A New World, An Old Haunt

by Professor Frogenshtein

Ch 18: Cold as Death

"Avast," proclaimed Marcellus, "that be a sure sight fer sore eyes!"

The group, which now included both Frigid Stone and Freighter Stern, had just arrived at the outskirts of the bay, near hayseed swamps, where Dante's mansion sat parked on the shore.

Lucius smirked from the shadows cast by the setting sun of the fourth day. "Anxious to get back to your mop, swabbie?"

"...Aye..." The would-be pirate slumped a little, "quite almostly forgot about that..."

At the back of the group, Frigid Stone shook his head, looking to his brother.

Quite the taskmaster, that one.

Frothing Stein gave a roll of his eyes behind his ever-present goggles.

You're one to talk. For that matter, so am I. Regardless, Professor Amaranth seems to make an effort to be both fair and stern.

[Eh? Wha? Someone thinkin' me name?]

Not you, Stern.

Oh for- the gryphon can do that too?!

Yes.

Now narrate.

*grimble grumble*– The narrative, having had quite enough of this and being in dire need of a drink (hard or soft, it didn't care anymore), skipped ahead to a first person section.

[Feh, wimp.]

Shut up.

---

I floated off of the upper deck with Lucius at my back, giving one last glance at the ghost/water-type busying himself with a mop.

... Wait, when did we get to the deck?

No, right, we came in, stopped to get a mop, and I escorted Marcellus to the deck for swabbing duty while Stein and them went off to do... whatever it is they do. I remember now.

Shaking off the odd sense of temporal distortion, I float-marched back to the laboratory. Putting on my temporary new lab coat– I really should get this one monogrammed before I could call it my official lab coat– I approached the ultrascanner, pleasantly surprised to see Thanos awake already.

I caught his attention with a wave before speaking. "The operation was a success; Marcellus has been successfully retrieved."

Thanos nodded, upturning a cup of tea into the mouth on his torso as he closed the book he'd been reading.

"I suppose, then," he asked, "that it's time to go hunting for major concentrations of Legion's souls?"

I frowned. "You know we're waiting until we recover the whole team to start that quest."

Thanos shifted slightly, making an effort not to look me in the eyes. "The center of the closest cluster is about a hundred miles west–"

"Thanos, we have to go get her."

The reaper slumped back in his chair, letting out a groan. "Do I have to?"

"Now now, Thanos," Lucius interjected, extending his shadowy form to coil around Thanos like a seviper, "do we need to have a calm, civil heart-to-heart?"

The larger ghost-type started, shaking his head in earnest. "Th-that won't be necessary; she's just northwest, on the snow-capped hills near the city."

"Good 'mon, Thanos." Lucius unwound himself from the chair, shrinking back into my shadow.

I felt the slightest hint of concern in back of my mind; I could never figure how Lucius could instill such fear in so many of the others, and the shadow pokémon would always claim total ignorance if I tried to ask him about it. I eventually gave up altogether; as my oldest and most trusted friend, Lucius was allowed to have his own little secrets.

Besides, I mentally shrugged, there are more important things to attend to.

Which winter hat should I wear for this mission...?

---

With a Cossack on my cranium and Lucius to my left, I followed Thanos up the snowy incline of the hill, Frigid Stone trudging along beside me.

"Remind me why I need to be here?" Thanos grumbled irritably, massaging his antenna. "I'm feeling better after the ultrascanner, but the lingering effects will probably wear off soon."

Lucius appeared with a grin, this time forming from Thanos' shadow. "Because; if there's a blizzard up here, we could get terribly lost, and I wanted to be sure you were telling the truth about our last teammate being here." The shade drew closer to the reaper, his voice becoming hushed. "Of course, I know you would never lie to the boss and me... right?"

The cyclops shivered as he quickly nodded, and it likely had nothing to do with the temperature.

Lucius smirked before drawing back to my side. "Plus, with you out here, she might come straight to us."

Thanos cringed, groaning a little as he worked his hands around his temples. "I can never get any peace of mind when she's around." He threw both hands in the air. "She pesters me almost constantly, insisting I read those inane backwards picture books!"

"They're called manga, Thanos-sempai."

The large ghost quite literally froze at the voice, his body being instantly coated up to his neck in a perfectly sculpted ice cube. The red pupil of Thanos' eye darted back and forth as he tried to turn his head, stopping dead upon sighting a familiar figure. I turned to look as well, giving a chuckle; I knew that ice-work. I smiled.

"Thanos-sempai," the white figure cooed, glomping the ice cube, "I knew you'd find me! –N-not that I was waiting for you, you big dummy..."

I rolled my eyes and spoke up. "Hello, Rin."

At 5 feet tall, Rin was rather large for a froslass, and the ribbon around her midsection was a light pinkish-purple instead of the usual red. Aside from those small differences, however, she looked the same as any member of her species, with a hollow dress-like 'body' and long sleeve-like arms hanging down from where a human's ears would be.

Rin looked at me, her eyes widening in recognition.

"Dante-hakase," the ice/ghost-type exclaimed, "you died!"

"So I've been told," I responded, rolling my eyes again.

Rin squeed a little, Thanos temporarily forgotten, as she rushed to meet me.

"You're a yamask," she said, inspecting my golden face, "that's supaa kowaii-desu!"

Frigid Stone, standing a couple of feet back, presumably in an attempt to stay out of freezing range, raised an eyebrow.

"I'd like to say that I've never even been to Neighpon and I still feel vaguely offended."

Lucius, popping out of my lengthening mid-afternoon shadow, glanced sideways at Rin as he spoke to Stone.

"Don't mind her," he whispered in explanation, "she's kind of a nut. I believe the specific word for her kind is otaku."

"Hmm," Stone nodded sagely, "well I suppose 'otaku' is better than 'weeaboo'." He glanced at Thanos. "Also, is he alright? Being frozen in that position can't be comfortable."

"Oh he'll be fine," Lucius shrugged. "The hard part will be getting him back to the base so Goliath can crack open this ice. Honestly, that stuff won't break unless you hit it with a truck."

Focused as I was on listening in on the conversation while also not letting Rin realize I was ignoring her, I failed to notice the pony-sized object hurtling toward our spot on the mountain until it was within shouting distance.

"Iiiiinnnnnccccooommmiiiiiiiiing!!!"

There was an enormous crash as something green and white plowed straight through Thanos, shattering the ice encasing the ghost and throwing up an icy mist as it hit the snowy mountainside.

All heads (including Thanos, now free from the ice) turned to the pile of snow where the inexplicable projectile had left a pony-shaped hole. Soon enough, what should pop out but the front of a pony.

"I hope nopony is hurt; got a bit caught up in a citrus cyclone."

A very familiar-looking pony.

Frothing Stone trotted to the front of the group, grabbing the pony on a one-armed (legged? forelimbed?) hug.

"There you are, brother! Stein came by the office asking about you earlier!"

"Stone? Why are you–" a gasp. "Zounds, a phantom!"

---

Feeling better?

The narrative gripped the mug of bubbling potion; it did, in fact, feel better.

What'd I tell you; a good mug of potionade can cure what ails you.

The narrative pointed out that Stein was ailing it.

And my sniffles are completely gone! Aha! Aha-ha! Haaaaa...

['Tweren't that funny.]

I know...

Jokes aside, the narrative felt almost good as new, its headache having vanished.

Hey, we're back from the mountains! Guess who I found?

YO YO, Professor Fructose Storm is in the HOUSE!

And now it was back.

I'll make some stronger potionade.

Please do.

Author's Note:

Author: So, Thanos, how are you feeling?

Thanos:

Author: ... okay then.

Comments

[Professor Frogenshtein]

BONUS alt. response from Thanos:

[Night_Moon60606]

so, now we meet the Frosslass....Konichiwa, Rin-chan....

[The_Poket_Umbreon]

I can watch that video over and over again and it won't get old.