Sighing as the cool air - thick with the smell of ash and oil - washed over her face, soothing the burn on her cheek she'd earned from her last scuffle with one of Ultron's soldiers; Anna stood on the roof of a building - well half a building - it looked like it could have been an office at some point before it met Hulk. The kind that are full of tiny cubicles where people type frantically at their computers for hours and chug seven cups of coffee a day just to stay functional. But that wasn't important, what was important was what she could see from the roof. She watched as Steve and… the guy with the arrows who Anna couldn't remember the name of at the moment, herded the last of the civilians onto the sky boats. The girl scanned the surrounding area in silence, making sure no other metal men got close enough to attack the boats.
How are things going on your end?
Elsa's soft voice, a voice Anna had always associated with comfort and security, filled her head. Being twins with special abilities had its perks. The sisters shared a bond that went far beyond familial love. They could communicate non-verbally through their connection and experience all the same senses as the other; joy, sorrow, pain, all of it.
Right now, even though her sister's voice was calm and even Anna could feel the strain and exhaustion behind her words. The redhead shifted anxiously from one foot to the other. She hated being this far away from Elsa, knowing she was fighting on her own, without Anna there to protect her. She wanted so badly to run back to her sister and help, but Elsa made her promise not to return until everyone had gotten off the floating city.
So far, so good. Only a few more left then I can come get you. Hang on a little long-
Anna froze as she saw a lone figure jump off the sky boat and run back to a pile of rubble not too far off. It was the archer guy, what was he doing? They were going to leave without him!
Anna, what's wrong?
She didn't answer as she squinted down at the rubble and saw something struggling under a pipe. Just as Anna braced herself to run down the ground exploded on her right and she ducked down to avoid a hail of bullets raining down from one of those stupid flying machines. Only this time it was headed straight for Clint - CLINT THAT WAS HIS NAME - and the little boy cradled in his arms. Anna was there in less than 3 seconds, but it was still too slow.
xxx
Elsa gritted her teeth against the strain of using her magic over and over again. She could feel it starting to wear on her and hoped Anna would be too busy with her own assignment to notice.
She fired another icy blast at yet another robot. They were swarming her like insects, each trying to get close to the strange metal gear that she had volunteered to protect.
The woman spun and twisted as she froze one metal creature after another. Launching glistening spines of ice aimed at their chests, commanding her frost to permeate their metal skeletons so that gears ground to a halt and the oil in their veins turned solid, as well as throwing them against the walls with powerful gusts of arctic air.
Elsa prayed her twin wasn't fighting a similar battle where Elsa couldn't keep her safe. That was all that mattered, keeping Anna safe. But then she had heard the hesitation and alarm in the girl's voice when Elsa had reached across their shared connection and asked how she was getting on, and her blood had turned as cold as her magic.
One instant Anna had been telling her sister to hang on just a little longer and they would be together again, and the next… pain exploded in Elsa's chest as if she had been stabbed repeatedly, as if she'd been shot, but when she looked down there were no wounds.
ANNA!
Elsa fell to her knees and time ground to a halt as the realization of what had happened washed over her. Anna was hurt, Anna was dying. Elsa could feel it, she could feel their link fading so that she had to fight to keep her grip on it, but it slid away from her mind like smoke.
Elsa?
Anna's voice was so small and where it would normally fill her head it now sounded far away. Elsa tried to suck in air but her lungs had stopped working.
Anna! Anna just hang on! Stay with me! Please, I will be there soon!
Anna chuckled.
Elsa, you know I'm the fast one… I love you.
Tears filled Elsa's eyes, and the fear choked her as bile rose in her throat. Then their link shattered, leaving only silence in its wake. Elsa was alone.
Elsa's back arched as she screamed. Her lungs burned with the force of it. Her grief gained physical form as her magic was thrust from her body in all directions destroying everything in its path and coating the debris with a thick layer of ice.
Anna, her only source of joy, the light of her life, the singular thing that gave Elsa a reason keep going, to live, was gone.
And when the robot triggered the machine and the city began to crumble, Elsa welcomed the darkness.
I'm coming, Anna. I've got you.
Sorry! This was incredibly hard to write if that makes you feel any better... it doesn't? ok i tried :P
