grimalkin let out a deep sign and got to her feet.

“I suppose we should better go find out why.” She said. “Grab your gear. We might need it.”

We quickly gathered our shields and weapons while Grimalkin picked up her Arcane Salamander. It crawled atop her head, where it settled down.

“I smell something in the wind.” Grimalkin said. “Very faint, but it’s there. It must be what caused those two Beasts to go off like that.”

We set off in the direction the two Beasts had gone, Grimalkin leading the way. I’d forgotten about her super-Spiralian senses. I suppose that one a benefit of being a…

I realized I still knew nothing about whom or what Grimalkin was, other than she was some kind of witch assassin.

The blizzard that had plagued us earlier had quieted down to a small, gentle snowfall. We could finally walk up snow dunes without the risk of being blown off by the wind. At the top of a snow dune, I could see two small dots of red and blue racing across the white landscape. I was surprised at how far away they had gotten in such a short amount of time. We still had quite a ways to go before we would catch up with them.

We quickly raced across the snow. Eventually, we caught up with the two Beasts, who were standing in front of a snow dune. They glanced at it, and then at us.

I glanced quizzically at Grimalkin. “Any idea what they’re doing?”

“They,” Grimalkin began, “Are guarding something.”

“Excuse me?”

“Something’s inside that snow dune.” She said simply.

“…Sure. And they could smell it from way back at the camp?”

“Beasts have remarkable smelling abilities. As do I.”

I stared at the snow dune. There was a patch of uneven snow against the otherwise smooth surface of the dune. Something had been here and messed it up. Or maybe that something was still here.

Suddenly, something shifted underneath the snow. The uneven patch became even more so. Dusk and I jumped back in alarm while the two beasts just stood there, staring at it.

Red, on the other hand, took a direct approach. His hands grabbed his Antiguas from his holsters. He spun them around on his fingers like an old-style gunslinger, one gun in each hand, and pointed them at the patch of uneven snow. Loud shots rang out as he repeatedly pulled the triggers, bullets flying into the snow dune. I could swear I heard metal pinging off metal, and someone yelling. He kept firing until he ran out of bullets. He reached for more ammo in his belt pouch, but Grimalkin put a hand on his arm, stopping him.

The snow shifted again, and two Knights tumbled out.

“Vog @#$% it, he’s here!” One of them shouted. He (I could tell he was he by his voice) pulled out a sword, and the other pulled out a gun. They looked up and pointed them at us. We pointed out own weapons back at them.

There was complete silence for a moment. Then the two Knights lowered their weapons. “You guys aren’t Gremlins…” Said the one with the sword.

“I should think not.” Dusk said, apparently insulted. “Who are you?”

“The question is, who are you?” Said the Knight with the gun. He stood up and dusted the snow off his armor, a Mercurial Demo set. Then he holstered his gun.

“We asked first.” Said Dusk.

“Yeah? Well we asked second.” The Knight with the sword said.

“Fine. Be that way.” Dusk muttered. “I’m Dusk, this is Red, Frostrex, Grimalkin, and Grimalkin’s Arcane Salamander.” He pointed at each of us in turn.

“Say that again?” Said the Knight with the gun. He sounded surprised.

Dusk frowned. “I’m Dusk, this is Red, he’s Frostrex, and-”

He didn’t get any further. The Knight with the gun let out a loud cheer.

“Finally, I’ve found you guys!”

“I’m sorry, do we know you?” I asked him. There was something about him that was familiar, but I couldn’t quite figure it out what.

“C’mon guys, it’s only been a month! You couldn’t’ have forgotten about me already! It’s me, Kantint!”

I wide grin spread across my face. “Kantint? It’s really you?” I let out a laugh. Dusk let out a cheer, and punched his fist in the air. Red simply stepped forward and tipped his Groundbreaker Helm at Kantint. There was more laughs and cheers and quick hugs as we greeted our friend.

“Sorry we didn’t recognize you.” I apologized. “Too many Knights wear Mercurial Demo these days.”

“Eh, it’s okay. Same reason I didn’t recognize you guys. Lots of people wearing the same stuff you guys got.”

“I take it you all know each other?” Grimalkin said.

Kantint grinned. “You have no idea. I’ve been looking for these guys ever since we got… separated in Candlestick Keep. So you’re Grimalkin? The one who sent Spiral HQ that message?”

“The one and only. We’ve met before though, haven’t we?”

“Have we?”

“Yes. Back at Candlestick Keep, near the Elevator… Remember anything?”

“All remember is a huge mob of Swarm Monsters, and a… Grimalkin chewing them to pieces.” Kantint sounded confused. “That was you?”

Grimalkin smiled, baring her sharp teeth. “I am a lady of many talents, to say the least.”

Kantint glanced at me. Even though I couldn’t see his face under his helm, I could tell he was confused.

“Don’t ask. You wouldn’t believe me.” I simply said.

“So, how’d you manage to find us?” Dusk asked Kantint.

“Long story. Really long story. I’ll tell you all later. Although technically it was you guys’ pets who found us.” He crouched down to look at the two Beasts, and the Arcane Salamander. “Interesting Beasts you’ve got here; a Vog, a Skolver, and an Arcane Salamander. Aren’t they extinct?”

“Apparently not.” Dusk shrugged.

“Those two Beasts look quite familiar…” The Knight with the sword said. He stuck his sword in the snow and crouched down to peer closer at the two Beasts. The Skolver slowly walked forward, but the Vog backed away.

“You didn’t tell us your name yet.” Dusk commented.

“Ah, yes. My name’s Umbra. Pleasure to meet you.” He studied the Skolver closely, the Beast peering up at his Dusker Cap.

“Hello there, girl.” He said softly, and scratched her head. He glanced at the Vog. “Hanging out with your fiery friend there, huh? I was wondering where you’d gone.” The Skolver nuzzled her head against his Skolver armor (YES, UMBRA HAS SKOLVER ARMOR NOW. DON’T ASK. –LON).

“It seems like you two know each other.” I said.

Umbra nodded. “Met her outside the Great Colony a day or two ago. There was some trouble with a Gremlin, and that Vog over there-” He gestured at the Vog, which was hiding behind Grimalkin. “-And we got separated. Been looking for her ever since.”

If I’d been eating something, I’d probably have chocked or spewed it all out of my mouth and over Dusk.

“The Great Colony?!” I exclaimed. “How’d you ever find that?!”

“Long story short, I tracked a Gremlin all the way there. The same Gremlin that’s hunting me and Kantint right now for this Skolver.” Umbra glanced over his shoulder as if looking for the said Gremlin.

“Surely two Knights like you two would be able to defeat just one Gremlin.” I said.

Kantint shook his head. “You’d be surprised. When I stumbled upon Umbra, he’d been plugged full of Sentenza bullets by the Gremlin during a fight. Later, we met another Knight, who had just defeated the Gremlin in combat, and was about to kill him. But the Knight had wounds all over him, pretty serious ones too. The Gremlin somehow managed to escape and get to the Elevator, but Umbra shot him before he could do anything else. After that, we thought he was just about dead, as most things would be if they had a bullet in their spine. Turns out he wasn’t. He tricked us again and went down on the Elevator, taking Umbra and the other Knight, who I just realized I still don’t know his name yet, as hostages with him. And being the kind of person I am, I jumped down the Elevator chute and miraculously survived, crashing into the three of them on the Elevator. Then the Elevator stopped and opened up to this frozen wasteland, and Umbra and I decided to make a run for it before anything bad happened again.”

“We probably should’ve killed that Gremlin before we did so.” Umbra muttered.

“Anyway, we’re not too sure what happened to the other Knight, but we’ve been having some Kat-and-Owlite battles (THINK CAT-AND-MOUSE. -LON) with the Gremlin.”

“And it’s been pretty unfair.” Umbra said. “He’s got a Snarbolax with him, which he’s using to track us down.”

“Snarbolax?” Dusk gaped. “How would one of those even fit in the Elevator? How did you even manage to get one on your side in the first place?”

“It was a tiny Snarbolax. A really teeny tiny one. Long story.” Umbra said dismissively.

“Seems to be a lot of long stories going around here.” I said.

“Anyway, we were hiding from the Gremlin when you found us.” Kantint concluded.

“Interesting how it all turned out.” Grimalkin remarked. I’d completely forgotten about her. “Kantint finds his missing friends, and Umbra finds his missing Skolver.”

“Speaking of friends, we got something to tell you about Red.” I glanced at Red, who shrugged.

“Yeah…” Dusk said.

Kantint looked at Red. “Is something wrong with him? Was he injured or something?”

“No, he’s fine.” I took a deep breath. “It’s just that he-”

My next few words were drowned out by an incredibly loud noise, followed by snow whipping everywhere and getting in my face. I shield my eyes with my arm.

“WHAT’S GOING ON?” Dusk shouted loudly over the noise.

“I HAVE NO IDEA!” Kantint shouted back.

“GUYS, LOOK UP!” Umbra pointed skywards. We looked up and saw a massive platform thing fly through the air rapidly, propellers keeping it aloft. I supposed the propellers were what was causing the sudden wind.

It quickly flew away into the distance, the noise and wind it had been creating disappearing as quickly as it had appeared. It soon became just a small dot in the horizon.

We stood there dumbstruck for a moment.

“What the heck was that?!” Umbra finally yelled.

“I have absolutely no idea.” Dusk replied.

“Why don’t we go and find out?” Grimalkin suggested, dusting snow off her robes. Her Arcane Salamander lay flailing upside-down in the snow, blown off her head by the wind. “I have a feeling it’s something important.”

“Yeah, most giant flying platform ship things are usually important.” Umbra somewhat sarcastically agreed.

“Sound good to me.” Kantint said.

“We’ll probably get killed.” Dusk said. “Who knows what that thing is, or what’s on it?”

“No one does, which is why we’re going to find out.” Said Grimalkin.

“I absolutely refuse to walk all the way to wherever that lands.” I declared. “That’ll take forever.”

“Who ever said anything about walking the entire distance?” Grimalkin picked up her Arcane Salamander. “Remember, I’m a lady of many talents, and one of those talents is creating wormholes.”

With that, she sliced a finger through the air, and a portal appeared, opening from the imaginary rip she’d created. She stepped through, followed by the two Beasts. After a moment’s hesitation, Umbra stepped through. Red followed, leaving me, Dusk, and Kantint alone.

Kantint looked at us. “Before we go, you said there was something you needed to tell my about Red?”

I glanced at Dusk. “Yeah, well… I suppose that can wait till later.” I slowly said. For some reason, I didn’t have the guts anymore to tell Kantint Red’s secret. Kantint shrugged, apparently okay with my decision.

“Sure.” He stepped through the portal, followed by Dusk. I stared at the rippling purple surface of the portal, wondering what I’d just gotten myself into (keeping secrets from a friend never turned out well) before stepping through.

I am sad.

WESLEY. WHERE ARE YOU WITH THAT APP?

Lol. I was waiting for you to post an app. And Wesley. -_- he still hasn't posted one yet.

Well, I was bored and decided to read all the chapters I've written so far. And I discovered that CHP 4 is written in present tense (which I absolutely despise) for some reason, and it sucks. So I'll probably rewrite that chapter sometime in the future. And then there's something about Red and Vesper I have to change, and a small detail about Feron.

And, of course, there are the bajillions of typos I have everywhere.