What can melt a frozen heart? I wonder…
It was 7 a.m. and he was already up and running. As soon as he stepped out of his room, a medic was standing there with his medicine in hand. Knowing that medic was simply following Luna's order, there was no point in arguing with him. He took his pills and made his way to the manor gates.
The silver-blond woman showed up a few minutes later. He looked at Aranea and she wore a long fur-lined black coat and a muted red scarf with matching fingerless gloves. The zipper of her jacket has a large round accessory with a red gem. Her long-heeled boots matched her leather trousers.
"Aren't you overdressed?" he asked, as she approached closer.
"No, dummy, you are underdressed. Go back and put on more layers of clothes. It is below freezing where we are going."
"I think I should be fine," he brushed it off.
"I can't take any chances. Your girlfriend would kill me if you get hypothermia," she exclaimed.
"For the last time, Luna is not my girlfriend," he shook his head.
"Who said anything about Luna? You brought her up. The proper response should have been, 'I am an emo loaner and I don't have a girlfriend.'" She smirked.
"Ugh. I hate you," he moaned.
"Aww sweetie, I hate you too," she replied, playfully punching on his arm.
"Whatever," both Squall and Aranea said at the same time.
"So predictable," she caroled in a singsong voice. He just ignored her.
"Now go put on some more clothes while I raid the pantry," she instructed, walking in the manor.
Once ready, they made their way towards the railway station.
"Are we going by train?" Squall asked.
"No, we are going in that," she pointed at an imperial airship.
"Is that safe?" he asked with concern.
"There is no place safer than that. It is my airship," she proclaimed.
"Wow!" He marveled at the state-of-the-art airship.
"Hello Lady A," welcomed Biggs, as they entered the airship.
"Hello Biggs and Wedge," she greeted her loyal companions. Wedge just nodded in response.
'Hmm. Biggs and Wedge, these names sound familiar.' He wondered.
"Thank you so much for taking care of things at Lucis."
"It's our pleasure lady A," Biggs replied courteously.
Everyone saluted her as she walked into the ship.
"You never told me your rank," Squall noted.
"Because it's not important," she brushed it off. "But if you must know, I am the commodore of the Niflheim Empire's Third Army Corps 86th Airborne Unit."
"Impressive," he admitted.
This airship was the first time Squall got a close look at Imperial technology. It was a scientific marvel. The airship's thrusters roared, and within seconds they were soaring in the sky.
They were barely a few klicks away from Tenebrae when the entire landscape changed. The lush green terrain was replaced with layers and layers of unending snow. The temperature dropped sharply.
"What's our mission?" he asked, looking outside from the window at a frozen snowscape.
"To retrieve a legendary item called Frozen Tear," she stated.
"What's so special about it?"
"To be honest, I don't know. The legend has it that whenever Shiva suffers immense pain, a tear escapes her eyes and due to the extreme cold, it is crystallized instantly. It is said that the luster of this Frozen Tear would put a thousand diamonds to shame. Niflheim retrieved one such tear when they killed Shiva," Aranea informed.
"One of our scouts reported observing Frozen Tear on Shiva's corporeal body. We will go check it out and if it's true, we will grab it for ourselves before Niflheim can get their hands on it," she briefed.
"But, aren't you working for Niflheim?"
"It's complicated," she stated, clearing a strand of hair on her face.
The snowstorm outside was intensifying with every passing second.
"Lady A, we won't be able to go much further because of this snowstorm. You would have to get there on a snowmobile from here," informed Biggs.
"That is fine. You can drop us here," Aranea agreed to the plan.
"Alright, lowering the altitude," he announced to the crew.
"Your snowmobile is in the hanger," Wedges informed.
Aranea nodded and got up from her seat. Squall followed her as well. She opened the door connecting the cabin and the hanger and made her way in.
Squall stepped in and looked at the snowmobile. It was a military grade snowmobile with a high-caliber machine gun mounted on it. He noticed a strange carving near the bottom of the vehicle. He crouched down to inspect. It had Trepe etched into it.
"That's the name of my snowmobile," Aranea revealed, looking at his quizzical expression.
'Trepe, where have I heard that name before?' He wondered.
"I did not know you liked to give names to objects," he pointed.
"Shut it, scar-face."
"What is this ship called?" he inquired.
"It's called Save the Queen. I am not very sentimental about names, but having names makes things easier to locate," she reasoned.
"Strange choice for a ship name," he remarked.
She just shrugged. "The crew came up with it."
Once Squall got up from examining the snowmobile, Aranea handed him something. "Take this pill."
"What is it?" he asked, inspecting the red gel pill.
"This pill would prevent body temperature from dropping down even in extreme conditions. A mad scientist named Dr. Verstael created it when we fought against Shiva."
'There was a mad scientist in my world, but for some reason, I can picture him wearing clown's clothes. Weird.' His mind recollected a distant memory.
Squall took the pill and swallowed it quickly.
"Lady A, this is as far as we can go. Let me know when you are ready and I'll open the hanger," said the overhead voice of Biggs.
"Can I drive?" Squall asked with the eagerness of a child.
"I know this terrain better, so I'll drive. How about you ride it on the way back?" she offered.
"Deal," he accepted, reluctantly.
After sitting properly on their snowmobile, Aranea gave the signal to open the hanger.
A cold wind rushed in as soon as the hangar door opened.
"Ready to go?" she asked, glancing back at him from the corner of her eyes.
"Always," he replied, giving a thumbs up.
She glided her snowmobile, Trepe, from the hangar onto the snow. The snowmobile landed, sending puffs of snow in all directions.
"We go north from here," she declared, looking at the inbuilt compass next to the speedometer. "Also, brace yourself for the cold."
"Where are we?" he asked, looking at their surroundings. Everywhere he looked was just a sea of white snow.
"We are in Ghorovas Rift within the region of Vogliupe. This is a treacherous icy terrain enveloped in a perpetual blizzard," she informed.
They went at slow speed for a while, which made Squall wonder if that was the max capacity of the snowmobile.
"Ready for some thrill?" She asked, breaking the silence.
Before Squall could even respond, Aranea floored the accelerator and zoomed away. Squall didn't know if he should be thrilled or scared.
The frostbite and the chilly wind felt like it was cutting through the skin, yet the speed at which they were going gave a satisfying thrill. As the speed picked up, the adrenaline took over, giving them a thrill of their life. The snowmobile seemed to glide on the snow almost frictionless.
In spite of low visibility because of the blizzard, they were now close enough to see the giant corporal body of Shiva.
Aranea suddenly braked hard, causing her snowmobile to spin a couple of times. Squall barely held on as it spun out of control, eventually coming to a stop.
"What happened?" he asked, breathless.
"Daemons," she growled, narrowing her eyes.
Squall immediately looked around, but could not see any threat. "I don't see any daemons," he stated.
"Not around you, look beneath you," she instructed, jumping off the snowmobile.
He looked down, and the snow started to shift on its own. Suddenly, hordes of Snaga came out all around them. The 4 ft monster was relatively weak, but what it lacks in strength they made up with overwhelming numbers.
"Be careful, they like to steal potions from people," Aranea warned.
Both being seasoned fighters made the fight easier. After clearing the horde of Snaga with relative ease, they continued their journey deeper into the blizzard.
The path got narrower through the snow-covered woods as they progressed, eventually to the point where the trail was just wide enough for their snowmobile.
They soon came to a stop, as the only path forward was blocked off by fallen trees. They got off their vehicles to clear out the path, only to be ambushed by Wraith. It was a 9 ft tall macabre daemon that levitates. It kept its victims at arm's length to grapple and squeeze the very life from its prey.
They were surrounded by 10 Wraith, shutting down any chance of escaping. They closed in on them slowly as both warriors stood there with weapons ready to strike.
"Any bright ideas?" Squall asked.
"Wraiths are slow-moving. If we hit them from the back, we can link up our attacks."
"You go, I'll distract them."
Aranea nodded and with one high jump disappeared from the sight and landed a few feet behind the Wraiths.
Squall released a salvo of bullets from his gunblade at multiple Wraiths enraging them. Some rushed towards him for a physical attack while others targeted him with a magical attack. Squall deflected all physical attacks and used other Wraiths as the cover to dodge the magical attacks.
"Incoming at 6 o'clock," declared Aranea, preparing a high jump attack.
Squall knew what she meant and replied, "Ready."
Aranea's attack the Wraith directly behind Squall and he capitalized on that vulnerability to execute his link attack, Relentless Revolver. Together they decimated the Wraith in one conjoined attack.
Aranea jumped back to create some separation between her and wraiths while Squall drew their attention.
"3," he heard Aranea say.
"Okay," he stated, giving the signal to attack.
The Wraith to the right of Squall was decimated next.
Leon and Luna made a balanced team with one focusing on offense and the other providing the defense. Squall and Aranea, on the other hand, were an all-out offensive team, that could devastate the mightiest of foes. They were like a well-oiled machine working in perfect synchronization.
Knowing the fighting excellence of Aranea, Squall never had to worry about protecting her as he knew she was more than capable of taking care of herself, which made it different from fighting with Luna. Aranea had the same trust in Squall's abilities, which made them a fierce team.
One after another, they picked off all the Wraiths and continued their journey further.
"This used to be a holy site. Pilgrims from all over Eos would come here to pay tribute to the Goddess of Ice. In M.E. 745, Niflheim slew the awakened Astral Shiva, leaving her gigantic corpse lying in the gorge. A strange phenomenon turned part of the desert wasteland into a dark icy landscape ever since. We lost many lives that day. It is said that those fallen soldiers became daemons and haunt these very grounds," she explained.
"You mean to say that the Wraith we slay back there were people once?"
"Yes. It changes the whole perspective of the fight, doesn't it?"
"Yeah."
"Niflheim has started converting civilians into demons to gain an advantage in the battlefield. I don't agree with that practice. I signed up for the military so I could protect those who can't protect themselves, not for this. I've been thinking about quitting and going back to being a mercenary. But I do love my country too. I am not really sure what to do anymore," Aranea narrated.
"I see," he replied, sounding uninterested.
"Is that all you are going to say?"
"What am I supposed to say about other people's problems?" he replied callously.
"You know are such an ass sometimes. When someone shares their problems, they are expecting you to either console or advise them. And not be indifferent about it," she chided him.
"I am sorry. I wasn't trying to be indifferent towards your problem. I just didn't think that my opinion on this matter would have swayed your decision," he revealed.
"Why would I ask your opinion if it didn't matter to me, dumbass? You are my friend, of course, your opinion matters," she urged.
"Ask yourself, would you be able to do more good by staying with the Empire or against them? If you stay with the Empire, you get information on their movements, research, and can protect civilians. As long as you have something worth protecting, I think you should stay," he counseled.
"See, was it so difficult to just share your thoughts? You think too much and never say enough, that's why that scowl never leaves your face. Sharing your thoughts is a necessity in a healthy relationship," she advised.
"Ya, you are probably right," he acknowledged.
Once again silence accompanied them as they moved on.
"You haven't said anything, is my charm making you nervous?" she joked, breaking the silence.
"Oh please," he said, rolling his eyes.
"Squall. Is there something on your mind?" Aranea asked.
"Not really," he replied.
"Not really," she said, almost in sync with Squall. She broke into giggles.
"What's so funny?" he asked, getting annoyed.
"Funny? No, no, it's not that! I'm just happy. I feel like I'm finally beginning to understand you a little. That's all," she stated, clasping her hands.
"I'm more complex than you think." He folded his hands and looked away like a child.
"Then tell me. Tell me more about yourself," she appealed.
"It's none of your..."
"...Business!" she finished his line and started laughing once again.
"You are annoying," he fumed, before walking ahead.
They cleared out another horde of Wraiths as they got closer to the fallen Shiva.
"We should walk from here," she instructed as snow intensified. "Welcome to the resting place of Shiva."
The cold wind amplified with every step they took towards Shiva. The visibility dropped greatly as the snowstorm picked up. They had to put a hand in front of their face so snow doesn't go into their eyes directly. The corporeal form of Shiva was hundreds of feet tall. She lay on the ground froze in time. Her entire body was submerged in the snow with her upper torso visible. The expression on her face was of pain and anguish.
Once they got close enough, Aranea shined a laser on Shiva's face.
"What are you doing?" he asked.
"This is a special laser which would refract from a prism. Using this, I am trying to locate the Frozen Tear."
She had been scanning her face for a few minutes, but she did not locate the legendary treasure. She was starting to believe it was a myth.
"Let me try," Squall appealed, finally getting tired of waiting in this extreme cold.
"If we don't find it in the next two minutes, we leave," she declared, handing him the laser.
The two minutes had gone by and even Squall wasn't able to find anything.
"We should go now. This was a waste of time," she complained.
Just as he was retreating the light away from Shiva's face, Aranea noticed something shinning.
"Wait, I got it. I saw something shining just as you were retreating the light. It was somewhere around her left eye."
Squall scanned the area carefully. Finally, a rainbow-colored pattern was formed at the edge of her eyes because of refraction from prism-like Frozen Tear. Shiva's hair covered the edge of her left eye, masking the tear.
"This is awesome," Aranea exclaimed. "I'll go get it."
She tossed her spear towards Shiva and warped there. Her warping was different than the ones Lucian soldiers used, it left a red trail behind indicating magitek use in it.
She proclaimed the mythical treasure while Squall stood there wondering what it would feel like to warp.
"We got it, Squall," she proclaimed, hugging or rather tackling Squall in excitement.
Squall pushed her off and got up first, "Good. Now, let's get out of this frozen hell."
As they were making their way towards the snowmobile, a hailstorm of snow flew in their direction as something huge landed with a thud. They turned around and a 46 ft tall demon awaited them.
"I was wondering where did the Deathclaw go?" Aranea said with an eerie excitement.
Deathclaw had a bulky bone structure. Its name stems from the giant talons on both of its arms. Fighting one is said to equivalent to tempting death itself.
"Let's get the party started," she said, readying her spear.
"Aren't you excited to see him? Your boyfriend?" he suggested.
"No, based on the looks, it must be your relative." She retorted.
"Whatever," he said, as he launched into the daemon.
"Squall, be careful of its laser attack," she warned as she took the aerial route.
Squall unloaded a round of bullets as he ran towards the monster, but it barely flinched. Aranea landed on top of him, impaling her spear, but it shrugged her off.
Both the warriors took turns attacking it from either end, not giving it enough time to use its deadly laser.
A few Wraiths and Snaga emerged from the snow, joining the fray. This distraction gave Deathclaw enough time to conjure its magical laser attacks. The rays spun around it and flew out in straight lines, damaging anything in its path.
Because of snow, Squall's mobility was severely limited and was unable to dodge the attack in time taking the brunt of the damage.
Aranea landed behind him and healed him with a potion. "Told you to be careful."
"Sometimes pain brings the best out of you. Here goes, Renzokuken," he unleashed his limitbreak and followed it up by the Blasting zone causing enormous damage to the beast.
"Not bad. Now watch this," she jumped and disappeared from the sight and landing square on the Deathclaw with great impact. Her technique, Highwind, was equally effective as Squall's limitbreak.
The game of one-upmanship carried on as both tried to outdo the other. Which was great for them, but not for the beast.
The Deathclaw created some separation from them and drew its claws together to form a single large laser beam. By now they were familiar with the attack pattern, so they dodged it expertly. However, the powerful laser beam had landed on their snowmobile and bore a hole through the fuel chamber.
Aranea was closer to the snowmobile noticed fuel leaking from the vehicle, "Shit."
"Squall we need to run," she yelled.
Squall, who was engaged in close range combat with the beast was oblivious to what had just transpired. "We can defeat this. I got this, don't worry."
"Squall, Trepe was hit by the laser attack and our fuel tank is damaged. We have to retreat before all the fuel leaks out."
"Damn, without snowmobile we would freeze to death walking all the way back," he realized.
"Come on, hurry," she urged.
Squall landed one fierce blow on Deathclaw causing it to stumble back. He used this opening to dash toward the snowmobile. Aranea of her part was ready to drive away as soon as Squall gets there.
The snow made it very difficult to run as his feet would sink in the snow with each step he took. Deathclaw had recovered enough by now and started chasing Squall.
Squall was trying his best to run as fast as he can, but the Deathclaw was catching up quickly. "I am not going to make it, you leave and come back for me when you can. I'll defeat this and find shelter somewhere," he yelled, running towards Aranea.
"Did anyone tell you that you give out stupid ideas sometimes? I am not leaving you here to die in this cold. Your pill would wear out in a few hours and without it, you would be a statue like Shiva."
"Come on, be pragmatic," he urged before turning around and shooting Deathclaw a few times.
"I am not telling your girlfriend that you died under my watch, she would kill me," Aranea replied.
"Stop being annoying and listen for once. I'll find a way to survive, trust me." He commanded.
"Stop being stubborn and listen for once. You don't have to be a hero every time." She countered.
The Deathclaw pounced on Squall and he parried its attack in time. He fought with Deathcalw again to damage it enough to create some separation. They were losing fuel with every passing second.
After sufficiently damaging the daemon Squall ran again. He was getting close to the vehicle when Deathclaw got up and lunged itself towards Squall. The demon was right behind him now, he could sense its breath. It raised a claw to take a swipe at Squall when it was impaled with bullets.
Aranea was manning the machine gun on the snowmobile, unloading on Deathclaw. He ran. The monster chased him. And a friend impaled it with bullets to save him. It all felt like a déjà vu.
"You drive, I'll take care of this," she instructed.
Squall hopped in the driver's seat and they sped away while Aranea shoots at the Deathclaw, keep it at bay.
Soon they were out of a narrow trail and into the open and seemingly endless field of snow. They speed away as the fuel gauge was almost empty. Soon the snowmobile came to a standstill.
"Not good. We still have a long way to go. It would take us hours to get to the airship on foot."
"The sun will set in a few minutes," he added, further complicating their situation.
"Biggs, can you hear me?" she asked, tapping her communication earpiece. She waited but got no response.
"I think we are still out of range," she admitted, disappointingly.
"Then let's keep walking towards it till we get in range," he suggested and starting to walk.
Neither of them said much as they pondered for a solution for their precarious situation. Considering their distance from Shiva, the chill wind was relatively bearable now, although visibility remained low because of the blizzard.
Aranea kept testing her earpiece frequently, but she got no response. After 20 minutes of walking, Aranea finally connected with Biggs.
"Biggs, can you hear me?"
"Lady A, there is a lot of background noise, I can barely hear you," replied Biggs. The gushing wind in the background drowned out her voice.
"Squall, can you stay quiet please?" she turned around and said to him.
"What? I haven't said anything!" he defended, taken by surprise.
"I know, I am just messing with you," Aranea said with a grin.
"You are insane to be joking at times like this," he complained, with a facepalm.
"Biggs, Trepe broke down and we are stranded, can you send a rescue team please?"
"All I heard was Biggs, breakdance and rescue," Biggs relayed to Wedge.
"What? That makes no sense. Let me talk," said Wedge, taking Biggs' earpiece.
"Lady A, this is Wedge. Can you please repeat yourself?"
"I said Trepe broke down and we are stranded, can you send a rescue team please?"
"Lady A, we can barely hear you. Can you try from a different location please?"
"Okay," she resigned.
"What did they say?" inquired Squall.
"They can barely hear me," she cited, as she marched in the direction of the airship. After walking for 10 more minutes, the wind had slowed down considerably.
"Can you hear me now?" she inquired.
"Yes, Lady A, we can hear you loud and clear," came the reply from Biggs, who had taken his earpiece back from Wedge.
"Trepe broke down so we are walking towards the ship."
Biggs tracked her location using the inbuilt GPS in her earpiece.
"Lady A, you are a considerable distance away from the ship. I can dispatch a rescue team but it will be nightfall by the time they get there."
"What are my options?" she questioned.
"We can dispatch teams to escort you back here. We'll have to fight daemons on the way back," he offered.
"No, that would be reckless. We might lose some men if we do that," she disputed.
"Your safety is our priority, Lady A," Biggs argued.
"And to keep my crew safe is mine," she replied instantly.
"But Lady A we-"
"My decision is final. You are not to dispatch any rescue team at this hour." Her commanding tone left no room for argument.
"Then what can we do?" Biggs asked.
"I don't know," she said, unsure.
Squall chimed in, "Aranea you mentioned that this used to be a trail for pilgrims, right?"
"Yes, what about it?"
"Then shouldn't there be heaven somewhere?" Squall wondered aloud.
"That's a great idea! Who says you are dumb," she said, playfully punching his arm.
"No one says that!" he replied, taking an offense.
"You get flustered so easily, it's almost cute," she replied with a laugh.
"You are unbelievable," he hissed.
"Tell me about it," she replied, with a playful wink.
"Whatever."
"Guys, is there a haven nearby? This used to be a trail for pilgrims, there has to be a haven somewhere." She inquired.
"Let us find out and get back to you on that," Biggs responded.
Biggs frantically scanned the terrain to find any spot where they could get shelter. Wedges dug through the archive data for any clue.
It was over five minutes and she still heard nothing from them.
"Lady A, we found something," announced Wedge, in an excited tone.
"There is an old haven by a thawed lake just two klicks east from your current location."
"Great! We can spend the night there. You can send the rescue team at sunrise."
"You got it, Lady A," Biggs affirmed.
"What did they say?" Squall asked curiously.
"There is a haven two klicks east from here. If we hurry, we should be able to make it by the nightfall."
"Let's go then," he said, walking in the east direction as the darkness was starting to take over.
Author's Notes:
So, what do you think about this chapter? Let me know in your comments below. If you don't have much to say then at least say 'Hi' so I know someone is reading this. It would really brighten my day. Thanks :)
PS: I hope everyone is safe and healthy in this COVID-19 outbreak. Isolate and prevail. Introverts (like me) have mastered this skill lol
