Frozen Welcomes

NOTES:

• The first thing I wrote myself. It isn’t that good.

Frozen Welcomes

I didn’t even know what time it was. All I know was that it was far later at night than I was used to. Through the only window in the broken down room, the first flecks of snow started to fall. Finally, winter truly started… though it’s not as if I could enjoy any of it, I was grounded. Even now, I was still processing it. Cooped up inside for who knows how long, all because of an accident involving the family Houndour escaping the house and peeing next to the local statue, and all I did was open the front door by mistake. After so long, I thought I’d be used to their utter disregard of my well being, but I couldn’t ever remember a time that they overreacted like that… I couldn’t think about it forever though, so I laid down again, content with the snowfall outside to keep me company, before finally falling asleep again.

I woke up to yelling the next morning. It took me a minute to process what was happening, the residual sleep only starting to taper off. But there in front of my bed my “mother” stood, yelling about yesterday’s incident to no end. On and on she goes, calling me “useless” and “incapable of doing anything helpful”, which was just useless again with more words. I could only dream of what I’d be like if I wasn’t used to her being the absolute worst, though I didn’t have to imagine for very long. She quickly noticed I wasn’t saying anything back, and things began to escalate.

[Mom]: If you’re not going to get your act together and do something useful for this house, then start packing. I’ve had it up to here with you only taking from me!

I wasn’t expecting that at all. I tried to reason with her, but to no avail. …So be it. I try my absolute hardest to be the very antithesis of what she thinks of me, but it’s never good enough. No matter how useful I was, it almost seemed like she couldn’t stand me.

[Mom]: You have until tomorrow. Pack up and get out of my sight. And don’t even think about showing your face here again!

And with that, she stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind her. …Until tomorrow? Where else am I supposed to go? Eterna City’s full of old people, and it’s not like anyone else would even think of taking me in, given the reputation she’s likely spat around for me. In the dead silence following the meltdown she just caused, I looked out the window to see that it was still snowing, and then it hit me. Not a happy realization. If I’m not going to live out my life’s dreams, I might as well die trying. With that being said, I finally got out of bed, grabbing the only cardboard box I had and stuffing my things into it. I was heading to Snowpoint City whether anyone was going to try and stop me or not.

I’ve always had this weird fascination with the cold. When it was below freezing, I was the one to walk out in a shirt and shorts, completely indifferent while everyone else looked at me like I had three heads. I don’t exactly know where the fascination came from, all I know is that I had it, and it stuck with me. So in turn, I wanted to live somewhere cold. Badly. Eterna gets cold winters, sure, but it never felt like the real thing to me. It didn’t make things any better that my mother, in her infinite wisdom of not asking me for my opinion ever, decided that within mere weeks we’d be moving to Alola. For no reason other than her love of the sun, apparently. I would have escaped anyway and left for the snow myself when I was ready, but this just made things happen when I wasn’t ready. But sitting here wouldn’t have made things better anyway, so it was now or never.

Later that day, I finally picked out everything I wanted to take with me. Clothes, mostly, as well as a laptop that provided me some escape in this disaster of a household. At least maybe at a Pokemon Center I could call for help if I was desperate enough to need to. I doubted it, but I preferred having a backup, especially when I’m practically throwing my life to the wind. With no other choice though, I took the box and walked out. Of course, she was sitting on the couch just waiting for me to leave. She gave me a snide look as I went to pass by her, heading towards the door.

[Mom]: Tch, leaving already? Whatever. Good luck fending for yourself.

I ignored her, of course, merely opening the door and walking out. She wasn’t going to help me anyway, so there was no point in entertaining her nonsense. I was done, my last straw was gone. I felt no regret. All I felt was spite and resentment towards her, and quiet sadness for a life I could have had, but never did. And while I turned my sights north, I had no idea what was waiting for me beyond the confines of this astronomically ancient city.

While walking northward, I spent a lot of time thinking. The box might have been annoying to carry, but it didn’t stop me. I just couldn’t help but wonder, “what were they going to use me for”? They’ve always tried to get me to like psychic type Pokemon, despite the fact that I had a Litwick as a kid, and found more comfort in that. To this day, I still don’t know what happened to him. They told me he ran away one day, and that was that. I haven’t forgotten about them, either. Sometimes I go out and try to find them. …I never did, though.

As I was lost in my own thoughts, I didn’t notice the ground turn from a light snow to a much deeper snow. At least, I didn’t notice for an hour or two, until the temperature quickly dropped below what I was used to. I didn’t realize I was woefully unprepared either. I was walking right into a place where it snowed all year round, rather than only in one season out of four. I knew I would end up dead because of this, but I was not expecting it to be this fast.

Despite that, I kept going. Further and further north, with lower and lower temperatures. I was shivering, and I knew frostbite would kick in rather soon. Yet, I wanted to see the coldest part before the end. The furthest north I could go would be that point. But it was feeling less and less likely that it would happen. As I went, I saw other trainers in the distance. The actual path to Snowpoint, Route 217. I avoided it though, I didn’t want anyone to see me like this. So I kept walking.

I eventually collapsed into the snow. It kept piling up around me, and I couldn’t even feel my own limbs anymore. Arceus, I could barely see in the first place. But I did hear something. In the distance, a soft giggle. I almost didn’t hear it amongst the wind. I even thought it was the wind, at first, and almost ignored it. The second time though, I looked up. I wasn’t really expecting what I saw, but I really should have.

With the howling wind and snow in the air, I mistook her for snow. But not twenty feet away from me, floating about three feet above the ground, was a Froslass staring me down. I knew well what they were capable of. I knew that they liked to freeze people solid. At this point though, I didn’t care. Those subzero temperatures would probably be a great way to go out. What was odd, however, was that she was specifically eyeing the box I was holding. I barely blinked in response before she giggled again, floating backwards and out of my sight.

I was confused. Did she want me to follow her? I couldn’t even move! How could I–

[Froslass]: Boo!

…I jumped, somehow. She was behind me. She must have circled around me in the snowfall, just to scare me from behind. I wasn’t particularly afraid before, even welcoming my death, but now I was scared. What did she want? …Wait, how did she talk to me?!

[Froslass]: I can read your thoughts… it’s not that hard for me to do. Or… do you underestimate me that much?

I quickly threw my hands up in front of me in response. As best as I could, anyway. I couldn’t even speak, my lips were almost sealed shut. Nevertheless, I tried responding in my own head. She can read my thoughts, so…?

[######]: W-What do you want from me?

[Froslass]: It’s rather simple, I know who you are. Let’s leave it at “I’ve been watching you for a while”.

[######]: You’ve been… watching me? Since when…?

[Froslass]: Hee hee, ever since your little Litwick friend came running to me, of course. They had such good things to say about you…

[######]: Eh? You mean… the Litwick I was… with as a kid?

It was at this point that my consciousness started to fade. It was just too cold, but she kept talking to me through my mind. It’s as if she didn’t care.

[Froslass]: Mhm. They’ve missed you for quite a long time… they’ve been dying to see you again, in fact.

I couldn’t hold on any longer. After that last line from her, I blacked out. I didn’t even dream of anything. Though I couldn’t think, it felt like I was dead. It was a miserable experience.

It was a long while of that before I could feel myself come to. I woke up on what felt like an old, rotted floor. Opening my eyes, I was right. Taking a look around though, I quickly realized where I was. It looked exactly like the Old Chateau, except… it was snowing outside. And cold, though not as cold as out there. Looking back on what just happened though, why was I… here? And why aren’t I dead? Hoping to answer those questions for myself, I picked myself up and started looking around.

Every room was untouched. Slowly decaying from the point at which it was left, yet as I looked around, my suspicion only grew. This was the Old Chateau. It was exactly like it, from what I’ve seen myself a long time ago. Either this is a really good replica, or it was somehow moved. Pushing the thought to the side, I kept looking. I didn’t even come across any Pokemon. Not even the Froslass that jumped me before. It was rather odd. That was, until, I opened the door to one of the bedrooms, in which she was floating above it. Beside her was… a Lampent. He was different, but I recognized him all the same.

[######]: L-Litwick? Is that you?!

With the two hearing me, the Lampent turned around. Froslass was eyeing me the entire time, as soon as I opened the door. Yet in mere moments, the Lampent was already on me, delivering as tight of a hug as they could. I nearly jumped, but I did hug back.

[######]: Oh, it’s been… way too long…

[Froslass]: Someone’s excited to see you, don’t you think? You must have been good friends with them…

[######]: H-Hey, of course I’m excited to see him! I haven’t seen him in years…!

[Froslass] (giggling): …I wasn’t saying you weren’t… It’s merely just… me wanting to be sure.

[######]: Sure of… what?

[Froslass]: Whether you could stay with us or not. I know you were kicked out… I saw the whole thing.

[######] (confusedly): I– Y– …You want me to stay here? Where even is this?

[Froslass]: The Cold Chateau… We can say that I’ve moved the original here… for myself. And possibly… a little sibling?

[######]: …What are you–

[Froslass]: Lampent? If you’d mind leaving us alone for now…?

She said that in my head whilst glaring at Lampent, yet he heard it all the same and left. Meanwhile, I couldn’t help but continue to be confused. I didn’t even know what was happening!

[Froslass ]: Let’s see… kicked out of your own home by someone who doesn’t understand you, left to die in the cold by yourself… Why does this sound so, so familiar? Tell me, who else must suffer like that? I feel like you’d know the answer, considering you weren’t the first to be turned away…

[######]: I–… W-Wait, no… They… They didn’t–

[Froslass]: Oh, but they did. They were so scared of what that Litwick was capable of. So, they got rid of him, away from your innocent eyes. All while you’re told that he “ran away” on his own accord. Doesn’t that make you feel… hurt?

[######]: …Well, I knew they were bad, but…

[Froslass]: You were only scratching the surface. They don’t like what they don’t understand. And it’s the same case for us ghosts.

It’s at this point that she got almost uncomfortably close. I could feel the subzero temperature just radiating off of her. It was frightening in itself.

[Froslass]: You know the pain of being treated terribly because of your difference. You know how much it hurts for those you hold close to be treated the same way. That’s why I ask… that you stay here, with us. You have nowhere else to go, don’t you?

[######]: … …You’re right, I… I don’t.

[Froslass] (giggling): Fufu… Then stay here… with us… as my little sister.

[######]: W-Wait, what–

It was too late though. Before I even noticed, her tiny hand was already through my large-in-comparison chest, grasping something near my heart. And… it was cold. Way colder than when I nearly froze to death. I really did underestimate her, and she was already giggling in response to that thought. Not long after though, I felt something pull me. Not in a physical sense, but in a bizarre, metaphorical sense. It was like my ability to feel anything was slowly and methodically being removed from me, fading out more and more as she pulled something out of my chest. The whole time, I wasn’t sure what she was doing. And it stayed that way, until I passed out.

I wasn’t out for long, though. I quickly came to, and opened my eyes as soon as I did. Except this time, she was over me. As quickly as I came to, I realized that I was floating. In the air. Looking down, I was floating above my own passed out body. It was… terrifying to look at. I was sleeping, right below where I actually was!

[Froslass]: Are you surprised? You can’t exactly be one of us if you were alive, now could you? Oh, but don’t be so scared… We’ll all have other uses for that body of yours. You won’t be needing it anyway.

It was the first time I actually heard her talk. It came out as simple “fro"s, “Froslass"es and the like, yet somehow… I still understood her.

[######]: I– Why… Why can’t I keep my own body…?

[Froslass]: You can use it sometimes, we aren’t selfish… besides, I wouldn’t want to be unfair to my little sis, now would I?

[######]: …I guess so… But I’m… not really like you, though…?

I think I accidentally gave her an idea, as she immediately started grinning. Even under that mask, her eyes and mouth gave her intentions away as she floated close once more. Though I was just a soul, I think, I could still feel the cold.

[Froslass]: Oh, we can fix that right now, actually…

She grabbed hold of me. I couldn’t move in response. Normally, I would figure that she’d be ready to devour my entire being, given that they eat souls, but I could tell that this didn’t have a hostile intention. If anything, it felt more as if it held a longing one. A hold from someone who is lonely, I thought. …I knew how lonely ghosts could be, it’s how I became friends with the Litwick in the first place so long ago when I lived in Unova. Now, it kept me from panicking. The single thought I had, was that I wanted to stay here. It was a second chance. So, I let her do what she wanted to do, which she seemed rather appreciative of.

Rather than sucking my soul in and consuming it entirely, she blew a breath of cold air. Very cold air. An Ice Beam to the face. And I felt it entirely, already starting to shiver slightly. Yet, I never got any close to dying. If anything, after a moment, I got used to it. …Though, I didn’t understand why. If anything, I should be suffering right now, unable to do anything but freeze over.

[Froslass] (pausing briefly): Hold still, please. It might get a little… uncomfortable…

I tried my best to, as the temperature I could feel continued to get lower and lower, just without the frostbite in the process. As that happened though, something I wasn’t expecting to happen happened. What was the visible “skin” on my soul-body quickly started turning purple. I thought I was actually going to vanish, but from my head where the Ice Beam hit, the most that happened was… that. For now, probably. It just kept going all across until it was the exact same shade of purple as was under the mask of hers.

Briefly, she paused the Ice Beam, looking me over as a chef does something new to cook. Still, somewhat terrifying. After that though, she raised a tiny hand over me, and I realized something. On those tiny hands were claws. Sharp claws. Sharp claws which were promptly used to cut apart the clothes I saw on my own soul self. They faded into nothing as they fell. How that worked… I don’t know.

[Froslass]: Sorry for this, they’re just in the way.

Embarrassment was an understatement, I really was not expecting that. Yet, the only response after that was a simple giggle, as if disregarding the subtle concern showing on my face. I wasn’t having fun, but she was. She’s been having fun the entire time, all over my own confusion that I couldn’t hide at first, and now the embarrassment as I tried to cover my privates. It was pretty fruitless. Both of us could see right through my hands, which just amused her.

Almost wanting to move on, she blew cold air at me once more. Although, this time it wasn’t as powerful. An Icy Wind compared to an Ice Beam. It was still pointed right at my face, which made me jump slightly. It almost got in my eyes! Though, she didn’t keep it still this time. It kept moving, all while she seemed to be adjusting something on my face. It didn’t take long to figure out what it was, as it was the exact same mask that she has. I only just now got the picture of what she wanted. She wanted me to be one of her kind. Oh, Arceus…

[Froslass]: Why are you appealing to Arceus? They’re not exactly the nicest one, you know… Hee hee.

…Right, ghost types. They’re more fans of Giratina. …Okay. She moved the wind down to my legs now, right at the knees, before… clawing them off. It didn’t hurt, but it stressed me out to see that. The lower legs, too, faded to nothing.

[######]: W-Why did you–?!

[Froslass]: And what you need legs for, little sis? Your true body below has them… it’d be rather redundant. Just let me work, please, you’ll like the… end result.

Biting my own tongue, I complied. I felt like there was no other choice. I didn’t exactly like that feeling, though… With the lower legs gone, she kept whittling my body down over time. What was my entire chest quickly turned into a hollow kimono, much like hers. That alone took more than ten minutes, which was agonizing to sit through, to say the least. Still, she moved to my shoulders, freezing them further before detaching them as if they were doll parts, which shook me once more. The tops were thinned, then attached to the lower sides of my jaw, as she floated back to look me over.

[Froslass]: …Hmm! You almost look perfect… Though at the moment it’s a rough appearance, I still have a little to do… You can wait a little longer to look at yourself, hmm? I know how eager you can get, even if you don’t act the part…

The words tripped me up. I did want to look, if moreso to see what had happened to me. But, true to her word, she got right back to it. Continuing to tweak small parts of my soul here and there, to fit the standard of a Froslass as best as she can get it, which is… exactly. Two of my fingers from each hand were pulled off, the remaining three filed down to half their length, and the arm itself thinned out with the rest used for a kimono-like sleeve. It took almost half an hour for her to be done, with the finishing part being my hair put up into the little “helmet” part of the ice on my head. It stayed there, and she floated back again. This time, clearly satisfied with her work, she floated off, picking up a mirror in a different part of the room before holding it up. …I was more than confused. She actually did make me into a one to one accurate depiction of a Froslass… if she didn’t actually make me into one, which I’m pretty sure she already did from the outset. Though I was slightly smaller than her, which did make sense. The only thing that was missing was the band around my waist, which she was holding already. It was magenta colored, rather than her red one. I was speechless for several minutes.

[######]: …H-How… How did you…–

What I failed to realize during the whole process was that she changed my voice as well. It wasn’t my human voice anymore, even if I could tell that faking it was within the vocal range. Instead, it was much like hers; softer, quieter, and somewhat more icy. I jumped in response to it, leaving her to giggle once more.

[Froslass]: Consuming a soul isn’t the extent of what ghost types are capable of… skilled ones can manipulate them as well. You’re not exempt from that group either, given you’ve become my little sister… and you came out so well…!

She was clearly excited. The focus prior has given way to a sort-of relief, which I could tell was because she wasn’t really alone anymore. I looked at myself in the mirror for another moment as she floated over, tying the band around my waist with a bow on my back. Despite being just as cold as she was now, my face was still red. I did not know how to react, at all.

[Froslass]: Oh, stop being so embarrassed… You’re one of us now…! And because you are, you’re more than welcome to stay here, with us… I’m sure the others would be happy to have you!

[######]: The… others?

[Froslass]: The other ghosts, of course. You have nowhere else to stay, both prior and now, much like we do. So, don’t be afraid of us. …Though, it will probably take a bit for you to get adjusted, hee hee…

I took a few minutes to think it over. As much as I wasn’t used to it, I’m a Froslass now. I wouldn’t be treated like a human again… maybe this wouldn’t be so bad, actually. I wouldn’t be as defenseless as I was when I was with the two who called themselves parents before…

[######]: …I’ll… I’ll stay. I really don’t have anywhere else to go, so…

She raised one of her hands up to her mouth, much like she did when I first saw her out in the cold not too long ago. As if tentatively, I tried doing the same. It wasn’t as intimidating as the way she did it, but it was something.

[Froslass]: You decided rather fast… Well then,

Not wasting any time, she floated up to me, before wrapping her arms around me in an ice cold hug. One that couldn’t really be felt by any other than those of our type.

[Froslass]: Welcome home, little sister.