NINETEEN

"Now tell me. You've always been the one who sleeps the longest every year, so what's with you now? Always so fickle and aimless. You're half a level harder than I am; don't you feel ashamed? Other than getting this newbie to tag along with you, I'm sure this was just another idle year for you, right? Is it a fear of that fact that's keeping you awake?"

"Well actually, see..."

Phos suddenly launched forward, throwing back some snow that had ended up in the corridor and surprising both Antarc and me. Antarc was shocked at the speed; I on the other hand was just startled by the sudden movement.+

"So those weird legs of yours..." Antarc guessed while Phos stopped. "Are they agate? Did you head out to battle?"

"I did, yeah..." was the reply as Phos walked back towards us, "but right at the most crucial part, I got so scared I couldn't even put them to use."

"Did you get into trouble?"

"No- woah!"

Phos slipped on some snow. Instinctively I rushed forward and tried to grab onto the peppermint gem, butI was too slow.

At least she didn't crack or break.

"You're spoiled!" was the harsh remark from Antarc as they walked up. "This is why working in groups is so-" she pointed her sword (still sheathed of course) on Phos.

"I didn't get into any trouble..." Phos muttered while grabbing onto the ice gem's sword, her statement surprising Antarc. "That's what's so frustrating that I can't sleep. Plus, I hear it's exhausting just trying to stay awake in the winter."

Phos got up to her knees and turned back. "So I thought maybe I could try testing myself through it."

Silence. Antarc's face was filled with, I don't know, pity?

I didn't feel myself raising an eyebrow at the scene.

"Try not to look so confused," Antarc commented as they shifted the sword towards me.

"Ehh?"

"What's your reason for staying up? Did Phos drag you along?"

"No, it's not that! I just can't sleep, is all..."

"Why do you follow Phos around anyway?"

"Huh?"

"Why did you pick this one as a partner instead of the others?"

I was confused with the ice gem's question. "That's obvious. I like Phos."1

Antarc looked surprised. Phos, similarly surprised too, turned around and looked at me.

Silence.

"Ehhh, what? Did I say anything wrong? I can't be the only one around who likes them, their cheerful and carefree attitude, their other perks and basically everything else about them, right?"

Awkward silence.

Phos broke into a wide smile and laughed.

"You sweet, sweet junior!"

"Eeeeeeehh?"

The peppermint gem had pounced on me and knocked me down, before hugging me tightly.

"You're the first one to say that you like me! Thanks!"

"Ehehe... no problem, Though..."

"Huh?" Phos got away and looked at me.

"Don't everyone like you generally? Everyone else says that you're a slacker, but that time you were in Ventrico's shell, everyone got up and yanked you out. I'm sure Antarc feels the same way too," I looked at the ice gem, "right?"

Antarc just looked away. Oh, she has a black tie. Didn't notice that beforehand.1

"Yep, Phos," I commented while smiling. "That's a yes."

All Phos did was go back in for an even tighter hug.

"Ehh, Phos, you okay?"

"Of course! I've never been better!"

"Very well," Antarc said.

"Huh?" Phos and I looked at her.

"Then I'll let you two take on one of my tasks."

"Really?" Phos excitedly got up.

"It won't be easy."

"I don't wanna..." Phos muttered as she helped me up.

"But I will! Hmph!"

------------------------

"I'm back!" I called, opening the newly-installed wooden door.

"Woah!"

Katsumi rolled off my bed and hit the floor with a thud.

"What? Weren't you supposed to be hibernating?"

"I decided to skip the sleeping, gonna help Antarc out with Phos."

"Ah, well, can't argue with that. Hey, how's the room?"

I looked around. "Not bad, you also brought in four bowls of jellyfish."

Katsumi grinned as she got up. "Yep! It's going to be way too dark with all the windows boarded up, so I brought in some light! Hey, what do you need now?"

"RIght, I'm here to put away these clothes," I explained, putting the pyjamas onto the window stille. "Hey, how did you board up the windows without overlapping the window stille?"

"It wasn't that hard, but neither was it easy. I had to find the exact plank length in order to cover the windows, but once that's done, I placed one at the bottom while I apply glue to two sides of those small wooden blocks at the sides there. That's how the planks are held in place, then I stacked the others up, with those blocks being glued together with each other too."

"I wonder if it'll that'll actually hold..."

"Only one way to find out! Door was easy to install though, too bad doorknobs aren't a thing here. That's why there's a circular hole there!"

"Impressive, but Sphene isn't going to be happy though..."

"Ehehe, just put them back before she notices. By the way," Katsumi asked, "what else do you need?"

"Right, I'll need my sword, hide my knives under the bed for now."

"Ah, gotcha!"

Katsumi grabbed my balisong knives and shoved them under the mattress while I grabbed my sword.

"Hey, Dan, don't you feel cold outside?"

"Good question," I stopped and noticed, "not at all. Perks of being a gem?"

"Perks of being a gem. Meanwhile, me the poor soul is almost freezing here. Thankfully this room is warm, guess I'll hole myself up here while you're busy?"

I chuckled. "Yeah, do whatever you want, just don't mess things up."

-------------------------

I trudged through the thick snow alongside Phos, with Antarc ahead of us.

"Hey, Antarc," I called out. "Slow down!"

Looking back at our trails, while Antarc and me had left relatively straight trails, Phos had snaked all the way.

"Hey," I asked Phos, "you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. It's just... the light.. It's so faint..."

Phos stopped.

"This... could be... bad..." she managed to utter before falling face-down.

"Woah! Phos!"

I carried her up.

"This won't do, I'll hold you all the way there. Man, this snow is thick..."

"So faint..." Phos uttered.

Antarc had stopped and looked back.

"We're only halfway there," the ice gem commented before turning back and resuming her path.

"Hey, Antarc," I asked, "are we rushing for something?"

"Sort of. When the light does come out, so do the Lunarians."

"Ugh..." Man, this snow is too thick to be comfortable for me to walk across.

"Walk until you can't, and then walk some more," Antarc told me.

"Don't give up?"

Antarc stopped.

"Yes, don't give up. And put Phos down, you're spoiling them!"

"But..."

"It's all right..." Phos muttered. "Put me down."

Reluctantly, I put Phos down, who immediately fell forwards.

But she began to crawl.

I sighed. Guess that's fine.

-----------------------

"We're here."

Crawling one last step out of the thick layer of snow, Phos and I finally stopped, panting.

"Antarc," I muttered, "how are you not tired? Even I'm out of breath, how are you still up and running?"

"I simply try not to think about it."

"Easier said than done," I answered.

"What's wrong, seven-half? Can't beat a gem with the strength of 2?"

Antarc smiled cheekily, the first time I've seen her actually trying to be playful.

"Ehehe, working on it..." I replied.

"Woah..." Phos muttered beside me.

"Huh?"

"That, Dan..."

The peppermint gem pointed forward. Turning my head to see what she was looking at, my jaw dropped too.

This was the sea, we've gone nowhere new. But hell, this looks nothing like I've seen before.

The sea had frozen over, covered by large pieces of ice packed together. It almost looks like it's stable, hard land.

Not far from actual land, a massive towering shape loomed ahead. The bottom section essentially looks like like the bottom half of a spinning top resting on its side, like how a spinning top would also rest when not in motion. On top of the structure were many straight "pillars" of ice heading upwards. At the center of the structure however was the biggest "pillar", now resembling an obelisk, about 4 times taller and wider than the smaller ones, with a ball mounted on its tip. From the ball, long, sharp spikes of ice protruded out. From the corner of my eye, I can make out another similar structure, just much further away from land.

Weird, where have I seen this shape before?

"L... L..." Phos stammered in fear.

"Hey, what's the matter."

The peppermint gem pointed a shaking hand at the structure.

"L.. Lunarian..."

The image of the Lunarian cloud clicked in my mind. How have I not noticed it?

"Holy hell!" I shouted while jumping up, preparing to draw my sword.

"No," "Antarc reassured, "it's just an ice floe."

"A floe?" Phos asked, getting up slowly.

"When the sea freezes over, any segments with microorganisms from the sea floor wind up like that."

"B...but that shape..." I stammered.

"It's nothing, they just resemble Lunarians. Nothing more."

Dropping my guard, Phos and I stared, still afraid.

"But, Sensei once called them 'sinners'," Antarc went on, "and I've never quite been able to forget it."

"Why 'sinners'?" I asked. "Is there anything we should be worried about-"

I was interrupted by a loud rumbling coming from the floe, resulting in the ground shaking.

"Get ready," Antarc ordered.

"Huh?" both Phos and I went.

The floe swiftly sank into the sea, still rumbling.

"Just listen to that..." Phos shook.

"It hasn't started yet," the ice gem informed.

"Wait," I uttered, "exactly what hasn't started yet?"

The rumbling and shaking stopped.

Calm before the storm?

The ground began to shake much more violently as an equally louder rumbling began. This was swiftly accompanied by a shrieking resembling that of a... a terrified woman.

If I wasn't unsettled by the earlier rumbling and shaking, the shrieking just shoved me completely off the edge.

In a moment of panic, I unsheathed my sword, holding it out in a defensive position.

"Wh-what the hell was that?!"

"Dan! Relax!" Antarcticite shouted over the noise as a much larger mountain of ice began to surface. The shrieking did stop; but what good does it do for my nerves when it's replaced by even more shrieking?

"I thought we were collecting things or something!" I shouted over the racket. "You didn't tell me we're fighting monsters, the undead or whatever you call them!"

Antarc stared at me for a moment.

"What?! I'm genuinely scared now!"

"It's just noise! Calm down!" Antarc managed to convey over the screams of death itself.

"It-it's just noise?"

"Yes!"

A massive mountain of ice now stood in front of us. The ground's still shaking, the screams of pain are still at it.

Looking beside me, Phos had fallen to her knees in fear.

"The ghastly roars these floes unleash as they slide past each other disturb out slumbering companions," the ice gem explained as they finally unsheathed their sword.

Huh, rough cutting edge, I observed as Phos and I stared in awe.

"So I crush them," Antarc finished before leaping forwards.

Landing on the floe, Antarc ran down to the base of the "mountain", struck her sword into the ice and cracked it, sending the pieces plummeting down into the sea.

Floating on one of the pieces, Antarc looked at us, who were staring in awe.

"Now you try."

"You're insane!" Phos shouted.

"What about you, Dan?"

"Huh? Sure thing!" I replied, unsheathing my sword again. "Which one?"

Antarc pointed to a small floe just beside her, and I proceeded to leap to it.

Landing on the floe, I ran to its base and swung my sword down.

It got stuck in the ice.

"Uh... Antarc..." I called out, trying to yank my weapon out.

"Ah, this. You want to break this, not just slice open a small hole," Antarc taught while pulling my sword out and passing it back to me. "Try stabbing straight downwards, use force."

Nodding my head, I did what the ice gem told me to.

The resulting breaking of the floe into pieces and falling into the sea was awesome.

Me ending up on one of the cracks that also moved towards me and consequently falling into the sea? Not really.

"You'll get the hang of it, just watch the angle you're at when the sword goes in," Antarc reassured as she pulled me out of the water. "Phos, you try too."

"You two are insane!" was the comment shouted at the two of us by the peppermint gem.

-------------------

"Uhh..." Phos began while Antarc climbed the ladder that Rutile usually used in order to get something from the aforementioned doctor's shelf, "I hate to say this about you shared this wonderful work of yours with me, but..."

"What is it?"

"I don't think I'm really up for all of that yet..." the peppermint gem finished, while lying on her side and putting her face into a bowl illuminated by a jellyfish. I was sitting on the opposite side of that bowl.

"I've only got these legs going for me. Just these legs."

"My body is not yet at its peak in temperatures as high as these," Antarc replied, reading a notebook. "But if you fall into the sea, you'll be ground to dust by those ice floes. It takes getting used to."

"You sure? You're not just trying to get me out of there in the face of danger so you can get more time alone with Sensei?"

"Want me to break you?" the ice gem asked as they climbed down one level to check more things out.

Phos sulked silently as snow fell from the dark sky.

"We low hardness gems have nothing if not for our courage," Antarc continued.

"There are things I just can't do."

"Because you never try."

"I do the things I can as best as I can."

"And so you never accomplish anything new."

"But, Antarc," I chimed in, "isn't setting a strong foundation important?"

"It's not a foundation if you never go any higher from there, Dan. At least Phos has something new to work on with you around, teaching a new gem new things. Do it well, Phos."

"I will..." Phos replied.

------------------

"Get set," Antarc counted down.

Phos took her position.

"Go!"

The peppermint gem sprinted forward, leaping off a massive floe.

The sky brightened again, and this time Antarc wanted Phos to actually start doing something, and thus borrowed Phos her high heels for a change (wow, how can the both of them actually run with that?) and simply told them to follow what the ice gem did yesterday.1

Phos landed on a smaller floe (on her left heel too) and proceeded to run down.

"Good," was the comment from Antarc as both her and I watched from another nearby floe.

The peppermint gem stopped, faced back, and like what I did the day before, stabbed her sword down into the ice.

Small crack in the ice. Massive crack on her face.

Antarc closed her eyes. "Almost had it."

---------------

Back at Rutile's corner, Antarc patched the peppermint gem up.

"I'm beat," said peppermint gem declared as the ice gem inspected the former's right arm.

"We still have our work day ahead of us," replied Antarc.

"We don't get a break after busting those things?"

"How can we take time off with all this snowfall?"

"Aaah..." Phos tiredly uttered as Antarc began to powder the cracks on the former's face.

---------------------

"We have many tasks to carry out besides breaking ice floes," Antarc explained, shovelling snow out of the corridors near the outside. And also onto Phos.

Even when I tried to pull her away, the peppermint gem still prefers to stand within the landing range of the snow Antarc was busy shovelling away.

"Here," the ice gem instructed in another corridor after we moved on, but still unknowingly shovelling snow onto Phos.

"And here, too!"

"Hey, Phos," I asked while Antarc continued with her work outside the school, "are you okay?"

That peppermint gem is almost covered in an entire mold of snow, with only her head poking out but repeatedly hit by the snow from Antarc.

"I'm okay."

"And lastly, here!" Antarc shouted over to us on the peak of the once-green hill, before thrusting the shovel into the snow.

Cracks began to spread throughout the snow.

Soon enough, one portion of the snow began to slide down.

It was both me and Phos' luck to be standing on that one portion.

I hurriedly leapt off onto the other side and made it.

"Wo-ooah! Aaaaah!" was the shouts of the gem behind me as she reacted too late.

"Phos!" I shouted as the gem slid down, tumbling a few times before being buried underneath the snow.

-------------------

"Senpai really isn't good at working in a team, huh," Phos commented out loud as both Antarc and I were almost done with piecing the peppermint gem back together.

"I said I'm sorry!" the ice gem replied while still holding onto Phos' left hand, annoyed at the comment. "Don't get snide on me! Now listen up you two, the most dangerous place on our patrol of the school is the room where everyone is hibernating."

"Because they're vulnerable to any Lunarian attack?" I asked.

"No. It's because they're frightening in their sleep."

"Eeehh?"

"Especially Bort."

-------------------

Sneaking behind a sleepwalking Bort, Antarc threw a cloth over the black diamond-class gem, sending her back down, lying on the massive mattress.

"Just cover them with a cloth," Antarc explained, squatting beside the sleeping Bort.

"But why?" Phos asked.

"Beats me."

A sudden bang and the resulting ring of the school bell startled both the peppermint gem and I.

"Wh-what was that?!" we trembled in unison.

"Oh," Antarc replied, that'd be..."

------------------

We watched Sensei, his head bashed against a pillar, resulting in said pillar having a head-sized crater.

"... the sound of Sensei sinking sleepily into a wall," the ice gem finished. "I use a sheet here, too."

"Why?" Phos asked softly.

"For good measure," was the reply as Antarc covered Sensei with a cloth.

"And we have to do this every day..." Phos sighed.

"Eh," I commented, "I think we'll manage this okay."