XIII

Shiveria

A thick blanket of sleet smacked against the windshield of the Great Fox as it entered the atmosphere of Shiveria. Fox, now relegated to piloting duties, activated the heaters to melt the ice. For a brief moment, the image beyond the windshield was a total whiteout. As the ice melted, they could see rolling hills of white chasing snow peaks into the horizon. A lake checkered with ice floes was directly under the ship. Fox pivoted their descent and landed on one of the hills. The snow went deep. Even as the landing thrusters melted it away, underneath there was only more snow. It was a wonder how far down one would have to go before reaching soil. The crew exited the ship.

"Toss me with some salad greens, it's cold!" exclaimed Toad, rubbing his hands up and down his arms for warmth.

"I'm gonna freeze my feathers off out here," Falco complained.

Daisy looked around and her heart sunk at the white-on-white horizon. "Do we even know where to start?"

"That's your cue, Commander," said Fox with naked contempt. The Great Fox was his ship and his father's ship before that. How dare the Federation commandeer it. It was as Falco said, they had no right. Still, the laws were the laws and there was nothing he could do about it but play along like a good pup.

Inside, it killed him to lose Fox's respect but outside, Mario stiffened his upper lip. If he wanted to rebuild the respect he lost, he would have to earn it. Giving nothing away, he said, "According to the council, there's an observation laboratory on the outskirts of the Deep Freeze. She was last seen there, offering aid to the researchers that were studying the rachquids."

They sloshed their way up the largest hill, snow sliding into their boots and promptly melting. Luigi wiggled his toes in a vain attempt to prevent the numbness from settling in. Beyond the hill was another lake that dwarfed the other but this one was frozen solid. The ice was a dark blue from the water below. It was their only passage. As they stepped on the ice one by one, the ground shook and bent.

Falco waved his feathers to keep his balance. "Woah, what are we standing on?"

"If memory serves," said Luigi, racking his brain, "this location used to be the sight of the Beach Bowl before the freeze happened."

Fox stood motionless in the white nothing, his long pink tongue hanging below his jaw. "What? This was all water?"

"Yes. So let's keep moving."

They walked in a straight line and at a deliberate pace, making sure to keep an even distance between them. Bunching up would've put too much weight on the ice and would have meant their assured death in the frigid waters below. The tension burned in their legs from the awkward walk. Each in their turn reached the edge of the ice and collapsed onto the snowy hill on the far side of the lake.

"See that huge mountain on the western horizon?" said Luigi through panting breaths that came like smoke. "That's a dormant volcano. The Fire Brothers set their fort at the base. There was a huge lava lake that surrounded it." He grunted out the last few words as he pushed himself to his feet. "It kept the temperature of this place somewhat hospitable. Back then, it wasn't called Shiveria. It was called Freezeflame. But that was a long time ago." He extended his flesh hand to help Daisy up.

"Before the Air Raids," said Mario, finishing the thought. He stood up to meet his brother. Having caught their breath, the rest of the crew followed suit.

"Yea. The Federal Fleet wiped out the Fire Brothers. Then, the snow came."

"Then, the rachquids," said Mario. At the sound of the name, a dark shadow passed over the group and all of them were silent. They could feel it gripping their hearts. An evil, ancient and wild, dwelled in this frozen tundra or at least that's how the tales were told.

Toad made the first step up the hill. "Keep moving," he barked, breaking them out of their reverie. "I want to get out of this cold."

The hill led up and down into a large crater that was covered in snow. Not a single stone could be seen. Daisy wondered if the whole planet was nothing but white powder. If she dug too deep, would she fall right through? She shuddered at the thought. At the center of the crater was a small outpost laboratory that was established initially for weather observation but had since been utilized for all manner of eco-experiments. A large satellite dish sat on top of the flat roof. Beyond the crater, a blizzard raged so that nothing past the white curtain could be seen. This was the Deep Freeze, the event that froze all of Shiveria after the death of the Fire Bros. It never moved and it never abated.

"Let's hurry. I feel my mushroom cap starting to freeze."

Going downhill was easier by far than going up and they made quick work of descending the crater. The building was oddly and disturbingly dark for a federally funded lab that was still designated as operational. There were no lights on in the windows. The door that read "Snow Park" had no power and rust had started to creep in from the edges. With great effort, Mario and Fox wedged it open. The inside of the lab was just as dark as the windows had forewarned but a livewire from somewhere farther in sparked in rhythm and illuminated the front lobby like a strobe light. The place was deserted. Computer terminals were upended with shattered glass strewn across the once-white tile.

"No, not the dark," said Luigi, biting at his nails. Forgetting his new arm, he bit down on one of his mechanical fingers and winced. "I can't do this again."

"You're going, Luigi," said Toad without a hint of compassion.

"Mario. Brother. Please, don't make me go. I can wait out here." He was sucking wind as if he had just been punched in the gut.

"Luigi, breathe," said his brother with care. "It will be safer for us to stay together. I'm sorry but we have to do this."

Luigi farted.

"Okay, don't breathe," Toad chuckled.

Daisy extended her hand to him. "Hold my hand. It will be okay." He interlaced his fingers with hers, his nerves making both of their hands tremble.