A/N: Battle… fight!

Chapter 9: The Big Bad Wolf

The mercenaries must have twigged to the fact that we noticed them; a few seconds later, a hail of arrows was headed for us. Elsa was the first to react; she was closer. She threw her arms up and a foot thick wall of ice rose up in swirls of snow to intercept the arrows. As she did so, Kristoff swore and unlimbered the hatchet he had, and Anna reached into the pack she had on and pulled out… was that a lute?

Gah, no more time to gawk. Elsa had done more good than she realized for us; we had a wall to defend now, and Anna and Kristoff could back up to it, while Elsa and I went in as heavy hitters. I ignited my arms, swirling patterns of black and pale, baleful blue rotating in an eerie swirl appeared. I paid no attention to their appearance except to note it, and formed a long spear of compressed flame in each hand. One, I lengthened into a quarterstaff and used to intercept the incoming second volley of arrows, while the other I hurled into the mass of eager thugs fast approaching. I didn't hold back much on the javelin; when it impacted, there was a resonant *BOOM* and people, and pieces of people were suddenly flying through the air, with many that were nearby were on fire or out cold. I did this once more before they got too close, and had to deal with them up close. I noticed while I… worked… that Elsa was doing almost as well as I was, but in different ways. She kept conjuring icy spears and arrowing them into the masses of men rushing in. This was as effective as normal arrows, yes, but not enough to thin the hoard manageably like mine.

At least, not at first. After she did this a few times, she closed her eyes and clapped. A shockwave of blue shot out, and suddenly the icy spikes were MUCH bigger, and exploding. This took many, many more out, and she kept the others busy by conjuring ice statues and manipulating them like fighters, both to attack and defend. It was a dance, a waltz of cold and death, and dear god was it beautiful.

I snapped my jaw shut- now was not the time to be gawking at the queen- now was time to fight. I returned my attention to the swarm, and saw that it was much bigger than it had a right to be; more must be arriving. We wouldn't be able to hold out against this number too much longer- they would wise up and turn us into pincushions or just simply bury us under bodies.

New plan- get the hell out of here.

I had a plan to do so, but I knew they would certainly not like it.

Too bad we had no choice.

"Elsa, make us a solid dome! Thick as you can, get us all in it! I need some time!"

She only hesitates for a moment, probably wondering what I had up my sleeves. She complies, a four foot thick pack ice dome surrounding us in a second, stopping the enemy rush cold, but trapping us inside.

Anna was panting, grateful for the break from batting men away, but Kristoff was angry.

"Dammit man, now they can just hack in here and kill us like fish in a barrel! What were you thinking?!"

I frown. "I was thinking that we need to get out of here, and I have a way to do it- I just need time… Without arrows pincushioning me, thanks."

Elsa, barely out of breath, turns to me. "What do you have in mind?"

I wince. I had wanted to get it ready before I was asked that, but Nope!

"I am going to have you make us an ice sled, and I am going to pull it while you ice the ground in front of us for speed."

I am greeted by incredulous looks from the three. Anna speaks up, her voice clearly disbelieving.

"Uh, Atreyu, I know that you're strong and all, but an ice sled and three people is a bit too heavy for a person."

I wince. "But not for a Hellhound."

Silence. Damnit, that is what I was afraid of. Now we're stuck, they won't go along with-

"Well, what are you waiting for? Go turn into a flaming doggy!"

Wait, what? I would have expected that from Anna, but from Elsa?!"

I turn to her, and see a sneaky smirk on her face. Minx.

Grinning, I turn away. "You all might not want to look- this is not very pretty."

I pull my power inside, and change.

Bones snap, tendons rip and muscle bulges and tears. The sound is horrific, and the pain is as well. Nothing like having your organs twist and squish, or having your skull grow two feet longer. It took three agonizing minutes to complete the change, my power never having done this but once before. Finally, as my leg joints reverse, the change is finished, and my true demon form is revealed.

At first appearance, my form is that of a jet black wolf the size of a horse, with swirling patterns in the fur. However, my Hellhound form was unique. Hellhounds can't normally get that big, and they are usually orange or red. My 'fur' is crackling black flames, with streaks of white and blue mixed in in swirls reminiscent of snowdrifts. Shaking myself, I reign in the heat from my flames, making my body safe to touch.

I turn and bark to get their attention. They had turned around, and I had heard Anna getting violently sick in the background from the noises. A pale trio turns, and a chorus of gasps escapes them. Kristoff is scared; I knew he had a healthy respect for wolves, but one twice his size?

Anna is… Well, she is over near me babbling on about how cool I look, and can she pet me and so on. I give her a look that clearly states "NOW IS NOT THE TIME." She gets the hint and backs off.

Elsa, however, is a surprise. She is staring at me in wonder. She walks up and reaches out her hand putting it on my new canine head. I close my eyes, enjoying the touch. Suddenly, I have the royal duo scratching my head just like a dogs, and to my eternal embarrassment, I wag my tail out of reflex. Kristoff sees this and bursts out laughing- I really can't blame him. Shaking the two loose, I turn and jerk my head at the empty space next to me and give them an expectant look.

Elsa blushes, getting what I meant. "Sorry, I forgot!" With a swirl of snow, a heavy set snow sled forms, with high side walls and an armored looking set of chains for me to attach to.

I trot over and put my head through the collar, settling it around my neck and getting used to the weight. The others pile in, getting ready.

This was it.

Focusing my power, I project a wide burst of condensed flames that breaches the dome and incinerates the men on the other side. Gathering my strength, I pull more power from my core and strengthen my body, ignoring the twinge in my chest as I overdraw from my seal. Leaping forward, we ride.

The chase is on.

With Elsa freezing the ground to get the carriage to move faster, I have a bit of trouble keeping my feet, so I cheat a bit and shove some heat into my paws, melting the ice as I step and granting me more traction. We race away, drawing fire from bowmen. Most of the arrows miss, and the remaining ones embed themselves into the ice carriage, missing us. I keep going at a dead sprint, slaloming around trees and rocks, going as fast as I can to get us away. I hear the gasps and shrieks of Elsa and Anna, and Kristoff's shouts of surprise, but I keep going. I had heard something they couldn't;

We had mounted pursuit.

Soon, the thundering of horses comes up and Elsa switches from icing the ground to dealing with them. That just made my job a lot harder; without the slippery ice buffer, I couldn't go as fast without risking shattering the sled or flipping it if we hit an obstacle. Damnit!

I slowed down the bare minimum I had to, doing my best to keep us going and to get away from the horsemen. Elsa had downed a few already, but the others were hanging back and their ride partners were taking potshots with their bows. This wouldn't work; they were going to try to exhaust us- it might work, too, if I didn't get Elsa to do the ground ice again. That would make us faster, make it easier for me to run, and slow down the following horsemen.

I needed to tell Elsa, but in this form, I couldn't speak. I had one option, and it was uncomfortable for me- I really didn't want to take that much concentration off the path, but I had to.

Here goes nothing. I send a stream of magic across my back, rearranging the swirls into letters. Anna notices first and grabs Elsa's attention. Finally.

With a final burst of icy magic, she switches to icing the road again, but stops for a moment. Irritated, I look back to see why- an arrow had come dangerously close to Elsa, and startled her. I form words on my back again, instructing her to put a top on the sled. She nods and does so.

I immediately feel the added weight. Shit, this was going to be close now. Even with Elsa creating my road, I would tire faster with the added weight.

Nothing to do but try, eh?

For hours I run, and run. Slaloming through trees and bushes, vaulting rocks and jumping rivers, I loose most of the pursuers in the first three hours of the wild ride. I felt a few pricks on my back, but I attributed that to my Hellhound form and paid no mind. Another four hours, and there are no men to be seen, and we have gone so far overland that we might well be in Corona. My weariness catches up to me as I slow down to a trot, and finally just stop. I have no more energy, and I barely get us to a copse of trees suitable for a camp before collapsing into a panting, exhausted heap. I feel the ice collar evaporate, and the rest of the sled disappears as well. The ice had blocked them from my view, and I from theirs, so I took a look at the three.

Elsa was obviously almost as tired as I was from using her powers so much. Anna and Kristoff were sore from the ride from the way they were walking, but the three seemed in good order. I give a lupine smile and a whine, forgetting for a moment that I can't speak. This draws their attention, and I see the horror in their eyes. What, do I really look that bad?

Elsa points out what was wrong.

"Oh god, how many arrows hit you!? Anna, help me turn him. Kristoff, grab the bandage bag- NOW! He's bleeding badly!"

A muzzy thought floats through my head. Arrows? Huh, so that's what the prickling was. The two girls turn me so they can see my other side and blanch.

Anna looks ill. "Elsa, this is bad. Really bad. I count over a dozen arrows, most broken off. Some of these are probably poisoned too."

She turns to Elsa. "If we don't get some serious help, he won't make it."

That breaks through my foggy thoughts. What?! I jolt and try to move, my aching body protesting as I do; I flare my magic a bit, trying to see if I can do anything.

I slump, but my little stretch told me something they don't know. I push magic into my 'fur' again, spelling out a long message.

'Elsa, Anna, I can still move and travel in this form for a while yet. The poisons don't do much to me right now; it will be days before I'm in danger from them. The arrows don't hurt, which is bad, but I can still function. If you can get me to a healer, I can change back and my healing is better in my normal form. I need to do this before the poisons set in too far, though. I have around three days, I think.'

The three huddle up, discussing. I can't keep my eyes open any longer, the exhaustion too much. I fall off into sleep, wondering if I would live through this.

-Ice Guardian-

I wake up to hushed whispers and uncomfortably tight bandages across my chest. Opening my eyes, I look around. Kristoff must have started a fire, because we had some cooked fish and a bit of hot water that Anna and Elsa were using on my bandages. They were facing away from me, so I put my head back down for a minute, still weary. I overheard something interesting, though.

"Elsa, do you think that Rapunzel might be able to help? We are still the royal family, and we both know that the charges they brought us up on were total bullshit-"

Elsa's shocked voice shushed Anna. "Anna, language! And yes, I do think that Rapunzel ad Eugene will help, even only to help Atreyu here. The problem is that he's stuck in this beast form, and if we took him into town, he would be killed as a monster!"

Kristoff breaks in here. "Actually, we could say that he is a pet to the guards; if it gets him treatment, I'm sure he will have no problem playing the part of a trained animal."

A bit of silence here, and then Anna speaks. "Elsa, I think that would work. It will draw a bit more attention than I would like to us, considering the bounty on our heads, but still."

Elsa lets out a breath. "Okay, we'll ask him when he wakes up."

In response, I snort and spell out my answer on my back. 'Of course I'll do it; I don't really see much of the point of bravado in this situation anyway.'

I hear Elsa's relieved chuckle, and it pulls out a canine huff of amusement from me. Feeling well enough to move, I stand and stretch a bit, my over-strained muscles pulling and cramping. After a bit of whimpering and shaking, Anna and Elsa come over to see if I'm alright, but I wave them off with my tail. Taking a moment, I run a quick glamour over my body, making me a simple jet-black wolf to others who would see me. Well, as simple as a horse sized wolf can be. I spell out what I did to the others, making them nod in agreement. To Elsa, I message that she will want to make a real collar, as an illusion that moves and is separate from my body is beyond what I can do non-verbally. She looks amused at the thought, but rummages through a pack and cobbles together a quick collar and leash from the straps and a spare belt buckle. Sliding it over my head, I see the mischievous glint in her eye again. Oh, boy.

She turns to Anna and Kristoff, and in a cute bubbly voice that is so syrupy sweet that it makes my teeth ache, she quips; "He carried me home, can I keep him?"

Burying my head underneath my paws, I fake-huff dejectedly. The loud, uproarious laughter from the couple lightens my day, and the darkness I feel around my soul lightens a bit more.

As the sun comes up, they throw their packs on, and we start out towards the coast, and towards my only hope at living to see Arendelle again.

But at that moment, I couldn't care less about the place; it was the company, the family that mattered. I had said I would help, but it had been in a dark mood.

Privately, I reaffirmed my vow to protect them. Not because I felt guilty, or because I felt I owed them, but because I realized three things:

One, Elsa truly did regret what had transpired between us.

Two, the three of us were as close as family, and family is important beyond all else.

And three, because I finally admitted something to myself.

I love Elsa.