Story Notes:
Disclaimer: I do not own pokemon
The Princess of Ice
Vecransyh's eyes open lazily when he wakes up to the sound of running outside the window. Looking over at the clock he sees that it's a little past one A.M. and looks back over to Xylina to see her sleeping soundly next to him. Vec looks up at the ceiling and closes his eyes before having them shoot open at the sound of a loud female voice,
"HELP!!" Vecransyh slides out of the bed and quickly puts on his shirt and shoes before heading out the door to investigate. He walks out the front doors of the Pokemon center and looks around for any sign of the voice's keeper but finds and hears nothing,
"Hello...?" Vec speaks a little loudly in hopes of a response and after a few moments he hears the same voice again,
"HELP ME!!!" Vec turns in the direction of the voice and stops as he approaches a dark alleyway and peers around it to examine the situation. The darkness makes it almost impossible to determine exactly what the figures look like but the shapes look like three figures in total. Two of them standing in front of a collapses one and Vec can see her blue eyes glowing slightly as they look up at the two figures with fear and slight pain. The figure to Vecransyh's left speaks in a female voice,
"No use crying, we're gonna capture you and take you to our boss." The other figure lets out a laugh and speaks in a male voice,
"You being such a rarity we're certain to get a bonus!" The figure on the ground speaks,
"Please... just leave me alone... HELP!!! ANYONE!!!" At the third call Vecransyh walks out blocking the only exit of the alleyway folding his arms and scowling,
"HEY!" The two figures jump slightly and turn around to face him. The female speaks,
"Kids are supposed to be in bed at this hour! Run along, this doesn't concern you." As his eyes adjust to the dark Vecransyh recognizes the figure on the ground as a Pokemon but one he has never seen before,
"What are you doing to this Pokemon?" The male voice speaks,
"We're taking it to the boss so he can give us a reward for bringing him such a rare Pokemon! Butt out kid. Not like it's yours anyway." Vecransyh scowls,
"Not like it's yours." The two figures laugh,
"All Pokemon belong to team Galactic! Whether they want to come with us or not makes no difference as long as they're valuable!" Vecransyh clenches his fists,
"Pokemon are to be loved and cared for not to be sold!" The female takes a step forward and takes out a pokeball,
"And I suppose you think you can stop us?"
"I think I can stop a couple of grunts." Vecransyh takes out the one pokeball he brought with him and the female grunt laughs,
"Anyone who defies team Galactic is an enemy of team Galactic!" Vecransyh blinks having never heard a more obvious statement and throws his pokeball releasing Rotom from it in front of him. The female grunt releases a small Zubat from the pokeball she had chosen and Rotom quickly defeats it with a sudden electrical attack,
"One attack. Yep, you're grunts all right. I'm taking that Pokemon with me so you guys get out of here." Rotom makes a happy screech and the female grunt returns the fainted bat before the two push past him and dash away,
"We're reporting you to our boss!!! You havn't seen the last of team Galactic!" After raising his middle finger to the two grunts Vecransyh slowly steps into the alley towards the frightened Pokemon that shifts away from him clearly to hurt to move but determined to keep its freedom,
"Please! Leave me alone I didn't do anything to anyone!" Vecransyh stops his advance and moves up against the alley's wall holding his arm out towards the street,
"I didn't mean that I was going to capture you when I said that you were coming with me... I saved you from them because they harmed you with no concern for your wellbeing. I want to help you..." The Pokemon stops and thinks over the words he had said,
"You... don't want to capture me...?" Vecransyh shakes his head as he returns Rotom to his pokeball,
"All of the Pokemon I have came with me of their own free will. I only want to take you to the Pokemon center to get you fixed up then you're free to go where you please." The Pokemon eyes him coldly,
"I don't believe you. All humans want is to capture me..." Vecransyh sighs and sits on the ground still far away from the Pokemon,
"How can I prove to you that my words are true?" She shakes her head,
"You can't..." Vecransyh thinks for a moment,
"If I try to capture you you're free to use any attack on me that you wish." The Pokemon thinks about this for a minute before narrowing her eyes,
"Very well... but I'm warning you..."
"I stand true to my promise. If I try to capture you then you can mortally wound or even kill me." Vecransyh stands, "And I'm a kid of my word." He starts walking slowly towards her, "I'm going to carry you to the Pokemon center now." The Pokemon eyes him with distrust but allows herself to be taken into the arms of her savior. She winces expecting the pain of her bruises to come in contact with his hands but feels slightly comforted by his carefulness to avoid them. As the two walk into the dim light of the streetlights Vecransyh gets his first look at the Pokemon lying across his arms as she eyes him. The Pokemon is about the size of him and is solid white with small patches of blue on her hands that slightly resemble fins. Around her waist is what appears to be a red ribbon halfway up her white flowing dress. On top of her head are two small crystals and her purple face looks like it's masked by a white skull. She tilts her head and gives him a cold look,
"What are you doing...?"
"I've never seen a Pokemon like you before."
"Well I'm not surprised... I'm not really an everyday find. Are we there yet?" Vecransyh looks up at the front doors of the Pokemon center and heads through them inside,
"Yep, we're here." The Pokemon rubs her eyes as they walk into the brightly lit room and a few moments later Vecransyh is approached by one of the nurses,
"Hello Vecransyh, who's this?" The Pokemon looks to the nurse then back to Vecransyh as the two talk,
"I found her in an alleyway. She has some pretty bad bruises. She's pretty distrustful of humans so do you think you could have some Pokemon fix her up?" The nurse smiles,
"That'll be no problem. I'll get a few Blisseys to do the analysis and she'll be good as new in a short while." Vecransyh nods as a few Blissey walk out of a back room with a stretcher. The Pokemon narrows her eyes at Vecransyh,
"Where does this go...?"
"This goes into the healing room. There won't be any humans there. I promise." Vecransyh lays her onto the stretcher and she's wheeled away into the back room by the Blissey watching Vecransyh the whole time before the swinging doors cut him off from her view. Vecransyh turns to the nurse, "So... what is she?" The nurse smiles,
"Well, she's a Frosslass but she seems to have some human qualities to her because her arms are connected to her torso instead of being more like hair. And she also has hair which is also different. Frosslass are very powerful and very rare Pokemon. They are of the Ice and Ghost types and evolve from female Snorunts when exposed to a dawn stone which are, in themselves, rare." Vecransyh blinks,
"Did you say ghost?"
"Yes, Ghost and Ice type." Vecransyh looks back to the swinging doors,
"I see..." Nurse Joy yawns,
"It's pretty late. You should head off to bed." Vecransyh smiles and waves as he walks to the stairs to the guest rooms,
"Yeah, okay. Night." Vecransyh then disappears up the staircase and makes it quickly to his room where he opens the door and steps inside turning his back to the room as he closes the door. Upon turning around he looks directly into Xylina's eyes, "Uhh... hi!" Xylina smiles softly,
"I was wondering where you went off to so I watched your little vigilante stunt." She kisses him lightly, "So, who's the new addition?" Vecransyh shakes his head with a slight smile,
"She's really distrustful of humans so there's no chance she'll want to some with us. She's a Frosslass and she's being fixed up downstairs right now." Xylina smiles,
"I've only heard about them. She looked really pretty when she was under the streetlights."
"I've seen prettier." Xylina blinks,
"Where?"
"You." Xylina blushes and embraces him tightly,
"You don't look to bad yourself stud!" The two stay in an embrace for a few moments before heading back to bed awaiting the next day. The night passes quickly and Vecransyh wakes up at one from the sound of rapid knocking on his door,
"Veeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeec!!! Time to get up dude! We're setting out in a little bit. Meet in the lobby when you get your pants on!" Vecransyh hears footsteps walk away from the door and turns to Xylina, who looks like she's trying not to laugh,
"I swear that kid has a one-track mind." Vecransyh stands up and slides his shirt on over his head and sliding his arms into his coat before attaching his belt to his pants,
"Tell me about it." A few minute later Vecransyh and Xylina head down the stairs into the lobby where they find Kaza, Scarlet, Drake, Latias and Stratos waiting for them. Vec waves as he walks over,
"Hey guys." Drake smiles,
"Morning Vec. Sleep well?" Xylina grins,
"He made a little early morning rescue." Kaza tilts his head,
"Oooo!!! Who'd you save?!" There is a soft but stern, melodious voice behind them,
"Me." The group turns and Vecransyh gives her a confused look as everyone lays eyes on the Frosslass. She looks much better then she did last night and floats only a foot off the ground with her white dress flowing carelessly about her lower body. Kaza is speechless and Drake grins,
"Hello, I'm Drake." Frosslass eyes him coldly,
"I don't care who you are. I dislike humans to a great degree until I am sure that I can trust them." Vecransyh takes a few steps forward,
"I thought you were going to leave as soon as you were healed?" Frosslass blushes under her skull mask making it unnoticeable as she shakes her head,
"You saved my life so... I'm coming with you until I fulfill my dept." Drake notices the incredibly small amount of red at the very bottom of the mask,
(Oh dear.) Vecransyh smiles,
"You're more then welcome to travel with us!" Frosslass eyes Drake and Kaza as she slides past them over to Vecransyh and she eyes him still distrustfully but not as much as she did last night,
"But no funny business. Our deal stands strong." Vec nods,
"I havn't forgotten." Xylina tilts her head,
"Deal?"
"We have a deal that if I try to capture her she gets to use one of her attacks on me." Frosslass gives the slightest of devious intent in her look,
"Fatal of not. But you've given me no reason not to trust you so far so I'm starting to think that won't be necessary. My coming with you is on the condition that I can remain close to you at all times as I don't trust anyone else yet..." Vecransyh smiles innocently,
"I don't think that'll be a problem. Xylina?" Vecransyh turns to his girlfriend and sees her shake her head with a smile,
"Nope. No problems here! Let's go!" Drake looks a little unsure but shrugs to himself as he takes a step forward,
"Okay everyone. Today we'll be heading back the way we came to Jubilife city and then we'll be heading north to Floaroma town for the night. Then tomorrow we'll be headed through the Eterna forest on our way to Eterna city and our next badge." Kaza grins,
"Sweet. Only a day before I get to have my second gym battle! Woo!" A few minutes pass and the group leaves the Pokemon center and, after arriving in Jubilife city, they head north past a sign pointing in their direction reading 'To Floaroma town'. Kaza walks ahead of the group as usual along with Scarlet followed by Drake and Latias with Stratos standing between then holding both of their hands as he walks. Behind them are Vecransyh and Xylina floating next to him and following a little ways behind is Frosslass, who is deep in her own thoughts,
(These people... they're like none I've ever met before. They're kind and don't have any interest in forcefully capturing their Pokemon... Bah, what am I thinking? All humans are the same. I'm being foolish... humans are liars and only care about making trophies out of strong Pokemon while leaving the weak and small to rot and feel alone until they evolve and become worth something to them...) Frosslass sheds an unnoticed tear as she thinks back to her childhood as a Snorunt and how she was always made fun of by her peers for being smaller then the others. Trainers would completely ignore her based solely on her size and capture the males that looked strong, (Until I evolved...) She recalls the day where she came across a shining stone buried deep in the snow where she lived and when she made contact with it the stone changed her into her current form. From that day on she was never ridiculed for being small or weaker then the others but their cruelty towards her had been buried into her psyche and when they tried to apologize she simply said, "You're all the same. You undermine the weak until they surpass you..." And that day forward she also became the center of attention for passing trainers that managed to spot her. But then she thinks back to the previous night, (But... he saved me and then let me go without a second thought... I owe him my life... I owe him my freedom...) She pauses as she looks up at the boy happily striding along with Xylina, (I owe him everything... and... I feel happy for it... which is a feeling I havn't felt in many years...) Frosslass shakes her head, (No! He's only tricking me into feeling safe! When I least expect it he'll capture me! But...) Frosslass begins having a mental tug-of-war with herself as she balances her deep hatred of humans with Vecransyh's selfless act to save her. Through all of her thoughts, Latias has drifted back through everyone walking and is now walking next to Frosslass as Frosslass runs through everything in her mind,
"You've had a rough life, huh?" The voice snaps Frosslass out of her thoughts and she jumps before looking at Latias in rage,
"DON'T SNEAK UP ON ME HUMAN!!!!!" Latias smiles softly,
"I'm actually a Pokemon. My name is Latias." Frosslass blinks at the name with slight shock on her face,
"You are... the sister of the Eon siblings?!"
"Yep. So don't be afraid to talk to me if you want to get some things off your chest." Frosslass looks down knowing quite a bit about the Eon Pokemon and their ability to change forms at will,
"Prove to me you are her." Latias nods and shimmers brightly before returning to her true form as the red and white dragon. Frosslass blinks as Latias changes back to her human form before any passing people see her,
"See?" Frosslass nods,
"Okay. My apologies miss Latias for the mistrust..." Latias shakes her head,
"It's fine. So what's on your mind?" Frosslass looks ahead as she floats along,
"Well... I'm trying to decide whether or not I can trust any of these humans or not. None of them have tried to capture me yet but similar things have happened to me in the past so it's hard to decide whether it's real or not... I've had to avoid capture a great many time in my life. You see... a long time ago I lived among many Snorunt but they always said cruel things to me and mocked me on my size because I was smaller then they were. But the day I evolved all of that stopped and suddenly I was loved by all of them... I rejected their sudden acceptance because it was based solely on the fact that I had worth now." Latias nods listening to the story, "After that day I became the center of attention for wandering trainers and I eventually left Snowpoint because word had started to spread about, and I quote, 'The uncatchable princess of ice'. After leaving I headed toward the western sea where I met the legendary Kyogre and after a long time he was able to pass the attack Sheer Cold on to me making me an even more sought after prize once word got out about that." Frosslass sighs, "I just wanted to be left alone..." Latias lays a hand on her shoulder,
"Trust me. If Vecransyh saved you then he won't let anyone try to capture you." Frosslass tilts her head,
"What do you mean?"
"Well, he made a promise not to capture which must mean that he understands that you want your freedom. I can almost guarantee that you're safe if you stay with us. Drake can help too now that he knows about the agreement." Frosslass scowls,
"I don't trust him." Latias raises her eyebrow,
"Someone tried to capture me with a master ball once and he crushed it in one hand." Frosslass blinks in disbelief,
"But they're indestructible!"
"So is the bond between human and Pokemon." Frosslass looks down,
"Well then I suppose that I can trust him... not that other kid though... he kinda freaks me out." Latias smiles as she looks ahead to Kaza,
"Don't worry. He wouldn't hurt a Flygon. I'm sure that in time you'll come to trust us all." Frosslass looks ahead,
"Okay... but I still need to think things over before I decide whether I want to believe you or not..." Latias nods,
"I'll be there if you ever need a shoulder to cry on." She then picks up her pace to rejoin Drake near the front. A number of hours pass as the group continues walking down the road towards the new town. Scarlet turns to Kazamaru as they walk,
"Sooo Kaza?"
"What?"
"When can we have a day to hang out?" Kaza gives her a puzzled look,
"What do you mean? We hang out every day." She gives him a sly smile,
"Alone." Kaza blushes heavily, "You know, like a day where we just hang out together. Like a date! We've had a few already but not one where we just walk around." Kaza thinks for a moment,
"How about tomorrow in the forest?" Scarlet looks at him smiling,
"That sounds great!" Meanwhile Vecransyh turns to Xylina as they walk,
"I don't think I've ever asked you before: what's it like to float?" Xylina smiles,
"It's a really different feeling then walking. How can I describe it... imagine walking but not having to move your legs. You just kind of move forward without really putting any energy into it at all." Vecransyh shakes his head,
"Nah I can't imagine it, seems like it would be cool to try it sometime." Xylina shrugs,
"I like walking more though..." She looks down at the dusk amulet, "Only six days left till I get to walk again." She gives Vecransyh a lustful smile, "Then I'm going to make sure you don't think you're dreaming." Vecransyh turns bright red and tilts his head,
"Another thing I've been meaning to ask you. Why can't it work when you're not in your other form?" Xylina looks down,
"Well, my actual body doesn't have any physical properties until the full moon. My head, hat and cloak are the only things that have solid attributes all of the time."
"Ooh. I see. Who knows what could happen in six days?" Xylina giggles,
"True. A lot of things can happen in that time." The group arrives in a small town with few buildings built on a large meadow of flowers that stretches out in all directions before stopping at groves of trees that line the borders of the town. Everyone marvels at the sight of the flowers colored orange against the setting sun. Soon after getting their rooms at the Pokemon center the group heads into a nearby restaurant and sit down at a large table that is easily able to fit all of them. Frosslass and Xylina sit on either side of Vecransyh and Frosslass looks curiously at him,
"Umm... what are we doing?" Vecransyh turns and smiles at her,
"We're getting food. You hungry?" As if to answer the question there is an odd gurgling noise from Frosslass' midsection. She blushes under her skull mask and looks down,
"Y-yes... I'm a little hungry." Vecransyh smiles and pats the paper menu in front of her,
"Then go ahead and pick out anything you'd like to eat. I'll pay for you." Frosslass had never had a human offer her anything besides capture and stares at Vecransyh in disbelief before dismissing the thought and looking through the menu.
After dinner the group heads to their own individual rooms with the exception of Scarlet, Latias and Xylina who stay with their respective boyfriend. Frosslass sits on her bed looking around the room still in complete disbelief at how much of an equal she is being treated like. Shortly after running over everything in her mind she lies down on the bed and lets out a long sigh of pleasure as she feels the softness of the pillow on the back of her head and the soft blankets against her body. It had been nine years since she had evolved and now she finally felt, more or less, excepted for who she is as she drifts off to sleep with the first smile she had made in her long life.
"HELP!!" Vecransyh slides out of the bed and quickly puts on his shirt and shoes before heading out the door to investigate. He walks out the front doors of the Pokemon center and looks around for any sign of the voice's keeper but finds and hears nothing,
"Hello...?" Vec speaks a little loudly in hopes of a response and after a few moments he hears the same voice again,
"HELP ME!!!" Vec turns in the direction of the voice and stops as he approaches a dark alleyway and peers around it to examine the situation. The darkness makes it almost impossible to determine exactly what the figures look like but the shapes look like three figures in total. Two of them standing in front of a collapses one and Vec can see her blue eyes glowing slightly as they look up at the two figures with fear and slight pain. The figure to Vecransyh's left speaks in a female voice,
"No use crying, we're gonna capture you and take you to our boss." The other figure lets out a laugh and speaks in a male voice,
"You being such a rarity we're certain to get a bonus!" The figure on the ground speaks,
"Please... just leave me alone... HELP!!! ANYONE!!!" At the third call Vecransyh walks out blocking the only exit of the alleyway folding his arms and scowling,
"HEY!" The two figures jump slightly and turn around to face him. The female speaks,
"Kids are supposed to be in bed at this hour! Run along, this doesn't concern you." As his eyes adjust to the dark Vecransyh recognizes the figure on the ground as a Pokemon but one he has never seen before,
"What are you doing to this Pokemon?" The male voice speaks,
"We're taking it to the boss so he can give us a reward for bringing him such a rare Pokemon! Butt out kid. Not like it's yours anyway." Vecransyh scowls,
"Not like it's yours." The two figures laugh,
"All Pokemon belong to team Galactic! Whether they want to come with us or not makes no difference as long as they're valuable!" Vecransyh clenches his fists,
"Pokemon are to be loved and cared for not to be sold!" The female takes a step forward and takes out a pokeball,
"And I suppose you think you can stop us?"
"I think I can stop a couple of grunts." Vecransyh takes out the one pokeball he brought with him and the female grunt laughs,
"Anyone who defies team Galactic is an enemy of team Galactic!" Vecransyh blinks having never heard a more obvious statement and throws his pokeball releasing Rotom from it in front of him. The female grunt releases a small Zubat from the pokeball she had chosen and Rotom quickly defeats it with a sudden electrical attack,
"One attack. Yep, you're grunts all right. I'm taking that Pokemon with me so you guys get out of here." Rotom makes a happy screech and the female grunt returns the fainted bat before the two push past him and dash away,
"We're reporting you to our boss!!! You havn't seen the last of team Galactic!" After raising his middle finger to the two grunts Vecransyh slowly steps into the alley towards the frightened Pokemon that shifts away from him clearly to hurt to move but determined to keep its freedom,
"Please! Leave me alone I didn't do anything to anyone!" Vecransyh stops his advance and moves up against the alley's wall holding his arm out towards the street,
"I didn't mean that I was going to capture you when I said that you were coming with me... I saved you from them because they harmed you with no concern for your wellbeing. I want to help you..." The Pokemon stops and thinks over the words he had said,
"You... don't want to capture me...?" Vecransyh shakes his head as he returns Rotom to his pokeball,
"All of the Pokemon I have came with me of their own free will. I only want to take you to the Pokemon center to get you fixed up then you're free to go where you please." The Pokemon eyes him coldly,
"I don't believe you. All humans want is to capture me..." Vecransyh sighs and sits on the ground still far away from the Pokemon,
"How can I prove to you that my words are true?" She shakes her head,
"You can't..." Vecransyh thinks for a moment,
"If I try to capture you you're free to use any attack on me that you wish." The Pokemon thinks about this for a minute before narrowing her eyes,
"Very well... but I'm warning you..."
"I stand true to my promise. If I try to capture you then you can mortally wound or even kill me." Vecransyh stands, "And I'm a kid of my word." He starts walking slowly towards her, "I'm going to carry you to the Pokemon center now." The Pokemon eyes him with distrust but allows herself to be taken into the arms of her savior. She winces expecting the pain of her bruises to come in contact with his hands but feels slightly comforted by his carefulness to avoid them. As the two walk into the dim light of the streetlights Vecransyh gets his first look at the Pokemon lying across his arms as she eyes him. The Pokemon is about the size of him and is solid white with small patches of blue on her hands that slightly resemble fins. Around her waist is what appears to be a red ribbon halfway up her white flowing dress. On top of her head are two small crystals and her purple face looks like it's masked by a white skull. She tilts her head and gives him a cold look,
"What are you doing...?"
"I've never seen a Pokemon like you before."
"Well I'm not surprised... I'm not really an everyday find. Are we there yet?" Vecransyh looks up at the front doors of the Pokemon center and heads through them inside,
"Yep, we're here." The Pokemon rubs her eyes as they walk into the brightly lit room and a few moments later Vecransyh is approached by one of the nurses,
"Hello Vecransyh, who's this?" The Pokemon looks to the nurse then back to Vecransyh as the two talk,
"I found her in an alleyway. She has some pretty bad bruises. She's pretty distrustful of humans so do you think you could have some Pokemon fix her up?" The nurse smiles,
"That'll be no problem. I'll get a few Blisseys to do the analysis and she'll be good as new in a short while." Vecransyh nods as a few Blissey walk out of a back room with a stretcher. The Pokemon narrows her eyes at Vecransyh,
"Where does this go...?"
"This goes into the healing room. There won't be any humans there. I promise." Vecransyh lays her onto the stretcher and she's wheeled away into the back room by the Blissey watching Vecransyh the whole time before the swinging doors cut him off from her view. Vecransyh turns to the nurse, "So... what is she?" The nurse smiles,
"Well, she's a Frosslass but she seems to have some human qualities to her because her arms are connected to her torso instead of being more like hair. And she also has hair which is also different. Frosslass are very powerful and very rare Pokemon. They are of the Ice and Ghost types and evolve from female Snorunts when exposed to a dawn stone which are, in themselves, rare." Vecransyh blinks,
"Did you say ghost?"
"Yes, Ghost and Ice type." Vecransyh looks back to the swinging doors,
"I see..." Nurse Joy yawns,
"It's pretty late. You should head off to bed." Vecransyh smiles and waves as he walks to the stairs to the guest rooms,
"Yeah, okay. Night." Vecransyh then disappears up the staircase and makes it quickly to his room where he opens the door and steps inside turning his back to the room as he closes the door. Upon turning around he looks directly into Xylina's eyes, "Uhh... hi!" Xylina smiles softly,
"I was wondering where you went off to so I watched your little vigilante stunt." She kisses him lightly, "So, who's the new addition?" Vecransyh shakes his head with a slight smile,
"She's really distrustful of humans so there's no chance she'll want to some with us. She's a Frosslass and she's being fixed up downstairs right now." Xylina smiles,
"I've only heard about them. She looked really pretty when she was under the streetlights."
"I've seen prettier." Xylina blinks,
"Where?"
"You." Xylina blushes and embraces him tightly,
"You don't look to bad yourself stud!" The two stay in an embrace for a few moments before heading back to bed awaiting the next day. The night passes quickly and Vecransyh wakes up at one from the sound of rapid knocking on his door,
"Veeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeec!!! Time to get up dude! We're setting out in a little bit. Meet in the lobby when you get your pants on!" Vecransyh hears footsteps walk away from the door and turns to Xylina, who looks like she's trying not to laugh,
"I swear that kid has a one-track mind." Vecransyh stands up and slides his shirt on over his head and sliding his arms into his coat before attaching his belt to his pants,
"Tell me about it." A few minute later Vecransyh and Xylina head down the stairs into the lobby where they find Kaza, Scarlet, Drake, Latias and Stratos waiting for them. Vec waves as he walks over,
"Hey guys." Drake smiles,
"Morning Vec. Sleep well?" Xylina grins,
"He made a little early morning rescue." Kaza tilts his head,
"Oooo!!! Who'd you save?!" There is a soft but stern, melodious voice behind them,
"Me." The group turns and Vecransyh gives her a confused look as everyone lays eyes on the Frosslass. She looks much better then she did last night and floats only a foot off the ground with her white dress flowing carelessly about her lower body. Kaza is speechless and Drake grins,
"Hello, I'm Drake." Frosslass eyes him coldly,
"I don't care who you are. I dislike humans to a great degree until I am sure that I can trust them." Vecransyh takes a few steps forward,
"I thought you were going to leave as soon as you were healed?" Frosslass blushes under her skull mask making it unnoticeable as she shakes her head,
"You saved my life so... I'm coming with you until I fulfill my dept." Drake notices the incredibly small amount of red at the very bottom of the mask,
(Oh dear.) Vecransyh smiles,
"You're more then welcome to travel with us!" Frosslass eyes Drake and Kaza as she slides past them over to Vecransyh and she eyes him still distrustfully but not as much as she did last night,
"But no funny business. Our deal stands strong." Vec nods,
"I havn't forgotten." Xylina tilts her head,
"Deal?"
"We have a deal that if I try to capture her she gets to use one of her attacks on me." Frosslass gives the slightest of devious intent in her look,
"Fatal of not. But you've given me no reason not to trust you so far so I'm starting to think that won't be necessary. My coming with you is on the condition that I can remain close to you at all times as I don't trust anyone else yet..." Vecransyh smiles innocently,
"I don't think that'll be a problem. Xylina?" Vecransyh turns to his girlfriend and sees her shake her head with a smile,
"Nope. No problems here! Let's go!" Drake looks a little unsure but shrugs to himself as he takes a step forward,
"Okay everyone. Today we'll be heading back the way we came to Jubilife city and then we'll be heading north to Floaroma town for the night. Then tomorrow we'll be headed through the Eterna forest on our way to Eterna city and our next badge." Kaza grins,
"Sweet. Only a day before I get to have my second gym battle! Woo!" A few minutes pass and the group leaves the Pokemon center and, after arriving in Jubilife city, they head north past a sign pointing in their direction reading 'To Floaroma town'. Kaza walks ahead of the group as usual along with Scarlet followed by Drake and Latias with Stratos standing between then holding both of their hands as he walks. Behind them are Vecransyh and Xylina floating next to him and following a little ways behind is Frosslass, who is deep in her own thoughts,
(These people... they're like none I've ever met before. They're kind and don't have any interest in forcefully capturing their Pokemon... Bah, what am I thinking? All humans are the same. I'm being foolish... humans are liars and only care about making trophies out of strong Pokemon while leaving the weak and small to rot and feel alone until they evolve and become worth something to them...) Frosslass sheds an unnoticed tear as she thinks back to her childhood as a Snorunt and how she was always made fun of by her peers for being smaller then the others. Trainers would completely ignore her based solely on her size and capture the males that looked strong, (Until I evolved...) She recalls the day where she came across a shining stone buried deep in the snow where she lived and when she made contact with it the stone changed her into her current form. From that day on she was never ridiculed for being small or weaker then the others but their cruelty towards her had been buried into her psyche and when they tried to apologize she simply said, "You're all the same. You undermine the weak until they surpass you..." And that day forward she also became the center of attention for passing trainers that managed to spot her. But then she thinks back to the previous night, (But... he saved me and then let me go without a second thought... I owe him my life... I owe him my freedom...) She pauses as she looks up at the boy happily striding along with Xylina, (I owe him everything... and... I feel happy for it... which is a feeling I havn't felt in many years...) Frosslass shakes her head, (No! He's only tricking me into feeling safe! When I least expect it he'll capture me! But...) Frosslass begins having a mental tug-of-war with herself as she balances her deep hatred of humans with Vecransyh's selfless act to save her. Through all of her thoughts, Latias has drifted back through everyone walking and is now walking next to Frosslass as Frosslass runs through everything in her mind,
"You've had a rough life, huh?" The voice snaps Frosslass out of her thoughts and she jumps before looking at Latias in rage,
"DON'T SNEAK UP ON ME HUMAN!!!!!" Latias smiles softly,
"I'm actually a Pokemon. My name is Latias." Frosslass blinks at the name with slight shock on her face,
"You are... the sister of the Eon siblings?!"
"Yep. So don't be afraid to talk to me if you want to get some things off your chest." Frosslass looks down knowing quite a bit about the Eon Pokemon and their ability to change forms at will,
"Prove to me you are her." Latias nods and shimmers brightly before returning to her true form as the red and white dragon. Frosslass blinks as Latias changes back to her human form before any passing people see her,
"See?" Frosslass nods,
"Okay. My apologies miss Latias for the mistrust..." Latias shakes her head,
"It's fine. So what's on your mind?" Frosslass looks ahead as she floats along,
"Well... I'm trying to decide whether or not I can trust any of these humans or not. None of them have tried to capture me yet but similar things have happened to me in the past so it's hard to decide whether it's real or not... I've had to avoid capture a great many time in my life. You see... a long time ago I lived among many Snorunt but they always said cruel things to me and mocked me on my size because I was smaller then they were. But the day I evolved all of that stopped and suddenly I was loved by all of them... I rejected their sudden acceptance because it was based solely on the fact that I had worth now." Latias nods listening to the story, "After that day I became the center of attention for wandering trainers and I eventually left Snowpoint because word had started to spread about, and I quote, 'The uncatchable princess of ice'. After leaving I headed toward the western sea where I met the legendary Kyogre and after a long time he was able to pass the attack Sheer Cold on to me making me an even more sought after prize once word got out about that." Frosslass sighs, "I just wanted to be left alone..." Latias lays a hand on her shoulder,
"Trust me. If Vecransyh saved you then he won't let anyone try to capture you." Frosslass tilts her head,
"What do you mean?"
"Well, he made a promise not to capture which must mean that he understands that you want your freedom. I can almost guarantee that you're safe if you stay with us. Drake can help too now that he knows about the agreement." Frosslass scowls,
"I don't trust him." Latias raises her eyebrow,
"Someone tried to capture me with a master ball once and he crushed it in one hand." Frosslass blinks in disbelief,
"But they're indestructible!"
"So is the bond between human and Pokemon." Frosslass looks down,
"Well then I suppose that I can trust him... not that other kid though... he kinda freaks me out." Latias smiles as she looks ahead to Kaza,
"Don't worry. He wouldn't hurt a Flygon. I'm sure that in time you'll come to trust us all." Frosslass looks ahead,
"Okay... but I still need to think things over before I decide whether I want to believe you or not..." Latias nods,
"I'll be there if you ever need a shoulder to cry on." She then picks up her pace to rejoin Drake near the front. A number of hours pass as the group continues walking down the road towards the new town. Scarlet turns to Kazamaru as they walk,
"Sooo Kaza?"
"What?"
"When can we have a day to hang out?" Kaza gives her a puzzled look,
"What do you mean? We hang out every day." She gives him a sly smile,
"Alone." Kaza blushes heavily, "You know, like a day where we just hang out together. Like a date! We've had a few already but not one where we just walk around." Kaza thinks for a moment,
"How about tomorrow in the forest?" Scarlet looks at him smiling,
"That sounds great!" Meanwhile Vecransyh turns to Xylina as they walk,
"I don't think I've ever asked you before: what's it like to float?" Xylina smiles,
"It's a really different feeling then walking. How can I describe it... imagine walking but not having to move your legs. You just kind of move forward without really putting any energy into it at all." Vecransyh shakes his head,
"Nah I can't imagine it, seems like it would be cool to try it sometime." Xylina shrugs,
"I like walking more though..." She looks down at the dusk amulet, "Only six days left till I get to walk again." She gives Vecransyh a lustful smile, "Then I'm going to make sure you don't think you're dreaming." Vecransyh turns bright red and tilts his head,
"Another thing I've been meaning to ask you. Why can't it work when you're not in your other form?" Xylina looks down,
"Well, my actual body doesn't have any physical properties until the full moon. My head, hat and cloak are the only things that have solid attributes all of the time."
"Ooh. I see. Who knows what could happen in six days?" Xylina giggles,
"True. A lot of things can happen in that time." The group arrives in a small town with few buildings built on a large meadow of flowers that stretches out in all directions before stopping at groves of trees that line the borders of the town. Everyone marvels at the sight of the flowers colored orange against the setting sun. Soon after getting their rooms at the Pokemon center the group heads into a nearby restaurant and sit down at a large table that is easily able to fit all of them. Frosslass and Xylina sit on either side of Vecransyh and Frosslass looks curiously at him,
"Umm... what are we doing?" Vecransyh turns and smiles at her,
"We're getting food. You hungry?" As if to answer the question there is an odd gurgling noise from Frosslass' midsection. She blushes under her skull mask and looks down,
"Y-yes... I'm a little hungry." Vecransyh smiles and pats the paper menu in front of her,
"Then go ahead and pick out anything you'd like to eat. I'll pay for you." Frosslass had never had a human offer her anything besides capture and stares at Vecransyh in disbelief before dismissing the thought and looking through the menu.
After dinner the group heads to their own individual rooms with the exception of Scarlet, Latias and Xylina who stay with their respective boyfriend. Frosslass sits on her bed looking around the room still in complete disbelief at how much of an equal she is being treated like. Shortly after running over everything in her mind she lies down on the bed and lets out a long sigh of pleasure as she feels the softness of the pillow on the back of her head and the soft blankets against her body. It had been nine years since she had evolved and now she finally felt, more or less, excepted for who she is as she drifts off to sleep with the first smile she had made in her long life.