Chapter 2

Frostbitten

Augustino couldn't help but stare sullenly at the remnants of his legion. All refused to meet his gaze from within the frosty cave. Some still had blue skin, despite their best efforts, and now all of them knew the taste of… alternative food sources. It wasn't an easy decision to make, but he needed to keep the remnants of his people alive and together, so they could warn the Empire not to go through the wretched Gate that led here. Which brought him back to his current dilemma. Almost everyone wanted to return home, return to their families, their friends, their comrades… but would they be welcome? With all that they had done to survive this horrid winter landscape, would anyone give a damn if they just up and died in this wasteland?

That was another thing.

Since he was but a babe, he remembered thinking of a wasteland as a desert. No food, no water, and little to nothing in between tiny settlements. That changed starting today. All those conditions rang true in this frozen land; no food beside the highly aggressive, terrifying white bears; and no water aside from the very ground they tread, though they had no way of warming said water for consumption; and no settlements to speak of. From that moment forward, he knew, the majority of his surviving forces, including himself, if they lived to speak about it, would think of these frozen wastes before the stereotypical desert when they heard 'wasteland'.

The prophecies stated that beyond the Gate would be a place beyond their wildest dreams… in all fairness, the prophecies weren't lying. This place was beyond their wildest dreams… only, it was worse than their wildest dreams.

A call from the entrance guards brought him out of his thoughts, making him silently curse himself for falling so deep into his depression. "I apologize, what was it you said?" He asked, getting up and approaching the entrance.

The guard simply pointed off into the distance, a faint, orange light slowly approaching their cave. Before he could signal his men to grab their weapons, it suddenly stopped, and started moving to the side, away from their frigid cave. As the light disappeared in the distance, he let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. Light meant people, and his men weren't ready for a confrontation.

He sighed, and went deeper into the cave, waving his men to follow. They weren't going to keel over just yet.

He whimpered as the glass windows of the house finally shattered under the stress of the storm outside. He subconsciously noted that they had lasted a full day longer than they did in the summer storm; he would tell pa when he got home from the workshop. He held his little sisters close, wrapping the both of them in whatever blankets he could find on such short notice. They had been crying since that morning, the cold having finally gotten to them. They themselves had lasted a full day longer, compared to last year's winter storm.

Mother still hadn't come home. He quickly shoved the thought to the side; she was probably held up with paperwork again, since big sis had yet to come crashing through the door, in as many tears as the twins. He had always admired how determined Frost was to become the next Captain, she had spent so much time around mother that she got her accent from her, rather than father; who had been the one to both teach them how to speak, and stayed home more often.

He tried to keep his mind busy so he could ignore the carbon rain outside.

The twins started acting up again as he realized he, too, was trembling. He did what he could to calm them, but nothing seemed to work; they refused to talk, and just held onto him like he was their only hope. He quickly ran through what mother did to help them sleep when they had nightmares. The only thing he hadn't tried yet was singing, but he knew that mother had the voice of a choir, while he had the voice of a dying elk, so he did the next best thing; hummed to them until they calmed. Eira hugged Iclyn as he did.

They were still sniffling by the time he finished Beethoven's symphony, but they weren't crying anymore, so he took it as a small victory. 'Only one more hour.' He thought, his shaking body finally coming to a rest. When he started ignoring the fact that it was carbon that was falling from the sky, the pitter-patter of rain was somewhat calming. He told the twins as much, and they immediately stilled, eyes wide, as he merely smiled down at them; letting them listen to the soft sound, and soon enough, they were giggling; though he could only imagine why. They held him closer as they continued giggling, mumbling something about foxes, penguins and glaciers, and falling asleep. He watched them sleep, he wasn't about to succumb to the conditions he was born in. He was proud of his pale skin, like everyone who was born during a storm, big sis included. He let himself fall asleep shortly after the storm ended, he hadn't gotten much because of the it, and he suspected he would sleep until noon the next day.

He did.

His sisters slept longer… much longer.

Pa never returned, the foundation of the workshop he was assigned to having collapsed.

Mother had gone to the mines to free some of the workers who'd been trapped during a cave in.

She never returned, either.

…

Ice opened his eyes. His blurry, tear-filled eyes. He slowly got out of bed, drying them as he made his way to the upstairs bathroom. He could hear everyone else in the building cooking and generally getting ready for the day. He took a quick, hot shower, dried himself off, and got dressed. He stopped in front of the sink, splashing his face with some warm water.

He stared at himself in the mirror, his own eyes boring right back into him. His blue hair. His scarred, pale skin. His tired eyelids. He glanced at the shaving razor briefly; though of course he didn't need to shave, he never could grow a beard.

He shook his head. Now wasn't the time, even if he did have the courage to go through with it. His family still needed him.

He still had a job to do.

Frost stared at the 'Amateur' locomotive in the Solacian station; the massive 4-8-2-8-2-8-4 – only the sets of eight being powered – rail-bound train was the pride of the Canyon. A fully insulated vehicle, with a crew capacity of two – one engineer, and one regulator – and both the torque and horsepower to pull the entire city down the track, generator and all – provided by six large boilers, two across and two long, in a triangle formation – should an emergency arise. It also had a track heating system built-in; though it wasn't needed, the tracks themselves were heated. Behind the engine were three sleeper cars, then a mail car, followed by a dining car. Behind those were six executive cars, twenty-five by six meter double-decker rail cars – two for her bodyguards, three for the new arrivals, and one for her – each comfortably seated two, with a queen sized bed, a living space, and a bathroom for each occupant – the peak of luxury, much to her chagrin. She thought she told the Council that she didn't want to use the fancy cars. It looked like they had overruled her… again. Acting as the caboose was an observation car.

She sighed as she gestured for Smoke to start distributing their luggage in the immaculate vehicle. The thing had been polished. She would never understand why the Council insisted on polishing locomotives. She was just glad that Yellow Stone was likely using their dreadnought to show everyone up; otherwise she and her crew would draw all of the attention; since the Amateur was only completed recently. She sighed at the migraine that was already building.

She quickly put her mask on as she heard the door to the station open; Gray and Quilo coming in with all the grace of a Polar Bear on ice skates, carrying a trunk of emergency supplies between them; Quilo muttering curses as he set down his end of the trunk for a moment, before getting up and continuing.

"Is anything the matter, Quilo?" She asked, her voice echoing off the walls of the station. He jumped a little in surprise, as did Gray, but they both calmed after a moment, and went back to work as Quilo responded.

"The rabbits decided they wanted to work this morning, rather than listen to your orders and prepare for the trip, ma'am." Frost merely nodded; in the last few weeks, they had been helpful, yes; but seemed to have some sort of misplaced grudge against her. She could be misinterpreting their refusal to listen to orders, granted, but they were walking a thin line between valuable assets and useless baggage. If they continued to do so, Frost would likely set them free into the Frozen Wastes. "Ice said he'd hurry them along when I saw him; but he seemed a little… off today, so I'm not sure how much faster they'll be."

Frost tried not to let it bother her, but she knew Ice had his moods every now and then. It was a miracle he had lasted as long as he had, really; a full three weeks without an episode. The uptick in work was probably what was distracting him from his thoughts; the storm was just around the corner, after all.

Her own thoughts came to a halt as the Japanese Lieutenant made his way into the building, along with the two men who usually accompanied him. They openly gaped at the massive machine before them. It was an enormous, shining steel vehicle with bronze pipes, and tinted windshields; the wheels were covered by a sort of black shield, and the entire locomotive seemed to be heating up, puffs of steam periodically shooting out the massive stack at the front of the vehicle. It was an amazing sight, they had to admit, what seemed to be decades of research and part replacement going into creating the immense construct.

Once he regained his composure, Yukio spoke. "Apologies for being late, command had issues finding someone to fill in for me until I returned." He saluted her, before remembering this woman was, in fact, not his superior, and putting his arm down in an almost hesitant manner.

"It won't be a problem, we're still waiting for our 'special guests' anyway." She responded, never once looking directly at him. He gave her credit, she knew how to make your problems seem insignificant. For better or worse.

It was about another fifteen minutes until Ice walked into the building, his face hid behind his usual winter attire. He moved his goggles up to the forehead of his aviator's cap. Yukio idly noted that Ice's eyes were a deep red that was uncomfortably close to the color of blood; this was the first time he'd looked Ice in the eyes, and he could already tell he wouldn't like doing so very often.

When Ranna entered the station, she stared at the train's engine, and drew in a deep breath, the smell of burning coal and ash assaulting her senses.

Ice wasn't the only person in the group that rose a brow at her odd behavior, despite being one of the few who knew her. The only one who didn't raise a brow was Frost, who remained as stoic as always. Frost simply turned back to the locomotive and began walking towards it, gesturing for the others to do the same.

The arrangement they decided on was Yukio and one of his men would take the front car, then his other bodyguard would take residence in the same car as Ranna, then the other two rabbits, followed by Gray and Quilo, then Ice and Smoke, with Frost herself bringing up the rear; just ahead of the observation car.

The Engine slowly built pressure, putting power to the wheels, and starting off with a jerk as it began to move. The heated plow on the front broke through the ice and snow in the behemoth's path easily, despite its density. There was still some fine-tuning to do; but overall, it was a beauty. Beatrice couldn't help but grin as she pulled out of Solace station, the collective work of two generations of engineers rendering the freezing cold of winter all but null against the Amateur.

Carmine took a sip of her hot chocolate, a lazy smile on her face. She was clearly enjoying the ride as much as Beatrice was, and neither could blame the other; it was almost perfect. The machine kept up with their demands on less than half power. "What do ya say we open 'er up on the pacific flats?" Carmine asked, a glint in her eyes.

Beatrice just grinned back.

"Unfortunately there was a last minute change of plans, which is why we're heading out prior to the bi-annual rather than right after." Frost explained, as they patiently awaited their meals. Gray raised a brow, but didn't comment. "There seems to have been an issue with the Red Baron's boiler, so we're going to pick up the Germans first, then head out to the Swiss, before making sure the Alejandro is in working order, and finally making our way to New Seattle. The entire trip should take a little over three weeks."

"So I take it that's why we're heading towards the storm?" Smoke asked calmly.

"Yes." Frost responded, seeming totally unconcerned.

"So how cold does it get during these storms of yours?" Yukio asked. Nobody responded for a long moment, Ranna noting the solemnity in their gazes.

"Carbon rain." Ice responded, pulling his scarf closer to his face. "Or roughly minus one-hundred-sixty-three degrees with wind chill."

Yukio gave him a flat stare. "That must be an exaggeration." He decided, looking to the others at the table. He felt the mother of all chills run down his spine as he noticed the freezing glares he was on the receiving end of. He idly glanced to his mug of hot tea, wondering if it had frozen over.

"Do you realize how many of us have lost family and friends to that damned storm?" Frost asked, a deadly glint in her only visible eye. Her hair had managed to curtain itself over half her face when he wasn't looking; and the light from the oil lamp beside the table flickering over her violet-hued hair was suddenly much more ominous than previously.

"How many?" He ventured.

"Every. Single. One." She responded, getting up from her seat. "Apologies, I don't feel like having much company right now. Ice, with me." Only a nod signaled his acknowledgment. "Smoke, have our meals sent down to us."

"Ma'am." Was the simple response.

"If you don't believe us, watch the storm from the observation car." Were her parting words, a much more noticeable, sharp click from the heels he hadn't realized she was wearing following her. "If you girls have anything you wish to ask, you know where to find me." She said as she passed the rabbits, not once slowing in her deathly stride.

Yukio and his men violently shivered once she had left the car, the snap change in her demeanor disconcerting. The other three at the table didn't seem the least bit concerned with her behavior; still glaring at the man.

"… With that being said, I still believe that the best course of action should be to seize the Gate from the Japanese government A-S-A-P. We have allowed them far too much leniency already; and they have taken advantage of not only every- single- person- in- this- room; but of the locals of the so-called 'Special Region' – which, might I remind you, already has a name given to it by said locals; which the Japanese have continued to refuse to acknowledge." With that, President Dirrel sat back in his seat. He knew it was unlikely that the UN would come to a consensus within a week; however, he wished they would make a decision soon; they had already wasted almost an entire month debating, and it was starting to get on his nerves.

Camilla Pearson was the next person to speak, much to the surprise of those attending the meeting. "At the request of Her Majesty, I have been asked to point out that the Japanese have admitted to the discovery of a second Gate on the foreign side of the Gate in Ginza. From what our informants tell us, the Japanese discovered a world which is well over sixty degrees below freezing on the other side of the second structure; and have already begun to set up a camp on that side. This discovery would explain the request for winter gear from the Japanese military, and the urgency of said request. This would also imply that the Japanese intend to expand their influence to that side of the second structure. With Japan's choice to treat the area on the other side of the Gate as part of its own country; it has indirectly annexed the second world, on top of the first. It is the UK's decision to support the US's decision to remove total Japanese control of the Gate." She sat back in her seat, grumbling something about the Japanese and their treatment of the locals.

President Zyuganov was the next to speak, once again surprising those attending. "Russia supports this decision; as the Japanese have proven they cannot be trusted with the fair handling of the situation. However, we believe that the city of Ginza should be declared international territory until such a time as the Gate is no longer functional."

President Dong spoke next, once the Russian President had seated himself. "China Supports this decision."

And so it went, more and more leaders speaking for or against the decision as time went on. Finally, with a majority vote of six-tenths; a half-mile radius around the Gate would be declared international territory, and the UN would directly take control of the Gate; by force if necessary.