Ice Empress: Prologue
About sixteen years ago, a young monkey couple by the name of Rosalyn Sandoval and Jeremiah Lancaster-Sandoval brought a new life into the world. It was a little girl, and they named her Amelia Sandoval. She was born an ice monkey in an igloo of her parents making. Little did they know that unlike most ice monkeys, she was more powerful than all the others.
As she grew up, she was rowdy, rambunctious, and downright nasty towards people, even her own parents. On occasion, she would show a much kinder side, but it was uncommon. When she did, she was practically an angel. Oddly enough, whenever they went to worship the sun god, never once did she misbehave when she went in. However, on the nights they went to worship, she often cried to herself about her misbehavior, but she was always careful not to let her parents or brother see her sorrow until one night when they were late going to bed. Rosalyn and Jeremiah walked in on her sobbing to herself while Jonah tried to pretend to be sleeping.
"Amelia, what's wrong, my little snowflake?" Jeremiah asked in his british accent.
"I...I don't want to talk about it." Amelia replied in hers, still crying.
"But Amelia, maybe if you tell us, we can help you feel better, sweetheart." Said Rosalyn in her upper class british accent.
"I said shove off! I don't want to talk!"
"Snowflake, I-"
"BUGGER OFF, MOTHER!"
When Amelia shouted as loudly as she did, Jonah jumped up, and Rosalyn and Jeremiah leaned backward, but they all felt something strange: the room somehow got colder. MUCH colder. Rosalyn looked around to see if the ice that formed their home was melting, but it was as strong as ever. Then she realized it. The burst of cold was coming from Amelia herself. She leaned in and looked at Amelia's eyes. Then she noticed that Amelia was somehow forming an aura around her that was so cold, even her own parents shivered. Jonah noticed and finally got up. When he did, he saw large ice crystals forming around his little sister.
"Um... Amelia, are you okay?" He sheepishly ebbed.
Amelia turned her head to face Jonah.
"No. I'm sorry you have to see me like this. A bad monkey, I am."
Amelia curled up and started to encase herself in ice without her knowledge. She continued crying, just wanting to be away from everything. Jeremiah, however, was NOT interested to see his daughter hide inside an ice cocoon. He broke off what ice formed and pulled her out.
"Snowflake, please. I'm your father. You can tell us if something or someone's bothering you, love." He said, holding her close to him.
"Besides, that's what families do. They forgive and help each other out. You can tell us, and we won't tell anyone else. Please."
Jeremiah's words struck a serious chord to the young ice monkey, causing her to tear up and try to fight back those tears by translating her sadness into rage. She threw a tantrum, jumping out of her father's grasp and screeching wildly. She didn't want to acknowledge that it was okay to be sad, especially in front of her parents. She never liked to feel weak, and expressing such a feeling was something she believed to be a serious sign of weakness. That's why after about two minutes into her feral side, she stopped when she saw her parents running toward her, intending to hug her. When they got a hold of her, they held on tight, and they didn't let go, even when Jonah joined in. Ten seconds was enough for Amelia to stop struggling and accept the hug. Five additional seconds caused her to start crying. Ultimately, she became a crying mess, unable to stop her tears at all. She screeched again, but in sadness. Then she buried her face in Jeremiah's chest, not knowing she was causing the temperature to drop a little further. She was exhibiting powers that she didn't know she had, and therefore, could not control them.
"What's wrong with me?" She asked.
"Why can I do such weird things with... whatever I can do, or something?"
"Because... you're one of us. An ice monkey. We're capable of turning ice into whatever we want. You, however, you're special. You can do so much more. You have an untapped wellspring of raw power, Amelia. One day, when the time comes, you'll know just what to do with it."
"But... will I ever be like the others?"
"Of course you will, snowflake." Said Rosalyn.
"You're a monkey, aren't you?"
"Well...yes."
"Well then, you're already like them. You have the power to become the type of person you want to be. All you have to do is reach into it and use it. Bend it to your will. You understand?"
Amelia became ashamed at herself for behaving so widly.
"Yes. May I go back to bed now, mum?"
"Of course. Good night, my little snowflake."
"Good night."
Jeremiah took Amelia and put her in bed. She turned herself away from the door. As her parents stepped out of the room, they saw a lead bloon that broke in while they weren't looking.
"Jeremiah, clo-"
Rosalyn got smacked by the bloon as it charged into her. Jeremiah came to his wife's aid and almost immediately thereafter became enraged, especially since the bloon was lead. By the time he could get close to it, it was too late. It broke into the room and went after Amelia. Rosalyn snapped out of her dizzied state and ran to her daughter, only to find out that the lead bloon stopped moving.
"Wait. Jeremiah, did-"
"No. I didn't freeze that thing." Jeremiah interrupted.
"And Jonah can't freeze metal, either."
"But that could only mean..."
Then they noticed it. The lead bloon wasn't frozen, and it didn't stop moving; its flight path was simply slowed down to a crawl. And then, the frost struck it so violently, it chipped apart on its own. Then the lead shattered off, revealing two black bloons that were covered with ice. Despite the bloons' attempt to make progress, they simply seemed to be almost immobile. The black layer broke off too, and this continued even with the pink layers, and descended until there was nothing left of the lead bloon. Flabbergasted, Rosalyn and Jeremiah checked on their kids to see if they were okay. Jonah was curled up, trying to keep the bloon from seeing him, but Amelia was exposed on purpose, ready to let out a mocking screech to the bloon. She didn't account for her parents learning that she stopped that lead bloon all by herself, so she was shocked when they came to her.
"Amelia, how'd my little snowflake learn to freeze metal so violently?" Asked Jeremiah.
"That was a bloon? Pity. Thought it was stronger." Amelia said, scowling at the remains of the bloon.
"I hate those miserable little things. I wish I could just destroy them all."
Rosalyn and Jeremiah had never been more proud of Amelia before than they were in that moment. Jeremiah started tearing up a bit, and Rosalyn stood back with a bright smile across her face.
"Daddy, why are you crying? Mum speak to you like a cur or something?"
"No. My snowflake knows how to defend herself. I'm so proud of you." Jeremiah said, hugging her with tears in his eyes and a smile on his face.
"Put me down already! I'm tired, and I want to go to bed!"
Jeremiah obliged.
"Alright. Good night, my little snowflake. Good night."
"Whatever. Please leave."
Rosalyn and Jeremiah left the room and became sure to reinforce the ice that was on their windows, turning it thick and blue and going to their rooms. When they were alone, Jonah asked Amelia something.
"How were you able to freeze those things, Amelia?" He asked.
"Fuck off. They're just bloons. Who cares? Keep the little wankers out of our lives, that's what I say." Amelia spat harshly.
"Why'd you have to say it like that? I mean, I don't like the bloons either, since mum and dad have to go and fight them, they do. But don't you think you're being a little heartless?"
"Jonah, I could never hate you, no matter what, but those things that call themselves bloons are a right mess, and they don't deserve to exist. All I did was make one learn its place. Now, bugger off. I'm tired."
"Okay. Good night, Amelia."
"Good night."
With that moment put to rest, all four ice monkeys did the same. It was needed, too. Finding out about Amelia's immense power that was so tightly wrapped into such a small body was eye-opening, especially since she was only five years old at the time. A good night's sleep was all they needed to relax about the problem.
Three years later, they were in town one day, picking up some groceries for dinner. It was about 2pm, and Amelia and Jonah were next to their father in the frozen department while their mother was getting some fruits and veggies from the produce. Their cart was quite close to full, and some of it was snacks and soda aplenty, at least three cases of the soft drinks! Rosalyn came back, and she was somewhat disappointed at the way the cart looked, being that about twenty percent of its capacity was taken up by junk food.
"Jonah, Amelia, I thought I told you no snacks this time." She scolded.
"But, mum, we're hungry!" Pleaded Jonah.
"I know. That's why I got you... these!"
Jonah and Amelia lit up the second they saw Rosalyn with bananas, which was one of their favorite healthy snacks. They wanted to reach for them, but Rosalyn brought it out of their arm lengths.
"Not so fast. It's these, or those. You decide."
Amelia was ready to take the bananas by force if she had to. Jonah pouted, not wanting to choose between the sweet stuff and the mana from the jungle of paradise that was known specifically as a banana. Amelia looked to Jonah, waiting for a response. She got it in the form of him asking for the bananas instead. She let out an icy scowl for Jonah as he hugged the hand of bananas.
"Come on, Amelia! You know these taste better!" He whined.
"I wanted both, you traitor, you!" Amelia snarled, forming ice crystals that started becoming visible.
Jeremiah got Amelia's attention by tapping her shoulder.
"Now, Amelia, we've talked about this. These snacks and this soda only tastes good, but is it actually good for you?" He asked.
Amelia gave up the fight and looked down with a scowl.
"No." She angrily ebbed.
"Then it's settled. You won't need the soda."
"Take the grotty things back, then. I can always have them some other time."
"Good. Now, let's get b-"
Suddenly, a scream was heard outside. Another monkey ran inside the store to get away from the bloons. They went to the back, near Rosalyn and Jeremiah, and tried to make a beeline for the PA system. Rosalyn yanked them out of their run, which was impressive if you don't know exactly how strong she is. Otherwise, it was considered mundane, knowing that ice monkeys can punch harder, and take a harder punch, than a normal monkey.
"Gerald, is that you? What is going on?" Jeremiah asked, annoyed by the cowardly monkey.
Gerald ended up snapping out of it when they heard Jeremiah's voice.
"Holy shit. Jeremiah! And Rosalyn!" They said.
Their wandering eye caught a glimpse of Amelia and Jonah. Amelia growled at him, and Jonah shied away.
"These your kids?"
Rosalyn facepalmed herself, unable to take Gerald's lack of common sense.
"What the hell do you want, Gerald?" She groaned.
"Oh. Right. Bloons. They came here. Ambush. It's bad. Leads, ceramics, and I think there may be a few purple bloons out there."
Everyone gasped in horror except for Amelia, who simply growled at the thought of bloons being around her.
"Let me at 'em! I'll se-"
Amelia tried to go outside to freeze as many bloons as possible, but Jeremiah pulled her back to him.
"You're not risking your life out there, young lady. That's final." He commanded.
"And as for you, Gerald, any MOABs or MOAB-class bloons?"
"None so far." Replied Gerald.
"Good. Now here's what's going to happen: kids, you stay here. Gerald, grab your darts. Rosalyn, you're with me."
"Why can't we go, dad? We want to pop bloons, too!" Asked Jonah.
"Becaue it's too dangerous for you kids to go. Imagine what could ha-"
"We don't care about that, dad!" Amelia blurted out, showing a complete disregard for her own life.
"I hate bloons with a passion! We're fighting them, whether you want us to or not!"
"Listen to me! You may be capable of protecting yourself against one bloon, but taking them on en masse will be dangerous, especially if you're on your own. Even if all of us went out there, your mother and I would never forgive ourselves if you got hurt. So please, just this once, stay here."
Amelia could feel the sincerity in his voice, and she couldn't be cross with him. She relented.
"Fine, dad."
"Thank you. But tell you what. If any bloons come in here and go after you, you have our permission to use your powers on them, okay?"
Jonah and Amelia lit up the second Jeremiah said those words.
"Really?! Mum, can we? Huh? Please?!"
"You heard your father. Any bloon comes for you, freeze them until there is nothing left." Permitted Rosalyn.
"YES! No bloon will stand a chance against me, the ice empress!"
Amelia strutted around, feeling high and mighty, and she walked into a display and fell down, landing on her backside.
"Some empress." Jonah giggled.
"So what? We get to cut those pathetic beasts down to size!"
"They're bloons. They're not beasts."
"I don't care; I get to pop them if I want. That's the point."
"Only if they come for us, Amelia!"
"They HAVE come for us!"
"Enough, both of you! Now stay inside; your father and I have some things to do." Rosalyn said, running outside to join Jeremiah.
Any monkey in the store that was armed and ready for battle abandoned their shopping carts and went outside. Then, the battle began. Darts and bombs were flying through the air. A sniper monkey that foresaw the ambush loaded his rifle with ammunition that could pierce through every last layer a ceramic bloon had for it. He didn't foresee some of them being fortified, forcing him to shoot for more targets than he was used to.
After 30 minutes of popping and explosions, a group of ten pink bloons managed to break into the store and head straight for Jonah. By the time he spotted them, he couldn't react, but Amelia pushed him out of the way, getting a pink bloon smack into her cheek. It knocked her down, but she got angry.
"No one hurts my brother and gets away with it!" She said, unaware she started slowing them down.
She got one in her grip, and froze it so violently, a layer popped off. Noticing it was still frozen, she punched another layer off, degrading it to a green bloon. It, alongside the other bloons that tried to hurt Jonah, slowed to a crawl.
"No! Don't hurt her!" He said, accidentally launching an icicle at one.
The icicle hit its mark, and a layer was popped off another pink bloon, knocking it down to yellow instead. Jonah looked at his hands in surprise, then at the bloons with a mischievous smile. Amelia notcied and shared the smile with him.
"Let's do it." She said.
Jonah nodded, finding courage he never thought he had, and shared a battle cry with his sister. He manifested many more icicles, ready to launch them at the bloons. He threw at whatever tried to get to Amelia, missing the first one, but getting the next when it got far enough away. Another got close, and he tried to aim at it again, only to miss again. Amelia made up for it by freezing the bloons that got close to both of them. Those bloons stopped and shattered a layer off.
"Jonah, are your eyes wonky again?" She asked, concerned Jonah couldn't aim up close.
"I don't know. I can see just fine far away, but when they get close, they get all blurry. What's wrong with me?" Jonah replied, worried about himself.
"I don't know. Let's sort these wankers out first, and then ask mum and dad, eh?"
"All right."
After about two minutes of popping the bloons that ambushed them, Amelia and Jonah went outside to go to their parents. When they went outside, it was chaos. They knew it would be bad, but they never thought the bloonswar would be this extreme. They saw their parents, having a hard time popping bloons. Jonah manifested more icicles and launched them all at the bloons that were on Jeremiah's tail. When the pop was heard, Jeremiah turned around quickly, only to spot Jonah's icicles impaled within. To makes things weirder, the bloons that were about to attack him were camoflaged, so Jeremiah wouldn't have spotted them unless he turned around soon enough, due to being nearsighted (but he never told Jonah that).
"What? How'd that happen? And why... is..."
Jeremiah stopped himself when he spotted Amelia and Jonah helping out with war effort. He was angry, yet relieved.
"Rosalyn! The kids went outside! I'm gonna get them!" He yelled.
"What?! Oh, bloody hell! I'm coming, too!" Rosalyn said, running to her kids as well.
They peeled out and dodged various attacks on both sides to get to them. When they did, they were very upset.
"Amelia Rochester Sandoval and Jonah Baker Sandoval, what on earth are you two doing?!" Yelled Rosalyn.
"Mum! Listen, bloons came inside, and Jonah couldn't see them up close, and I had-"
"STOP! We told you two not to go outside!" Jeremiah roared, interrupting Amelia.
"But we want to help! And why can't Jonah see up close?!"
"WHAT?! He's got eye problems?! Why didn't you say something sooner?!"
"I didn't know me eyes weren't right, dad!" Jonah shouted back.
"Fine, but why did you shoot an icicle through a bloon?"
Rosalyn got even more angry.
"You did WHAT, Jonah?!" She asked.
"There were camo bloons behind dad, and I shot icicles at them! They were gonna hurt dad; I had to do something, mum!" Jonah pleaded, trying to defend his blatant disobedience.
Both parents were surprised that their children would try and protect them, even at the risk of being punished.
"Look, we're sorry we didn't stay inside, but we wanted to know what was wrong with-MOM, LOOK OUT!"
Amelia Interrupted herself as she spotted a black bloon coming for Rosalyn, and she froze it in place.
"Anyway, we thought something was wrong with Jonah's eyes, so we wanted to ask why that is."
"If that's all you needed to know, it sounds like he's far-sighted. He can see far away things perfectly fine, but get them too close, and he's a sitting duck!"
Rosalyn smashed two layers of the black bloon that Amelia froze, causing slowed down yellow bloons to appear in place. Not that it mattered, since Jonah shot two icicles through them, which caused them to shed another layer.
"Had enough? Or do we have to get tough?" Asked Amelia.
As if the bloons heard Amelia, they floated away from them, scared of being popped into oblivion. Not that it mattered, since they got popped anyway.
"Well, that's one way to make them go the wrong way." Jeremiah said, impressed by Amelia's intimidation.
"See? We can help. Just let us!"
Rosalyn and Jeremiah looked to each other, almost as if they were talking to each other, and they nodded their heads to each other in agreement.
"Kids, just this once, you're not in trouble. I understand you didn't want to disobey us, but this time, it's okay. Come with us." Said Rosalyn.
Amelia beamed a smile so bright, it was like she became a beacon... which was actually somewhat true, since the bloons came after her now! Jonah and Rosalyn were having none of that, so Jonah made even more icicles and launched them while Rosalyn slowed down bloons with Amelia's help. They stopped moving completely if they got to within an arm's length of distance to Amelia. Jeremiah snapped off more bloon layers, over and over. The fight had gone on for about another ten minutes, and Jonah and Amelia were starting to get tired.
"Mum, I don't think I can handle much more." Jonah said, making fewer icicles to throw.
Jeremiah notcied Amelia was getting exhausted from the frost she was putting out.
"Amelia! Please, you have to stay awake! Are you okay?" He asked.
"I don't feel so good..." Amelia said with her consciousness starting to fade.
Jeremiah and Rosalyn started to get desperate. They didn't want to lose their children to this war, and there were still plently bloons around. Thankfully, it was the last wave of the ambush.
"Rosalyn! The children! What do we do?!" Asked Jeremiah.
Rosalyn was conflicted and fearful. She had a trump card, but she didn't want to use it because of what would happen without enough protection. But she clearly had no choice left. She shed a tear as she decided to perform a kamikaze attack.
"It's not what we do! It's what you do." She said, starting to cry.
"What? Rosalyn, what... do..."
Jeremiah saw the look in Rosalyn's eyes, confirming his worst scenario of all.
"Oh. No. No! No! You can't! You'll die!" He begged.
"I know I will. Let me see the kids one last time."
Jeremiah granted Rosalyn her last chance to see her kids. She gave them a great big hug.
"Kids, mommy has to go away for a while, possibly...forever. But just remember... no matter what, mommy will always love you. Please never forget that. Mommy loves you so much."
Jonah started crying as he knew what his mother was going to do. Amelia, however, was scared and confused.
"Why are you talking like that, mum?" She asked timidly.
"It doesn't matter. Just know that mommy loves you, Amelia. She always has... and always will."
Rosalyn gave Amelia one last kiss on her head. Then she shooed her away tearfully.
"Now get everyone inside a building, and tell them to crank up the heat. It's about to get very cold out here." Commanded Rosalyn.
Jeremiah obeyed her with a heavy heart and got the kids back inside the grocery store. He looked back at her one last time and contorted his mouth in a way that said "I love you". She responded back by mouthing "I love you, too" to Jeremiah. She cried as she started glowing. The air around her became extremely cold. The temperature was dropping, and every monkey that was outside could feel it. When they saw Rosalyn, they took it as a sign to evacuate, and quickly before they all froze to death. Jeremiah flung the door to the store open.
"COME ON! GET INSIDE, AND TURN UP THE HEATERS! NOW!"
Those words from Jeremiah were all they needed to run for cover and warmth. Then, when every last monkey was inside and cuddled together for warmth, Rosalyn unleashed her most powerful, yet dangerous, ability: a snowstorm so strong, no ordinary-class bloon could stand against it. Even the fortified ceramics were no match for her at this point. Then it happened. In an outward blast of power, the whole town was frozen solid. Anyone who wasn't indoors were certainly going to die, for the temperature plummeted instantly to a deep freeze of -372 degress Fahrenheit. The temperature shift was so fast, if you blinked, you would've missed it completely! None of the bloons could take it, especially not the camoflaged bloons! They all shattered, leaving behind mere fragments of what they used to be.
Ten seconds after the bloons were destroyed, the temperature climbed back up quickly, causing everything to thaw out. After ten minutes, the town and the temperature returned to its normal state. The ice and snow melted completely. Even the remains of the bloons were finished thawing out. Some monkeys stepped outside, curious about whether they were safe or not. One poked the shattered remnants of a bloon to confirm it.
"It's... it's dead. IT'S DEAD!" Said the monkey.
More came out to see if it was true. Their reward: a confirmation that they were safe. They all started whooping and screeching in victory, celebrating their survival by acting primal. And why not? They managed to survive an ambush, so their cheers and triumphant feeling were fit for everyone to do. Then Jeremiah rushed out to check on Rosalyn. Amelia and Jonah was hot on his tail, trying to find her.
"Rosalyn?! Rosalyn! Sweetheart!" He yelled.
He was loud enough to get the attention of all the monkeys that were outside. Some of them were worried. They started to help him look for her. Then one of them found her. She was almost buried in dead bloon scraps.
"Jeremiah! She's... she's over here." One said.
Jeremiah and the kids rushed to her side, only to find she had made her move fatal. Still, she clung to life madly, barely being able to speak.
"J-j-j-J-bird? Is that you?" She weakly asked, shivering.
"It's me, love. My winter rose." He said, crying.
"The kids... are they okay?"
"Yes. We got 'em in before your attack."
"Good. I can't... believe I really did this. I'm s-s-s-s-so c-c-c-cold, Jeremiah. It's too much. I c-c-c-can't take it anymore."
"Rosalyn, forgive me."
"No. Forgive ME for p-p-putting so much res-s-sponsib-b-bility on you. I used all my power in that attack, and now... I'm freezing to death."
"Please don't go, Rosalyn. We can sti-"
"No. WE can't. But you can. Please. Take care of the children, my love. Take care of them."
Jeremiah was crying even more now; Rosalyn became too weak to hold her head up.
"Of course. I promise. I'll take care of our kids. I promise. I love you."
"I know you will. Goodbye... Jeremiah. I love you..."
"I love you, too..."
Rosalyn let out a final, faint smile, and then passed on. She fell into that eternal slumber, never to awaken again. Jeremiah broke down completely, wailing loudly with tears to match. Jonah hugged his father and cried alongside him. Amelia was in shock. Her mother was dead? This was something she didn't believe. She couldn't believe! She wouldn't believe! She went into serious denial and ran to her mother, believing she could just wake up like it was some sort of bad dream.
"Mum? Mum? Mum, please. This is a joke, right?" She whimpered, trying to wake her up by nudging her.
"Get up."
There was no answer.
"Come on, mother! This isn't funny!"
Amelia got desperate and shook her mother's body while her denial went into maximum overdrive.
"Mummy! Mummy, please wake up! Please! Please, mummy, please wake up!"
Jeremiah couldn't bare to hear Amelia in such denial. He held her as tightly as he could.
"Daddy, stop! Mummy needs us to wake her up!"
Amelia was starting to cry profusely. She was completely losing it.
"I'm sorry, snowflake. Mommy can't wake up anymore. She's... she's dead." Jeremiah said through his tears.
Amelia couldn't handle what her father was saying at all. Her denial was even more persistent than ever.
"No. No! This is NOT happening! It CAN'T be happening! It CAN'T! She's not dead! She's just sleeping!"
"Amelia! Please. Let's go home."
"No! Mummy! Please wake up! Please! I... I'm sorry, mummy! Mummy, I'm so sorry."
Jeremiah carried his weeping daughter in his arms, and Jonah stayed by his side the whole walk home.
All three ice monkeys were devastated by Rosalyn's death, and the funeral for her three days later drove home the point to Amelia even more. She kept denying her mother's death, but the second she saw the casket, she fainted. It was just too much for her to take. She kept telling herself her mother was still alive, and when she got a hard dose of reality, she couldn't handle it. She woke back up about a minute after Jonah and Jeremiah got her seated, but she leaped up and hugged the casket, crying and screeching madly. Jeremiah did his best to pull her off and get back to the seat. Amelia, however, was simply trying to claw her way back to her mother. She regretted so many things, so many discrepancies concerning how she acted toward her mother. And all she wanted was to take it all back.
"I'm sorry, mum. I love you." She ebbed, still crying.
The service was done after two hours, and the Sandovals all went home with heavy hearts. Their loss was felt more than everyone else's, and the pain would never go away.