The shadows came from everywhere, pouring from the ice like blood from a wound. They swirled around, blocking the exit, leaving a clearly defined circle around Jack and Elsa.
"Mara, Tyra," Elsa said quietly, almost civilly.
"Hello, your majesty."
"I'm guessing this was a trap?"
One of the voices giggled. "No, silly. It's a lock."
She blinked. "What?"
"A lock. A lock to a door that keeps the past and the future seperate."
Elsa blinked. "And you think we have the key. That's why you wanted us here."
"You know, I thought you we're supposed to be smart."
Two small figures stepped out of the shadows. Elsa breath caught in her throat.
"Anna?" She said. Jack looked even more pale than usual.
"Why do you look like my sister?" He whispered.
The one that looked like Anna spun around. "Do you like it? It was Mara's idea." That was Anna's voice. Young Anna.
The other little girl, who looked like Jack's sister, giggled. "But you carried it out, Tyra."
"What is this?" Jack said, his voice trembling.
"We don't have to look like this," Mara said. "It's just more fun."
"What do you want?" Elsa said, her voice somewhat more controlled than Jack's. "We don't have the key, or whatever it is you want-"
"Silly. You are the key."
"Wait, what?"
"Two hearts, frozen in ice, one from past, one from future, shall open the doors of time and release what lies in the the shadows," Tyra said, her eyes, young and innocent, Anna's eyes, wide. "A key for a lock. That's what he promised us. Then he wouldn't be alone, and we wouldn't be stuck here."
"What does it mean, past and future?" Elsa said.
Jack shut his eyes, putting his hand on his forehead. "I think that's me," he said tiredly, the tremor forced from his voice. "Future, I mean."
Elsa turned to him. "What?" Her voice shook slightly.
His eyes opened, and he gave her an apologetic smile. "I'm from the future."
She was silent, her mouth hanging open. "But... You were with me, when I was a child..."
"Three hundred years old, remember?" Jack said. "I met you back when I was young too. Freshly made spirit. Sorry."
"And so... I'm the past."
"And we're here to open the doors to the rift."
"You're here to take us home."
"So, this was it?" Jack said. "This is your endgame? Use us to get to the future? What is so important there?"
"You haven't seen it like I have," Tyra said. "It is built on fear and shadows and the dark. One word, and the entire world will cower."
"How have you seen it?" Jack casually leaned on his staff, giving the impression he wasn't very interested. His eyes were bright and alert, however, and Elsa could see what he was doing. Get as much information as he could while stalling. The problem was, she wasn't sure what he was stalling for.
"I can see it all," Tyra whispered. She clasped her hands in a dreamy way. "I can see it all. And all the words. Such pretty words. I like using them, to speak."
"So, that was you? With the poems?"
"Cold be the heart and hand and bone," she said. She covered her heart, before she pointed at Jack. "Cold be the traveler far from home."
"I get it."
"They do not see what lies ahead, when the sun has faded and the moon is dead."
"I get it," Jack repeated.
"Do you?"
Jack blinked, looking slightly at a lost for words.
"How do we send you back?" Elsa said, stepping in. She felt she had been too quiet during this.
"Oh, you're going to have to die."
Both Jack and Elsa glanced at each other, moving closer together slightly.
"Too late," Jack said, waving his hand. "I'm already dead."
"In body. Not in spirit," Mara said.
"That was a really bad pun, kiddo," Jack said jokingly, nothing but his eyes showing his anxiety. Mara giggled, covering her mouth.
"Don't worry," she said. "It is still accurate." She stepped forward.
"I'll take this as our cue to leave," Jack said, and waved the staff, a wall of ice completely surrounding both him and Elsa. He pulled her down, so that knelt, facing each other. He wrapped his arms around her, and she did the same.
"What the hell are we going to do?" He said.
"You're asking me? You're the one who's from the future!"
"That doesn't mean I know anything!"
She laughed slightly, leaning her head on his shoulder. "We really messed up this time..."
"And you know what? We're both getting out of this, and we're going to mess up again, and again, and again. We're going to keep making mistakes, you and me."
She laughed again. "It'll probably be safer for everyone if we simply never spoke again."
"Now that would be the biggest mistake," he said. She looked up at him. "That is the worst idea I've ever heard. You're not getting rid of me that easily. I'm with you, 'til the end of the line, pal."
"What?"
"Nevermind."
She wrapped her arms tighter around him. "We need to figure out how they plan to open it."
"And then?"
"We stop them," she said. "Obviously. If they get to the future with your friend..."
"Pitch."
"If they get to the future with your friend Pitch, who knows what they have planned."
The ice above them shook, as something was rammed against it. It almost seemed to be snowing, as a light dusting fell upon them. They looked up.
"It's going to be okay," Jack said. "It's going to be-"
The wall caved in suddenly, and Jack was ripped from her painfully from grasp, slammed to the side.
"Jack!" Elsa screamed.
"You have to break the frozen hearts to open the door," Tyra said, her voice echoing everywhere, and it clear she was quoting something. Or someone. Both her and Mara were no where to be seen. "Broken when they lose their true love. Loss as monumental as that, time itself will feel pity, and allow a soul through."
"Only one soul, sister," Mara said. "Which is why you both have to die."
"We won't lose each other!" Elsa yelled. She was terrified. She was terrified, yes, but she had to get them out of here. Or at least him. She had to at least save Jack. She stood up, feeling herself shake, before turning back to Jack. He struggled to sit up, clutching his side. His hair was streaked with blood, eyes wide and filled with unshed tears. It nearly broke her heart. "I'll still be with him. Even in death, I'll still be with Jack. You won't get there like this!"
Silence fell for a moment, before Tyra spoke.
"Well, it's worth a shot."
And with that, Elsa was knocked violently to the ground.
A/N: Does anyone know how hard it was for me not to write "I'm with you til the end of the line, pal" when I was writing Jack and Elsa's cute little conversation under the ice? It was painful. I nearly punched a wall, crying about Captain America. I need help. Send it in the form of Chris Evans. Thank you. Edit: I did it.
Honestly, this isn't my best, but I'm got impatient, so... Here we are.
