Chapter One: Frozen from Within
Tecna drifted into consciousness, and her entire body was numb. In moments, feeling slowly began to creep into her, but she was still very cold. More moments passed, and she could feel the sensation of a blanket surrounding her. No matter how much she sunk herself into the comfort of the blanket, she was still cold. It was as if the cold was from within her, and she couldn't escape it. She felt terrified, but couldn't figure out the reason. Everything was a blur of darkness, a haze. She had no idea where she was and it was all so new. Voices could be heard not too far away from her, but they were incoherent for the most part. As the cold continued to consume her, she began to shiver and tremble underneath the blanket. Every muscle in her body was weak and stiff. She couldn't move.
"Do you think she's awake yet?" a man asked from the voices conversing in the hallway.
"I'll go check up on her," a woman responded. The conversation had stopped completely and the woman's high heels could be heard coming into the room and towards the bed that Tecna was lying in. She noticed Tecna shivering underneath her blanket.
"Ah, you're awake," she began softly before she reached out a hand to touch her. However, Tecna recoiled. "Oh my, you're ice cold. Don't worry, sweetheart, we're going to get you warmed up. Come on, let's get you into a bath."
So, the woman, who Tecna assumed was a nurse, took her arm and put all her weight on her shoulder to pull her up into a seated position before helping swing her legs off the bed. Tecna's body was still very stiff, she couldn't bring herself to move of her own free will and needed all the support of the nurse to take her to the bathroom. Once they were there, the nurse removed the hospital gown she had been wearing. Apparently, she had been admitted to a hospital, but again, everyone prior to this was missing. Last thing Tecna remembered was that she was going to be enrolled in Alfea that fall. Then what? Had she gotten into an accident that prevented her from attending Alfea? Despite her entire body being cold and stiff, she tried desperately to think of what might have happened. Although, it only caused her a headache. Meanwhile, the nurse assisted her with putting on a bathrobe while she ran a hot bath.
"First I'm going to get you warmed up, and then we're going to do some tests to see how you are, okay sweetheart," the nurse continued to reassure Tecna, "I know you must be frightened after all you've been through but just know that you're safe now." What had she been through? Tecna didn't want to try and think about it, or else she'd make her head hurt more. The nurse slowly lifted her foot into the warm water, and Tecna flinched before adjusting to it.
"Is it warm enough?" the nurse asked her. Tecna did not respond in words, but allowed her to place her other foot into the water and help her fully submerge into the tub, save for her head. The warm water relaxed every muscle for a few minutes, only to get cooler. The nurse instantly pulled her out and wrapped her in a towel, realizing she was just as cold as she had been before.
"Everything's going to be okay, sweetheart," she told Tecna gently, " the doctor is going to try some warming spells."
Tecna was returned to her bed and given extra blankets to keep her warm for the time being. The doctor from before who had asked if she was awake came to see her. He had administered a very powerful warming spell intravenously to combat the cold within her. She had no idea why she was feeling this way. After a little while, she was finally able to warm up a bit, and the doctor and nurse were able to ask her a couple questions.
"How do you feel now?" the nurse asked her softly.
"I don't feel very good," Tecna admitted. Her voice was quiet and hoarse, as if the effort to speak was too much.
"Well, can you tell us your name?" the doctor asked her.
"Tecna…" that was all she could say.
"And who are your parents?" the doctor continued.
"Electronio and Magnethia Logica from Zenith," Tecna answered as best she could.
"Good, now where do you attend school?" the doctor queried.
"I went to Zenith Middle School and I was supposed to go to Alfea School for Fairies in Magix… but I can't remember what happened," she told them, her voice fading. It was then that the nurse and doctor exchanged concerned glances.
"Can I please sleep now," Tecna pleaded, "I don't feel good."
"Of course," the doctor replied, " we need to allow the spell to fight off the negative energy in your body. Once you get more rest, we'll do some testing." So, the nurse helped Tecna lay down and covered her with the numerous blankets.
It had seemed as though the positive magic being administered through Tecna's veins had been working to combat the cold within her. That is, until late that night. The nurse was on call, walking the hallway and periodically monitoring her for any signs of movement or distress. Suddenly, she was alerted to terrified screaming from the room where Tecna was sleeping, and rushed to check up on the young technology fairy. Upon reaching the bed, the nurse discovered that Tecna was screaming fearfully in her sleep, and tried desperately to wake her. As the nurse reached to gently nudge Tecna awake, she noticed that she had gotten colder than before. She took her pager from her pocket to notify the doctor she had been working with.
"We need more blankets and another dose of the powerful warming spell, asap." the nurse told him hastily. In mere minutes, the doctor had rushed in, holding more blankets, to give Tecna another dose of the spell. All that time, Tecna still continued screaming. As the nurse and doctor replaced the blankets Tecna already had and wrapped the new ones around her, the nurse attempted to nudge her gently awake.
"Tecna, sweetheart, can you hear us?" she asked. The doctor assumed that it was due to the cold within Tecna that she was unable to wake up. He and the nurse were both aware of what Tecna had been through. They were alerted by patrol officers who discovered the presence of positive magic in the Omega Dimension and went to investigate. The doctor was told by the crew that had transported Tecna to the hospital that she had been found in the clutches of a gang of convicts. The convicts were dragging her unconscious body along the ground and froze in their tracks once they were met with the patrol officers. Usually, the ice snakes of Omega kept order, but since the balance of forces had been tampered with, the ships designated to deliver new prisoners to the planet were now in charge of making sure that there was no one there that didn't need to be. And thus, how Tecna was saved just in time.
However, the doctor wanted to air on the side of caution when addressing the technology fairy. Especially after the information he gathered from Tecna's constant inner battle with freezing body temperatures and the responses to the questions he asked her that day. He wanted to run some neurological testing to see if she even could even remember the events of the past three years she attended Alfea.
"We'll just have to wait until the spell kicks in. Then, hopefully she'll stop screaming enough to wake up. Maybe she can tell us what she was dreaming about," the doctor advised his assistant. As they finished wrapping Tecna in the fresh, warm blankets and waited until the spell took effect, they watched to see if she would wake up. It took a while, but the technology fairy did open her eyes.
"There you are," the nurse addressed her softly. By now, the doctor had left, but not before checking to see that everything was as it should be, "You were screaming in your sleep. Can you tell me if you were dreaming?"
"I'm… so cold," that was all Tecna could say, "I just want it to be over." Tears began to prick the corners of her eyes and fall down her cheeks. She was surprised they didn't freeze over from contact.
"Ssh, ssh, sweetheart," the nurse reached out her arms to console her in a warm embrace, "Everything's going to be okay. How about I get you something to eat."
"No," Tecna protested weakly, "just leave me alone."
"But you need to eat, hon," the nurse pressed, "you need nourishment." At this, Tecna couldn't exactly refuse. She knew the nurse was going to get her to eat something, so she might as well comply. A little over fifteen minutes later, the nurse returned with a warm bowl of soup and a sandwich. The nurse watched Tecna eat, making sure that she actually did eat as much as she could despite what little strength she had. After the small meal was finished, the nurse pushed the tray aside and assisted Tecna back into a resting position.
"Do you feel any warmer?" the nurse asked.
"A little bit, actually," Tecna admitted tiredly.
"Were you dreaming? You were screaming in your sleep," the nurse queried once more.
"No. All I could feel was cold… and a sharp sensation on my neck…, like a blade, but all I could see was darkness," Tecna explained, "I don't remember anything else."
"That's okay, sweetheart," the nurse assured her, "just get some more rest. The doctor thinks we need to continue administering the strong dose of positive energy to combat the cold. Once we run some tests, we'll be able to figure out what is happening with your magic. But you don't have to worry, you'll be fine."
"Thank you," Tecna replied as she managed to close her eyes. The warmth was slowly creeping into her body with the external aid of the blankets enveloping her. It wasn't exactly cozy yet but it was a welcome relief from what she had endured. The nurse turned off the light in the room and closed the door, leaving it open a crack to let a bit of light from the corridor seep in.