Chapter 35: Beware the Frozen Heart

Xigbar watched Saïx's corridor of darkness fade away and let out a sigh of relief. "Alright, he's gone," he said to the empty hallway. Xigbar's shadow shifted beneath his body, stretching out and then bulging upwards into the air. The bulge formed a humanoid shape and changed from a shadow into something physical, transforming into the boy in black and white armor.

"Great job just rambling on and on as a distraction, Braig. He doesn't suspect a thing." The boy's voice under his mask was dripping with sarcasm.

"Bite me," Xigbar responded. "We only need to play Xemnas's game for a little bit longer, kid. Then we'll be back on track." Xigbar walked over to the large golden doors and swung them open. He had been lying to Saïx about Naminé's location; the girl was right here. "How's it going, Goldilocks? Done with your art project yet?"

Naminé looked up at Xigbar's grinning face and glared at him, but did nothing beyond that. They both knew there was nothing she could do to fight back, and escape was impossible since Mask-Boy could sense and shut down any corridor she tried to open. Being made of pure darkness had its perks. So she silently took the stack of cards sitting on her lap and handed them to Xigbar, glaring at him the entire time.

Xigbar whistled, admiring the hand-drawn artwork on the cards. "Beautiful work, Naminé." All of them were drawings of various worlds that Xion had visited during her time in Organization XIII; mostly duplicates of Twilight Town and The World That Never Was, but Beast's Castle and a couple others were in there as well. With an approving nod, Xigbar slipped the cards into his pocket for later.

x-x-x

"It's a palace of ice!" Kristoff said, staring up in awe. "I might cry."

"Gawrsh, it sure is pretty, huh?"

Xion's breath was caught in her throat and she could only nod in agreement with Kristoff and Goofy. They stood at the base of a staircase – also made of ice – that connected two cliffs. The cliff at the other end stood a palace that was, just as Kristoff said, made entirely out of ice. It sparkled in the daylight, shifting from blue to white to pink as the sun and shade hit it. It was absolutely beautiful.

"Go ahead, I won't judge," Anna said to Kristoff. She put a hesitant foot on the frozen staircase and then made her way up it.

"So your sister built all of this?" Sora was moving right behind Anna as he spoke.

"She must have. Don't worry; when I talk to her she'll make everything right."

"I still don't think just talking is going to do anything," Kristoff said. He turned around and faced Sven, who was struggling up the ice. "Sven, you just stay here. Sit." The reindeer planted its backside firmly in the snow, sitting just like a dog. "Beautiful, flawless…" Xion heard him say while he climbed the steps.

Anna stood in front of the large double doors leading into the palace, her worry obvious on her face. "What if something goes wrong?" she asked.

"Don't worry, I'm sure your sister will listen," Xion said. "Family, right?"

Anna smiled and nodded. "Yes, you're right. I'm worrying over nothing. I'll talk to Elsa and she'll fix everything." She knocked on the door once and it swung open. "Oh, it opened. That's a first." Anna didn't enter yet, instead turning around to face the group. "Please, wait out here. Last time I introduced her to someone, she froze everything."

"What?" Kristoff asked. "But it's a palace made of ice. Ice is my life!"

"Bye, Sven!" Olaf said, waving his stick arms at Kristoff as he waddled up to the entrance. Xion picked him up and put him back down on the bottom of the steps. "What gives?"

"I think Anna wants all of us to stay out here, Olaf," Xion said.

"What? But I-"

Anna shook her head. "Please, Olaf. Just give us a minute."

"Okay, okay, fine." When Anna entered the door and it slammed shut behind her, Olaf sat down on the steps. His smile never faded. "One… two…" He was giving her a minute, just as he promised.

Goofy chuckled and joined in. "Three… four… five…"

The two of them continued to count while the others spoke. "So, what's your story?" Kristoff asked them. "You're obviously not from around here."

"We're, uh…" Donald laughed awkwardly, trying to think of a good way to answer without outright lying. "…travelers."

"What, like circus performers?"

"What?!"

"Well I mean, just look at you guys. Not to mention the giant keys you're swinging around."

Donald's face was about to turn red, so Sora stepped in. "Something like that, yeah. And we're looking for our missing friends, Riku and-"

"And Lilo," Xion added. "Have you seen a tan little girl in a red dress, or a boy with white hair and a blindfold?"

"Sorry, I haven't. Arendelle's a big place, though." Kristoff frowned. "Hey, as long as we're talking: what exactly are those wolves that attacked us? They're clearly not normal, and you guys seem to have an idea."

Sora and Xion eyed each other. The Heartless were a threat to everyone, so there was more harm in Kristoff not knowing about them, wasn't there? "They're called Heartless," Xion said. She gripped Stitch's charm as she spoke. "They're hunting down a special Keyhole, and when they find it Arendelle is in big trouble."

"How big are we talking? It's kind of in trouble now."

Donald shook his head. "Snow and ice will be the least of your worries."

Sora nodded. "Kristoff, if the Heartless find the Keyhole… Arendelle will be destroyed."

"What?" Kristoff asked. "All gone, just like that? You're pulling my leg."

Xion's grip around the charm tightened. "I've seen it happen before, and I won't let it happen again But don't worry, as long as Sora and I find the Keyhole first, we can lock it so the Heartless can't do anything."

Kristoff rubbed his chin. "A Keyhole, huh? Maybe grandpappy knows where this thing is…" Kristoff thought out loud.

"…fifty-nine, sixty." Olaf and Goofy finished counting and Olaf stood up, grinning widely. "I'm coming Anna!"

"Wait, Olaf!"

The little snowman either ignored or didn't hear Kristoff calling to him. He laughed and ran inside the palace with a joyful cry of "Hi! I'm Olaf and I like warm hugs!" The doors slammed shut behind him.

"Should we go after him?" Sora asked.

Goofy smiled. "I figure that if Elsa made him, then maybe Olaf can help bridge hers and Anna's hearts. I say we let 'em go."

"I guess that makes sense…" Kristoff said. He turned back to Sora and Xion. "Anyway, sorry I don't know where the people you're looking for are. I wouldn't know much about missing friends; it's just been me and Sven since I was a kid."

"You're on your own?" Sora asked.

Kristoff scratched the back of his head. "Kind of? I mean, I have these friends—well, I say friends, they're more like family." He shrugged again. "They're kind of love experts. That's why Anna getting engaged to a guy she just met bugs me so much."

"Love experts, huh?" Xion asked.

"Yeah. And grandpappy knows his way around magic, so he can probably find this Keyhole thing you're looking for-" Kristoff stopped, cut off by shouting coming from inside the frozen palace.

"I'm such a fool! I can't be free!" Xion didn't recognize the woman. Was that Elsa?

"You don't have to be afraid!" That one was Anna's voice.

"Something's going wrong," Kristoff said. He jumped to action immediately, swinging the doors open and storming into the ice palace. The entry hall was empty, but they could hear the two sisters upstairs—along with the howling of a blizzard. "This way, come on!" As Kristoff led Sora, Xion, Donald, and Goofy upstairs, the blizzard and Elsa's voice drowned out Anna's.

"Anna, please, you'll only make it worse! You're not safe here!"

"We can face this thing together! We can change this winter weather, and everything will be-"

"I CAN'T!" Kristoff flung the second floor door open just as Elsa yelled that. A bolt of ice struck Anna in the chest and she collapsed to the icy ground next to a horrified Olaf.

"Anna!" Kristoff shouted, running over to her and wrapping his arms around her. She was shivering in the cold. "Are you okay?"

"I'm okay… I'm fine," she said, teeth chattering, as she climbed back to her feet. Her hand was clutching at her chest.

Sora had pulled out his Keyblade and stood between the Anna and Elsa. "How could you?! Your own sister!" He yelled.

Elsa's own eyes were wide. She was horrified. "No… No, I didn't mean to—get out of here! Please!" Elsa wrapped her arms around herself as the palace darkened and spikes of ice began bursting out of the walls. "Anna, what power do you have to stop this winter? To stop me?"

"I'm not leaving without you!" Anna cried.

Elsa regained her composure and held her hand out. "Yes. You are." Blue and white sparkles danced around her hand, reminding Xion of a Blizzard spell. Out of the floor grew a mound of snow, and it continued to grow and grow until it towered over everybody else. The snow shifted and changed, becoming a menacing snowman with ice holding its limbs together. Its eyes glowed an eerie blue, matching the color of Elsa's dress. The snowman roared and picked the entire group up with one hand before storming out onto the balcony and tossing them into the snow below, nearby Sven.

Xion pulled herself out of the snowdrift she had landed in and summoned her Keyblade. Sora, who landed right by her, nodded. "Donald, Goofy, you protect Kristoff while he gets Anna out of here!" Xion said. The giant snowman leaped down from the balcony and landed in front of the two Keybearers. "We'll hold him off."

"Thank you," Kristoff said. He pushed a struggling Anna onto Sven's back next to Olaf—who looked just as oblivious as always. Sven ran off down the mountain and Goofy used his shield as a sled to keep up with the reindeer. Donald rode on Goofy's shoulders, holding his staff out in case of emergency.

"Think we can take something this big just the two of us?" Sora asked while the snowman took heavy steps toward them.

Xion gulped. "Well, we beat that Behemoth in Hollow Bastion, but…" She once again held onto the ukulele charm, which began to glow with a soft light. "Some backup wouldn't hurt." The tip of Xion's Keyblade sparkled in time with the charm's glow and she held it up to the sky. A beam of light from the Keyblade opened up a Gate, and a familiar high-pitched cackle echoed from within it.

"Aloha!"

Stitch came flying out of the Gate and crashed into Xion, knocking her down onto the snow where he licked at her face happily. "Stitch! Stitch, stop!" She said through laughter. "I'm glad to see you too, but now's not the time."

"Huh?" Stitch looked down at the snow, sniffed it, and stuffed some into his mouth. "Bleh!" He spat it back out and finally seemed to notice the huge snowman, so planted his feet firmly on the ground and stood battle-ready between Sora and Xion. "Let's go! Feeboogoo!" He shouted in his strange alien language. It seemed like a taunt, and it certainly worked since the snowman roared at them once more.

Sora moved into action first, running between the stomping feet and striking the ice on its legs with the Keyblade. Shards of ice went flying but it seemed otherwise unharmed. The snowman swung its huge hands at Xion and she rolled out of the way then swung her own Keyblade. But the swing slowed down dramatically when it got caught in the snowman's not-quite-sold body. Xion tugged at her Keyblade to pull it out, but took too long—a snow fist met her head-on and knocked Xion back.

Stitch roared and leaped at the snow giant, climbing onto its icy arm and scratching away at it. At the very least he succeeded in distracting the snowman, as it tried desperately to grab Stitch with its stubby fingers. Xion called the Keyblade back to her from its position stuck in the snowman's body and stood up, brushing snow off of her.

"Fira!" Sora shouted from behind the distracted snowman, launching a burst of flame from his own Keyblade. The fireball melted the snowman's left leg, causing it to topple to the ground. Stitch continued clawing away at its arm until Xion heard a snap, and its right hand fell to the ground with its arm broken. While the snowman lay helpless, Xion still hesitated to strike it; last time a physical attack on the snow hadn't done much of anything. It wasn't solid enough. If the whole thing was made of ice, then maybe… Xion got an idea.

"Sora, cast Blizzard!"

"What?" Sora asked, dumbfounded. "Xion, its body is already frozen!"

"Yeah, but it's not frozen enough. My attacks just get caught in its snow body."

Sora nodded, finally understanding. "Okay. Freeze!" A blue bolt flew from his Keyblade to the snowman and enveloped it. The snow making up its body froze over and hardened, turning it from a snow golem to an ice golem. Now that it was more solid, Xion jumped into the air and brought her Keyblade down on the snowman's back. Cracks extended out from her point of entry, and Stitch jumped down on that with a flying kick.

ccccc-CRACK!

The snowman shattered into hundreds of little pieces, which Sora melted by extending a circle of fire around him as he had done to the wolf Heartless earlier. When it was all gone Stitch laughed once more and waved goodbye just before vanishing in a flash of light, traveling back to Hollow Bastion.

"Come on, let's go find everyone else," Sora said, pointing down the mountain.

They were easy to find, since Sven's hooves and Goofy's shield have left tracks in the snow. But when those tracks led right off of a cliff, Xion's heart skipped a beat. There was no need to be concerned, however—everyone had managed to climb down with Kristoff's mountain equipment. Although Xion wasn't entirely sure how Sven got down. An Aero slowed hers and Sora's descent, letting them regroup with everyone at the bottom of the cliff.

"The big marshmallow is gone," Xion said when she and Sora reached the bottom. Then she did a double-take at the sight of Anna (who was still shivering). "Anna… your hair-"

"What?" Anna asked, rubbing her arms to stay warm. Sure it was cold, but it wasn't any colder than it had been. Why was she freezing? "I just rode a reindeer bareback; of course my hair's not the greatest right now."

"No," Kristoff said, realizing what Xion was talking about. "Anna, your hair is turning white."

"What? That's ridiculous, my hair isn't turning-" Anna held one of her pigtails and stopped. Sure enough, a strand of white was steadily growing along it. "-white?" She stared at it for a long moment before looking up at Kristoff. "…Does it look bad?"

Everyone sat in an awkward silence, looking at each other. Why was she concerned about her looks right now? "…No." Kristoff finally answered.

"You hesitated," Olaf stated simply. He had lifted his head off his body with his wooden hands to enter Kristoff's vision.

"N-No I didn't!"

"It must be because Elsa struck ya with her ice magic," Goofy said, turning the subject back to what was more important at the moment. "Gawrsh, it hurts my heart to see family fightin'."

"'Heart…' Oh, of course: 'beware the frozen heart.'" Kristoff said, and he looked away like he was remembering something long ago. Anna fainted then, and Kristoff grabbed her before she fell into the snow. "Anna! Come on, we need to get her to help."

"Who?" Donald asked. "Who could fix this?"

"My friends," Kristoff responded. He moved Anna up onto Sven and started to lead the reindeer down a trail.

"You mean the love experts?" Xion asked.

Kristoff looked over his shoulder and nodded firmly. "Yes, the love experts. I've seen them fix this before."

The journey back down the mountain was surprisingly fast, though the drop down such a high cliff probably put them closer to the bottom than Xion realized. They soon reached an area without snow, though the air was still cold. Steam vents rising out of the ground were likely what kept it warm enough for the snow to melt. Anna was awake now, but she still rested on Sven as she continued to shiver in the cold.

"Now I should warn you," Kristoff said as they walked. "My friends – my family – aren't exactly… normal. They can be inappropriate, and loud… and they burst into song at the drop of the hat. And they're a bit overbearing. But they'll know how to fix you, Anna."

"C-Can't wait to m-meet them," she said with another shiver.

"Okay. Here they are: my family." Kristoff spread his arms out, presenting the family. He was standing in a field of rocks. An empty field of rocks. Kristoff went around greeting the stones like they were old friends.

"…He's craaaazy," Olaf whispered. "I'll distract him, and you guys take Anna home." Then, with his usual cheer, Olaf walked up to one of the rocks and grinned widely at it. "Hi, Sven's family! It's nice to meet you!" He glanced back at the utterly confused group and his voice dropped to a whisper again. "Why aren't you running?"

The earth began to rumble then, and the dozens of rocks in the field all started rolling towards Kristoff. Olaf giggled and chased the rock he had been talking to, joining in the crowd around Kristoff.

"What's going on?" Sora wondered.

The rocks unfurled, revealing that they were in fact little stone people with large ears and noses that had been rolled up like hedgehogs. "Trolls," Xion heard Anna say. "They're t-trolls."

"Kristoff's home!" one of the trolls shouted and the crowd cheered.

"Kristoff's home!" Olaf cried, joining in on the cheering. "…Wait, Kristoff?"

"It's great to see you all again," Kristoff said, gently putting down the trolls that jumped up onto him. "But we've got a big problem. My friend, Anna-" As one the trolls turned around to look at the group, eyeing Anna closely.

"He's brought a girl!" The crowd erupted into cheers again, much louder this time.

"Wait, what's going on?" Xion asked as the trolls swarmed around Sven and lifted the barely conscious Anna off his back.

"Let me get a good look at you!" one of the trolls said, pinching Anna's cheeks.

"Wait, wait!" Kristoff walked through the crowd and picked Anna up, holding her closely. "It's not like that at all; she's engaged to someone else. Please, we need help! Where's grandpappy?"

"I am here." The trolls parted, and an older-looking one with a cane walked out slowly. "I feared this day would come; this is the young girl whose mind was frozen in childhood isn't it?" He placed a hand on Anna's forehead. "Her skin is cold as ice. Her heart has been frozen. If not removed soon, she will become solid ice."

"But you can fix it, right?" Kristoff was practically begging.

"I can't. If it was anywhere else on her body, that would be easy. But the heart…" Kristoff's grandpappy sighed. "Only an act of true love can thaw a frozen heart."

"An act of true love?" Sora asked. "Love! Kristoff, we need to get Anna back to Arendelle!"

"H-Hans… Hans can s-save me…" Anna fell unconscious then, and another section of her hair turned white.

Kristoff stood up and carried Anna over to Sven. "Right. Olaf! Come on, we need to hurry."

"A frozen heart, huh…" Xion said, thinking. "I've heard of a darkened heart, but frozen?"

"Darkened hearts?" Grandpappy looked up at Xion. "Why, those are handled better by… aha!" He looked between Sora and Xion and gave a knowing smile. "So, you two are Keybearers, are you? Well then, if you are looking for the Keyhole…" He motioned for the two of them to come closer, and they kneeled down so they were face to face with the old troll. "The Keyhole is at the castle, but it cannot be found so simply. Love will guide the way."

"Fellers, let's get goin'!" Goofy called, and Xion and Sora stood up. They waved goodbye to the trolls as Sven started running off in the direction of Arendelle and Prince Hans.

"Let's go kiss Hans!" Olaf declared. "Who is this Hans?"

x-x-x

Hans and those who had followed him from Arendelle stood in front of Elsa's palace. There were signs of battle, and a circle of snow had been melted completely to reveal the grass underneath. Pete recognized magic when he saw it, and he knew it had been enchanted flames that burned away at that snow.

"We are here to find Princess Anna. But no harm is to come to the queen, do you understand?"

"Pete, this Hans guy seems a bit too noble," Abis Mal said beside him.

Pete chuckled. "One thing I've learned working with the Heartless as long as I have is that things tend to drop for folks quickly. Hans here, he's already tasted the darkness. That's a real slippery slope, see?"

"I guess. So we stick to the plan?"

Pete nodded. "We drag Miss Ice Queen back to the castle, and Hans can handle things from there." He turned to face the prince and saluted. "Your Highness, Abis Mal and I offer to go in first!"

Hans locked eyes with Pete for a moment and gave him a knowing nod. "Very well. But don't hurt Queen Elsa!"

The slamming doors echoed when Pete thrust them open, and he and Abis Mal marched into the ice palace with their heads held high. With the sun beginning to set the ice was dancing between pink and orange hues, but they didn't notice. The pair moved right up the stairs, where they heard a woman talking to herself.

"Conceal it, don't feel it, don't let it show. Don't feel, don't feel…"

"Make one wrong move and everyone will know, right?" Abis Mal asked. Elsa turned around with wide eyes, watching the two of them as they began to circle around her.

"Who are you?"

"Don't matter," Pete said. "We're here for you."

"No, get away!" Elsa thrust her hand out in the air, creating spikes of ice that shot out of the floor and pinned Abis Mal to the wall. The short little man gave a nervous laugh and placed a hand on the wall behind him, creating a corridor that he slipped through. He emerged on the other side of the room. "What?"

"You see, Ice Queen, we won't fall like any old soldiers," Abis Mal said. "We command untold power at our fingertips!"

Pete shrugged. "He's still new to this thing." He moved to punch Elsa, but she threw up an ice wall that broke Pete's motion. A second punch shattered the wall, giving Pete the room he needed to send his fist at her head. But Elsa froze his feet and then turned to Abis Mal, creating more ice spikes—from the ceiling this time, and they pinned him to the ground. An especially sharp one moved close to his throat.

Hans burst into the room then, holding a hand out to stop her. "Queen Elsa, stop! Don't be the monster they fear you are."

Elsa stopped and turned to Hans. "You… Please, stay away! I don't want to hurt you."

While she was distracted, Pete grinned widely. Hans looked to him out of the corner of his eye and gave the briefest, most discrete of nods. Pete slammed his fist into the wall and sent shockwaves out, shaking the palace and especially the chandelier on the ceiling above. The beautiful creation of ice broke off and flew down, crashing into Elsa and sending shards of ice flying.

Hans looked down, his mask of concern falling and revealing a sneer underneath. He kicked Elsa in the side, rolling her over onto her back, and looked up at Pete and Abis Mal.

"Excellent job. Drag her back to Arendelle."