Ash didn't expect this, not one bit at all. Though, he did feel that from the very start, something was definitely off. He now realised exactly why time sometimes seemed to fly way too fast, and also explained why it was sometimes cold in the city of Ember. For all of these things to make sense though, he thought back to early that same day.
"Oh crag, I'm late again!" Ash exclaimed as he raced out the front door, his clothes in slight disarray due to waking up a little later than normal. Of course, this was merely a normal day for Ashford Flint. Wake up almost later than most people, though immediate sparking into action once realising what has to be done. This blonde-haired boy with red streaks in his hair and amber eyes is easily fired up once he figures out his goal, and no one really understood how he was able to quickly get determined, but no one minded at all really.
He rushed down the street as fast as he could, while also fixing up his black and orange hoodie, as well as his red shirt with the flame decals all over it. "I'm not gonna be late, I'm not going to be late!" he told himself out loud over and over, feeling the determination as he rounded a corner before stopping almost instantly at the sight that beheld him.
He couldn't quite explain the sight he saw, though it did pause him in his tracks as he slightly admired the sight. The girl just a few feet away, leaning against the wall as if she was waiting for someone. She had fully red hair that was cut just above her shoulders, closed eyes, a slightly shorter height than Ash and a outfit that looked like a mix-and-match of different parts of a firefighter's clothing; the jacket tied around her waist, the fluorescent . He just continued to stare for a moment, then coming back to his senses as the traffic light on the corner he was on started blinking.
He looked at it for a moment, then back to the girl, though only to find she had disappeared from his sight. "Huh? Where did she- Oh, never mind! I'm gonna be late as hell!" he exclaimed before running off once again in the direction of the major high school in the area.
"I'm telling you, I saw her again today" is what Ash said to both his friends, Cole and Kimberly before getting whacked across the head with a rolled up piece of paper by Kimberly.
Kimberly Singe was in the same class as Ash, being slightly shorter and having light-brown hair that extended past her shoulders a little. She also had light blue eyes that stared back into his amber ones before she spoke with a soft but also disapproving voice. "If you keep staring at her each time you see her, she'll think you're a creep."
"She's right you know, that is kind of a creepy thing to do." said Ash's other friend, Cole Cinder. He was about the same height as Ash, with jet black hair and hazel eyes with slight red gleam to them sometimes. "I mean, why don't you just go over and talk to her?"
"Gee, you're right Cole." Ash spoke in a slightly sarcastic voice. "I'll just walk up to the weird firefighter girl and ask her about her day. That'll sure be less creepy than staring from a distance." He sighed a moment, sitting down at one of the benches in the courtyard of the school. Kimberly sat down next to him, crossing her arms and crossing one leg over the other as she looked at him.
"Are you sure you're alright?" she asked him, this being a question she asked sometimes when Ash seemed all burnt out.
"I'm fine... It's the cold weather just making me tired a little." he explained to her, looking at her worried expression then giving a smile. "Don't worry, I'm not sick or anything. After this weather starts becoming a little better, I'll be back to my normal fired up self." He gave a slight grin, and Kimberly gave on back in return.
Cole, meanwhile, shook his head a little before turning to the side and commenting "You two should just go out already." This caused both Ash and Kimberly to look at Cole with a stunned expression, both turning a slight shade of red before, in sync, they kicked him in back. He stumbled forward, then turned to them. "Hey, what the hell?"
"You deserved it" Ash and Kimberly said in sync, before laughing as well. This caused Cole to sigh and shake his head a little, though smiling a little himself.
After school, Ash had to leave both Kimberly and Cole as he had to quickly dash home again to set up for their meet up that night. He rounded corners at a sprinting pace, though was immediately put to a stop when he collided with someone he didn't expect.
As he fell to the ground, he heard someone else fall as well, and the sound of a small shriek came from that person. When he looked, his eyes widened at the sight of the mystery girl. "Uh... uh... oh, sorry!" he quickly exclaimed after processing, standing up before offering a hand to the girl.
She looked up at him with almost a similar look he gave her, which revealed to him her hot pink coloured eyes, and then she took his hand and was pulled to her feet. "Uh, no no, I'm sorry. Um, your name... Is it Ashford?" she asked him, making his eyes widen a little more.
'How the hell did she know my name?' he thought to himself, thinking for a moment before nodding at he question. "Uh, yeah, it is... and you are?"
The girl looked around for a moment, then shook her head and grabbed his forearm. "Listen, I don't have a lot of time to explain, and something's going to happen unless I do this." She pulled his arm out straight and then slapped a device on his wrist that covered around the lower third of his forearm.
"Huh? What's this for?" He asked in a slightly confused and even more slightly panicked way. The device turned on, and Ash found bits of text and information, mostly to do with temperature and what appeared to be an energy gauge.
"I told you there's not time. Just follow me, watch out for the temperature on that device, and for crying out loud don't take it off." she told him, then started to run down an alley. Ash blinked for a moment before sprinting after her, following her down a winding alleyway that ended with a ladder that lead to a rooftop. He looked at the watch-like device again before starting to climb the ladder carefully, knowing she went this way though unsure why.
When he reached the top of the ladder, and subsequently the building itself, he spotted the girl with three other individuals that bore a similar outfit to her. A larger and more muscular guy with no hair and orange eyes, a purple haired girl that wore sunglasses so it was hard to tell her eye colour, and what another boy about his age that had his face covered by a mask with a flame design and a hood as well.
"Welcome Ash." the mystery girl greeted him when she noticed him on the rooftop, making the others notice him as well. Ash simply stared a little before waving slightly and cautiously walked over.
"Um, excuse me, but I don't know-"
"Why you're here? My name? What the heck did I bring you into? Are these questions even close?" the girl asked him, to which he nodded. "Well, you're here because I've been observing you, my name is Pyre, and you'll have to wait for the last part. Though not for much longer." She turned back to the other three and nodded at them. "Alright guys, get ready. Oh, and Ash? Since you can't access your power yet, allow me to help you out."
"Help me... with what?" he asked, though just as soon as he said that, the individuals before him, including Pyre, instantly burst out into a flaming aura. Pyre held out her hand, and suddenly Ash could feel heat spreading rapidly throughout his body before he had the aura too. "What the hell?!" Before he could react any more, a blinding flash occurred, and when his eyes focused, he looked upon an unbelievable sight. "The city... it's... frozen?!"
He looked upon the frozen wasteland that was Ember City, not feeling cold at all due to his aura. Pyre walked up to him, pulling him closer to the others, as well as the edge of the rooftop before speaking again. "Ash, welcome to the Frosted Time, and to our group: The Infernos."
