Author's Note: Are you piped up for a fight?! ARE YOU?!
And are you prepared to see some real life nightmares screwing your head, heart and bod altogether?!
Then enjoy reading. :)
Chapter 6: The Nightmare
With a roar, Marshmallow once again became the icy armoured behemoth from before, and Dimitri had to leap aside, Chaos trailing a streak of flames as it swept through the air, Marshmallow's icy fist slamming into the ground, but remarkably not doing anything to the ice.
"Whoa, big guy! Not necessary!" Dimitri shouted when he rolled over to a safe distance, trying to talk the monster down. The magic of Elsa's castle, he cursed inwardly, had drained him, and now he was no stronger than the average man. It was taking much of his power to maintain the flames. With a huff, the flames disappeared from the blade.
At least he could still hold his sword against the beast, he was thankful for that.
"Mistress no send you!" He roared. "You evil! You hurt mistress!"
Smart creature. I wonder how he knew. Chaos remarked with casual indifference.
Is there no end to your snarky insolence? And does it matter?
Nope to both. And there's nothing you can do about the first.
Prick.
Likewise.
Realising that the beast had gone full-on-rage mode, Dimitri stood back further to give himself some breathing room, looking for a way to take advantage of his surroundings. The room was barren and the icy shards wouldn't really do much to another icy creation, so that was no use. The monster had no emotions beside anger, so fear was a bust. He would just have to fall back on his raw battle skills.
On the bright side, at least we'll get to know what it feels like to fight for survival. Like a warrior backed into the corner with nothing but his sword against a thousand foes…
Save the idiosyncrasies for later. If it's a fight he wants, then a fight he gets.
Chaos shut up then, but it nevertheless directed it's bloodthirstiness against Marshmallow.
Marshmallow roared and charged Dimitri, intending to run him through with a shoulder spike. Smiling at the monster's stupidity, Dimitri shuffled his feet to the left and grabbed the charging spike with his free hand, and hauled himself up, landing on the beast's back, managing to avoid being impaled by any of the spikes. Raising Chaos, he plunged it into the monsters back, waiting for Chaos to absorb the creature's essence. The monster stopped his charge and howled with pain, but Dimitri's eyes widened when he realized it wasn't disintegrating like he thought it would.
Then he heard Chaos groaning in his mind. Too pure… Can't absorb it…
Damn it!
Ripping Chaos out, he was ready to swing it and take off Marshmallow's head, until the beast shook like a dog with fleas, sending him flying. He quickly used the momentum and pushed his legs outwards on the floor. Once the soles of his feet were down and sliding on the ice, he immediately did a semi-crouching position and pressed his free hand down to slow down and prevent him from skidding off. When he stopped at an appropriate direction a few seconds later, Dimitri reversed his grip of Chaos, the blade now pointing downwards, and he charged the massive creature, belting out his own bestial roar while doing so, opening his wings at the last moment and using them to increase his momentum at the giant snowman, cutting a deep gash in Marshmallow's back before the snowman could dodge the attack, and then he landed opposite him. The snow monster roared in anger.
"Marshmallow hate you! Marshmallow will squash you flat!"
"I believe we've already established that." Dimitri grinned, his sharp teeth bared in a shark-like smile. Raising Chaos into position again, he charged Marshmallow again, just as the massive creature swiped at him. Forgetting his demonic speed was gone, Dimitri tried to duck the attack, only for the arm to slam into his torso, sending him flying into a wall with a grisly crack. Wincing as he felt his bones were edging towards the wrong places, he realized that any injuries he sustained against this beast would stay until he left. He would have to fight this battle much more cautiously.
The large snowman approached and raised a foot, ready to fulfill his threat of squashing Dimitri.
FOOT!
I see it!
Rolling to the side, Dimitri sank Chaos into Marshmallow's leg as it came down. He held tight onto Chaos's pommel, as the large snowman raised its leg to check if he had killed Dimitri. While that happened, Dimitri hoisted himself mid-air, yanked Chaos out of the leg at the same time, spun around in the air and holding the sword with both hands, did an almighty cleave at the monster's hip. It cut through the leg made of ice and snow with no resistance, and the severed stump plopped to the ground with a dull thud. Marshmallow roared as he went down, "You cut Marshmallow leg, like evil prince!"
Standing just out of reach of the thrashing beast, Dimitri swept back his messy hair, gave a grim smile, and swiftly brought Chaos down on the other leg, severing that one as well.
"My turn monster." He suddenly rushed in faster than the eye could see, and he cut off his arms as well. Marshmallow roared vainly, now being just a head and torso, totally defenseless. Dimitri circled Marshmallow and stopped above his head. He then raised Chaos above his own head, and prepared to deliver the finishing blow.
"Good night, Marshmallow." Dimitri sneered. "Perish knowing that your mistress will fall into darkness because you failed your duty!"
Marshmallow thrashed more frantically, but his struggles were cut short when Dimitri stabbed downwards, Chaos plunging into his head, and hellfire suddenly blazed through the blade. The snow monster melted instantly, and his various cut off body parts melted as well. Once he made sure the monster was really dead, Dimitri put out the flames on Chaos, and all that was left was the monster's tiara.
Picking it up, Dimitri sensed Elsa's magic pervading it.
Elsa was made queen before she ran off. Chaos said. I'm guessing that this is hers. Or at least, it used to be. Don't let her see it.
"No problem." Dimitri slipped the tiara into his coat for later examination. "Maybe it will give me more info on the nature of her magic."
He made his exit from the ice palace without further hindrance, leaving the lonely monolith of ice, silent against the cold snowy winds…
And silent forevermore.
It was a simple matter to convince the innkeeper that he had already paid his outstanding room bill, and Dimitri was later in his room, examining the tiara while lying on the cheap bed.
Let's see just how much Elsa has changed, shall we?
Extending his mind control powers out to the tiara, he tracked the imprint of its original owner to establish a tenuous metal connection with Elsa from afar. It allowed him to glean basic thoughts and emotions from her without her awareness, but didn't allow anything more.
Closing his eyes, images began to form in Dimitri's mind. They showed that Elsa was doing paper work, and Dimitri extended his vision into her mind, searching for her emotions. Of course, her current emotions were a mixed jumble of nervousness, weariness, and suspicion directed towards him, and the work was barely being focused upon.
I'm touched. She worries about me. Dimitri quipped.
Worries that you'll cut her throat more like it. Chaos replied sarcastically.
She has no idea what I really intend. She'll wish I cut her throat once I'm done with her. Dimitri chuckled, searching deeper. Thoughts then began to leak into his mind, most of them just Elsa wondering what the shadows had been, and what Dimitri's intentions might be. Shrugging them off like old cobwebs, he searched deeper…and deeper…much deeper…
Memories, afterthoughts, sub consciousness…etc, etc…
How long is this going to -
Suddenly he found himself standing in a black space, with a lone chest floating in front of him.
Oops, too deep. He cursed. Mind link.
Be in and out of there quickly. Chaos nearly shouted. She might sense you in her head.
Looking around, he realized he was in a black stone chamber, with no ceiling apparently and just endless space above it. The black treasure chest, when he looked at it again, was chained with innumerable locks of blackish metal. When he neared it, he suddenly grinned, sensing an intense aura of rage and destructive lust radiating from it.
I think I just found Elsa's dark side. She locked it in the bottom of her mind and soul. Pity it wasn't enough to hide it from me. Dimitri mused. I'll return later and release it.
Why not now? Chaos asked.
Because if I release it now, she might be able to subdue it and the whole plan would be gone. I need to wait until she is ready to embrace it.
Placing his hand on the floor, Dimitri uttered a syllable, leaving a rune scorched onto the chest before concentrating deeply, feeling his mind being vortexed back into his own body and cutting the mental connection off.
Opening his eyes, Dimitri shook his head to clear the black spots in his vision, and tucked the tiara away in his jacket.
Looks like I'm gonna have to keep you much longer.
Time to pay Elsa another visit.
Elsa's Study, Midnight
Her POV
I had just finished with the massive pile of paper work on my desk, and was thinking happy thoughts of turning in for the night. Yawning and rubbing my stinging eyes, I grabbed the small lantern on my desk. I lit it with a match and headed out of the door without any hesitation.
The moment I locked my study door however, once again, that familiar tingling sensation ran up my spine. I felt like I was being watched, by that same presence earlier, but the feeling was much stronger now, almost screaming, "SOMEONE'S HERE!"
Something wasn't right.
Stopping, I looked around, holding my lamp aloft in the dark hallway, the only light coming from the small lamp and the moon outside. It was a rough night outside, and a thunder storm was brewing, the wind already howling, and I could hear waves of water crashing angrily from the port itself from this distance.
The lamp gave off very little light, and most of the hallway remained shrouded in shadow.
A rustling sound made me gasp.
I thought I saw something move, and spun towards its direction, seeing nothing but the shadows.
Goodness Elsa, please…don't panic. Don't panic. It's just darkness, empty, black darkness. The lantern will guide your way, yes…it will. Ignoring those tumultuous feelings, I started making my way down the familiar direction of my room. That's when I realized something.
The guards were missing.
The two burly guards who had been there outside the study, the ones assigned to keep watch, mainly to ease my paranoia, were gone. It was as if they disappeared into thin air…
No no no…there's has to be logical explanation. They must've gone to bed, thinking I'm asleep in my desk again. Or they switched shifts and someone else is coming here. Wouldn't be the first time though…
Pushing my worries aside, I continued down the halls. It was quite a long way to my room, but normally I enjoyed the walks at night, especially when the cool moonlight of the windows was streaking a beam of silvery glow that made me feel comforted just by looking at it.
But tonight was different.
My steps echoed off the walls, each noise seeming thunderously loud in the gloom. The windows were all bare, the curtains wide opened. That was strange. The maids always closed the curtains at night.
Another shadow moved out of the corner of my eye outside. I shot a look at it, seeing it was just the shadow of a flying branch. Goodness…I had to stop scaring myself like this.
I continued to continue forward. When I turned back to look at the corner, I froze, shocked into freezing in place.
Against the far wall of the T in the hallway was a shadow of a man. That alone wouldn't have alarmed me except for two things.
There was no man to cast the shadow. And there was no source for the light either in the corner of the hallway.
As I watched, the shadow grew and thrashed about on the walls, as if it was a living creature being tortured. The more it thrashed, the more I could see how it twisted, and formed into the silhouette of a monstrous demonic beast of hell. That alone would have scared me enough…
Till this happened.
I saw a monstrous shadow hand slashing out at me. I hadn't even moved when I saw it clipping my own shadow. Then a tugging sensation, and then a stinging pain ran up my arm as a shallow, but noticeable cut appeared where my shadow had been clipped. Instantly recognizing this as dark sorcery, I did the only sensible thing.
I dropped the lamp and ran.
Terror clawed at me as the halls were suddenly alive with moving shadow beasts, all of them evil and twisted. They lunged at me, all of them seeming to laugh at glee, wanting to do God knew what to me once they caught me. I ran down the halls, instinct driving me to find somewhere safe, far away from the monsters of darkness.
Oh how quickly this night had become a living nightmare!
No POV
Dimitri gave a silent laugh as he watched Elsa taking off, her nervousness changing to utter terror in the space of only a few seconds. He had the gift of scaring the living daylights out of people, and his shadow trick, while simple, was effective in doing that.
Following in his shadow form that showed off the silhouette of his demon self, he chased Elsa down the halls, with a legion of Shadow Demons he had summoned following his lead. He could hear Elsa panting, her breath coming in short bursts, and it wasn't hard to follow her, as she was unwittingly generating ice from her feet with each step, making an easily followed trail.
He could practically smell her fear.
She wouldn't be sleeping tonight after he caught her…
Elsa's POV
All the time I was running, I wasn't aware of my sense of direction. And eventually, I found myself in front of a locked door at the end of the hallway, trapped in a dead end. I tried forcing my way in. No luck. The shadows grew near, and I panicked, fresh terror taking over my mind once again.
"NO! LEAVE ME ALONE!" I screamed, lashing out a blast of ice. The shadows screeched when it hit them, the ones who took direct hits dissipating into inky splotches. I ran through the breach I had made in their ranks, and just kept running, the only thought in my mind being of escape.
Several of the shadows swiped out at me as I passed, and I felt the bottom strip of my dress being torn away. It actually was a blessing in disguise though, as it freed up my feet so that I couldn't trip anymore. The new found freedom gave me an adrenaline rush, and I ran faster, hurtling through the halls.
But as I ran, a question popped itself in my head. One that made me almost cry out in desperation.
Why wasn't anyone else here to see what was wrong?!
No POV
Dimitri turned and chased after Elsa, cursing his aim. He had actually helped her by freeing her legs (wow, now those are some legs), and now she was moving at a surprising pace for a queen who probably didn't exercise.
He roared in anger, making the Queen wince, and she picked up her speed. He didn't have to worry about anyone waking up because there was a shadow demon stationed at every point, watching over every human in the castle, soundproofing the rooms and keeping them all in deep sleep.
He chased after her, deciding to keep the attack up a little while longer. Sooner than later, she would tire out and lay defeated on the floor, pleading for mercy.
And then …
Elsa's POV
I ran through the halls, turning at every corner and pathway, blindly running to wherever it may have led me. Eventually though, I reached a smaller wooden door and pulled it open. Thank God this one was unlocked. I ducked inside, shutting it carefully before sealing the doorframe with ice. The ice glowed slightly, allowing me to see that I was in a store room full of shelves of jars. I was near the kitchens.
I pressed my ear up against the door, my heart beating right out of my chest. Then, I listened as the sounds of the screeching mob of shadows drew closer.
And closer….
And CLOSER…..
Dimitri's POV
I saw Elsa shut herself in the store room, and felt a chill begin to emanate from it as she froze the door shut. Deciding that I had scared her enough for one night, I waved off the demons, bending them to my will. They weren't pleased to leave their prey, but obeyed me nonetheless and spread out in form and length, plunging the castle into total darkness. Then, I belted out a sinister laugh that I was sure Elsa could hear, and then reverted myself back to normal form, materializing from the darkness and onto my customary spot on the rafters.
I kept one eye on the door carefully. My ear suddenly twitched, upon hearing a familiar voice…
Well, I'd say that was a rather successful night. Chaos cackled. It sounded awful against my ears. Short, sweet, and it'll scar her for life.
Or at least until I make my move. I responded.
I watched the door, still as a statue in the gloom. There was nothing for several minutes, and I had almost decided that Elsa had fallen asleep in there when I felt the frost start to thaw from the inside of the doorframe. It disappeared all-together, and the door opened to reveal Elsa peeking out into the darkness. She couldn't have been able to see very well in the pitch blackness around her.
Raising her hand, a small flurry of ice crystals flew around it, soon forming into a mini storm, the ice glowing with a soft bluish light, allowing her to see properly in the dark. Apparently satisfied that the shadows were gone, she sent a pulse of magic down her dress, the icy fabric repairing itself. Immediately, she headed off towards her room, her head swiveling as she made sure she wasn't followed.
What do you say? Chaos asked mischievously. A little more fun in fear?
Why not? I replied grimly, jumping to the next rafter. Though I was as silent and stealthy as the shadows themselves, I decided to allow a slight thump to be heard as I landed, cloaking myself in a thick layer of shadows to conceal my identity. Elsa's eyes shot to the ceiling where I was hiding, the power of the ice storm in her hand steadily starting to increase.
This was going to be fun…
Elsa's POV
I blanched at the barely audible thump, looking at where I thought it had come from. The shadow monsters that were chasing me, they had disappeared much quicker than I thought.
The scenario was too easy to wave off…much too easy…
I gulped, realizing something else was following me. Something much worse than those monsters…
Raising my hand, I made the icy cyclone bigger, illuminating a dark shape on the rafter. There was a dark chuckle of one who enjoyed the torment of others, and then the shape took off, leaping from rafter to rafter and disappearing out of sight in seconds.
I gasped when it moved. At first, I was about to burst into another sprint, but something snapped inside my mind. As much as I wanted to run away, I was also getting determined to stop this madness. I already had one dark stalker, I didn't need two of them in this castle. Plus the aura this one gave off was much darker, and much more evil than the normal feeling I got during the day. Charging up my powers, I blasted ice at the hallway up ahead, making a wall of ice freeze over and sealing off the hall. That left only back towards me, and I charged another blast, preparing for the figure to come after me instead, face to face.
Instead though, I heard a shattering noise. My ice wall, it…broke?!
Im - impossible! My ice doesn't break unless I MAKE it break!
Casting those thoughts aside, I flash thawed what was left of the wall and chased after the shadow through the halls. To my bitter luck, I lost it in the darkness once more before I could discern where it was running off to.
Mentally cursing, I made the mistake of turning around, and I nearly screamed upon seeing the figure rush past me in a blur. The shadows seemed to cling to it like a second skin, hiding who or what it really was. I rounded the corner and saw that it had disappeared again. Raising my hand to spread the light, I looked around for the figure, my eyes betraying the sight of the monster…
I gave up looking around after a full minute. It was still there, I could still feel it's sickening aura of evil somewhere, but I still didn't know the source! Sighing, I gathered my bearings, only to receive another shock as I realized that I was in a deserted part of the castle that hadn't been used in years. I didn't know which way was out. Gulping, I started off down a hall, hoping I could make it to a familiar place before that thing caught up to me.
Before I made it far though, I saw the flash of something above me, something leaping from rafter to rafter. Whipping around, I hurled my miniature storm at it, clipping the edge of its black clothing, and spreading fractals of frost up the material. The slight glow gave its position away, and I award myself with a grim smile of satisfaction.
The figure had no idea what was coming next.
No POV
You're hit!
I know.
Dimitri kept himself crouched low on the rafter, smiling as his improvised plan came together.
Let her think she has me, then I shall unleash my surprise. He muttered to Chaos. Fear alone is good, but I want to speed this up. Let's see how she handles Terminal Corruption.
Heh, that's gonna be a sight to see!
Elsa's POV
Pointing at the ceiling, I stuck up my thumb and pointer finger, shaping a finger gun.
"Enough games!"
With that, I unleashed the burst of power in one concentrated shot. I was ANGRY at this figure. It had scared me, nearly made me lost control of myself and my powers, and it had hurt me, as I had no doubt the living shadows were its doing as well. Now, it was time for pay back.
The ice hit the ceiling and spread like a living virus from hell, sealing the hall at both ends and freezing the walls, floor, and ceiling solid. The entire hall slowly became an enclosed rectangular chamber seemingly crystallized by the ice. The whole point of freezing this area was to keep the figure off balance, keep it here, and the final and most important thing.
It lit the hall up with an ice blue glow.
The glow from the walls made both the figure and myself stand out as dark silhouettes, making it look to an outsider like two shadows were trapped in a glittering chamber of ice. Looking up at the rafters, I saw the crouched figure, the frost now having melted from its clothing. The shadows still clung to it, concealing its identity, but that didn't stop me from launching a blast ice at it. It leapt to another rafter, and continued leaping even as I shot blast after blast at it. The rafters froze over with thick layers of knobbly ice, and as I predicted, the silhouette made a mistake, slipping on one and falling heavily onto the frozen ground.
As soon as it hit the ground, I aimed both hands at it, unleashing a mini cyclone of ice at it. The storm surrounded the shadow with its powerful winds, leaving it nowhere else to run, and it cut and stabbed it with innumerable shards of ice. I saw it slowly kneeling on the ground, seemingly conceding defeat…
Yes! I did it!
My grin of satisfaction, was short lived however.
I looked again, and without realizing it, I faltered. The ice shards that were tearing it apart, were all getting broken, one by one, and the pieces melted in the air. The cyclone that enveloped it exploded in a burst of energy that nearly took me off balance.
I gazed at it, with a sense of dread. It was now looking at me, directly.
The message was clear. The games had ended.
Dimitri's POV
I let Elsa think she had me, biding my time until she let her guard down. It didn't take long for that to happen, and I silently savoured what was about to come next. One by one, the shards of ice broke when I raised my defenses, and I generated a small heatwave with my hellfire that was hidden beneath my shadow disguise. With a snap of my finger, the cyclone exploded and dissipated into the air, throwing the Snow Queen off balance.
Then, I got up slowly, raised my left hand and pointed at Elsa with all the authority of God or Satan himself, whoever came first.
She never looked more afraid in her life. I could sense it…
"Elsa Arendelle, you are a threat to the balance of the world." I intoned, my voice disguised in a deeper and much more evil sounding manner to make the situation more believable.
"The Heavens see you as a threat." I continued. "You hold power that no mortal should have, and lack the control necessary to use it. When you lost control, God took notice. When mortals threaten the balance, he sends me."
"To do what?" Elsa demanded, her hands glowing with power. "You look more like a demon to me!"
"I am Death!" I bellowed, my voice echoing the halls with a malevolent effect. "Bringer of the Final End, Reaper of Souls, and Destroyer of Mortals who abuse God's gift! Your soul is mine, and Hell's Judgement awaits YOU!"
A bolt of black energy formed and crackled in my outstretched hand. The hellish power that created it filled with abysmal black, and the colour of pure evil until the light and holiness from the ice fell under its corrupting aura, rendering its colour into a purplish black, eventually making it break and shatter into nothingness.
Elsa could only scream as I fired the bolt. The force of the blast flung her backwards into the wall with a loud crack. I watched the black orb struck her chest, slowly sinking into her heart. She moaned with agony, as the pain wracked her body.
Her bones were the least she had to worry about…
Seeing my work here was done, I vanished, dissipating into the shadows with a deep laugh and some ominous last words.
"Drown in your pain as death consumes you, Elsa Arendelle. I will harvest your soul soon enough."
Elsa's POV
The pain blotted out all thought, and all I could do was make pathetic noises as it ripped through my being. It felt like someone was filling my veins with hundreds of different lethal poisons all at once, and I couldn't take it anymore.
I could only pray for Death to just take me and let this suffering end.
Instead, it kept on for what felt like eternity. When it finally stopped, I felt as weak and helpless as a baby, unable to even sit up properly. I lay there, on the floor, prone in the darkness.
I don't know how long I was there, but apparently I had regained enough strength to stand when I opened my eyes.
It must've been really late into the night. Slowly, I staggered for a few moments, opting to lean against the wall after realizing my legs were no stronger then jelly. As I slowly tried to walk, I kept on clutching my heart tightly. The spot where the bolt had hit felt hot as a furnace, and another bolt of pain shot through me when I touched it.
Gasping in pain, I drew my hand away and just focused on getting to my room, wondering only one thing.
Why was I still alive?
Dimitri's POV
I watched from the rafters silently, noticing Elsa staggering back into her room, looking like she was ready to collapse. Licking my lips, I took out the tiara and activated the spell to once again sense her emotions.
I smiled. My plan was working.
Terminal Corruption. Elsa is a dead woman walking. She just doesn't know it yet. Chaos laughed akin to a sadist.
I lay back on the rafters, satisfied with how things had progressed, with these last thoughts echoed in my head before I nodded off.
Sweet dreams Elsa. For soon, your demons will be brought to the surface. And, you…will…be…
MINE.
That was just a small glimpse into what Dimitri's schemes is about to stir for Elsa.
Wonder the consequences later folks, for there is more to come...