Chapter 28: Frostbites, Part 2
Ash Ketchum going down the mountain looked like a video game. Reaching the village of Arendalle, he slid his ice board to a stop and viewed the villagers trying everything to stay warm. Small fires, heavy cloaks and hoods, blanketed over... the suffering the villagers were living with. The sleigh with the rest of the party soon followed and stopped a few seconds later. The moment Elsa stepped off the sleigh, the villagers pounced over. They began asking about what to do with the cold that she summoned out of fear. "Listen, let me enter the palace so that I can find a way to reverse the mess I created," she pleaded with the crowd. "Meantime, let's get the children and the sick in with the rest of us so that they're treated." Word spread about what the queen urged. As the crowd gathered those Elsa wanted to protect, a redhead man in a royal white uniform approached and Anna was the first to see him.
"Hans!" she called out. Ash, Elsa and Celes turned to the named man, the one Anna left in charge of looking out for Arendalle.
"Princess Anna, thank goodness you came back safely," he huffed. Elsa's face seeing this Hans brought back harsh memories.
"Of course, I was the one who denied your request for a blessing!" Not that Hans wanted the reminder.
"We told you that we're in love with each other! Y-You may be the new queen but we're the ones who understand love!" Ash's face told the rest he doubted it.
"Really?" he spoke up. "You'd rather go after Anna than Elsa?" Hans quickly backtracked to acknowledge Ash's point.
"Look, Queen Elsa doesn't like people surrounding her. I respect a woman's privacy." Elsa knew Hans was truthful. It was by her hand that Arendalle got an early winter.
"I'll admit, I did bring snow to Arendalle's summer," she confessed. Ash wanted to get everyone back on track.
"Okay, let's not worry about what happened before," he tried to reason. "Let's get in the palace and try to find a way to reverse the process." With Kristoff, Sven and Pikachu in tow, they made their way to the palace where a fireplace lit up.
"You told me, Misty and Brock that you boarded on the hills by home," Pikachu nagged. "You didn't tell us about what you just did. What boarder taught you those tricks?" A sheepish smile painted Ash's face.
"I don't exactly know how to explain it." They entered the halls where Ash stopped and pulled the Hermos out and scanned the area. Anna mentioned it before, a keyhole looming around. "She told me that the keyhole's in Elsa's room. We just need to find it." Without warning, Goofy found Ash, a wonder why he was inside.
"There you are!" he called out. To Ash, Goofy got done talking to Donald.
"What's the word?"
"Leon, Tifa and the rest are treating Sora and have Team Rocket imprisoned. We won't need to worry about them in the least." Good news for Ash. He wanted to search for the keyhole but also protect the royal sisters.
"Good. Go and meet up with Celes. I'll catch up." Agreeing, Goofy and Ash split to their paths. Before long, Heartless were chasing a servant. Ash and Pikachu raced to stop the black creatures. "Duck!" The servant saw the charging boy and dove to the ground. Pikachu fired the Thunderbolt and Ash cut his way through, the Heartless easily overcome and losing their hearts. Safe, the servant got to his feet.
"Thank you!" he praised. Ash bobbed to the servant's gratitude.
"Can you point me to the queen's room?"
"Yes. Down this hall and to the left. You can't miss her room, the wood around it is cold and damp." Being someone with snowy powers, it made sense that something like that would happen while Elsa was away from her own chambers. Information on hand, Ash and Pikachu reached a door with icicles dripping water from the top. He twisted the knob, presumably unlocked...but couldn't open it.
"Looks like it's still frozen," Pikachu surveyed. It would be a problem if not for Ash summoning the keyscythe on the spot.
"She's gonna send me a bill when I do this," he began to regret while winding up for a swing, the blade burning red. SLASH! The scorching attack broke the ice and the door. Inside was the keyhole, just as Anna detailed beforehand. He initiated the keyblade and shot the beam in the hole, the locking sound echoing out. The keyhole's existence ceased with the hole vanishing to nothing. Just as Ash and Pikachu relaxed, a shrieking yell came over the palace.
"That's not good!" Both raced out and reached another room where Goofy and Celes were down while Kristoff stood in front of the sisters and keeping Hans away. Ash looked confused at the sight.
"You have no idea what it's like to be the young of 12 brothers, do you," Hans scowled. "Queen Elsa and Princess Anna, sisters who respect each other now... Why did my brothers not yield any power to me?" Hearing Hans say that further confounded Ash. He's blaming Anna and Elsa for something Hans' royal siblings did to him?
"Let me get this straight," Ash growled. "You're unlucky 13 and these two deserve blame?" Hans looked to and pointed a sword at Ash, the keyblade wielder not budged.
"Anna will be mine! Then I can rule over my older brothers and show them what it's like to be inferior!" Kristoff concluded that Hans had no interest in love, only power.
"And you call yourself a prince?" he snarled. "Even I learned from my family about true love." This became a unique conundrum.
"Let me ask you this," Ash spoke up as Celes and Goofy struggled to get on their feet. "You take out Anna and Elsa, how will your brothers feel?" Hans growled lowly toward the trainer.
"They will feel weak!" he replied. "They will feel helpless! Arendalle will be mine before the rest of the world!" Power hungry... Ash feared something like this would happen again. He brought out the keywhip. Hans scoffed at the weapon of choice. "That's not a weapon! What's in my hand is a weapon!" Ash shook the scoff off.
"That's actually the point." Ash's words confused Hans. "I'd rather not use a weapon to beat you...when I am the weapon to begin with." Hans didn't want to listen. He charged at Ash who stood his ground. Spotting the chair, Ash flung his whip out, lassoing the chair and swinging it to his path. "Why don't you take a seat!" The flying chair clipped his legs out and tripped Hans onto the chair before hitting the floor. Celes and Goofy watched in awe at Ash's use of the environment.
"Did he really need to use a pun?" Celes shrugged. Ash turned to Kristoff. At least he's okay.
"Get Anna and Elsa out of here!" Kristoff bobbed a nod before standing up. He helped Elsa and Anna on their legs. Hans wasn't letting them go that easily.
"Heartless!" he called out. "Go!" A swarm of Heartless burst through the doors and charged. Elsa aimed her hands and shot out a flurry of snow, freezing most but one kicked her hand which redirected to Ash and struck him in the chest. For the first time in so long, he's taken damage. Everyone gasped at the moment. Ash collapsed to a knee, grasping his chest in discomfort.
"Ash!" Goofy, Pikachu and Celes shouted. A tuff of the raven-haired boy turned bleach bleached blond. Elsa feared the worst.
"I struck his heart!" she gulped. How, he had three layers of clothing. "It's like what happened to you, Anna...except it's not easily treatable. More like a death sentence." More of Ash's dark hair brightened to blond status. Hans stood from the chair, his sword trained on Ash's neck.
"Oh, how the mighty and spry have fallen to the depths of pity and death," he mocked. "Soon, you'll be dead and the legend of you will also go to your grave." It looked bleak but Anna saw something that would wipe their fears from their minds: Ash's confident smile.
"You shouldn't be talking about yourself so much," he laughed as he got on his feet, his hair completely blond. He stood with a ton of confidence. The keywhip vanished but that left him an idea as he combed his hair with his fingers. The brush reverted his blond hair back to raven-haired with snow trailing off. Finally, he swiped the air and forced Hans back. Good thing, too. Ash's summoned a new keyblade. The hilt looked like a snowflake and the barbs were icicles. Hans, Kristoff, Anna and Elsa looked perplexed.
"He's recovered," Elsa noted.
"But how?" Kristoff wondered. "Those whose hearts are frozen can only be thawed by one's true love." To hear this detail, it made less sense than before. To Ash, he's ready to put Hans in the cooler. Hans raced and slashed at Ash but he countered and swatted the blade. The contact shattered the sword in pieces of silver and steel. Hans was in real trouble and it didn't help that Pikachu and Elsa did away with the Heartless.
"You need to chill out!" punned Ash again. This time, he struck the ground and icicles popped out, a couple of them pinning the arms and holding him up like a cross. Hans looked defeated. Ash felt proud about his stopping of Hans. "That pun I can live with." Everything neutral, Anna came forward to the down-on-his-luck prince.
"Princess Anna, please understand that-" he pleaded but Anna wasn't hearing any of it.
"The only frozen heart around here is yours," she argued. "And you're getting no sympathy from any of us." Ouch!
"All I wanted was a place to rule for my own." Anna shook her head to the plea before drilling a fist at his cheek The punch knocked out the prince.
"That was cold~" Pikachu punned as well. Elsa laughed at the Pokémon's attempt at comedy. Some of the servants helped take the cold-cocked prince away and left the rest with a puzzle.
"Now that he's no longer a bother, what about this unseasoned winter?" Kristoff questioned. That's when Ash had an idea.
"You leave that to me," he offered as he summoned his Port Royal keyblade and headed outside. More servants and some of the locals helped Celes and Goofy with injuries suffered during the fight with Hans. Outside, Ash rose the keyblade glowing red. "Let's heat this village! Fira Water!" The keyblade smashed the ground and a wave of hot water pushed and melted the snow and ice in a huge spread. Olaf waited inside after Ash stepped out so he was protected from the hot water. All the ice and snow vanished, pushed out of the village or melted. It was warm and the villagers started shedding their heavy wear. Those inside stepped out, viewing the village renewed. To Ash, everything in this world was done...and with no Maleficent in sight, whoever she targeted was safe. After sometime to calm down, Anna and Elsa came out, Olaf having a snowy cloud overhead.
"Ash, thank you for your help," Anna praised. "Arendalle looks better than before." The lands clear of ice and snow, children dashed out to the clearing and ready to play. Ash felt like a kid seeing all the children playing.
"They take me back to the years before I became a trainer." Elsa came forward with information about Goofy and Celes.
"Ash, your friends will recover in the palace," she explained. "I've used my power to hold their wounds together and they should be fine after some rest." Ash knew that he had to go for them.
"You know, this whole series started back on the ferry where I got my keyblade. I want to end it alone." The sisters and Pikachu stood shocked. He had enough running around and wanted to end the fight with the Heartless. "You can tell Goofy and Celes that I'm going ahead. Besides, I'm not alone." Popping out of nowhere, Dark Magician Girl made a surprise appearance.
"Master Yugi left me in charge of Ash," she listed her priority. "I know what he's thinking at the moment." The sisters understood the "Monster" and bobbed. As Dark Magician Girl scoped out the village, Kristoff came out. Elsa had more to say, this time to Anna and the big man.
"Kristoff...that's your name, right?" she asked while Dark Magician Girl came back.
"Is there something you need, your highness?" he wondered.
"Your family...they're the trolls which cured Anna when I froze her head, right?" A nervous nod from Kristoff confirmed her suspicion. "I see. I did the same to Ash's friends so that their minds are clear of pain they're suffering. When the treatment is complete, you and your moose can transport the two to see your family." Kristoff bobbed a nod to the idea.
"Sven and I can make sure they're in safe hands...and hoof per say." Elsa bowed to Kristoff's promise. Then she had one more request.
"By the way, you and Anna risked your lives to find me, right?" It left Kristoff scratching his head. "I denied Anna about offering a blessing before, but knowing how much you two worked together... if Anna wants to offer her marriage to you... I'd be more than willing to offer you that blessing." This news got Anna excited and she hugged Kristoff. Things were going ever so right for her. Tinker Bell flew out of Ash's hood and saw the couple, joining by flying over them and scattering dust on the two.
"I guess Tinker Bell also agrees to the idea," Ash believed. The only thing missing was Maleficent but with Anna together with Kristoff and Elsa knowing how to defend herself, Maleficent might have a difficult time. Already given his message, Ash, Pikachu, Tinker Bell and Dark Magician Girl boarded the Gummi Ship. Before taking off, Ash activated the monitor and scanned around. Finally, he spotted the world. "Activating Auto-Pilot Sequence! Next stop: Hollow Bastion!" The monitor flashed "OK."
"So we're finally settling the score and saving Téa and the other princesses, right?" Dark Magician Girl asked.
"That's the plan!" The Gummi Ship took off, a plan in motion. To Ash, the climax of the long journey was soon approaching.
TO BE CONTINUED...
(Okay, no more Anime or Disney worlds, the last legs of the story are coming up. And for those who want Pete in here...I'll bring him out next chapter, along with other characters like Riku and one or two others. Thank you for all your votes and all your patience. Because of you, this story has been a huge...let me say it again... HUGE success.)
