Special thanks as always to my favorite people icemaxprime and timelord4132 aka the reviewers! Also, thanks to everyone for helping me cross 4000 views, never imagined it would get to that many. And now, enjoy the next chapter!
"Can't Sven go any faster?" Kristoff tried to keep his retort to himself, but seeing as how dawn had barely begun to break, he was not sure how much longer his self-control was going to last.
Elsa had burst into Kristoff's room, back in the pants and jacket outfit she had wore while fighting that evening, and Kristoff practically falling out of his bed thinking another attack was happening, informing him that they could not wait any longer. Elsa had started a very Anna like rant about dreams and wolves and caves and Anna and Pabbi…honestly, Kristoff was fairly certain that Elsa had finally snapped under the pressure.
"I need you to trust me Kristoff. I need to know that you are still on my side." Kristoff had found the entire sequence bizarre, but saw that Elsa seemed to practically need to be assured that Kristoff believed her. That she was not in this alone.
"Of course I am with you Elsa. If you think you know how to save Anna, let's get to it."
he's lying to you elsa...
Elsa tried to hide the fear that gripped her. She chanced a quick glance at Kristoff but from the look on his face he hadn't heard - heard that voice. That voice...she knew that voice. But she had only heard it in her dreams - no, not dreams...nightmares. But Elsa heard nothing else, and shook her head, assuring herself she had imagined it. Just my anxiety. I'm just worried about Anna.
Seeing that Kristoff was waiting for a response and seemingly still a little confused over Elsa's outburst and what she can only guess as confusion over the look of fear that had flashed across her face, Elsa gave a silent nod of her head and what he took as her attempt as a comforted smile.
As Kristoff got his gear together, he could not help but notice the lingering doubt on Elsa's face when she thought Kristoff was not looking and how she seemed to have again fallen into the habit of rubbing her hands in worry. Kristoff tried to catch Elsa's attention to let her know that he was there for her, but was it just his imagination or did he see shades of purple in Elsa's usually ice blue eyes?
As the two made their way out of the silent castle and left the city gates on Kritstoff's sled, they both shared the same thought, I need to find you soon Anna.
You guys better come find me soon. Anna thought miserably to herself. Anna had the dying embers of a barely lit fire to keep her occupied as she recounted the last few hours (at least I think it's only been a few hours) glumly to herself.
Anna had been dragged from the castle, and except for a brief moment of seeing Kristoff struggling to reach her, soon found herself spirited out of the city walls and forced onto a sled. Anna barely had time to protest before she was gagged and had her head covered and traveling away from Arendelle - away from Kristoff. Away from Elsa.
Anna was certain that she had spent some time at Elsa's ice palace before she was again whisked off to some unknown location. She was fairly certain that she was still in the mountain range close to the North Mountain and Elsa's Ice Palace, due to the chill she had felt during the journey and the current temperature of the cave she was currently sitting in.
I hope they are alright, Anna thought as she pushed the embers in an attempt to keep their light alive. The long shadows they were casting on the walls were not very comforting but certainly were better than being alone in the dark. Anna had tried to reassure herself that she had no reason to think that anything bad had happened to Elsa, Kristoff or Raiden since the last time she had seen them. But that did not stop the fact of not knowing from eating away at her.
They tell me to stay in the castle. Stay out of danger. Protect the poor, defenseless princess. And here I am chained in a cave anyway. Typical. Anna had tried to get comfortable with her ankle attached to the stoney wall of the cave via a chain, but sleep was not coming. And when she did find herself falling asleep, she would jerk awake in a cold sweat, certain she had awakened from a nightmare she did not want to remember.
Her mind continued to race back to Arendelle and Elsa. She knew that the reason she was here was to somehow get to her sister. It was eating away at Anna's sanity the thought of her somehow being responsible for any harm coming to Elsa.
Guess I finally know that feeling. No wonder Elsa looked so miserable all the time.
But as the hours passed and the longer Anna stayed in cave, the darker her thoughts became. Soon, Anna found herself with her back against the cave wall, head on her knees, just wishing for some relief to the fear and anxiety she was feeling. It was as if the voice in her head was no longer her own and was stoking those darkest fears and self-doubts she had deep within herself. Anna wanted to scream and cry and be furious and sad all at the same time. She had never felt like this before.
Anna snapped out of her thoughts as she saw a light approaching through the tunnel that led out of the cave. Unsure of who it was, she withheld the urge to shout out. And as the man came closer she withheld another urge to shudder. Korin was quite a sight, the embers casting a grisly visage with his red iris' and black armor.
"I do hope that you are enjoying our accommodations." Korin seemed content to remain just out of Anna's reach and torment her as he paced calmly in front of her. Anna turned her head, refusing to give this creep any kind of satisfaction of knowing how miserable she was. How much she wanted to just - to just...
"So tell me, how did it feel to grow up so close to a monster?" Korin asked acidly.
"Elsa is no monster. You're the monster." Anna replied, she could feel an unfamiliar fury building within her.
"And yet she leaves you here in the dark to rot. But what can I expect from a murderer of women and children?"
"Go to hell!" Anna's face was contorted in anger as the fury within her felt ready to explode. But just as fast a look of shock replaced it and Anna's hand flew to her mouth. What did I just say?
"Seems like you are well on your way princess." Anna hated the smug look on Korin's face. Hated it.
"It is going to take more than being left alone in the dark to break me. Elsa will come and you are going to wish you never were born." This thought gave Anna a pleasant feeling.
"Oh I know that your precious monster will come princess. But what makes you think you have been in here alone?" Korin snuffed out his torch and Anna saw a pair of red eyes suddenly appear in the dark.
"Fenrir..." This time Anna did scream and felt the painful tug on her ankle as she tried to get away from that awful glare. But before Anna could make another move the eyes widened and lunged at her. Anna felt a painful slash on her forearm and screamed. But not from the pain of the gash, which did not appear to be bleeding, it was from the feeling spreading from it. Like her entire arm was on fire.
"What did you monsters do to me?!"
"I take it these were not the wolves that you were referring to?" Kristoff said as he used a lit branch to keep yet another wolf at bay.
Kristoff and Elsa had barely traveled into the woods outside Arendelle before they were set upon by wolves. Kristoff had never seen a pack like this before though, or at least, not one this large and aggressive. To Kristoff, it seemed unnatural and that only led to one conclusion: Fenrir's corruption Arendelle was spreading.
"No. These. Were. Not." With each word Elsa sent a blast to keep the circling wolves away. She did not want to show it, but this situation was causing Elsa to recall her recent nightmares. And as she and Kristoff continued to fight, a horribly familiar voice was making its presence known, adding to her dread that she was now living through a waking nightmare.
let the wolves take him. he will betray you elsa. or worse, you can be responsible for hurting him. how would anna ever forgive you?
"Shut up!" Elsa shouted.
"Ummm...I didn't say anything?" Kristoff and Elsa were now back to back and Kristoff was not feeling very secure at the moment with Elsa acting this way.
"Never mind. What are we going to do?" Elsa knew this was just delaying them to reaching Anna.
"I've never seen wolves this persistent before. This has to be Fenrir somehow. We need to get back to Sven and get out of here!" When the wolves had appeared, Kristoff had freed Sven from the sled and ordered him to run back towards Arendelle. He hoped the wolves had been too focused on him and Elsa to go off after him. But right now, he really wished he had Sven at his back as well.
there is no getting out ice queen. i have sweet, innocent anna. or at least...what is left of her.
"Gaaaah!" Elsa practically screeched in fury as she sent a large icicle at the direction she felt the voice was coming from. Kristoff barely had time to drop to the ground at the icicle flew through the air that was once his head and crack a tree in half with its force.
"Hey! Watch it!" But as Kristoff turned he saw that Elsa was not looking at him. She had a wild, distant look in her eye that he did not recognize.
"Elsa! Snap out of it!" Kristoff took a protective stance over Elsa, hoping she would return to her senses before the wolves realized that Elsa wouldn't be tossing her powers at them. "Elsa..." The wolves, sensing a change, were snarling and barking as they tightened their circle.
Kristoff prepared to fight them off for as long as he could. Suddenly, the wolves paused their pacing and froze, sensing something that Kristoff could not. Barking and howling at each other, the wolves suddenly froze when a loud crashing noise was Kristoff's only warning as a huge amber wolf, far larger than those surrounding them, burst into the fray of wolves. Kristoff wasn't sure what to make of the scene as the large wolf stood facing the pack, it's growls keeping the wolves at bay.
Kristoff did not like the idea of trading a pack of wolves for a giant one, but Elsa at least seemed to have regained her senses.
"Elsa, I really hope you're alright, cause I'm pretty sure things have gotten worse." Kristoff helped Elsa back to her feet as the pack of wolves seemed to have decided that Elsa and Kristoff were not worth the trouble of going through the larger wolf. Kristoff noticed that the large wolf had turned its attention to Elsa and Kristoff and Kristoff was not a fan of the way the wolf was staring at them. Or was it just staring at Elsa?
"Elsa, I am going to try and distract it. You wait and - Elsa?" Kristoff looked over his shoulder to confirm the plan but Elsa was no where to be found. Turning back he saw that Elsa was already mere feet from the wolf.
"Elsa get - back?" But before Kristoff could even reach her Elsa had clasped her hands across the wolves neck, her face deep in its fur.
"You came back." Elsa whispered into the wolves neck.
"I promised. Even from nightmares." Kristoff almost broke his neck in the double-take it did as the wolf's form shimmered and where before Elsa was embracing the a large, amber wolf, she was now in a tight embrace with -
"Raiden?!" Raiden looked up and gave Kristoff a confirmatory nod and shrug. Elsa broke from their embrace and the two stood, their arms still touching.
"This - this is how you survived after Fenrir attacked you?" Elsa already knew the answer, she just wanted to hear from Raiden.
"Yes. When Tyr found me-"
"The blue wolf..." Elsa somehow knew that name without ever having heard it and Raiden silently nodded, eager to finally tell Elsa the truth, finding that once he had started he needed to continue.
"When Tyr found me, Fenrir's corruption had almost killed me. But he was able to channel that corruption into something else. He imbued me with the power to become - to become that monster." Elsa saw the sham in his eyes and placed her hand on his cheek, forcing him to look back at her.
"Not a monster. A protector." Raiden met Elsa's eyes but a look of concern crossed Raiden's face. He suddenly gripped Elsa as felt her grow weak in his arms and she grabbed her head, as if in pain.
"Elsa!" Kristoff rushed forward to catch her but Raiden had her and helped control her fall to her knees.
"Elsa I need you to fight it! Fight him back!" Raiden tried to get Elsa to lift her head to look at him.
"Stay away..." Elsa could barely hear anything anymore, all she heard was that damn voice...
"Elsa, I need you to stay with me!" Raiden placed his hands on Elsa's shoulders as if to lift her up again.
no ice queen. your protector cannot save you again. not from what you are becoming.
"I said stay away!" The blast that threw Kristoff and Raiden to the ground was not the typical blue of Elsa's powers but a mix of black and purple. As it hit the trees and bushes in the vicinity, they instantly froze as if in actual pain.
As Raiden slowly returned to his feet and made his way back to Elsa, he saw that she was still on knees, breathing heavily, but back in control. However, that was not the first thing that Raiden noticed, as Elsa's eyes were now a mix of purple and blue, while her hair was beginning to darken at its roots.
"Raiden, what - what is happening to me? I can feel it, inside me." Elsa had her hands over her chest - over her heart.
"It's Fenrir." Raiden joined Elsa on his knees and embraced her, hoping to console her even though he knew there was nothing he could do to protect her from this. And it tore at him inside.
"But how?" Kristoff stood nearby, unsure of what was going on. Raiden sighed before responding, turning to speak directly to Kristoff.
"It's Pabbi." Elsa and Kristoff looked to Raiden in shock.
"When you - when I left, I went to try and find Anna. I was able to track her to your Ice Palace, where it seems Fenrir had set up camp. When I followed her sent, it led me to what I suspect was your room Elsa. But what I found there was not Anna. It was Elsa, as if I was seeing her in a vision. She was trapped in a cave and when I called it was as if she couldn't hear me. When I searched I saw that the source of this vision was Pabbi - under Fenrir's control."
"That's impossible." Kristoff could never believe that Pabbi, kind, grandfatherly Pabbi, could be responsible for what was happening to Elsa.
"It's true. It seems that Fenrir did not only take Pabbi for his knowledge, but for his power over the mind as well. This is how he has been able to reach Elsa at such a great distance. I tried to save him Kristoff - truly I did." Kristoff just nodded in response, the anger over someone corrupting the goodness of Pabbi almost overwhelming. Not to mention what he may be doing to Anna.
"But - but you saved me. You led me out." Elsa placed her hand on Raiden's and Raiden grasped it in return.
no elsa, he failed you. shut up! Elsa placed a hand on her head to quite the voice. Raiden felt a stab in chest at the look of pain as it crossed Elsa's face and her hair grew slightly darker.
"I am sorry Elsa. I swore to protect you. I failed you. Again." Elsa took her hand off of her head and saw the look of remorse on Raiden's face. The sacrafice he had endured. No, I am not finished. Not yet.
"We need to hurry." Elsa had risen to her feet, Kristoff and Raiden sharing a look.
"We are going to find Pabbi. We are going to find Anna. And I am going to find Fenrir if it's the last thing I do." Elsa turned to Raiden, "Fenrir has taken enough from the both of us. It's time we took something from him."
Raiden, with a look of grim determination, nodded his head and Kristoff picked up his pick. Elsa watched as the tattoo on Raiden's shoulder swirled and grew, the patterns soon covering his entire upper body and spreading further. As the tattoo's covered his entire body Raiden began to fall to his hands and knees but before reaching the ground, there stood the amber wolf from Elsa's dream.
"Raiden, lead the way." Elsa said and Kristoff and Elsa followed Raiden, now again at the large amber wolf, back towards the North Mountain.
"I do not mean to question sire. But do you believe this will work?" Korin asked the darkness over the moans still escaping Anna. Through the daze of Anna's pain, she could still make out the words she recognized as the voice that had been plaguing her.
"If Tyr can do it, I can as well. He's not the only one that can create soldiers for this war. Besides, the Ice Queen does not have much longer." Anna moaned as the pain continued to spread throughout her body. "Leave her, there is nothing left but to wait for the Ice Queen to arrive. And when she does, precious Anna will bring her to me." Anna tried to shout out that she would rather die but instead a growl escaped her throat. Anna would have been shocked but the pain was too great.
"Don't worry Anna. The pain will pass and when it does, something far greater will replace it." Anna screwed her eyes shut in an attempt to shut out those horrible eyes, but even with her eyes closed she felt she could still see them. As if they were seared into her mind.
Elsa...Kristoff...please...Anna was finding it even difficult to focus on those names. It was as if something was tearing them away from her. As if a part of her was dying. In their place, was just those eyes and it's voice.
I warned your sister I would take everything from her. Now you are mine.
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