Hellooo, my little Daleks! (Guess who just had a DW marathon?)
Thank you White Belt Writer, AlphaWolfPride, Just me and myself, StormBreeze, Guest123, Onhiro, LinkGirl101, Cissa-Lycoris-Black, and smilingpuddle for reviewing! *raises statue in your honor and gives Toothless plushies*
To White Belt Writer: Who needs school work, right? But seriously, thank you for doing the linework and all that jazz:) You do not understand how much I am anticipating that fanart! Can't wait! (but seriously, take all the time you need)
To StormBreeze: Haha You, my friend, are too observant for your own good:) Yes, Hans and co. would notice that, as you will see.
WARNING: This chapter isn't necessarily what I would call dark, but there's some crazy shiz happening, so be prepared.
There was a time skip by the way. This chapter starts on Monday. Elsa appeared to Hans on Friday, the bonding time was on Saturday, I skipped Sunday, and now we are here.
Disclaimer: When I say "I don't own" you say "Frozen." "I don't own"—"Frozen!" "I don't own"—"Frozen!" Yaaayyy Disney!
Duke walked solemnly through one of the more secure sections of the base, passing lanes of scientists and soldiers. None stopped and saluted him as they did Hans. They didn't even hesitate. Duke drew himself higher and tried to not let that fact hurt his pride too much.
He stopped in front of the plain white door that marked his partner's office and sighed heavily. He's really not going to like this, he thought, hating being the bearer of bad news to the one man who had the power to scare the hell out of him. He straightened his shoulders and tucked his chin to his chest before he mustered his courage and entered the room.
Duke heard the shuffling of a drawer being thrown open roughly. He turned his head into the room and was able to catch a glimpse of Hans struggling to grab something off of his desk and throw it into the drawer.
Hans relaxed slightly when he saw Duke, but was still angry at the intrusion. "What is it, Lieutenant?" he growled, slowly closing the drawer and instead easing into his coat pocket whatever he had been trying to hide.
Duke cleared his throat, surprised that Hans had forgotten. "Sir? The scan?" he asked, trying to jog the General's apparently short memory. "I have the results."
Hans' scowling face morphed into one of recognition. "Well, spit it out, man. Where is she?"
Duke subconsciously shifted his feet in nervousness. Here it goes. "Well, sir, you see...The temperature change didn't exist long enough for us to pinpoint an exact location."
Hans was silent for a second before he cursed and knocked back his chair, beginning to pace in front of the large windows at the back of his office as he mumbled angrily under his breath.
He stopped his pacing and advanced on Duke, his mouth open in preparation for a yell before Duke cut him off. "B-BUT! The readings showed a circumference approximately around the town, so she obviously didn't get far. I'll have a checkpoint perimeter set on all exits from the town," he said quickly, trying to appease the angry man.
Hans tiredly wiped a hand over his eyes as he walked around his desk. "Damn her," he hissed. "I'm sick of this game of cat and mouse."
"What do we do now, sir?" Duke asked tentatively.
Hans sighed as he plopped back into his cushioned leather chair. "I guess we'll have to do it the old fashioned way, Duke."
"Sir?"
Hans rolled his eyes and gestured angrily. "You're a policeman, Lieutenant, figure it out! Since advanced methods are apparently useless, we need to get back to basics and treat this like a normal investigation." Hans let out a heavy sigh, running a hand through his hair. "We'll head back with the K-9 unit to where she appeared on Friday and see if we can find trace of her that way."
Hans turned in his chair towards the windows, seeing how the normally bright early morning sky was tinged an inky black as storm clouds began to roll in.
Duke shuffled his feet again. He was desperate to ask the General about how he had been acting lately, and now seemed like the only time the General was sitting still long enough to listen. It's now or never, Duke thought. The large man felt the words at the tip of his tongue, begging to be spoken but frightened into keeping in his mouth.
"Hans," Duke bleated out nervously.
Hans turned slowly towards him. "What," came the response, more of a demand than a question.
Duke let out a shaky breathe. "What…what do you really plan to do with her? You promised to make this girl worth my while, but lately I'm having a hard time trusting you with all these 'secret calls' you've been sneaking off to make. I-I deserve an explanation."
An emotion flashed through Hans' eyes, something akin to surprise, suspicion, and anger all at once, but it was quickly replaced by a mask of sincerity.
Hans walked towards Duke. "Duke, my old friend," he began as he slipped an arm around the large man's shoulders. "I've kept my word entirely. It's just that these scientists we're trying to sell her to drive a hard bargain. And let's face it, I'm a much better negotiator than you," Hans said jokingly, shaking the Lieutenant's shoulders. Duke laughed along halfheartedly. "I'm only making so many calls and 'sneaking' around with your best interests in mind. I don't want to bother you with such trifles. You deserve your fair share, and I intend to milk every penny for you."
Duke, still suspicious of his superior, accepted Hans' explanation. It made sense what Hans was saying, but years of dealing with liars and criminals gave him an instinct for sensing deception.
Hans walked him to the door. "Now, why don't you go get the vans ready. I'll join you shortly. I have a few things to take care of first, but I won't be too long."
Duke nodded slowly, eyeing the General as he shut the door behind him.
Darkness. It was everywhere. She was floating in nothing.
She was floating in wet nothing.
Wet? She opened her eyes and saw blue. Her vision was blurry through the water, and she could see no end to the expanse she floated in.
The water was everywhere. The water was blinding her. The water was filling her lungs and suffocating her.
She looked up. White light gleamed above her. The surface. She had to get to the surface.
A voice. She couldn't tell whose it was or even its gender. It was nothing more than a distant whisper under the water.
Darkness. Darkness crept at the edges of her vision, its inky tendrils like tentacles as they blocked out the light of the surface.
She struggled. She had to get to the surface, but the surface seemed infinitely away.
She let out a breathe, watching the precious air leave her in thick bubbles that quivered towards where she thought the surface was. Her lungs burned.
She looked down. She gasped. It was there. It was there. It was reaching towards her, snagging her legs and dragging her down, down into the darkness.
She cried out for help, but none heard her.
She was the only one who knew it.
She was in the darkness. She was weightless. She was falling.
She was falling fast, the wind hitting her hard.
She hit something. Land? She felt hot, hotter than she ever felt in her life.
She opened her eyes, wishing he hadn't. Fire. There's fire everywhere. Fire licking at her cheeks and biting at her ankles. Fire burning at her clothes and boiling her blurry eyes.
The fire was getting closer. It was all around her.
She ran. She ran as fast as her legs could carry her. She felt the fire strike out and try to make her stumble, but still she ran.
There was no opening, no surface like the water. Just endless fire.
She thought she heard her name.
"ELSA!"
Yes. It was her name. Somewhere in that blood-curdling scream were the syllables of her name.
She ran towards the voice, its screams like daggers and punches against her body. The screams increased, and she didn't think her body could take the barrage of attacks the voice inflicted.
But still, she ran.
She had to save the voice. The voice.
She had to protect the voice. She. Protect. It was her duty.
She wondered why.
She smelled iron and felt wet, like she was running through mud.
Blood.
Blood gathered at her feet, seeping from under the fire and boiling hot from the blaze as it lapped at her bare feet and pooled around her ankles.
The screams were non-stop, and she realized that there were others as well. Millions of voices, all screaming.
But the one voice was louder than the rest.
The beats from the voice forced her to her knees, and she crawled. Her hands burned in the boiling blood, but she had to save the voice.
She looked up and saw a shadow through the blazing flames. The shadow of the voice.
Still, it screamed her name.
She collapsed onto the ground, her body beaten numb and her breath wheezing out of her lungs as she desperately tried to breathe through the thick smoke.
She couldn't even lift her head.
Her eyes grew heavy, and she saw the figure writhe in pain, its screams cutting her like a jagged blade.
She was supposed to protect.
But she was helpless, and she hated herself for it.
She heard another voice as the darkness again ensnared her and began to drag her down.
A voice she didn't know yet.
Or that she had simply forgotten.
The sickly sweet voice spoke, and its words made the figure scream one last time, long and loud, before it crumpled to the ground, motionless.
She saw its face as its blood, icy cold to the touch, trailed down into the river of red she was lying in.
The sweet voice turned to her and spoke, but she didn't hear what it said. She only stared at the fallen figure.
The broken figure of the one she cared for.
The innocent one she swore to protect.
The face of the figure was mutilated into a bloody mess, but its freckles and now lifeless teal eyes were unmistakable.
"Anna," she choked out, her throat burned to a rough crisp as the word scratched out of her throat. Hot tears ran down her face, burning cuts with their sorrowful saltiness.
She felt a flash of blinding pain, her vision going white then back to black. The voice spoke again.
"Hello, old friend."
Total darkness.
A scream.
Elsa shot up in bed, her breath coming in heavy gasps as adrenaline pumped through her body. She looked around the room frantically, feeling beads of sweat fling off her face in the process.
She was in a room, in a comfortable bed, in a place that seemed newly familiar to her. Through the darkness of the room, she looked down and saw the ice that had formed on her sheets and crusted over the walls and floor. Snowflakes were frozen in the air.
She threw her head into her hands, her eyes wide as she tried to control her shaky breathing. What was that?
Elsa felt her whole body shaking. It was just a dream. It was just a dream. She drew her legs up to her chest and cradled her forehead on her knees, trying to convince herself of reality.
There was a loud bang outside her door accompanied by a muffled "Ow." She ignored it and focused on controlling her breathing.
Her door slammed open, and Elsa's head shot up. In the doorway was a monster, it's fiery mane sticking out like a giant parasite on its head as it stood menacingly in the doorway.
Elsa screamed, and a blast of snow covered the room, masking the frost that was already there. The monster screamed as well, and something flew from its hand into a pile of snow. Elsa scurried into the corner of the wall her bed was pressed into. She kicked the blankets off of her bed in her struggle, desperate to get away.
The monster shot a hand to its chest, grabbing where its heart would have been. "Jeez, Elsa! You scared the hell out of me!" it cried. Elsa squinted her eyes, confused by what she was seeing contradicting with what she was hearing. Anna?
With her hair in insane disarray, Anna shuffled over to a pile of snow, tossing Elsa a bundle of clothes before she quickly began shoveling with her hands to find what she had dropped.
Relief poured over Elsa like a tidal wave when she saw Anna, and she smiled uncontrollably. See? Just a dream. Elsa sat stiffly on the corner of the bed, having to torture and kill the desperate need to grab Anna in a relieved embrace. Stop it, she chastised herself.
Anna grabbed whatever she had dropped in the snow and held it up to her ear. "Kris? Are you still there? Sorry, I dropped my phone for a sec." She walked back out of the room, moving with purpose as she strode into the bathroom to quickly tame her hair before running to get changed out of her sleeping clothes. Someone's in a rush today.
Elsa shook her head, trying to get the last remembrances of the nightmare out of her mind as she put on the clothes Anna had thrown to her, dark jeans and a white shirt. She was still trying to stop her hands from shaking when she saw Anna run past her room in a frenzy, heading down the stairs.
After dissipating the snow in her room, she followed the redhead down, watching as she held the thing to her ear as she threw bread into a silver box.
"Yes, I know you're at work right now—," Anna stopped mid-sentence, a mumbling coming from the device in her hand. She sighed. "Yes, I know I should be too, but what should I do? I can't exactly call a baby sitter."
Suddenly, Anna ran past Elsa, back up the stairs. Elsa couldn't help but laugh at the redhead's debunked state. Her clothes were in disarray, and her manner was just short of panic.
Elsa sniffed the air. Is that smoke? She felt her heart rate increase as she spun towards the source of the smell, seeing black smoke billow from the silver box Anna had put the bread in.
Realizing it was not the all-consuming flames of her nightmare, Elsa tried to figure out what to do about the smoking box. She looked at her hands. Do I freeze it?
"Oh Shit!" Anna yelled as she raced downstairs. Apparently, she had smelled it as well. "My toast!"
Anna ran into the kitchen, toothbrush in hand and white foam dripping down her chin. She ran to the silver box and pushed a button that popped out the now blacked bread.
"Fuck!" she yelled as she bounced the bread from hand to hand, toothbrush falling onto the floor. She ran towards the door and threw the bread outside.
She ran past Elsa again upstairs, returning a few seconds later with the device in her hand. "—sure you have to work today? Can't you just do me this one solid?"
Anna pulled the device away from her ear with a grimace as loud shouting came from it. When the noise died, she put it back to her ear with a scowl. "Ugh. Fine. I'll just leave her here."
Elsa did a double take. Wait. What?! Leave?!
She felt a stone of dread in her stomach as she thought of being separated from the redhead, memories of her nightmare too fresh in her mind to ignore. She followed Anna back into the kitchen and then the living room as she searched for something. Why are you leaving? You can't leave!
"Ah-ha!" Anna exclaimed, holding up a pair of shoes. She sat down on the couch and began to quickly tie up the laces.
Elsa felt her anxiety increase with each passing second. Anna, you can't leave! Please!
"Anna," Elsa said, despair clear in her voice. The redhead appeared to not hear, continuing to talk into the device that was now sandwiched between her ear and shoulder.
Anna turned to Elsa, fingers still working on her laces. "Alright, Elsa. I have to go to work for a few hours. I would call in sick and stay here, but my boss would kill me. I really can't afford to lose this job."
"Anna," Elsa tried again, sitting next to the redhead whose gaze fell back to her shoes.
"Bye, Kris!" Anna said before she put the device into her pocket. She stood up, fixing the collar on her green shirt. "Don't cook anything, you'll burn the house down."
Says the person who just nearly did, Elsa thought in the back of her mind.
"Anna—"
Anna began heading towards the door, Elsa following her. "Don't answer the door for anybody."
"Anna—"
Anna looked at her watch. "Oh my gosh, I am so late!"
"Anna—"
"And—I almost forgot my jacket!" Anna gasped as she ran back upstairs.
She came down a few seconds later. Well, 'came down' isn't exactly the right description. More like she tripped down the stairs in a fit of flailing limbs into the kitchen, her sweatshirt flying from her grip.
"Anna!" Elsa cried, running to the redhead's side and helping her up.
"Thanks, Elsa," she murmured as she rubbed her sore bottom.
Still wincing in pain, Anna headed back towards the door while Elsa picked up her jacket.
"Anna," Elsa called yet again, mere feet away from the girl as she struggled with the doorknob. Dammit, why can't I just!
"Oh! And one more thing," Anna said, doorknob forgotten.
Anna turned on her suddenly, her eyes serious as she gripped Elsa's shoulders. "Do not leave this house, understand?"
Elsa nodded quickly, brushing off the request as she tried to implore Anna to stay. "Anna—"
Anna threw open the door, mumbling about how she sounded like her parents before she ran through the yard to her truck.
"Anna!" Elsa cried after her, sweatshirt in hand as she stood in the doorway. But it was too late. Anna was already driving towards the tree tunnel.
Anna reached her hand out the window and waved to her, but Elsa was too panicked to return the gesture. As the truck drove further away, Elsa felt her heart fall beside her stomach. She wanted desperately to go with her, to just have her in her sight to ensure her safety. But what if it's nothing more than a stupid dream?
But what if it is something?
Elsa felt doubt cloud her mind. She looked up at the sky, now marred with black storm clouds. I don't even know where she works. It could be hours from here.
She remembered the screams from her nightmare and clutched Anna's jacket close to her chest, her eyes widening as the image of Anna's bloody face became too-real in her mind.
She looked down to the jacket in her hands. I'll just say she forgot her jacket. Yeah. That's a good excuse.
Yeah right.
Shut up. It's the best I got right now.
Elsa walked down the steps before a painfully obvious reality hit her. What if people saw her? She stopped and thought for a second, ready to stay home when a solution came to her mind. She smiled. I'll just wear the jacket until I get there. With that resolve, she slipped the sweatshirt over her head comfortably, the fuzzy blue material warm against her cool skin.
Ignoring how happy she was that the jacket smelled like Anna, Elsa flipped up the hood and began trekking down the dirt road, her thigh dully throbbing after every step.
DUN DUN DUUNNNN!
(Anna's kindof irresponsible for leaving Elsa, isn't she? But, hey, she's Anna. Watcha' gonna' do?)
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