Chapter 32: Frosty
December 20, 2500 BC - Enchanted Forest - Fairy Tale Realm
In a schoolhouse, children are looking out the window, watching the first major snowfall of the year
"Children, get back to your seats, the snow can wait" the teacher said and the students return to their seats "I've hired Professor Hinkle the magician, to entertain the class before our winter break. So pay attention" and someone dressed like a wizard walks up, wearing a top hat. He bowed before his audience and tipped his hat, and all sorts of pieces for his magic tricks come out
"And so I put the magic eggs into my hat" Hinkle said as he puts a couple of eggs into his hat "abracadabra and the eggs have disa…" and he puts the hat back onto his head and the eggs fall on his head, breaking "… and turned into messy, messy, messy" and he pulls out a handkerchief and starts wiping his head off
"Boo!" The children say
"You're not a real wizard" one child says "you're an imposter"
"Could an imposter do this?" Hinkle asked as he reaches into his hat and tries to pull out something, but fails "Hocus Pocus, where are you? The only good thing this hat is good for is the trashcan" and he tosses it in towards the trash, but misses and a white rabbit pops out. The rabbit runs outside with the hat on his head.
"I'm afraid that's all the time we have for today" the teacher said "Remember, we're starting geography after break. Class dismissed" and the children celebrate as they leave and go outside and play in the snow
"We're building a snowman, Karen" one of the boys said to one of the girls as the roll up a giant snowball
"You make the head" another boy said
"The head is the most difficult part" Karen said "ask anyone" as she creates the head and the children finishing make the snowman, giving him a corncob pip and a button nose, with two eyes made out of coal
"What should we call him?" one of the boys asked
"Yeah, should we call him Harold?" another boy suggested
"Bruce?" another boy suggested
"Christopher?" a girl suggested
"Oatmeal?" a boy suggested
"How about Frosty?" Karen suggested
"Frosty?" a boy asked
"Yeah, Frosty it is" another boy said "Frosty the Snowman." The children gather around Frosty the Snowman and begin to sing
Frosty the Snowman
Was a jolly happy soul
With a corn cob pipe and a button nose
And two eyes made out of coal
Frosty the Snowman
All of a sudden, the white rabbit comes running with Professor Hinkle's hat still on his head. A gust of wind blows the hat off of the rabbit's head and onto Frosty, who comes to life as Professor Hinkle walks up
"Happy Birthday!" Frosty said
"That hat brought Frosty to life" Karen said "it must be magic"
"Magic?" Hinkle asked "my hat, magic?"
"Just look" Karen said, pointing at Frosty. A gust of wind blows that hat off of Frosty's head and into Professor Hinkle's hands
"If that hat is magic, I want it back" Hinkle said
"But it's not yours anymore, you threw it away" Karen said
"Don't talk back to your elders, you naughty, naughty little girl" Hinkle said
"You can't take that hat back, it brought Frosty to life" a boy said
"You saw it happen" Karen said
"I saw nothing of the kind" Hinkle said
"But we saw Frosty come to life" Karen said
"Uh-huh, we sure did" a pair of boys said
"You silly children believe everything you see" Hinkle said as he puts on the hat and walks away
"Ah, Frosty, we don't care what grown-ups say" a boy said "we know you really did come to life"
"We know Frosty, we just know" Karen said. Another gust of wind blew the hat off of Professor Hinkle's head and sent it towards Karen's feet. Professor Hinkle did not seem to notice his hat was missing "Look the hat's back, let's see if it'll make Frosty alive again" and she puts it back on Frosty's head
"Happy Birthday!" Frosty said "hey, I said my first words, but snowmen can't talk. C'mon what's the joke? Could I really be alive? I mean, I can make words, I can move, I can juggle, I can sweep, I can count to ten. One, two, three, four, five, nine, six, eight… uh… I can count to five. I am alive! What neat thing to happen to a nice guy like me" and the children celebrate and begin singing
There must have been some magic
In that old top hat we found
For when we placed it on his head
He began to dance around
Oh, Frosty the Snowman
Was alive as he could be
And the children say he could laugh and play
Just the same as you and me
"Uh-oh" Frosty said as he realized something
"What's the matter Frosty?" Karen asked
"I think it's getting too hot for me" Frosty said "if I don't get somewhere cold quickly, I'm gonna melt"
"Winter's only just beginning in the Enchanted Forest" Karen said "it'll be sometime before it stays cold for an extended period of time. Arendelle, however should be cold enough for you for some time. Then we can work on finding a wizard to somehow ensure you never melt"
"We'll take you to the docks" a boy said "we should be able to get you on a boat to Arendelle"
"All right!" Frosty exclaimed "let's go! We can make a parade out of it" and Frosty and the children march towards the docks, singing:
Frosty the Snowman (snowman)
Knew the sun was hot that day (hot that day)
So he said, Let's run, and we'll have some fun
Now before I melt away
Frosty and the children arrive at the docks. The children knew they didn't have a way of paying, so they decided to smuggle him aboard a ship that was headed to Arendelle. Karen decided to go with him, to make sure he makes it there.
Professor Hinkle, who finally realized he lost his hat, managed to track them down and smuggled himself onto the same boat, although he was hiding in a different part than Frosty and Karen.
Arendelle
The ship soon arrived in Arendelle and Frosty and Karen managed to sneak off the ship, and were being followed by Professor Hinkle, unknown to them
"It's still rather warm" Frosty said
"Cities tend to be warmer than the forest" Karen said "let's head into the woods" and they leave the city for the forest. When they are a good ways into the woods, night falls and a blizzard starts, which stops Frosty from melting any more, but also drops Karen's temperature dangerously low
"I've got to get Karen all warmed up, or she's a goner" Frosty said. He gathers some sticks and manages to start a fire. He sets Karen by it and gets away quickly. Karen begins to warm up, but is still quite cold. Suddenly, Professor Hinkle jumps out
"Aw a camp fire" Hinkle said "isn't that all snug and comfy" and he grabs some snow and pours it on the fire, putting it out
"No, don't!" Frosty exclaimed, running up
"Now give me that hat or else!" Hinkle threatened
"Get on my shoulders, Karen" Frosty said and Karen did and Frosty slid down the snow, going at a remarkable speed. Professor Hinkle struggles to keep up. Once they loose him, Frosty works on another fire
"Hang on, Karen" Frosty said "I'll get another fire going" and Karen doesn't respond "Karen? Karen? KAREN!" and he tries to shake her awake, but she doesn't respond
"You're too late" Hinkle said, running up
"No… no…" Frosty said. And Hinkle checks her pulse
"No pulse, she's gone" Hinkle said
"You… you put out the fire… you killed her" Frosty said
"No, her own stupidity killed her" Hinkle said "there were plenty of mountains in the Enchanted Forest, she could've sent you to one of those, there was no reason for you to come all the way to Arendelle, too bad the geography classes don't start until after winter break"
"You… you monster, you killed a child… a little girl!" Frosty roared and he tackled Professor Hinkle to the ground. Professor Hinkle pulls out a dagger, but Frosty grabs it from him
"First my hat, now my dagger!" Hinkle exclaimed "stop stealing my things!"
"You killed an innocent girl for a stupid hat!" Frosty said "you want your dagger back, fine, take it!" and he stabs Professor Hinkle who starts laughing as a glamour spell drops, briefly revealing a scaly man, before the scales start to fade showing an ordinary man again "What, what's going on, why are you laughing?"
"You fell right into my trap" Hinkle said "did you really think a washed up magician just so happened to have a hat that could bring inanimate objects to life? Did you really think a gust of wind just so happened to blow the hat onto your head or off of mine? Did you really think I didn't notice the hat falling off my head? My life was such a burden, I needed to pass on the Darkness"
"Why me?" Frosty asked
"I didn't want to pass the Darkness onto a creature with a heart" Hinkle said "it needed to go onto someone who wouldn't a heart to weigh them down. So I put the Spark of Life into my hat and waited for some children to build a snowman. You have no heart, Frosty, which makes you the perfect vessel"
"But why did Karen have to die?" Frosty asked
"I needed you to kill me with the Dagger for you to pass the Darkness on" Hinkle said "so I did what needed to be done to make you ready. I know how to recognize a desperate soul" and he dies. Frosty pulls out the Dagger from Hinkle's body. He sees the words "Samuel Hinkle" on them which change into "Frosty"
A tornado of Darkness comes out of Hinkle's body and surrounds Frosty and teleports him away
The Vault of the Dark One
Frosty appears surrounded by Darkness. He sees the darkest parts of his short life
"Magic?" Hinkle asked "my hat, magic?"
"Just look" Karen said, pointing at Frosty. A gust of wind blows that hat off of Frosty's head and into Professor Hinkle's hands
"If that hat is magic, I want it back" Hinkle said
"Uh-oh" Frosty said as he realized something
"What's the matter Frosty?" Karen asked
"I think it's getting too hot for me" Frosty said "if I don't get somewhere cold quickly, I'm gonna melt"
Professor Hinkle jumps out
"Aw a camp fire" Hinkle said "isn't that all snug and comfy" and he grabs some snow and pours it on the fire, putting it out
"No, don't!" Frosty exclaimed, running up
"Now give me that hat or else!" Hinkle threatened
Frosty works on another fire
"Hang on, Karen" Frosty said "I'll get another fire going" and Karen doesn't respond "Karen? Karen? KAREN!" and he tries to shake her awake, but she doesn't respond
"You're too late" Hinkle said, running up
"No… no…" Frosty said. And Hinkle checks her pulse
"No pulse, she's gone" Hinkle said
"You… you put out the fire… you killed her" Frosty said
"You killed an innocent girl for a stupid hat!" Frosty said "you want your dagger back, fine, take it!" and he stabs Professor Hinkle
He then emerges from the Vault in liquid Darkness. The Darkness falls away and reveals Frosty, but unlike the other Dark Ones, he's not scaly, rather he's covered in sharp icicles
"Hello, Frosty" a voice said and he turns to see Professor Hinkle
"You!" Frosty exclaimed
"Not exactly" Hinkle said "I'm the voice in your head of all the Dark Ones that came before you, think of me as your guide"
"Where am I?" Frosty asked
"At the Vault of the Dark One" the Darkness said
"Take me back to Karen" Frosty said
"I'm not actually here" the Darkness said "I don't have any powers. But you, you have access to magic most men can only dream of. Simply think of where you want to go and you will be taken there" and Frosty does
Arendelle
Frosty appears and the Darkness appears as well.
"How do I bring her back?" Frosty asked
"Bring her back?" the Darkness asked "no, no, no, no, no, no, no, you can't bring her back, dead is dead. Magic can do much, but not that"
"But… but what about the Spark of Life?" Frosty asked
"The Spark of Life can give life to that which never had it, like inanimate objects, but it cannot bring back life that was lost
"No, no, no, no, no, NO!" Frosty said
"I'm sorry for your loss, truly I am" a voice said and he turns to see an old man
"Who are you, where did you come from?" Frosty asked
"He's the guy that shows up to spoil all our fun" the Darkness said
"I'm the Sorcerer's Apprentice" the Apprentice said "like I was saying, I'm truly sorry for your loss and I would bring her back if I could, but that is beyond even the Sorcerer's abilities, and certainly beyond mine. I'm here to take the hat, or more specifically, the Spark of Life"
"You need that hat to live" the Darkness said to Frosty "kill him" and Frosty sends a blast of magic at the Apprentice, who absorbs it with his wand. The Apprentice then sends a blast from his wand back, knocking Frosty off his feet and sending the hat through the air
"Oh yeah, I forgot to mention his wand actually absorbs Dark Magic" the Darkness said
"I… I'm still alive" Frosty said
"The Darkness will sustain you" the Apprentice said, grabbing the hat "now I will take the girl back to her family, they deserve to know what happened to her"
"Let me" Frosty said
"You will frighten them" the Apprentice said
"I will wear a glamour spell" Frosty said
"… very well" the Apprentice said "that is kind of you, Dark One" and he teleports away
Hall of Legends
"I've got the Spark of Life" the Apprentice said
"Good" Zeus said "the Dark One must have done something to it, normally the Spark brings inanimate objects to life after the first touch and then they no longer need to make contact with it. I will revert it to it's original form"
"Once that is done, I will put it in the Land Without Humans" the Apprentice said
"Don't you normally put magical object you don't want found in the Land Without Magic?" Ninjor asked
"The Land Without Magic has enough people bringing inanimate objects to life, it doesn't need anymore" the Apprentice said
"And there's yet another Dark One" Daimyo said "that brings us up to four, right? Nimue, Arius, Samuel Hinkle, and now this Frosty"
"Three of them are trapped in the Underworld" Zeus said "and that place is difficult enough for the living to leave, Hades will ensure they won't leave"
"And if they do?" Sora asked
"Then we'll have a big problem" the Apprentice said
"Well, at least we recovered the Spark" Poseidon said "last time we had good news was when that Liarian managed to seal away Queen Bansheera, Maligore, and all their demons, and that was five hundred years ago"
"Make sure to hide the Spark where only someone worthy of using it will find it" Zeus said to the Apprentice as he hands the Spark back to him, now in it's original plan
"I will" the Apprentice said "the Sorcerer has foreseen exactly where to put it so it will not fall into the wrong hands again"