Author's Note: This story is a prequel to Frozen II: Phoenix Fire and it's sequels Frozen III: The Coming Storm and Frozen: A Sky of Shadows. Those stories do not have to be read in order to understand this story, but are fairly essential to get some context into some of my original content such as the Bandits and the characters. I plead you to read the original stories in between the time I take to post new chapters for this story as they are all amazing stories. Note that I was a new and unexperienced writer for Frozen II: Phoenix Fire, but my quality has improved dramatically, I guarantee you.

This story is somewhat based on the premise of Assassin's Creed: Rogue

Without further ado...

InfiniteAssassin presents...

"How many more, huh?!" Kai angrily asked Aiden. "How many more of us, your friends, must go down before your crusade is over, Cain! We trusted you! We brought you in! We called you our brother! And how did you return the favor?! You stabbed us in the goddamn back!"

"It's not like that, Kai!" Aiden argued. "It was never like that! Do you think I would've done what I did unless it was absolutely necessary?! I loved them, Kai! I loved them like the brother they thought I was! But, this is bigger than you, or I, or even them! Don't you see? You're being used. Kai, you and Lyre are toying with forces you don't understand."

"It's a damn rock, Cain!" Kai yelled back. "If there was anything special about it, then don't you think it would've been more obvious? What use could it possible be to anyone."

"Think about what you're saying, Kai." Pleaded Aiden. "If this was nothing more than a worthless rock, then why the hell would Lyre want it so badly? He's using you, Kai. Does nothing seem a little bit suspicious to you? That "rock" holds great power Kai. Power you can't even imagine. Power which exceeds that of your own!"

"Aiden, Lyre took me in as a child. Fed me. Gave me a home. He did the same for you." Kai reminded. "I respect that by doing a job with no questions asked! This is about loyalty, Cain. Your loyalty means nothing. Whether or not this rock holds any power is irrelevant. But you... What you've done... I'm going to avenge them, Cain. My friends."

"They were my friends, too." Aiden informed. "But what they were going to do... What you're doing is going to cost us much more than you can ever imagine."

"Are you trying to justify your actions?" Kai inquired with a hostile tone. "Nothing you say can justify what you've done. For you, I hope it was worth it."

"It wasn't..." Aiden whispered. "Kai, don't get in my way, or I'll have to-"

"What?" Kai asked. "Kill me? I dare you to try."

Frozen: Pheonix Fall

The Plan

Both men unsheathed their swords and charged at each other.

Aiden attacked first with an overhead attack with his weapon, however, Kai managed to block it by holding his sword horizontally above his head, flexing his arm muscles and tightening his grip around the handle so that Aiden's attack wouldn't push down on Kai's weapon. Luckily for Kai, he was strong enough to withstand the attack.

That was when Kai realized he could have the upper hand. He kneed Aiden in the stomach, making the man bend forward, clutching his stomach with his free hand. Since his head was lowered, Kai used it to his advantage by kneeing Cain's head, making the man stagger backwards with a bloody nose. One slip up would lead to Aiden's dazed state, meaning his lost would be fatal.

If Aiden wasn't fast on his recovery, he would've surely lost. As Kai was lunging with his weapon pointed at Aiden's gut, Aiden was able to deflect Kai's attack by smacking it upward with his sword. Kai's body turned to accommodate to the direction the sword was thrown to. Kai was now open for attacks, so Aiden hit Kai's calf with his sword, forcing Kai into one knee. Since Kai was kneeling, Aiden swung his leg horizontally to his Kai's chest, making the man fall onto his back.

Aiden swung his sword downward over Kai who managed to roll to the side right before he was struck. Kicking himself upward, Kai swung his weapon in his hand as a taunt. Aiden responded by trying for a diagonally downward strike to which Kai easily blocked. Following that, Kai tried to make his own swinging attack, and although Aiden blocked it, Kai swooped his leg at Aiden's feet, knocking him onto the ground.

Clumsily, he let go of his weapon while on his back. Unfortunately, Aiden was not quick enough to grab it since Kai kicked it away and pointed his sword at Aiden's throat.

"Concede." Kai offered.

Aiden and Kai both shot each other incredibly dirty looks. However, the looks of hatred quickly changed into smiles. The smiles quickly turned into laughs. Kai dropped the wooden sword he was using and offered Aiden his hand. Kindly, Aiden accepted Kai's hand and picked himself off of the ground.

"You put up a good fight, Cain." Kai complimented. "Not good enough, though. You need to work on your defense more: make yourself less vulnerable to attacks."

King Lyre's Personal Assessment of Kai Yeager

Age: 21

Appearance: Eyes: Reddish-Orange, Hair: Black, Height: 5 feet 10 inches

Assessment: My wild card, and my ace. Kai is most definitely one of my most exceptional subjects. He definitely was the youngest to join the Bandits. That's not what makes him special, however. It's his creation of fire that makes him stand out. Whenever he does a job, he tries to use them scarcely, but they certainly came of use to him countless times. Recently, I've made him leader of the Elite Bandits. I pray he does not disappoint... He is the son I never had.

"Just wait and see." Aiden warned, tired. "One day or another, I'm going to take you down."

King Lyre's Personal Assessment of Aiden Cain

Age: 22

Appearance: Eyes: Green, Hair: Reddish-Orange, Height: 5 feet eleven inches

Assessment: Aiden is a rather new member of the Bandits. There are only at most a hundred of us, and they take up quite the amount of space in the base, so it was hard to accommodate for two more people: Aiden and Bryce. The two, however, were worth the trouble. I recruited them no longer than two years ago together, and they had the skills to prove that they belonged with us. His potential stands out more than any other of my men, however, his inability to follow the path drawn for him is a liability. I have added him into the Elite Bandits in hopes of Kai changing his behavior.

"That day may have to wait, Aiden." Bryce called from the door leading out of the underground training room. "Lyre called in an Elite meeting in his office. He wants all of us in there in five minutes."

King Lyre's Personal Assessment of Bryce Ryan

Age: 22

Appearance: Eyes: Green, Hair: Blondish-Brown, Height: 6 feet

Assessment: He and Cain have been friends since childhood, I've been led to believe. They sought out together in search of opportunity, but instead, they found themselves digging through trash for each meal. Bryce was always the more grateful one when I found them. His loyalty never wavers. He is one of the few men I can trust with my life. It also doesn't hurt that he's skillful with a lance. Although he is not the greatest warrior I have, he is definitely a man I would want on my side whenever I can.

"What's the occasion?" Kai asked Bryce as he and Aiden exited the training room, entering the underground hallway/stone tunnel with multiple doors on each side.

"I only have my suspicions." Bryce admitted. "But, it has to be something major, otherwise Lyre would know it'd be a waste of time, and you know how he is about wasting."

"So did he ask you personally or did someone have to tip you off?" Cain asked. "Knowing him, he wouldn't have bothered to get up out of his chair or throne above."

"You ought to talk to your provider with more respect, friend." Bryce advised.

"Oh, you're calling him the provider now?" Cain mocked. "I'm sure you're going to call him father in no time."

"It's irrelevant on what you guys think of the King." Kai added. "And to be honest, I could care less. What I do care about, though, is who gave the tip."

"And you're already assuming that he didn't give it personally?" Bryce raised an eyebrow.

"Cain's insubordinate, but he's clever." Kai admitted.

Aiden was about to bark back, but he reckoned it would not be wise to dance his tongue against a man who had just bested him in combat.

"Now, who gave you the tip?" Kai asked.

"I did." Said a male voice from behind.

The three stopped walking and turned around to face the newcomer. What they saw was a familiar face, or rather not, ironically. He was dressed in all black with a small tailcoat that went down to his upper quads. Every piece of skin on his body was covered in some type of black clothing, including his face and hair. On his head, he wore a black mask with a black, metal frame around his chin which went up to around ear height. The rest of the mask was solid black fabric material.

"Strife." Kai welcomed. "Doing Lyre's dirty work again, I see."

"We all do his dirty work." Strife said as he walked forward to join the group. "It's just that some of us have more personal tasks."

King Lyre's Assessment of *real name unknown* Alias: Strife

Age: Unknown

Appearance: Unknown

Assessment: I've resisted many temptations of ripping that mask off to see his face, but I respect the man too much to compromise our work. He came not too long ago, and he is the only man I have who sought me out. He keeps hidden under a mask for a reason: he's running away from something. That must be it. But, what exactly? I have no reason to trust him, but the strange part is I am compelled to do so. With his skills in battle being the most powerful I have ever seen, what reason does he have to not do anything better with those skills. So, either he's running away from something, or he's looking for something.

"Come." Strife said, leading the group. "I reckon the others are already there. I expect us all to be presentable to Lyre when we're in there."

"Since when were you so formal to Lyre?" Kai asked.

"I'm not." Strife revealed. "I was actually mostly referring to Cain. He best hide his hickey."

Cain blushed and raised his collar to cover the mark on his neck. Kai managed a snicker while Bryce patted his friend on the back, let out a good laugh, and shook Aiden's shoulder.

"You actually were with a broad for once, Aiden!" Bryce laughed. "Who was it? Emilia? Lilith?"

"None of your damn business, Bryce." Aiden avoided.

The two were never formal towards one another. Knowing each other most of their lives, that was just the way they acted. Bryce was one of the only ones to call Aiden by his first name, rather than Cain which Aiden insisted everybody calls him. Bryce called him Aiden in order to annoy him, for the most part.

"I don't doubt there's time to discuss the hickey later." Strife announced. "But right now, I need you both to-"

"Relax, Strife." Kai interrupted. "We can take anything the old man throws at us... Hopefully."

"The fact that he has been stressing out the past few days contradicts that statement." Strife insisted.

The four men entered the Grand Hall of the Bandit Base. It was a large room with a large stone table in the middle which stretched almost throughout the entire room, leaving space at the sides for walking. As usual, there were many off-duty bandits scattered across the seats beside the table, socializing and eating. Most of them nodded at or greeted the group of four as they passed by.

Up above the underground base was the city of Teranhall Keep, the capitol of the country of Teranhall, the closest neighbor to Arendelle. The civilians have been showing signs of rebelling as of late, and Lyre's word means nothing anymore. Officially, he is still the leader, but everyone and their mothers knew it was more or less no man's land up there.

There were a little less than a hundred Bandits, enough for Lyre to do all the thieving he wanted to do at the same time.

At the corner of the hall was a door which led to another hallway with the entrance to Lyre's office inside. Every Bandit was required to know that. In case Lyre ever wanted to have a conversation with them, they needed to know where to go as the king was rarely out of his office or his castle up above.

When they entered the hallway, they found that the door to Lyre's room was already ajar with voices coming from the inside. Kai, Aiden, and Bryce were wondering for themselves whether or not they should.

"He's awaiting us." Strife insisted as he entered the room, interrupting Lyre's conversation.

Kai shrugged, following the masked man in along with Aiden and Bryce.

Lyre's office seemed rather fancy compared to the rest of the Bandit Base. Wooden bookshelves were on the side walls. Near the back was Lyre's wooden desk with various papers on it. He had no chairs for guests, however, as all Bandits were expected to stand straight when speaking with Lyre. The exception being Strife, who always leaned against a bare wall next to a torch.

Standing in front of Lyre's desk were three people who were obviously the ones in deep conversation. Two were men, and the third was a woman. One of the men was significantly older than the others.

The three people turned to face Kai, Aiden, and Bryce who had just entered the room.

"Darling." The woman said. Her British accent was quite out of place compared to the rest of the Bandits' voices. She opened her arms and hugged Bryce, kissing his cheek.

"Alice." Bryce said with a smirk.

King Lyre's Personal Assessment of Alice Carter

Age: 23

Appearance: Hair: Brunette, Eyes: Brown, Height: 5 feet 7 inches

Assessment: Alice is quite popular among us Bandits. She was recruited not three years past, and her British origin and pretty face automatically deemed her a favorite down here. Most of the hopeless men who tried to woo her failed miserably. If she wanted a man, however, she would guarantee he is hers. Recently, she and Bryce went into a relationship in which I hope it doesn't end badly. However, I see the way she eyes Cain, and I hope Bryce isn't too much of a fool. She isn't in the Elite because of her looks, though. Her skills with knives surpassed that of anyone's I know. Her quote feet helps during thieving runs. Her addition to the team will prove useful, I pray.

As Alice hugged Bryce, she let out a quick wink at Cain, sure that nobody but Cain saw it. He blushed and rubbed the hidden hickey on his neck. Unfortunately for Aiden and Alice, one other person saw the silent exchange.

Kai snickered. "Oh, I see." He muttered.

"What was that?" Bryce asked, letting go of his hug.

"Nothing, Bryce." Kai said. "Well, I wouldn't call it nothing, but- Forget it. I shouldn't have said anything. Good to see you again, Curt."

Kai shook the hand of the older man, and put his hand on the man's forearm.

King Lyre's Personal Assessment of Curt Schmidt

Age: 54

Appearance: Hair: Grey (formally blonde), Eyes: Blue, Height: 5 feet 9 inches

Assessment: Curt and I go way back. Thirty years or so ago, I met Curt, and he became Teranhall's Captain of the Guard for twenty years. He then became the fist Bandit when I brought the idea to him. Loyal to the end. Although he's much older than his prime, he is still an incredibly capable warrior, although I try my best to have him avoid any missions. He's also an incredibly capable sailor. That I know from my many trips across the seas with him along. He is the only one I can truly call family. He's the only one I'd die for.

"Ah, ze formality vill never shtop viv you, Kai." Curt said with his thick accent. "Truz be told, ze vacation I took vas a much needed von."

"Good to have you back, old friend." Kai said with a smile.

The younger man opened his arms, offended. "What?" He asked. "No hello to me?"

"Don't flatter yourself, Jay." Cain shot down, jokingly.

King Lyre's Personal Assessment of Jay Murphy

Age: 27

Appearance: Hair: Blonde, Eyes: Blue, Height: 5 feet 8 inches

Assessment: Jay and Curt were both there all those years ago to help Kai became the man he is today. Jay used to be the best of my men until Kai surpassed him. His sharp tongue and wit is quite annoying at times, and I don't understand how Kai can tolerate him all the time. However, he is not without his uses. He is the most skilled man with a bow I have ever seen in my life, and he is not half bad with the dagger he owns with the golden handle. Surprisingly, he is incredibly on the field, and tends to joke less often. There was no question on whether or not he should've been apart of the Elite.

"Ah, love." Jay said, smirking at Bryce and Alice. "We've all been there."

"Not all of us." Bryce said, patting Kai's back. "I'm surprised that Kai here has never been with a woman."

"Perhaps no von vas goot enough vor Kai, ya?" Curt suggested. "Hiz shtandards musht be very high, ya? Perhaps he iz vaiting vor a queen." Curt was the only one who chuckled at his own joke.

"The day Kai sleeps with a queen is the day he'll start saving the world." Jay muttered as a joke.

"Enough." Lyre calmly said. All the Bandits of the Elite squad consisting of Kai, as its leader, Aiden, Alice, Bryce, Jay, and Curt stood in a straight line facing Lyre's desk with backs straightened. Strife was not officially part of the group which had not even been around for very long. They've done one run together, and that was the only demonstration of their teamwork.

"Thank you." He said without heart. "Now, you're all smart people, I hope. Perhaps you know why you're here."

"Another run, I presume." Kai answered.

Lyre nodded.

"Must be something special if you're calling in the Elite." Aiden stated.

"You could say that." Lyre said. "This isn't a job I would hand over to an average Bandit. I need you. All of you. Perhaps Curt would like to get into the specifics of his so-called vacation."

The other five turned to their left to face Curt who stood at the end.

"I vas in Vaylor City in order to investigate somezing vich had aroused ze king's suspicions." Curt started. "Ve both have shpent ze pasht vew months vesearching vith ze books available in Teranhall. Alzo ve have not learned much, ve know zat vat ve are looking vor iz in Vaylor City."

"Research means we're looking at something ancient." Alice deducted. "Perhaps something that would fetch a fair price for collectors."

"There's more to it, isn't there?" Aiden asked. "If it was just some artifact, you wouldn't have bothered to gather us unless it would be difficult to obtain."

"Vaylor City, a center for business, is an awfully strange place for an artifact to be hidden." Kai pointed out.

"Ve are not looking vor an artifact in ze city." Curt announced. "But, an artifact iz ze ultimate goal."

"So I reckon there's something in the city that will lead us to said artifact." Bryce guessed.

Curt smiled. "Ve have tracked ze map to ze artifact, but I fear ze rest iz up to you, my friends."

"How hard is it to get a piece of paper?" Jay asked.

"I don't believe we finished the story, Jay." Lyre said. "I'm afraid that the map is most likely inside the Catican Library."

The blood drained from Aiden's face. "Did I hear you right?" He asked. "I thought you said Catican Library."

"Unvortunately." Curt confirmed.

"What's the problem with it?" Bryce asked. "It's just a library."

"Fool." Quietly muttered Strife in the corner of the room.

"Darling, it's both a library and a museum." Started Alice. "But the books stored inside are not the normal books you can buy or borrow. They're ancient, and if not ancient, important. Documents. Memoirs from leaders. Letters from wars. Philosophy books. The drafts of famous author's. Original works. Papers that people do not want others to touch."

"And I bet the map we want is part of that collection." Kai said. "Seems easy enough. Drop in, grab, and drop out before anyone notices."

Aiden chuckled. "I don't think you understand how severely the men who own the library want the books where they are."

"This is why I called on you all." Lyre revealed. "This library is one of the most heavily guarded locations in the known world. It's multiple stories hold countless guard who patrol in a rotation every night and morning of every day of every year."

"And zat's just ze interior." Curt added. "Ze library building itzelf iz surrounded by vour large valls, and ze walls are surrounded by ze moat vich leads to a vaterfall."

"Natural defense." Bryce summed up.

Curt unrolled a map which was laying on Lyre's table and used a small knife strapped to his waist to stick the map on an empty wall. The others turned to find that it was a drawn layout of the library which was divided into multiple squares, each depicting a different view of the library.

Sure enough, the building was tall and grand, looking almost like a cathedral and castle mix. In between the library itself and it's walls was a frisky drawn garden with pathways. There was a large gate on one of the walls, indicating the entrance.

"Unfortunately, Curt was not able to scout the interior of the building." Lyre announced, "Everything we know about it are just things that we've read and what we've learned from asking around."

"Is it open to the public?" Alice asked.

"No." Lyre answered. "Other than the guards who work there, there are the scribes and scholars who facilitate the library along with using them to study for another's bidding. If they see someone who doesn't belong, they won't hesitate to call a guard. Only the deserving can get into the library."

"So, we're going in blind." Kai muttered loud enough for everyone to hear. "Blind and unwanted."

"As is the Bandit way." Jay joked.

"There will be guards posted all along the foot and top of the walls, surely." Aiden said. "And that's just the exterior. Getting in and getting out would be nearly impossible."

"And then there's the matter of retrieving the map." Bryce said. "This is what you call an impossible mission."

"No such thing as impossible." Kai confidently said. "There's suicide missions and really, really, really hard missions, but never impossible missions."

"You're right." Aiden agreed. "This isn't an impossible mission, it's a suicide mission. Theoretically, let's say we nab the map wherever the hell it may be, and let's say we outrun the guards. They'll still be on our asses, and we'll be wanted all over Vaylor City."

"That's assuming someone sees us, Aiden." Bryce said.

"Yeah, because we all know how to turn invisible." Jay said.

"You can't be seen." Lyre said. "If you are, then that just makes your life a whole lot harder."

"We'll have an army on us in no time." Kai said. "But, truth be told, stealth is easier said than done."

"Which is why we should forget about this score entirely." Aiden suggested. "We knows how this will take a toll on us. If not a suicide mission, then it's impossible like Bryce."

"Difficult." Kai corrected.

"Impossible." Aiden affirmed.

"Of course it is with that attitude, Aiden." Alice said. Everyone was confused as to when Alice started calling Aiden anything other than Cain. Only Bryce ever dared.

"Alice is right." Bryce said. "With us, anything is possible. Even beating impossible odds."

"Zer is a vay to eshcape." Curt revealed. "If ve can retrieve ze map, zer is a cave in ze moat."

"What was in the cave?" Bryce asked.

"I didn't check." Curt said.

"Too afraid to get wet?" Jay joked.

"Ya." Curt confirmed.

"Wait, are we seriously going to do this?" Aiden asked.

"It's our job, isn't it?" Kai smirked.

"This job should pay more." Jay muttered.

"Do yourself a favor and be optimistic for once, Ai- Cain." Alice said, correcting the last word.

"Yeah, we could very well get out of this with at most a missing arm." Jay said.

"We won't be forcing you to do anything, Cain." Kai said. "But I'm going. So is Jay, Alice, and Bryce, and even Curt. So, what say you?"

His first instinct was to say "To hell with this" and storm out of the room. He then realized who was going: his friends. The people who had been there for him when he most needed it. The people who would always support his decisions. The people he could always rely on. What kind of friend would he be if he turned his back on them on something so perilous.

Cain sighed. "Let's do a recap. We're looking for an artifact, and we don't even know where the hell this artifact is. The only way to learn is to infiltrate a library which is multiple stories tall, heavily guarded on the inside on every floor, with walls surrounding it, also heavily guarded might I add, and the wall is surrounded by a moat with a strong current, and we're doing this with only the five of us."

"Sechs." Curt corrected.

"Seven." Strife corrected.

Strife was a man of few words, only speaking when he needed to put something out there. He most often kept quite whenever someone else could elaborate his statement.

"I understand the level of difficulty for this mission." Lyre announced. "Which is why Strife is going with you all."

"Another couldn't hurt." Bryce said.

"No, it can't." Kai agreed. "But I want to know who'll be in charge."

Kai was the official leader of the Elites, with Curt being nothing more than a mentor and helping hand. Strife never usually worked with anyone, doing Lyre's personal biddings, but since Lyre personally chose Strife to assist, that begged the question who was to be in charge.

"Kai, this is your mission." Lyre said. "Strife will be there, and he'll do what he thinks is best, but you're the leader of your team, not Strife."

"Then I'll do my best." Kai humbly said.

"Your best isn't good enough." Lyre said. "You must succeed. I'm counting on all of you."

"Sir!" Said everyone else in the room, excluding Strife.

"If we pass with with flying colors, then we'll need a new name." Jay said. "Elite Bandits isn't good enough. This is an impossible mission... Perhaps the Impossible Mission Force? IMF for short?"

"No!" Said everyone else, including Strife this time.

"I feel like that's already taken." Alice muttered.

Later that day...

Aiden lay on his bed with his eyes closed but his conscious still open, pondering about the many ways the mission could fail. For about a minute, he thought about how they were going to succeed, if success was even possible.

All of the Elite members got their own room while the rest of the Bandits had to share four large rooms. The Elite bedrooms were much smaller compared to the shared rooms in the base, but they were meant for one person with all the comforts the shared rooms did not have.

His eyes opened when he heard a knock on his door. Groaning, he reluctantly got up and walked over to the door, opening it to see who it was.

He found Alice standing there with a smirk on her face.

"Hello." She greeted, softly. "Can I come in?"

"N-"

Before he could reject her, she walked into his room, brushing past him. Scared that someone might see, Aiden slammed the door shut.

When he turned to face Alice, he was met with a kiss on the lips from her. Instinctively, he pushed it away.

"No, Alice." Aiden ordered. "We can't. Not again. You're Bryce's girl. He's my best friend, and I've known him my entire life. You can't do this to us. Last time was a mistake."

"You looked like you enjoyed yourself." Alice seductively said. "Besides, it's not him whom I want to be with. It's you."

"Or you just like playing with both sides of the coin." Aiden said.

"No, Aiden." Alice said. "It's not like that. I love you. And deep down, you know you love me too. You're not one to lie, Aiden. Tell me the truth."

Aiden looked away, pretending she wasn't there. In truth, he was asking himself what he truly felt about her.

"You were with Bryce before my feelings could condense." Aiden revealed. "I can't love you."

"But you do, don't you?" Alice wondered.

Aiden didn't respond.

"Humans deserve to be with who they want to be with." Alice said.

"Then why are you and Bryce still together?" Aiden asked.

"Don't you think I don't want to leave him?" Alice said. "I may love you, but he's still my friend, and I care about him just as much as you do. I cannot imagine the pain he must feel of seeing you and I together."

"But you understand the pain of lying to him, right?"

"That's not fair!"

"But you do feel bad, right?" Aiden said.

"Of course I do." Alice said. "My mind may feel guilt, but my heart is doing what it believes is right. What about yours?"

Aiden sighed, and instead of answering her question, he grabbed her by the arms and brought her in closer for a kiss. Alice tried to pry her tongue in, but Aiden was reluctant about complying.

"Kai knows." Aiden said, breaking away. "He knows about us."

"He's no snitch." Alice said, biting Aiden's ear. She pushed him onto his bed, as he lay flat.

Aiden felt incredible guilt. He didn't know how he could betray Bryce's trust like this, but although it felt wrong, it felt right. He truly loved Alice, and Alice returned the favor.

"Besides, if we tell Bryce now, how would the mission be affected?" Alice asked, removing her boots and sat on top of Aiden's stomach.

"We can tell him after." Aiden said, unsure whether he should go on again.

"Do we have to?" Alice whimpered.

"We owe him that much." Aiden said. "Things may never be the same again..."

"No, they won't." Alice agreed. "I have an alternative."

"Oh?" Aiden asked.

Alice took Aiden's hand and moved it so that he was touching her left buttock. "This score may be incredibly beneficial money wise. Perhaps enough to live on." She then took his other hand and placed it on her other buttock. "What if, we take a good portion of the share and just... Run away. Together."

"And abandon Bryce, Kai, and the others?"

"Why not?"

"It's not right. They're our friends. We can't just turn our backs on them."

"Aiden, do you seriously want to end up like Curt?" Alice asked in a serious tone. "Do you truly want to spend the rest of your life doing an old man's bidding, never moving up anywhere in life. I don't know about you, but I don't want to spend the rest of my life underground, having to steal for my food."

"The others-"

"If they were smart enough to make something of themselves, they would do the same as us." Alice said. "Kai was gifted with abilities of fire, and he's stuck being a hated king's henchman. We don't shouldn't have to live like this. We take our share, and a little bonus if need be, and you and I just... Pack our bags, run away, and try to live like normal people."

"They're not going to let us just walk out." Aiden said.

"Which is why none of them will know. We'll have to abandon Bryce... If you can live with that..."

Aiden gave it thought as Alice unbuttoned his clothes.

"I don't feel good about this." Aiden admitted. "But we can't live like this forever. Bryce loves this way too much."

"Deal?" Alice asked, smirking.

"Deal." Aiden whispered as Alice leaned down for a kiss.

Aiden couldn't shake off the bad feeling that the score at the library would go horrible wrong.

To be continued in the next chapter

Author's Note: Hope you guys liked the chapter. Please leave a comment/review to let me know what you think!

This is probably the last story I'll ever write in my Phoenix Saga, meaning you'll probably never see Kai in a full Frozen fan fiction from me after this. Hint: FULL fanfic. The epilogue of this story will explain what really happened with Kai during his eight year absence at the end of Frozen: A Sky of Shadows. For all of my fans who did not read the epilogue yet, please do so.

Aiden Cain is indeed the main protagonist in the story for you who don't realize that, so don't think this adventure is all about Kai. Also, this story will be considerably shorter than the 50+ chapters of A Sky of Shadows or even the 40+ chapters of The Coming Storm. I'm thinking this will be around the 15 chapter mark. 15 long chapters.

Ciao.