Coldsnap: Storm's Call

Chapter 31: Called To The Sanctuary

We last read Chapter 30, in which Galeforce and Typhoon deal with the aftermath of Coldsnap's rescue mission to save Keena from the Skycrest spire, which ended with much of Galeforce's tower interior being enveloped in several feet of snow and ice. Annoyed, Galeforce commands Typhoon and the nearby Storm Sect mages to clean up the heroine's mess, while he contacts W.H.R.R.L. back on Earth and orders him to convince the President to launch the nuclear strike against Russia---and thus kickstart World War III---sooner than what was initially planned, to which W.H.R.R.L. reluctantly agrees. In the meantime, Coldsnap helps Keena recover from Galeforce and Typhoon's torture, but soon learns that Keena is responsible for Hydraxus's death, just as Galeforce had subtly alluded to earlier. Now greatly conflicted---and wondering whether or not she should continue dating Keena due to her actions---Coldsnap abandons Keena to be on her own, storming out of the latter's resting quarters. This time, we find out what happens next, as Coldsnap reunites with Firebird and Geode, gets a few updates from them, and plans her next move, all while Keena has an unexpected meeting with someone.....

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-Grand Terminus, Elemental Realms-

In the Elemental Realms' capital, the Mage Aspects were still working on restoring the once-elegant, bustling city to its former glory. In particular, Firebird---after having returned from her conversation with "Wallace Weiss", a.k.a. W.H.R.R.L.---was assisting one of the storeowners, who happened to be an ice mage, in repairing some damages that had been caused to their shop by Typhoon's flood; on top of that, Geode was also present.

Both she and Geode were currently standing at the tops of two separate stepladders that flanked either side of the main entrance, and were attempting to hang a colorful banner across the top of the shop's doorway under the guidance of the owner, who supervised and directed them.

"This place is looking as good as new, fellas!" the storeowner chirped joyfully. "Thanks, you guys. I couldn't have done it without your help."

"Our pleasure, sir," Firebird answered with a smile. "Do Geode and I need to move at all, or does the banner look like it's in a good spot?"

The owner leaned his head forward and squinted his eyes a little. "Umm.....Geode needs to move a little to his right. And you need to move a little to your left. After that, it should be fine."

Firebird and Geode did as they were instructed; once they were repositioned, the banner was directly in the middle of the doorway. Once the owner confirmed that the banner was right where he wanted it, Firebird and Geode drove two nails into the top corners of the banner, affixing it to where it was and ensuring that they didn't need to hold it up any longer.

"Nice!" the owner commended. "How can I repay you?"

Geode's face lit up; seeing the man so happy was practically a reward in and of itself. "No need, sir! Just doing our jobs---"

"Units," Firebird countered, swiftly cutting Geode off. "You can pay us in units."

"Dude! Really?"

"What? I better be compensated after all of this. With everything I've been through, I could use a good massage. And those things don't come cheap, up here or on Earth."

"Meh. Fair enough."

The ice mage storeowner went behind the counter, opened one of the bottom drawers, and pulled out two pouches of coins before throwing one to Firebird and one to Geode. "I'd say I'm about ready to open for business again, thanks to you two!" he informed. "Have a good day!"

"You too, sir!" Firebird called as she and Geode left the shop.

However, almost as soon as they had stepped out of the double doors, they were met by Coldsnap, who didn't look anything like herself. She didn't look happy, determined, or confident. In fact, she didn't even look neutral. Instead, she looked utterly miserable, as though someone had plucked the joy right out of her soul, blew it up, ran it over with a truck, sat on it, and burned its remnants.