a/n: Sorry about the slowness, finally here. It's short, but I hope you all enjoy.

Sonic and Kiriko raced across the plains of black ice, heading for the old settlements a few miles from the newly upgraded village of Holoska. Jagged blades of ice and wide fissures dotted the landscape, forcing the two heroes to pay close attention as they ran on.

Plants and animals were frozen like statues in case of thick, black frost, in various positions as they were before the freeze occurred. The outlines of partially blackened glaciers could be seen from far off, moving slowly in the icy cold waters.

Sonic noticed his left hand reacting to the presence of the black ice, meaning it was something that needed to be destroyed completely at some point. There was a general sense of which direction it was coming from, and it happened to be the same direction that they were headed towards. He looked backwards at Kiriko as she trailed him, thinking of what needed to be done.

If he had the time, he would also need to call Amy. No sense leaving her to worry like that. Sonic could see the old settlement ahead, also known as 'Old Holoska' to those who had left for the revitalized version of the village. The two places were tightly connected, with communications and supply routes. Some people preferred to live the way that they always had, and to raise their families in the ways of their ancestors.

Now, however…they were frozen in thick, black ice. Many of the bodies were frozen in mid-flight or in movements of frenzy and panic, illustrating the scene in eerie detail as Sonic and Kiriko walked by.

"Master…is there a way to rescue them?"

Sonic looked down at his left hand, clenching it tightly. He exhaled, sending a puff of frosty white air upwards in front of him as he looked around at the frozen villagers.

"Not without endangering everyone's safety. I think they're relatively safe as long as nothing disturbs them. Once I make a move, I might be inviting whatever this is to advance and maybe attack." He wrapped a red scarf around his neck and secured it before moving forward.

"Is there anything that we can do?"

"There is. We'll just have to start moving quickly. I want you to search for the Chosen that's around here somewhere. I'll follow the trail of the ice and see if I can't find the source."

"Master, are…you sure about this?" Kiriko asked nervously. "I don't have much experience doing things on my own."

"It's alright, you can do it."

"B-but what if I mess up? What if something goes wrong and I can't handle it on my own?"

"Kiriko…"

Sonic wrapped a red scarf around Kiriko's neck gently.

"You trust me, right?"

"I do," she said softly.

"Okay. So if I tell you that everything's gonna be okay, and that you'll be fine, will you believe me?"

"I…want to trust you…but I can't trust myself right now."

"Will you try for me?" he asked.

"Of course! Anything for you, Master!" she said frantically.

He smiled and kissed her on the forehead. "That's all I ask. Believe in yourself, Kiriko. Just like I believe in you. I'll see you soon."

"Master, wait…!" Trying to hold back her furious blush, she kept her head turned as she held out a hand towards him, little finger extended outwards. "Can you…"

He scratched his head and walked back, wrapping his pinky finger around hers.

"I promise," he said sincerely before taking off again.

"…" It was something childish, she knew. A pinky promise, of all things…but to have him do it brought some sort of comfort to her. He hadn't scolded her for being scared like the last time, so maybe it was just that he was irritated…or perhaps he really meant what he said, and this was the first real test for her. Confidence was a necessity this time, wasn't it?

The total area of the settlement was larger than Kiriko thought it to be, as it encompassed a number of different places. Walking around, she found a discarded map on the ground and knelt down to open it. The shadows of the frozen people around her seemed to appear larger with each passing moment. If she were to find the Chosen, she would have to hurry.

"I can do this…I can do this…I know I can do this…"

Taking a deep breath, Kiriko concentrated and focused her energies.

"Here I go. Satellite."

Three spheres of water appeared around her, with small white rings spinning outside of them. They moved off in various directions at her command, and Kiriko herself started to search for any survivors. If the spheres came upon anything, she'd know about it immediately.

Until then, she'd have to keep her eyes open for anything unusual…

Wait a moment.

"The new town…why wasn't it…?"

Though it was important, Sonic was long gone by now. Kiriko hoped he would come back as quickly as he said, because something even stranger than this was going on…

In the meantime, Sonic the Hedgehog ran at top speed across the ice, towards the supposed origin of the black menace. Ice was one of his least favourite surfaces to run on, because of the utter lack of friction that existed between his shoes and the ground below. From experience, he knew that running on top of ice wasn't a matter of skill, but a matter of confidence in where you were going. If you were unsure of your steps at any moment, the ice would trip you up and toss you around at its leisure. The only thing made easier were drift turns, not that anyone had a need for them in such vast spaces.

He noted the black ice gathering in various places, creating stand-alone caverns with jagged edges. Several of these caverns dotted the landscape as he passed by at a quick pace, and his eye caught the largest one of all looming large in the distance. It had a network of passageways leading out from it, all decorated in pitch-black icicles along the outside surfaces.

"Reminds of me of one of Eggman's bases," Sonic said to himself as he picked up speed. "This thing looks to be recent, too. It's displacing everything else, and I think it's on top of the ocean, too. Whatever the heck this is…" He looked over at his left hand, which kept reacting with every section of black ice that he passed over, around, or through.

"…It's probably something bad. I hope Kiriko doesn't run into any trouble."

"Oh, boy…I think I'm in for it now…"

Soft brown eyes blinked away the frost that tried to form over them, and the girl shivered despite her warm clothing. A thick fur coat, pants, and boots were hand made to keep out the cold, even in the harsh conditions of Holoska. However, none of that seemed to matter in the face of the mysterious black ice that had crept up and swallowed the old village and its people.

Marketa unsuccessfully tried to shift her frozen feet, feeling the ice slowly creep up her legs. The only thing holding it off was the glowing jade necklace that she wore, bought in Chun-nan a few years earlier.

Well, it was some kind of help, right? At least…for now…

"Could be worse…I think." Marketa sighed and tried to focus on warm, happy thoughts, but the cold wasn't being considerate. Her black pigtails were already hard as stone from the temperature, since she hadn't moved in several hours. Fatigue was slowly starting to set in, but she knew that she couldn't fall asleep as she was. There was a chance that she wouldn't be able to wake up. Ever.

"Eh?"

An odd object entered her view, something like a miniature planet, complete with its own ring system around it. It reacted to her voice and circled around her trapped body.

"Water…but what could make water act like this?" she mused.

"Hello?" a voice called. Kiriko had received the message from her Satellite and rushed towards its location, finding the girl along with it.

"Oh! You look a lot like Sonic," Marketa noted. "Do you know him, by chance?"

Kiriko knelt beside the girl, examining the ice around her legs. "I do. He is my master."

"Master? I don't get it."

"He is the God of Wind, and I am his loyal servant."

"God of Wind…? You mean that the old legends were true? Wow! So…where is he?"

"He left me in charge of looking for survivors and useful information," Kiriko said as she tapped on the ice. "I don't think that was a very good idea, really…"

"Why not? Obviously, if he left you to do this alone, he trusts you a lot and thinks you're capable. Otherwise, he'd be here himself, right?" the human girl replied with certainty.

"Do you know him well?" Kiriko asked curiously.

"Well enough," Marketa replied with a shrug. "Is there any chance that you can get me out of here?"

"I can't see the point where your legs are separated," she said, calling forth her katana. "It would be a blind strike…and I don't know if your legs are bonded to the ice."

"They're not, fortunately. I saw what happened to the other people…I think I know where some of our old books and stuff are kept, so those should help."

"…And I wouldn't know where to start without you," Kiriko said with a heavy sigh. "I need to free you."

"Oh, man…this might not end well," Marketa groaned. Kiriko raised the tip of her katana high over the girl's feet.

"I can stop the blood flow quickly if it comes to-"

"The less we talk about this, the less freaked out I get," Marketa said quickly. "Go for it…"

Kiriko nodded and breathed in deeply. There was a tiny bit of shaking in her hands…not good. It had to be now.

"O Creator…guide my blade…"

Marketa closed her eyes, and Kiriko thrust downward.