Previously on Galarian Days...
Zander, Wufu and Calvin regroup with Sophia to discuss their current situation, after which Zander devises a plan of attack upon Eternal Island where the Miniasma project is being developed. Sophia, however, opts to exit from the involvement, to which there are no objections, and the three anthros set out to the best place to start: near Dyna Tree Hill.
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Back at the Giant's Bed, Zander and Wufu were discussing how they got their powers (in order to avoid grating repitition) to Calvin, as well as their mission to stop the opposite crisis and how Elle and Turner tied into it. But just as Wufu returned to the point in his origin where he recieved his two Kubfu twins, the story was paused again because while Zander put his plan to reach Eternal Island together, he overlooked one little detail...
The creek to Ballimere Lake.
"Okay," Zander said in realization, "might have to start the ice bridge a little early. Calvin, ready to put your carrot powers to use?"
"I thought the moment would never come," Calvin replied with enthusiasm. "Alright, stand back in case Glastrier comes barreling in here!" And with that, the deer reached into his basket and took out an Iceroot Carrot, then raised it into the air as he called out, "Come here, Glastrier!"
At that, a neigh rung out through the air as the clopping of hooves followed, and the white steed had galloped towards the anthros before slowing down to a trot and stopping with a whinny in front of Calvin.
"Yay! It worked!" Wufu cheered as Glastrier was fed the Iceroot Carrot.
"Of course," Calvin confirmed, then gave Glastrier a few gentle rubs before saying, "Okay, Glastrier, do you think you can freeze the water so we can cross it?"
The white steed nodded in response, then turned to the side, motioning for Calvin to hop onto its back. The deer did so, and a pair of blue cords suddenly extended from his wrists and connected to Glastrier's muzzle.
"So, the Reins of Unity are built into his arms," Zander commented. "Interesting."
But the process wasn't over yet. Suddenly, Glastrier simply gazed at the creek, and its waters slowed down as they turned to ice, creeping from one end to the other until the whole creek was frozen solid.
"Whoa," Wufu exclaimed. "Talk about a deep-freeze."
"Now let's see if it will support us," Calvin said as he guided Glastrier towards the fresh ice, and with a press of an icy hoof... the ice bridge held strong! "Good news, we can cross!"
Zander and Wufu took the cue to follow Calvin and his mount onto the ice, but upon contact, their feet were having a little difficulty getting any purchase on the smooth, cold surface. "Whoa!"
"Try using your toe claws!" Calvin suggested.
Wufu set his claws into the ice, and it made him stop! "Wow! It worked!"
Zander did the same, and got the same results. "Nice, but now let's see if we can use them to go as well as stop!" He then let one set of claws loose from the ice, and used the other to push himself forward, resulting in him ice-skating on his feet! "Whoa, this is actually kind of fun!"
"I might get used to this!" Wufu said as he and Zander caught up with Calvin and Glastrier. "Whee!"
"You see?" Calvin said as his fellow messengers were skating on either side of him. "Once you get your ice legs, it's not so bad!" He then saw the end of the creek coming up. "Look alive, we're closing in on the exit!"
Zander and Wufu saw the ramp and made a beeline for it, then hopped back onto land with a flourish before Glastrier and Calvin caught up. "Ta-da!"
"Good job," Calvin said, "but now we need to continue with the plan. Let's find that open end of Galar Zander was talking about."
"Right!" Zander said, but Wufu was already ahead of him. "Wait, where did Wufu go? Ugh, is he having another one of his-"
"Uh, guys?" Wufu called out from further away. Zander, and Calvin on Glastrier followed the call until they caught up with the bear. "Okay, so good news first: I found where Galar opens up into the ocean."
"And the bad news?" Zander pressed.
"Well..." Wufu only gestured towards the ocean to wordlessly point out another detail Zander overlooked: the ocean was at the bottom of a 20-foot drop off a ledge!
"Wow," Zander said. "I... did not think this through."
"Okay, how do we get past this obstacle?"
"Well, Calvin," Zander suggested, "did we try Spectrier yet? Because I have a feeling that if both steeds work together, we may be able to get the bridge started after all."
"I don't know," Calvin said warily, "but I'll try." This time, he reached into his basket and extracted a Shaderoot Carrot, calling out, "Come here, Spectrier!"
A ghostly neigh then rang out, and the clopping of hooves heralded the arrival of the black steed until it was next to its counterpart to feed from Calvin's offering.
"Good to see you again too," Calvin said. "Now, Spectrier, is there any chance you can help us get down there so we can travel the ocean to Eternal Island?"
Spectrier nodded and sidestepped until it was right next to Glastrier. Calvin dismounted one horse and got on another, and the reins relocated themselves onto the current mount's muzzle. At that, Calvin's senses were suddenly sharpened, causing him to hear a bunch of different voices from below. While he couldn't exactly see it, he could feel an invisible presence guiding him over to the edge of the ledge... until Spectrier took a step over it!
"Calvin!" Zander and Wufu called out, but the deer and his mount kept going as one of its seperate hooves started to glow lavender, making it seem like it was trotting on air! With a whinny, the ground below the white steed and the other two messengers changed the same color, and they were possessed by a mysterious influence telling them to follow... so they did.
The glow enveloped Spectrier's other hooves as well, and soon everyone was walking off the ledge and floating over the ocean below. Spectrier then made its way beside Calvin and Spectrier, and Calvin disconnected one rein from the black steed and reconnected it to the white one. With both steeds under Calvin's command, Glastrier gazed at the ocean below and froze it into a platform of ice inside the curve of the walls, and Spectrier influenced the possessed ones to float downward with it until they gently touched the platform.
As soon as the connection was severed from Zander, he gasped and blinked before babbling, "What who what where who where what! Whuh... where are we and how did we get here?"
"Spectrier called upon spirits to guide and protect you until we got down from the ledge," Calvin explained. "Now we can continue, and I can use both steeds' powers at the same time to freeze the water and hear the spirits directing us to Eternal Island so we don't have to turn!"
As the possession was dispelled from Wufu, he was a little disoriented at finding out he was on the ocean, but said, "Wha... Hey, we made it to the ocean, and we're still okay! Now we can continue to the Island and stop the opposite crisis!"
"Er... right," Zander said. "Calvin, do you think we could hitch a ride too, or would your friends object because of what happened back at the Crown Shrine?"
"Sure you can!" Calvin assured, and Glastrier and Spectrier knelt down for the wolf and bear to hop on. Wufu chose to ride the former's back while Zander opted to ride with Calvin on the latter. Once everyone was comfortably seated, Glastrier extended the ice into a path on a slight diagonal slant towards their destination, and both equine Pokemon dashed forward at full gallop.
"Eternal Island," the three said together, "here we come!"
