I looked and saw that it's been a little over a year since I've posted.

Wow.

I hope there are still people out there who read this. I'm working on it. However slow it is. Hope you enjoy.

*

The Blue Rose: The Story of Aria

Chapter Nine: Frost

A blazing bird rocketed through the peculiar trees avoiding the branches that mangled the straight and narrow path at a breakneck speed that any other airborne creature would not have dared mimic. The red-gold phoenix eventually slowed to a more manageable pace swooping to the edge of the forest that encased Xryna's forgotten castle. After cooling the flames that surrounded her feathered body, the phoenix alighted gently on a thick limb and watched with her jewel bright eyes as the heavy darkness that lay over Makai was lifted by the coin sized ball that rose into the sky, making it violet for once instead of black.

Lady Hikari Fireflight watched as the Makai sun showed his glowing face after almost a year and a half of hiding in whatever dark secret space he seemed to prefer. As the yellow sphere of fire finally let go of the horizon line, Hikari opened her beak and began a song that echoed hauntingly across the barren landscape that now spread before her. She crooned and trilled, twittered and warbled until the sun hid his face again behind the thin curtain of clouds, muting his light and sending Makai into shadow once again.

Hikari tightened her shining wings against her body, the unbearable loneliness returning as the skimpy clouds veiled the small sun. Singing alone, without the harmonious choir of her flock and family surrounding her, was awful enough, but usually the sun was out and shining for a few hours if not a few days. Xryna must have used his strengthened powers to hide the bright source of light that brought him discomfort and misery.

When the misty clouds did not dissipate like normal clouds, Hikari spread her wings and lightly leaped from the branch, letting the wind catch her light, thin body as she pushed herself upward and across the desolated field that lay spread out beneath her.

Soaring through the unending darkness usually managed to lift Hikari's spirits, but with the short, tantalizing appearance of the sun and having to leave Kisara alone in that desolate fortress to go spy on some princling and his rehired cohorts wore her nerves down to sheer.

Still, if there was a golden feather in this situation it was that she would be able to tell her On-dui what her master was doing. With that lightning struck idiot gone and Xryna too self assured in his dominance over her, Hikari would be able to let him know what to expect from Xryna and Arashi. Some might call it double crossing, but Hikari did not agree; not when she never had any loyalty to Xryna in the first place. The phoenix put on another burst of speed, turning into a flash of reddish-gold. She only had five days and nearly three would be eaten up with traveling. She had to hurry if she wanted to speak with her On-dui and find out what the Spirit Prince was doing in a single day.

*******

The first thing Aria realized when she regained a weak form of consciousness was that her head felt like an egg that had just been cracked against the side of the frying pan. She twisted in her bed, tangling the sheets around herself even more as she tried to find a way to relieve the pain.

"Aria?" A concerned and familiar voice spoke up next to her, but Aria did not open her eyes to remind herself who it was. She still tried to ask them for something to help her head even if she did not immediately remember the person's name, but instead of words all she heard was a low moan. That was the last time Aria tried to talk.

"Aria?" A different voice spoke now. "Sweetheart are you okay?"

Aria tried nodding her head, still not quite ready to talk. Her mother must have seen her because a cool hand reached out and brushed her somewhat sweaty hair from her forehead. "You're a little warm dear. Maybe you're coming down with something."

Something gurgled out of Aria's throat when she tried to answer. Her mother only stroked her head again and told her to take it easy the rest of the day.

Kurama waited until Aria's mother left before moving from the little wooden chair he had spent most of the morning in. "Aria?" He whispered. "Aria what happened?"

"Mm head hurts." She gargled still not opening her eyes.

"Is that all?" Kurama asked reaching out and pushing Aria's hair out of her eyes like her mother had done. "You aren't hurt?"

"No." Aria groaned, not really sure if anything else hurt or not. "Why? What happened?" She asked wondering why Kurama had asked.

"Why don't you tell me? You came home this morning soaking wet holding an injured pokemon and talking about an electric man."

Aria's eyes opened with her returning memory. She would have shot to a sitting position, but she wasn't sure how well her body would like that.

"The electric man!" She said forcefully turning more to her side so she could look at Kurama. "It was that man with dyed hair who was going to kill you after you fell. He shot lightening at me and Manaphy saved me and then water shot up in front of me and I got all wet!"

Kurama began to wonder if Aria had truly woken up. "What?" He asked not sure he really wanted to know.

"After you tried to leave and fell instead, the guy I saw standing over you was the electric man who attacked me on the beach. He was going to zap me with lightening but the Manaphy jumped in the way and got hurt instead. Then he shot me again but someone else must have been around. Or else the ocean just decided to defy gravity on its own."

By this time Kurama was thoroughly confused. "What do you mean the ocean defied gravity? How is that even possible?"

Aria shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know. But if a wall of water hadn't just sprung up out of no where then I'd be fish food."

Kurama didn't speak for a moment, trying to think about what this meant. "Did you see anyone else besides the man that attacked you? Maybe someone in the trees who could have saved you?"

Aria thought hard, trying to remember if she had seen anything else besides trees in the forest. She shook her head. "I don't think so. But I wasn't really thinking about the trees so much as the jagged bolts of lightening he was throwing at me."

Kurama nodded. "What if you were the one that manipulated the water?"

Aria thought about that. It was true that when she had lived in demon world as Adia she had been able to control water, but while she remembered how to use her power, she was a bit out of practice. She hadn't bent water in over seventeen years. Anyone would be more then a little rusty.

"Maybe." She finally admitted. "But it's been so long I can't tell if I was the one in control or not. I was so afraid of getting zapped I couldn't think of anything. Hey can you hand me that blanket over there?" She said pointing to her favorite blanket thrown over her chair by her desk.

Kurama leaned back and grabbed the soft piece of fabric for her. As Aria wrapped the brightly colored blanket around her shoulders he took a guess as too why she was cold.

"Do you remember what happened after you escaped?"

Aria's eyebrows came together in concentration. She thought for a moment before answering. "I remember walking through the wall of water because I couldn't figure out how it turned off. I came back home, where I found you and Mom and she took the Manaphy and then," her hand came up to her forehead as if it would help her think, "and then I think I must have passed out because I remember a Froslass showing up and speaking to me about lords and ladies."

Now that was interesting. "It spoke to you? The Froslass? Was it the same one as before?" Kurama asked.

"I don't know. I guess so. Most pokemon don't have distinguishing features Kurama. That wasn't real was it? That couldn't have been real." But other memories presented themselves from before the lighting man had attacked. She had noticed the Manaphy because she had heard something. And then when she had seen the rare creature she had felt sure that it was the one speaking to her.

"I don't know if it was speaking to you, but a Froslass did show up shortly after you came back. It's waiting outside on the porch, for you I presume."

Aria pointed speechlessly outside the window. Kurama just nodded. With a sudden burst of energy, Aria threw back her covers, hopped out of bed and nearly fell over as a wave of dizziness washed over her. Kurama kept her from hitting the floor but couldn't stop her from zigzagging her way out of her room towards the front porch where the pale blue creature still waited.

It floated at least three inches off the wooden porch, icy mist billowing out from the spot where its toes should have been. Aria started shivering the moment the screen door closed behind her with a sharp clang. She looked down to see her mom had changed her out of her wet clothes into one of the overly large t-shirts Aria usually wore during lazy days when she had nothing better to do then sit around the house and read her favorite book again. It fell too her knees, but had turned thin and flexible with severe use. No wonder she felt so cold.

The pale blue and white creature looked up and Aria fought the urge to swallow. The Froslass stared at her with piercing, intelligent pale blue eyes, like the color of shadow on snow. It was eerie. Aria wasn't sure if the goose bumps were caused by the cold or by the realization that this was not just your everyday average pokemon that listened to its trainer and let it be called back into a pokeball. This one was something else entirely.

"I-its Frost right?" Aria asked, not sure what else to say.

The Froslass nodded, a delicate motion. "I am pleased to see you are feeling better Lady Alastrina." A cool, feminine voice spoke directly into Aria's mind.

Aria could almost feel her mind click into autopilot as the impossibility of the situation overload her brain. "That's not my name." She said without any thought, still reeling from the fact that none of her dream had actually been a dream.

The Froslass did not deign that with a reply and simply watched her with her intelligent eyes.

A hand appeared on her shoulder and Aria jumped. She hadn't realized that Kurama had followed her. "Is it speaking to you?" He asked sounding more guarded then he had when they were speaking before.

Aria nodded, beginning to feel a little confused. "Yeah, didn't you hear it?"

Kurama shook his head.

Aria tried to think if the electric man had given any sign of hearing the Manaphy before he had tried to fry her, but she couldn't think of any. Then again, the little creature hadn't said much after he had stepped out of the trees and attacked her. Great, so now there was a chance she could just be crazy too.

"Why can't anyone else hear you?" Aria asked the floating creature somewhat hesitantly. Silently she wondered which would be worse, its continued silence or an answer.

"You are a very special young lady Aria." It said.

She waited but it didn't expand on that thought.

"That's it? Seriously? 'You are a very special young lady'? Nothing else like maybe, oh, 'they don't have the power'. Or heck, 'I was only talking to you'? Just 'you are a very special young lady'?"

The Froslass nodded.

Aria shoved her frozen fingers through her hair and walked in a circle, mostly in frustration but also because her feet felt like ice.

"If I ask you what you're doing here will you give me a real answer or just tell me that it's because I'm so 'special'?" She bit sarcastically. This explained everything. Why pokemon were talking to her, why some guy with neon hair had tried to electrocute her, and why the world was going to end in a week. It was all because she was special.

"Ask me and find out." Frost answered.

Aria felt her teeth grind together and her cheeks burn in anger. This was ridiculous. "Fine," she spat, "what are you doing here?"

"As I said before, I have been sent here by my lords Kyogre and Suicane to help you regain control over water. You are the only one now who can break Xryna but you will have to remember every scrap of power from your past life if you want to have any hope of defeating him and living to tell about it."

Aria's anger abated as she listened to the Froslass's words and her fierce tone. "What are you talking about?" She asked, a heavy feeling beginning to settle in her stomach.

Pale blue eyes bored into her as if that alone could force her to understand. "Xryna is a powerful creature from a long forgotten age. It took monumental power to seal him the first time, from every race of being that exists in his world," she pointed at Kurama who still stood behind Aria, watching quietly but intently, "however even with all their strength combined they could not break him. When Arceus, my king, saw that Xryna's darkness was only temporarily imprisoned, he gave you the power to defeat Xryna. Anyone else who goes up against him will fall, either into his service or in death."

Aria felt her heart speed up and her breath come faster as Frost's message sunk in. She had to defeat Xryna? She had to defeat Xryna?! Without any help? If Xryna could get rid of his opponents as easily as Frost was implying then maybe it would be safer for them if they didn't help her but still, she had to do this all by herself?

Kurama must have seen the borderline panicked expression growing on her face. He reached out to her again, feeling how cold she was through her long shirt. "Aria, what is it saying?"

Aria reached up to grab his hand without a second thought and swallowed hard, trying to get passed the lump that had suddenly appeared in her throat. "She says that because of a power her King Arceus gave me I'm the only one who can defeat Xryna in the long run. That's about it, right?"

The Froslass nodded once.

Kurama was silent as he thought for a moment. "So this Arceus gave you a new power that will destroy Xryna?"

Aria looked over at the small blue and white creature floating barely a yard away from them, listening to it he assumed.

"No," she answered, still gazing at the Froslass. "She says I've always had the power, Arceus gave it to me when I was very small, and it's mixed in with my natural water abilities. She's offering to help me relearn how to use it."

Kurama waited for her to say anything else, but she remained silent, staring worriedly at the space between her and the Froslass.

When several minutes had passed and she still stared into space, Kurama squeezed the hand he still held. "Aria?" He asked. "Aria are you alright?"

With difficulty, Aria dragged her eyes away from the hole they were boring into the space between her and the pokemon and looked at Kurama. "This just isn't possible." She said her eyes turning red. "I can't do this by myself."

Kurama met her frightened gaze. "You won't have to. Even if no one else does, which I highly doubt, I'll stay with you."

"And if Xryna kills you? Or what if I've just lost my mind and that's why I'm hearing voices and you're not?" She asked her eyes beginning to tear.

She was terrified Kurama saw, most likely over a thousand different tiny things that didn't make sense except inside her head besides the obvious problems at hand. She had done it before, first frightening herself over one thing before jumping to ten thousand other things.

"Aria," Kurama said softly, hoping to calm her. "You're not crazy. I may not be able to hear it, but the Froslass does answer you. It listens and it's nodded at you at least three times. It understands what you say."

Aria took a deep breath, realizing that he was right. "Okay, but what about-"

"We've already discussed that," Kurama interrupted her. "The most likely reason that Xryna keeps sending the electric man-"

"Arashi."

Kurama didn't question how she knew the man's name. "Most likely he keeps sending Arashi because he isn't powerful enough yet to reach the distance between the demon world and this one. That's why we can say his name here. He can't stretch himself this far."

Aria breathed in deeply, letting go of another worry.

"Better?" Kurama asked when she didn't say anything else right away.

"A little." She admitted.

"But?"
"But this is still impossible!" She cried.

"So are you and yet here you are." Aria turned around when the Froslass spoke again. "Now are you going to accept my help or not?"

Aria stared at the beautiful blue and white creature for a long moment, trying to think past her shock. The small rational part of her mind that was still functioning knew that she wouldn't be able to do this by herself; she was going to need help.

Swallowing down that lump in her throat again, Aria nodded. "Yeah, I'll take your help. I don't know how much I can learn in a week but hey, it's worth a shot."

"A week?" Both Kurama and Frost asked at the same time, making Aria feel like there was an echo bouncing around somewhere.

"Yeah," she said rubbing her ears as if that would make the echo-y feeling go away. "When he didn't kill me Arashi told me that I had a week before his master basically destroyed this world. Didn't I tell you that already?" She couldn't have actually forgotten.

"No," Kurama said, "this is the first time you've mentioned it."

Oh, oops.

"If this is truly what they plan, and I see no reason for them to lie, then we should hurry. The more you can learn the greater chance you have of succeeding." Frost said.

"And," Aria swallowed, "and what happens if I fail?"

Those clear blue eyes bored into her again, making her feel even more uneasy. "Then there won't be anyone left to save."

********

They started as soon as Aria changed and told her mother that she and Kurama were going down to the beach. Mrs. Cullen protested a little, saying that she had passed out that morning, but Aria argued that she felt fine. In the end her mother gave up and told her not to fall off the rocks again.

Aria didn't get very far that day or the next day or the day after that. Frost was less then impressed with Aria's slow progress, but Kurama wasn't all that surprised. It had been eighteen years since Aria had used any of her powers. Heck, she had only remembered Adia last week. She hadn't yet remembered how to reach her energy, even though she theoretically knew what to do with it.

Kurama was surprised however, when Aria managed to hold her temper until Wednesday. She had never been patient with things she should know, but couldn't recall. He was honestly surprised she had managed to reign in her temper this long. He supposed that the need to save the world was keeping her temper in check.

But she still ended up exploding.

"I can't do this!" She yelled Wednesday morning at the sea the stretched forever in front of her. The Froslass floated farther back from the waves while Kurama watched from the rocks near the tree line.

Kurama could almost hear the Froslass tell Aria in a somewhat patronizing tone that she had to. Despite the fact that he couldn't actually hear the pokemon speak, Frost did have a peculiar personality. He didn't have to hear her to see that.

Although it did help that Aria's answers were loud and usually included at least a part of the unheard question.

"What do you mean try harder? I am trying as hard as I can. I already have a headache and all my muscle hurt. What else do you want me to do?"

Silence as the Froslass answered.

"Well sorry I don't remember what I'm doing. It's only been eighteen years since I've even remembered I had this power."

Aria paced while Frost spoke.

"I know!" She finally screamed. "I know people are going to die if I can't figure this out. I know that if I can't do this, their deaths will all be my fault!"

With that final shout, Aria turned on her heel and ran back toward the house, hot tears of anger starting to fill her eyes. The Froslass began to float after her, but Kurama held out a hand.

"I'll talk to her. She's too upset with you to listen to what you have to say."

He didn't hear if the blue creature said anything, but he thought the look she was giving him was icy in more then one way.

Kurama found Aria in the middle of the forest that surrounded the front of her home. She was sitting on a large stone next to a giggling stream that flowed down to the ocean. She was sobbing hysterically and didn't realize he had followed her until he put an arm around her shoulders.

"I-I can't d-d-do th-is." She sobbed.

"Yes you can." Kurama reassured her. "As soon as you find your power over water Xryna will fall."

"And if I can't find it?" She asked in a terrified, quiet, voice.

Kurama tilted Aria's face to make her look at him. "You will. You will, and Xryna will lose."

Aria nodded, but fresh tears spilled down her face anyway. Kurama sat down next to her and held her as she cried. It was a big task even if this mysterious 'King Arceus' whom Frost had mentioned said she was the only one who could defeat Xryna.

After sitting there for a short time Kurama smoothed down Aria's hair and kissed her temple. "Don't worry Aria. I'll help you, don't worry."

********

Please Review. I am very tired so goodnight.