Chapter 3
"What the hell was that all about?" Chuck asked as him and Raleigh were thrown back in the cell.
"What?" Raleigh asked.
"The fricken ice coming out of her!" Chuck retorted.
"Yeah what about it?" Raleigh replied.
"You aren't you know, a little surprised?" Chuck asked.
"After everything I have seen with the Kaiju, there is very little that surprises me anymore." Raleigh said. Chuck did agree to this, he had already seen giant robots fighting aliens from another dimension. What was a little magic?
"Well now we are stuck at square one, damn the frenchie." Chuck said.
"We gotta get back to Gipsy before the *gulp* dismantle her or something." Raleigh said. It was safe to say he was in love with his jaeger.
"Pffft! Dismantle? With what? Toothpicks?" Chuck laughed. Her hull is five feet of solid titanium, I'd love to see em break through that."
"I can't believe we are in the past." Raleigh said.
"Oi when you had that little speech about us being here messin up the future, were you serious?" Chuck asked.
"I was until I figured it like this. Since we are here right now, that meant in our timeline three hundred years ago we appeared with Gipsy and fought the kaiju so by that logic, we are meant to be here."
"What the actual hell?" Chuck asked confused.
"Nevermind, just don't do anything dumb like show them how to split an atom." Raleigh said as the doors opened.
"YOU!" A young woman with brown hair yelled as she pointed a finger at Raleigh and Chuck.
"Oh shes even better than the other one." Chuck said.
"You pig!" The woman said trying to conceal her blush. "What did you do to my sister!"
"Sister?" Raleigh asked.
"The queen!" She replied
"We didn't do a damn thing, it was that bastard french guy that set her off." Chuck said.
"Liar! It had to be the two of you and that, that danged metal thing of yours!" She said trying not to curse.
"Leave my Gipsy alone!" Raleigh cried like a child defending its toy.
"Well if the two of you won't tell me anything, you will help me get her back." She said.
"Oh yeah? You in what army?" Chuck taunted.
"That one bucko." She said pointing to the dozen armed guards brandishing their swords.
"Let's try to be civil here." Raleigh said. "Whats in it for us?"
"I am the Queens sister, I can grant you freedom if and only if you help me find my sister." She said.
"Not a bad deal, can you get us to our jaeger?" Raleigh asked.
"What a jaeger?" She asked with an adorable confused look on her face.
"The big metal thing we kicked that monsters arse with." Chuck said.
"Her name, is GIPSY DANGER!" Raleigh yelled.
"Thats a pretty name." The princess said wandering off before snapping back to reality. "Alright if I get you two to Gipsy you will help me find Elsa?"
"We don't got much of a choice, we will help you." Raleigh said.
"Thank you so much!" She cried. "I didn't get your names."
"Raleigh Beckett." Raleigh said.
"Chuck Hansen." Chuck said.
"I'm Princess Anna." Anna said as she opened the cell door. "Come with me we havent a moment to lose!"
Elsa had long ago stopped running and had come to a slow walk. The front of her dress drenched in tears. She hated this, she hated her powers. All she wanted was a normal life. She fell to her knees and let out long sorrowful cries of anguish. She looked down on the ice and saw her reflection. Her cerulean eyes staring back at her.
"I just want to be normal." She cried.
"Get back! I'm a freak!" A young Elsa said as she jumped back from her mother.
"Elsa, sweetie, come here." Her mother said in a sweet tone.
"I'm a monster, I don't want to hurt you." Elsa cried. This broke the queen's heart as she walked over to her daughter. She scooped Elsa up in her arms and placed her in her lap.
"See? Nothing happened." Her mother said rubbing her hair.
"Do you and daddy still love me?" She asked through her sniffles.
"Of course we do!" Her mother said. "We always will."
"But I'm so, different." Elsa said.
"Here look in here." The queen said holding a mirror. "Look at you, two eyes, a nose, two ears, and a beautiful face. Just like everybody else."
"But what about my powers?" Elsa asked.
"They can be a gift or a curse, it depends on which you allow it to become. Don't ever let them get the best of you." The queen said as Elsa began to nod off.
"I love you mommy." Elsa said.
Elsa smiled at the memory of her mother. She remembered those words, she would never let her powers control her. It was time to see the good that they can do. Elsa laughed as she unleashed her imagination in snow and ice. Creating a snowman, bridges, sculptures and a large beautiful ice castle. She even managed to change her dress to an ice dress. The cold never bothered her anyway. She let out a long song of praise as she sun rose over her new castle. Here she was free, here was where she would stay.
"Come on you two!" Anna said as she ran outside.
"We'd be goin faster if you untied these damn cuffs!" Chuck whispered.
"Not till we are in the jaeger, how do I know you won't run off?" Anna asked.
"Touche." Chuck said. The three rounded the corner and saw it was clear. Although Anna technically had the authority to release prisoners, it would cause a large uproar in anyone saw. "Why is it snowing?
"My sister kind of set off an eternal winter when she got scared." Anna said.
"It ain't so bad." Raleigh said. Having lived in the Anchorage Shattterdome, Raleigh was used to the cold. Chuck who was from the arid heat of Australia was not faring as well.
"Clear." She said as the three ran to the courtyard. Anna looked and saw Gipsy Danger only a few hundred feet away, only problem? It was being guarded.
"Shoot!" She said to herself.
"Shit, how do we get past that?" Raleigh asked as one of the soldiers ran his sword along Gipsy's arm scratching the paint. "You fuckin son of a bitch!"
"I got an idea! Wait here!" Anna said as she hopped away.
"That girl has too much energy." Chuck said.
"Gettin a crush are we?" Raleigh said.
"Hell no! Shut up yank." Chuck responded as they waited for Anna. Anna ran around looking for him but she couldn't find him. She eventually saw him a top his horse.
"Hans!" She called out to man.
"Anna." Hans replied as he jumped down and embraced Anna in a hug. "I was so worried about you! Are you okay?"
"I'm okay dear." She said. "Listen I need you to do something for me."
"Anything my love." Hans said holding her hand.
"I'm going to find my sister, the two guys driving Gips- I mean the metal man have agreed to use their machine to help me." Anna said.
"You can't! Its too dangerous!" Hans said.
"Please Hans, I need your help!" Anna said. "Can you find a way to move those guards away from the machine?"
"I don't know." He said rubbing his head.
"Please, do it for me! As a wedding gift." Anna pleaded.
"Okay dear you win." Hans said smiling as he mounted his horse. "I will draw them away."
"Thank you so much sweetheart!" Anna said hugging him.
"Be safe my angel." Hans said as he took off. Anna looked at him dreamily as he sped away.
"Who was that wanker?" Chuck asked.
"Husband or something." Raleigh said.
Dammit Chuck mentally said to himself. Oh well there are plenty more women out there. Anna came back with a happy grin on her face and nested between Raleigh and Chuck who were calmly waiting for the guards to move.
"GUARDS!" Hans yelled atop his horse. "In light of this extreme winter weather we must move everyone to the warmth of the castle. I need you to gather any food and supplies you can find."
"I can't believe that worked!" Raleigh said as he jumped into the conn-pod followed by Chuck and Anna. Anna was amazed at the technology of this awesome machine. She walked up and down the conn pod admiring all the lights and buttons.
"Whoa, what do you think you are doing?" Chuck asked.
"You didn't think I was just gonna let you wander off on this big machine did you?" Anna asked.
"You can't stay in here, this is where we drive the damn thing." Chuck said.
"Just let her in aussie, its not like we are going to be getting punched by any Kaiju while we are up there." Raleigh said snapping into his pilot seat.
"Ugh, fine!" Just don't touch anything!" Chuck ordered as he strapped himself in.
"Initiating neural link." Raleigh said as he and Chuck mentally prepared themselves for the drift. Raleigh and Chuck lurched back as they saw each others memories.
"Raleigh listen to me! I need you to-" Yancy Beckett yelled as he was torn out of the Conn Pod.
"NOOOOOO! NOOOO!" Raleigh screamed as his brother was killed. Raleigh yelled as he was forced to pilot Gipsy alone. He raised Gipsy's right arm and activated the plasma cannon.
"MAMA!" Chuck yelled as his house was smashed by an enourmos Catergory II.
"ANGELA!" DAMMIT!" Herc Hansen yelled as he embraced his son.
Raleigh and Chuck simply sat and watched the memories go by, neither one latching onto a bad memory. Soon the drift was over as soon as it began.
"Are you guys okay?" Anna asked. The two pilots moved their bodies in sync as Gipsy repeated their movements.
"LOOK OUT!" A guard screamed as Gipsy slowly stood up. Tons of snow and ice falling off of her as she rose to her full height. Hundreds of people began yelling in fear as Gipsy took her first steps.
"Its getting away!" A guard yelled as he jumped on to Gipsy's foot trying to hold the jaeger down but it was no use as he was shaken off like a fly.
"WOAH!" Anna said as she looked out the visor and saw the entire city. The jaeger towered over every other structure in the city making it a great viewpoint. She looked over at Chuck and Raleigh who moved with perfect sync like a ballerina. She decided not to distract them so she just sat cross legged on the floor as the jaeger continued to move.
"Which way Princess?" Raleigh asked.
"The mountains." Anna said pointing towards the mountain ridge.
"Shit, can we get through that? Looks pretty steep." Chuck asked.
"Gips can do it." Raleigh said. What looks like a far fall to you and me is a three foot tall for Gips."
"I'm coming Elsa." Anna thought. After twenty minutes of walking. Raleigh looked over and saw Anna sitting silent by herself. He felt bad and decided to spark up a conversation. He wasn't in battle or anything so he could afford to multitask.
"So Princess, how are you?" Raleigh asked.
"I'm okay, I'm really worried about Elsa though." Anna said.
"You really care about her don't you?" Raleigh asked.
"Yes, we are very close. Don't you have a brother or sister?" Anna asked.
"I had a brother, I lost him to the Kaiju." Raleigh said sadly.
"I'm sorry." Anna said.
"It's alright. It was over five years ago, I'm over it." Raleigh said.
"On a brighter note." Chuck said interrupting. "Are there any bars down there?"
"There were a few taverns but I think you stepped on most of them." Anna said.
"Motherfucker." Chuck said.
"You two have the foulest mouths I have ever heard!" Anna said.
"What are you talking about? I don't fuckin swear." Chuck said chuckling.
"Do you two have anyone special in your life?" Anna asked.
"I did, lost her to damn Kaiju." Raleigh said.
"I'm sorry, I keep bringing this stuff up." Anna said feeling horrible. She couldn't imagine losing Elsa and Hans. Raleigh didn't respond as he lifted Gipsy's leg to step over a ravine.
"Looks like you got a nice mate for yourself." Chuck said.
"Oh Hans? He is wonderful, we are getting married once all this is over." Anna said dreamily.
"Seems like you like him, how long you to been together? A few years?" Chuck asked.
"Oh we met this morning." Anna said smiling. Gipsy came to a halting stop as Raleigh and Chuck stopped to look at each other.
"I don't think I heard that right." Chuck said.
"We met this morning and he proposed! Oh isn't it romantic?" Anna said.
"More like creepy." Chuck said.
"So let me get this straight. You agreed to marry a man you JUST met that morning?" Raleigh asked shocked.
"Mm-hmm." Anna said nodding.
"This guy could be a child predator for all you know." Raleigh said.
"Hans is such a gentleman! He would never prey on children!" Anna said insulted.
"I don't know, a guy who proposes on the first date strikes me as a weird one." Chuck said.
"What are you jealous or something?" Anna asked pouting.
"Hell no, I'd rather stick a fork up my ass than marry you." Chuck said. Anna gasped and put a hand to her mouth.
"You are such a jerk!" Anna said as her eyes became misty.
"Apologize to her." Raleigh said.
"No!" Chuck said.
"I said, apologize." Raleigh growled. Chuck remembered what happened last time he didn't apologize when Raleigh said so. He sighed as he turned to face Anna.
"Oi, I'm sorry, that was very rude I didn't mean it." Chuck said. Anna simply huffed and turned around.
"Gonna have to do better than that." Raleigh said. Chuck groaned as he rubbed his temples. The conn pod jolted violently as Gipsy's fingers slammed into the visor due to Chuck's action.
"Dammit Hansen!" Raleigh yelled as the conn podd had a dent put in it.
"Sorry!" He said.
"I swear they could build jaegers to match the size of your assholeness." Raleigh said as the two began to move the jaeger again. Anna sat in the corner and was very stung by what Chuck had said. He had no idea how much she just wanted love. Her parents died at a young age and she was separated from her sister. Anna had never felt love before and just wanted someone who cared about her.
"Stupid meanie." Anna said crying. She wished Hans was there to comfort her and put his hand around her and let her know everything would be okay. The Jaeger walked for ten more minutes before stopping.
"What are you doin yank?" Chuck said trying to move the jaegers legs but Raleigh stood still making it very difficult.
"I need to pee." Raleigh said.
"Are you shittin me? Chuck said. "Of all the times you need to pee!"
"Considering we aren't getting body slammed by a kaiju at the moment, I'd say this is the perfect time." Raleigh said. "Now lower her so I can go take a piss."
"Unreal." Chuck said as Gipsy lowered to the ground. Raleigh unhooked himself and ran outside. Before leaving he poked his head in.
"Now Chuck, is there something you wanna say to the Princess?" Raleigh asked. Chuck was about to open his mouth but Raleigh had already disappeared. Chuck looked over at Anna and saw the sad look on her face. He actually felt really bad about what he said earlier. He unhooked himself and walked over to her.
"Hey." He said.
"Go away." Anna said sniffling.
"Listen I am not good at apologizing but hear me out. I know I'm an asshole, I have been ever since I lost my mother." Chuck said sitting next to her.
"You lost your mother too?" Anna said perking her head up.
"I was eight years old when that damned kaiju crushed her right in front of me." Chuck said. "My old man was never the same after that either."
"I lost my parents when I was eleven, they were lost at sea." Anna said. "I know how you feel."
"My mother was the only one who really understood me. When that Kaiju killed her I guess I just felt this need to get revenge. I became very bitter after that, the only satisification I get is when I kill a kaiju."
"How scary is it?" Anna asked.
"How scary is what?" Chuck asked.
"Fighting one of those kaipoo." Anna said horribly mispronouncing the word kaiju.
"They are terrifying, you are just ants to them and they only care about killing you. But when you are in a Jaeger and you can fight back, you feel indestructable, almost like a god. I'm not gonna lie though, even in a jaeger I do get scared sometimes."
"You are really brave." Anna said.
"Well its all part of the job I guess." Chuck said letting out a small chuckle. "I get a lot of help from rum too."
Anna let out a giggle at his joke.
"But yeah I'm sorry about what I said earlier." Chuck said.
"Its already forgiven and forgotten." Anna said smiling.
"Well glad thats over with!" Chuck said as he hopped back to his pilot station. Raleigh re entered the jaeger moments later.
"Geez did your piss freeze coming out?" Chuck asked. "You took forever!"
"For your information I slipped and fell down a ravine. I had to crawl all the way back up no thanks to you." Raleigh muttered.
"Oh come on!" Chuck said as they reactivated Gipsy Danger. Anna felt a smile growing on her face. It looked like there was some good in everybody after all.
