The TSD Kids:

The Adventurer’s Agency

Lv. 37

The Valley of Pure Ice

After the adventure in Phoenix Towers, we made sure Lena made a recovery. Assured that she was safe now, we headed home for the day.

Two days had passed after all that. They seemed to go by rather quickly. Of course, we got more jobs as usual. Even Sari joined us in our cause. Today, I was just sitting around, thinking about what to do next.

T: “Hm…”

Cotton the Bunny: “(What’s on your mind?)”

Cotton the Bunny climbed onto the sofa and looked at me.

T: “Oh? Ah, nothing. I’m bored. What about you?”

Cotton: “(Well, I just ate a carrot, and I am wired! I want to go outside, but Sofia says I shouldn’t.)”

T: “Hmm, why not?”

Cotton: “(I don’t know… she and the others are talking about something. It sounds important.)”

T: “Oh.”

I stroked his head.

T: “Hey, is it just me, or have you gotten a bit bigger, buddy?”

Cotton: “(I dunno; a little…)”

T: “Hmm.”

Over in the kitchen, Sofia and the others were busy talking, as the bunny said. Some of us were out for jobs, of course…

Sofia: “…What did you say? It happened again?”

Tracy: “Yeah, you told me that when he picked up the eye, his eye went all funny, right? The same thing happened to his right arm!”

Usagi: “Oh, no, his right arm? It happened to his left arm after he and Ellis saved me. Why is this happening?”

Sean: “I can’t say for sure, Usagi, but as long as they‘re here, we should be careful around the parts.”

T: “What about the parts?”

I stepped into the kitchen.

Usagi: “Oh! T! H-how are you?”

T: “Oh, I’m fine. What’s this about the parts?”

Eiji:“Oh! Uh, nothing, nothing!”

Harold: “We were just… saying that… these parts are well sealed away in the Capture Capsules, no doubt about it!”

Rick: “Sure! L-let’s go with that!”

T: “Oh. Well, if you need me, I’ll be in the living room.”

I walked off.

Eiji: “Should we tell him?”

Rick: “He has a right to know, since it is happening to him…”

Sofia: “But, he might not take it so lightly. You know how he feels about not having destroyed Xylos.”

Usagi: “Even so, we can’t keep him in the dark about it. I don’t want anything bad to happen to him!”

Tracy: “Alright. Let’s tell him.”

They got up and went into the living room. I was looking out the window.

Sofia: “Hey, T…?”

T: “Sofia…”

Sofia: “Um, what is it?”

T: “Cotton said you advised against his going outside. What happened?”

Sofia: “Oh, I…”

Rick: “It’s not just her; we all advised against it.”

T: “Why?”

Sean: “It’s gotten kinda cold recently. Haven’t you noticed it, T?”

T: “Huh, strange… isn’t it summertime?”

Usagi: “Yes, it is. There was going to be a festival at my village, but they canceled it. And I wanted you to come, too…”

T: “It’s the peak of summer, yet it’s gotten cold. It doesn’t sound right…”

Sean: “I tried checking with my equipment, but I couldn’t find anything.”

T: “Oh, you know what? Maybe it’s one of those seasonal storms! Maybe it’s called tropical storm… uh, hurricane… I know they give those things people names in alphabetical order, but…”

Tracy: “But there hasn’t been a record of a storm like that in these parts.”

T: “That so? Doesn’t add up…”

Cotton: “(What do we do?)”

T: “Doesn’t seem like anything related to bad guys… let’s just wait it out. Oh!”

Eiji: “What happened?”

T: “I just remembered; there was something I had to pick up at T-na’s house! Wind!”

I transformed and proceeded to go out the door.

Tracy: “Green boy, wait!”

I was already out the door and into the air.

Usagi: “I wish he would take me flying sometime…”

Harold: “Now is not the time…”

T: “Holy crap! What is this?!”

Cotton: “(What’s happening out there?!)”

Rick: “It sounds like T’s in trouble!”

Everyone went outside, and looked around for me.

Usagi: “He’s up there!”

Sean: “But he’s coming down here!”

T: “Son of a…!!”

SLAM!

I landed before everyone, with my torso covered in a ball of black ice!

Sofia: “What happened to him?!”

Tracy: “He got iced!”

With arms and legs free, I was waving about.

T: “Cold! Cold! What the heck…?”

Eiji: “How’d this happen, man?”

T: “I-I don’t know! I was in the sky, then some big flying thing totally rushed me!”

Usagi: “What flying thing?”

Rick: “That!”

We look up to see a black flying creature circling over us!

Usagi: “It looks like a Cursed Crow!”

Sofia: “I don’t like the look of that thing; Thunder!”

Sofia transformed and brought the beast down with a blast of electricity. It landed not too far from me.

Eiji: “This is a Cursed Crow?”

A Cursed Crow is a bird beast. I remember when one of them pecked me at Cherry Blossom Village, turning me into a scarecrow.

Usagi: “This is no Cursed Crow! It’s so much bigger!”

T: “What? Lemme see, lemme see!”

I couldn’t stand up, and trying to hop or turn myself around was pointless…

T: “Bye-Bye Balloon!”

My inflated body managed to break the dark ice ball!

T: “Phew! Hello, hello, what’s all this then?”

I went to the creature.

T: “Ugh! Ugly brute, ain’t it?”

Harold: “Look at its back!”

A crimson red X was plain to see, just between the wings!

T: “It’s the mark of Xylos!”

Sofia: “What does this mean? Don’t we have all the parts?”

T: “I guess it’s not over just yet…”

Rick: “This creature can use Ice magic. That’s how it froze you!”

Usagi: “None of the black creatures I’ve seen lately use Ice magic…”

Harold: “The only place we’ve seen them use it was in…”

T: “IcyChilly Plains…”

Sofia: “Where?”

T: “When we spoke to Lena two days ago, she was thinking we should go there. The Sanctuary of the Great Four is located there; that’s where we went to place the Medallions.”

Sofia: “I always wanted to ask if you had the Medallions in your possession. I’d like to see them.”

T: “Nope, all four are there.”

Sean: “Why’d she say to go there?”

Eiji: “In the hopes of finding the solution to destroying the parts, that’s why.”

T “And that’s where we’ll go!”

Rick: “Really?”

T: “…(Stomach growls) Tomorrow!”

Everyone fell over!

Tracy: “Why, ‘cause you’re hungry??”

T: “Eh, aside from that… to go now would be reckless. Usagi!”

Usagi: “Yes?”

T: “How did you guys manage to locate me and Tracy?”

Usagi: “We used my village’s intelligence system. Of course, before I got there, they were running around all over, looking for you!”

T: “I see… can we call on this intelligence network to try and pinpoint IcyChilly Plains?”

Usagi: “Sure!”

T: “All right. I wish I remembered the finer points of what happened…”

Usagi: “Okay, I’ll head back home, and…”

T: “No. Stay here.”

Usagi: “What? (Turns red) Y-you want me to stay here? What do you mean?”

At that point, a chilly wind blew by. It felt so unnaturally cold…

T: “It’s getting really cold out; you guys were right. You’re all staying here. I mean you, Sean, Rick, and Harold.”

Harold: “But they’re expecting me back at the inn… they're actually letting me stay for free just cause I know you.”

Rick: “And I have to help my mom and sisters.”

T: “I’m sure they’ll understand. And you don’t even live that far away.”

We went inside the house quickly.

Late that night…

Eiji: “There’s been no word from everyone else yet…”

Tracy: “They’re probably holed up wherever they are. The news said its happening all over at this rate.”

We were all in the living room. We could hear the wind outside.

Cotton: “(And I thought my fur was gonna hinder me this summer…)”

T: “This is only gonna last until we solve it, for sure!”

Usagi: “Success report! Ha, ha!”

Usagi came from the Training Room after having been down there for so long.

Sofia: “What’s up?”

Usagi: “I’ve got a reply!”

Rick: “Really? What’d they say?”

Usagi: “They’ve found the area that IcyChilly Plains is in, but an odd force blocks the way!”

Harold: “It must be Xylos, of course.”

Usagi: “They just can’t get through… but they’ve told me, rumor has it there’s a way to get there through Fridgy Valley.”

T: “Really? I didn’t know about that.”

Usagi: “It seems they tried searching the next best place, this Fridgy Valley. The locals told them.”

Sean: “My friend Rico lives there. If we go, he can verify this.”

T: “All right, sounds like a plan! Let’s go now!”

Eiji: “Right now, at nighttime?”

Sofia: “In the cold?”

T: “The sooner, the better, Eiji! And its gonna be cold regardless, even in the day, Sofia!”

Eiji/Sofia: “When you put it that way…”

Harold: “Sounds great! We are… ready to go, right?”

Sean: “I’m prepared. Has it ever occurred to you guys that we always carry our weapons wherever we go?”

T: “You never know when stuff like this comes up.”

Sofia: “But it might be really cold out there!”

T: “Oh come on, I’m pretty sure we have winter wear!”

Tracy: “He’s right; it’s not like we each have a closet full of the same type of clothes over and over again!”

But then we all paused for a moment to think about that…we do wear the same types of outfits day in, day out, yet they feel new each time...

T/Eiji/Sofia/Tracy: “Actually…”

T: “Ah! Never mind…”

We stepped outside the house. Just as we thought, it was cold, and then some!

Sean: “This is unreal!”

All the houses and buildings were covered in thin layers of ice!

Tracy: “The whole place is icing over!”

T: “We gotta hurry, fast, before the Ice Age comes again!”

Sofia: “Should we take the train to Fridgy Valley?”

Eiji: “Will the train run this late?”

We headed over to the aboveground train station…

T: “A better question is, will the train run at all?”

Tracy: “Crap, even the train’s frozen!”

“Not for long…” said Sean, looking at Eiji and me.

Usagi: “I’m so glad the train conductor agreed to this!”

Eiji: “Yeah, he agreed to this but we didn’t!”

T: “Yeah!”

We managed to get the train moving. Since it was just the nine of us, only the front car was needed. Eiji defrosted it, then as the train moved forward, he, along with me in HeatConversion, melted the ice off the tracks!

T: “(Sigh) Whatever, at least I’m nice and warm for now…”

Soon we arrived at Fridgy Valley.

Sean: “Rico!”

We could see Sean’s friend chipping away at excess ice from his door.

Rico: “Hey! It’s you guys again! Man, this weather’s nasty, huh? I thought you guys got the Ice Stone already!”

Sofia: “We did; Kayin has it.”

Tracy: “This problem is something else altogether.”

Cotton: “(Is there an entrance to someplace called IcyChilly Plains around here?)”

Rico: “Oh! That’s a rumor, everyone says. I’ve heard you can find it… why?”

Eiji: “We must go there; it’s really important.”

Rico: “Well then, I won’t keep you. I hear the way there is located near the base of Fridgy Mountain, but you need something to get in.”

T: “Okay, thanks!”

Sean: “See you soon, man.”

We left and walked to the base of Fridgy Mountain.

Tracy: “Where could it be?”

Rick: “I found something!”

Rick pointed to a sheet of ice against a wall. It bore a fine carving of a large snowflake.

Usagi: “Maybe this is the way. It could be past this ice wall…”

Eiji: “What’s that written there?”

Something was carved into the ice at the bottom.

Eiji: “…‘Show before the door the rod of winter, and you shall see The Valley of Pure Ice’…”

Sofia: “What’s a ‘rod of winter’?”

Rick: “An icicle?”

T: “No, colder than that!”

I pulled out…

T: “Here it is! The Chilly Scepter!”

As if it heard me, the ice slid away, revealing a cave!

Sofia: “Where’d you get that?”

T: “Just like the Lantern and the Glove n’ Chain, this too helped me in getting the Medallions. I found this in Phoenix Towers.”

We went in the cave.

Soon we emerged from the cave.

T: “Huh…”

Before us lay a field of snow, as far as the eye can see! A few pine trees dotted the land. Up ahead, the snow hardened into ice.

Sofia: “What beautiful scenery…”

Usagi: “It is nice… I can remember it better now.”

T: “Let’s go; it can’t be too far now!”

Usagi: “T, wait!”

T: “What happened?”

Usagi: “My friends may not have been able to get in, but they could send birds to survey the land. There seems to be a wide chasm up ahead that sort of splits the area into two!”

T: “Hmm, wasn’t there a bridge to cross on?”

Usagi: “They said it’s broken.”

T: “Rats.”

Usagi: “But it’s not so wide as to be impassable…”

T: “You know, you might be right! Cotton!”

Cotton: “(Yes?)”

T: “Please check the area ahead for us, please.”

Cotton: “(Sure!)”

Cotton transformed and ran ahead. Soon he returned.

Cotton: “(There is a gap ahead!)”

T: “Ah.”

Cotton: “(Y’know, maybe if you used Train Formation and rushed fast enough, you all could clear the gap! But it’s a bit of a stretch… and the ground’s icy most of the way…)”

Sofia: “Train Formation? Hey, guys, remember when we do that tactic, we almost always slam our faces into a wall?”

Tracy: “Yeah…”

Sofia: “Well, I’ve got an idea! Why don’t we…”

T: “Train Formation? Good idea, bunny buddy! We’ll move fast enough to jump over, like you said! How about it guys? Guys?”

They seemed to be whispering in secret to one another.

T: “…What do you say?”

Sofia: “Okay! We’re ready, T!”

Usagi: “I don’t like this, I don’t want to…”

Sofia: “Shh!”

T: “Hmm?”

Sofia: “It’s nothing! Let’s get to it!”

T: “Gravy! Okay gang, Train Formation!”

With Cotton on my shoulder, we lined up and started running!

T: “Let’s pick up the pace! We don’t wanna fall in!”

Cotton: “(Uh-oh, the ground’s getting icy…)”

Soon we were a few yards away from the trench.

T: “Get ready to jump!”

Sofia: “Okay everyone, now!”

T: “Huh? It’s not time to… whoa!”

Before I knew it, multiple hands picked me up!

T: “What’re you doing?!”

They had lifted me up, all while still running!

Tracy: “This is right, right?”

Sofia: “Right! Okay everyone, Train Formation… Throw!”

T: “…Throw?!”

To my shock, they tossed me! Yes, they practically picked me up and chucked me!

T: “AAAAAAAAAHHHH!!”

Of course, what with the speed and everything, I sailed clean over the chasm!

T: “Oof!”

I fell headfirst in the snow on the other side! I wiggled my legs, trying to get out.

Tracy: “You yell like a girl!”

Sofia: “I told you it would work!”

Eiji: “Uh, Sofia?”

Sofia: “I’m just as good a leader as he is! Maybe even more!”

Eiji: “Sofia?”

Sofia: “What?”

Eiji: “Our legs may have stopped moving, but… we’re still moving.”

Sofia: “Huh?”

Sean: “You know the sad part about running on ice?”

Sofia: “What’s that?”

Tracy: “There’s no friction to save your hide.”

Sofia: “What?!”

They were all sliding for the pit!

T: “Ugh!”

I got my head out of the snow.

Cotton: “(Are you okay, T? I can’t believe they tossed us!)”

T: “The next time they do that, I will use Judgement on them so many times, they won’t even remember their hat size!”

Facing the other side and waving my fist, I said,

T: “You ingrates! You owe me!! Huh??”

Cotton: “(Oh no!)”

We had looked just in time to see them slide right off the edge!

T: “Oh… crap!”

Cotton: “(I told them it was icy!)”

I couldn’t even see them! Of course, I feared the worst!

T: “Noooo! Why, man, why?? Why do things that happen to total n00bs always happen to us?!”

I hung my head. That’s when I heard an odd mechanical sound…

T: “Huh? What’s that?”

I then saw long metal appendages, like spider legs climb up over the edge!

Sean: “Phew! Good thing I brought my Mecha Long Legs with me!”

T: “…Sean!”

Harold: “What about me?”

Harold was hanging from his legs. He dropped down.

T: “What happened? Where are the others?”

Harold: “It’s hard to say. It got really dark down there.”

Sean: “But I’m pretty sure they didn’t land on anything hazardous.”

T: “Man, I hope not… we gotta go down there and find them!”

Sean: “I can carry you both while I use the Mecha Long Legs.”

We were set to go down, but…

SCREECH!!

Something flew from the pit!

Harold: “It’s another one of those flying monsters!”

Sean: “Tech Arrow, Rapid Fire!”

Sean released a continuous stream of arrows on the black beast until it fell back in the hole!

T: “Did you see that? It might be crawling with those things down there!”

Harold: “Then that way’s no good. Let’s continue on to the Sanctuary.”

Cotton: “(What’re you saying? We have to help the others!)”

Harold: “Perhaps we will. I’m not too sure, but I think that some of the pits and holes in this area lead beneath the ground. After all, a good portion of the Sanctuary is underground.”

Sean: “Then there’s a chance they’re okay.”

T: “Then let’s get going! Harold, Usagi and I have been here before; how hard can it be?”

Harold: “My guess is… hard.”

T: “Why say that?”

All three pointed forward. Before us lay a field of ice and snow, littered with not just trees and snowy hills, but black creature galore! There were even makeshift watchtowers set up, with odd magical searchlights.

Sean: “Oh boy…”

Harold: “That is some security…”

T: “But what’re all these creatures doing here? I thought the Sanctuary was a sacred place that evil couldn’t set foot in!”

Harold: “Somehow, it did. They must be the reason that barrier is up.”

Silently, we moved forward. Those things on the watchtowers did indeed prove to be lights of some sort.

T: “We could try and snipe em’… but my attacks might draw unwanted attention…”

Sean: “I got this…”

Taking aim, Sean downed the creature that was operating the light. At that point, the baddie was holding the light in position, pointing up.

Harold: “Good aim! Let’s go.”

Of course, as I said, the creature was holding the light up. It seems the lights had to be held by the operator in the desired position at all times. We knew this because…

Crreeeeak…

The light tilted over and shone its light on the ground, right where we were standing!

Harold: “Aw, crap… if that isn’t the unluckiest thing…”

Pretty soon, odd sirens went off, and more lights shone on us!

Cotton: “(So much for sneaking…!)”

T: “Change of plans, guys! We rush em’ at once! Cut down the towers!”

Sean: “I’ll cover more ground with the Mecha Long Legs!”

T: “I’ll go on foot! Harold, you’re with Cotton!”

Harold: “You mean ride him?”

Cotton: “(Yep!)”

After the bunny transformed, Harold jumped on.

T: “Let’s go!”

Elsewhere...

Eiji: “Ooh… ouch… ouch… what a bad fall… is everyone okay?”

Rick: “I’ll live.”

Usagi: “I told you I didn’t want to do that to Sir T, Sofia! Now look what happened!”

Tracy: “Yeah; as fun as it was to toss green boy, leave the plan-making to him, okay?”

Sofia: “…Fine. Where are we?”

Eiji: “They look like ice caves…”

Usagi: “Those bars aren’t made of ice…”

Rick: “What bars?”

Tracy: “Those! And if those are there, that means…”

Eiji: “We’re in a cage! Some black thing is standing guard.”

Rick: “These bars aren’t normal…”

Rick tried touching one of the bars, but drew his hand back!

Rick: “They’re made of evil energy.”

Sofia: “How do we get out of this now?”

Usagi: “I don’t know, but what I do know is this; we are actually in the Sanctuary of the Great Four.”

Tracy: “Really?”

Usagi: “Yes. Much of it is underground. (Sigh) As long as this is the case, Sir T will come and save me!”

Sofia: “Okay, so you like him; no need to keep stressing the fact! I’m getting tired of you saying that!”

Usagi: “Why, because you like him?”

Sofia: “Stop insinuating that!!”

Eiji: “(Sigh) How long are we gonna last down here…?”

Rick: “You mean from being down in this cage, or from the girls yelling?”

Eiji: “…Both.”

With most of the party unavailable, I wonder how we’ll make it through this…?