Chapter 55: Icebreaker Pt. 3
Kairi clung to Hans as his horse tore through the frozen forest. Up and down, up and down, never stopping for a moment… How she longed for the stability of her Glider. But the dense foliage above left little room to soar, and between the other horses rushing behind and the hounds barreling ahead of the pack, she risked startling the animals and throwing them off Anna's trail.
And they were their only hope amidst this endless sea of snow.
Hans peeked over his shoulder. "Are you all right?"
Kairi nodded, straightening herself. "Yeah. I've just never ridden a horse before."
"Don't worry. You're doing fine. I'll bet you could ride all night if we had to."
…Weirdly enough, as soon as he said it, Kairi believed it. It didn't matter that she'd never met Anna before—she was Hans' fiancée. That was all the reason she needed to ride through the night.
Off to the side, Donald clung just as tightly to his horseman at the reins. Donald's tiny body bounced even more wildly than Kairi's, and he scowled at their surroundings. "Gah! How much further could she be, anyway?"
"Hard ta say," said Goofy, who, unlike the others, remained steady on the saddle. "Ya think she found shelter somewhere?"
Hans answered, "She must have. It's her first time leaving the palace in years, and no degree of sisterly conviction can replace our human limits."
A frown unfurled across Goofy's muzzle. "Gawrsh, she really spent all that time cooped up that palace?"
"It's the tragic fallout of a sheltered life. One I hope to free her from."
With one pull of the reins, his stallion picked up speed before the others could chime in further.
The hounds zigzagged through the seemingly endless forest, until at last the snow-cloaked trees fanned out, and the first glimpse of the clouded sky peeked through the treetops. A grey, murky veil stretched as far as the eye could see, blocking out all but the faintest glimmers of sunlight. Goosebumps spread across Kairi's skin despite the armor shielding her from the cold.
They were finally out of the woods, emerging into a wide, empty path that stretched out into the distance.
Or, so it seemed. It only took another second to realize that the snow-swept path ended just as soon as it appeared, cut short by a vast, sheer gap. The dogs screeched to a stop, baying and whimpering. Far into the distance, another cliff reached outward, but no human could possibly make the jump, and none would survive the fall.
Hans' horse halted. The others followed suit, and Kairi's heart sank like a brick at the sight of the impossibly long chasm.
Was this… Did Anna…?
She didn't want to consider it, but the horrible thought only worsened as the dogs patrolled the edge of the cliff. They whiffed the air, then pointed their noses straight to the other side.
Could Anna really have made the jump?
Goofy squinted, tapping his chin. "Huh. Ya think Anna has some kinda superpowers, too?"
Hans dismounted his steed, trudging forward. "No. She's completely ordinary." He paused, cracking a strained smile. "In the best possible way, of course."
His men nodded, remaining astride their steeds, but Donald catapulted himself down to the snow.
"Well, this sure isn't ordinary." To further emphasize his point, he swept his staff out toward the chasm.
Plopping down beside him, Goofy squinted and brought a hand over his eyes. "No, it ain't. Just lookit all them trees over there!"
Kairi shivered, following Goofy's gaze. Across the chasm, several trees lay sprawled and splintered in a heap. No way that was Anna's doing. Fighting back a gasp, she leaped down from Hans' horse, landing in…a pawprint?
One as large as her body, with three toes all ending in sharp points. Others like it dotted the landscape, painting a dismal picture. And still, chills ran down her spine despite her armor's insulation.
"Your Highness!" one of the horsemen called.
Goofy gulped. "Y'think it's…?"
Hans seemed frozen stiff. "Anna was here. But so was something else…"
A second horseman glowered at the ground below. "Perhaps we are too late." The other two horsemen merely exchanged somber looks.
But the hounds bayed and yipped and howled, still pointing across the chasm.
Kairi stood up, storming toward the hunting dogs and examining the other side of the gap. Then, she turned back to Hans and his men. "I think we all have some idea of what's out there, and it's more than we bargained for. If any of you want to turn back—"
She was caught off-guard when the soldiers' eyes popped wide-open and they all gasped or recoiled in shock and alarm. Even their horses reined back, whinnying madly at something behind her.
The hunting dogs all yelped and howled in terror, bolting past Kairi and the others and back into the woods. She'd nearly lost her balance from the canine rush, but was caught by Hans, whose horrified gaze quickly shifted from her and back to the other side of the chasm. Kairi finally turned around, seeing Donald and Goofy's reactions as she did.
She could hardly believe her eyes.
Beyond the cliff's edge, beyond the gorge, beyond the toppled trees on the other side—there stood on all fours a monstrous titan that Kairi only barely registered as a wolf. Standing upright, it had to be several times her size, and she wasn't even sure that it stood. Did those claws even touch the ground? What were they made of? The monster's body was such an unnatural, barely connected mass of jagged, crystalline ice and miasmatic shadow.
But the head explained everything.
A ghost-white, golden-eyed, lupine skull bearing the Heartless insignia atop its horned forehead. Even still, she couldn't remember the last Heartless with such a nebulous anatomy.
Hans whispered breathlessly, "The legends are true… Sköll…"
A soldier muttered, "The god who became a Heartless…"
But there was something else about this gargantuan beast—Sköll, apparently—that caught Kairi's eye. Namely, that the wolf only had one. Though hard to tell from this distance, it seemed as though one of Sköll's eyes had been impaled by an arrow or crossbow bolt. Several more were lodged in its icy hide, and she could only hope that those shots were enough for Anna to escape.
But she saw something else that dashed those hopes not a moment later. Remnants of a tattered cape caught on Sköll's fangs.
She didn't know if Hans had connected the dots as well. Only that he addressed the group as calmly as he could. "We'll…we'll retreat back to the forest. The trees will be our cover. When I give the signal—"
Sköll leapt in a massive streak of shadow from beyond the felled trees, over the chasm, and crashed to its feet between the group and the forest, kicking up waves of snow from the landing and preempting any plans of strategic retreat. They were now trapped on the snow-swept expanse with the giant Heartless on one side and a fall to certain death on the other.
The monstrous wolf howled, surrounding itself in a rushing flood of shadow, and Kairi wondered if the horsemen between her and Sköll wouldn't have preferred the chasm.
The nightmarish howl rang through the air. The clouds darkened overhead. Too rapidly to be natural.
Hans' hand flew to his belt, and he drew his sword in a flash. His men pulled on the reins to keep their horses steady, but despite their best efforts, the steeds only whinnied and thrashed.
Destiny's Embrace flashed into Kairi's grasp. Donald and Goofy drew their staff and shield as the howling reached its end. Sköll bared its fangs and raised its icy hackles.
That was their only warning before the Heartless wolf charged in a burst of frost and shadow.
It barreled at the speed of a missile, jaws wide and fangs gleaming, faster than Kairi could possibly react.
Everything seemed to slow to a crawl. Kairi staggered back. The wolf came closer, closer. The horses shrieked. Donald broke into quacking hysterics. In trembling hands, Kairi raised her Keyblade. She had to summon a barrier. Something, anything to save her friends! But this Heartless was just too fast! Sköll's right, unharmed eye shone bright like a fire. The right, impaled by a crossbow bolt—
CRASH!The wolf howled violently, careening off course, and all perception of time snapped back to its natural flow. In that brief window that seemed an eternity, when Kairi and all the others panicked and froze, Goofy had taken advantage of his position and hurled his shield through the air. It struck the crossbow bolt square on the head, blasting it deeper into Sköll's left eye and throwing the monster off course.
But that was only a detour. Not a full stop. Sköll lost its balance, but still careened through the snow towards—
"WAK!"
Kairi thrust her Keyblade forward. The air flashed. A barrier wrapped around Donald and the horsemen. Sköll smashed into its surface, tumbling over and into the snow. Donald, the soldiers, and their horses all shrieked and recoiled in panic inside the barrier, but at least they were safe.
A small puff of mist materialized when Kairi released the pent up air in her lungs. That was close, but this was no time to lower her guard. The others must've known, too, as Donald sent a knowing look to Kairi, while sparks surged at the tip of his staff.
The signal was clear.
As Sköll regained its balance, Kairi and Donald thrust their weapons toward the darkened sky. A deep rumble echoed high above. Lightning surged from the black clouds, striking the Heartless' spiny back, drowning it in an overwhelming flood of thunder. Even Kairi was surprised at what she and Donald were capable of with their magic combined.
The wolf wailed in the electric downpour, only barely visible. But the spell wouldn't last much longer. Hans must've understood this. He drew his sword back and bent his knees, ready to charge forward the moment the thunderstorm ceased. Kairi followed his lead.
But Sköll never gave them the chance. The monstrous wolf lunged through the lightning, jaws wide open, and shattered the barrier with a single clamp of its fangs.
Donald and the horsemen started back, attempted to flee. But Sköll's jaws opened once more, discharging a massive burst of violet flame that exploded instantly. Donald and three of the horsemen flailed violently and crashed on the snow. The fourth was caught in the center of the explosion, he and his horse obliterated instantly.
Horrified as she was, Kairi never noticed when Hans began his charge, but she followed automatically. They didn't get far before the massive wolf lunged again, wrenching another screaming rider from his horse and demolishing him in its flaming maw. Kairi was morbidly grateful that she couldn't see the body.Two horsemen down. Two remaining.
By then, Donald was back on his feet, and Goofy had recovered his shield. Six combatants left on their side, all rushing Sköll before he could strike again.
But the wolf was faster than any of them anticipated, and it spun in a whirlwind of darkness and ice to bat away all who approached.
Kairi, Hans, Goofy, and the last two horsemen were just far enough to avoid it, but Donald wasn't as fortunate. Before he could react, Sköll's smoky tail blasted him high into the air, straight toward the chasm.
No!
Kairi threw her Keyblade into the air, leaping aboard as it transformed into its Glider form. She rocketed after Donald, and he caught onto the back of the hang glider's wings.
That was one friend saved, but she'd left the other four below. She heard the clanging of metal and the grunts of those remaining.
"Aim for its eye, fellers!" CLANG. Another shrill howl.
Hans shouted to the surviving horsemen, "You two, into the forest! Remember the plan!"
Kairi remembered it. Lure Sköll into the forest so they could use the trees as cover. She landed near the forest's edge as the horsemen rode past and vanished into the thicket. Donald scampered down from the Glider, limbs quivering and eyes glued open, making his alarm all too clear.
But it seemed the shock died fast, as his feathery face turned bright red, and he charged toward the fray. "Why, I oughta—!"
But Kairi grabbed his arm, stopping him from going to far. She called ahead, "Hans, Goofy! Aren't you coming?"
One more slash of Hans' sword into the beast's side, one more strike of Goofy's shield into its bolted eye, and Sköll staggered back to put some distance between them. Goofy and Hans must've done a number on it, because Sköll bellowed a torrent of dark fire that exploded before them, ensuring that they couldn't follow for now.
Kairi knew that Goofy was a force to be reckoned with, but Hans? The man was just full of surprises.
While the dark fire raged ahead, Hans turned back to Donald and Kairi and surprised them one more time. "The moment that fire stops, we're all going to glide across the chasm."
Donald gawked. "But your soldiers—"
"I'm saving their lives! We're the only ones who can stop this monster!"
The massive fire blast came to an end. Sköll leapt through the remaining flames with its jaws wide and its sights set on Hans. But the prince pirouetted out of the way, ducking and springing and angling himself just right to thrust his sword into the Heartless' crystallic jugular. Another shriek from the monster. Again, it hobbled back. Hans had already put more distance between them and leapt away when Sköll lashed back with its tail, coated in more of those crackling, dark flames.
The way that Hans parried and weaved so skillfully against a monster more than three times his size—and not a scratch on him! No magic. No tricks. Just a sword and enough graceful precision to make it count.
He called again, "Well? What are you waiting for? We can't hold it forever!"
Kairi and Donald bolted for the edge of the cliff without another word. Sprinting from the forest's edge, past Sköll as the others held him back, and finally to the brink of the gorge. They leapt high into the air, gliding as hastily as they could over the massive chasm.
CRASH! Another howl.
"C'mon, Hans! We gotta skedaddle!"
Kairi and Donald landed on the other side of the gorge, then looked back to see Goofy and the prince barreling for the cliff's edge as well. Goofy wrapped his arms around the prince's torso as they leapt, tearing through the air at the glide spell's fastest possible speed.
But they were too slow for Sköll.
The wolf was right behind them. It surged through the air faster than they could fly, ramming head-first into Goofy and knocking Hans out of his grasp. The two careened down, down, down—
And Kairi lost sight of them as Sköll crashed into the earth before her. A wave of snow blew her way. Flames blasted over her, reducing the incoming snow to slush as she crashed onto her side. Donald landed not too far away.
But she scrambled back up, desperate to know if Goofy and Hans had made it. Just beyond where Sköll landed, she saw Goofy pulling himself up over the edge of the cliff.
But no Hans. And, judging by Goofy's devastated expression, the way he glanced down to the chasm below…
There was no way Hans could've survived.
And there was no time to mourn.
Sköll's bloodcurdling howl filled the air, darkening the skies further, into an impenetrable sea of black. Gritting his teeth, Goofy pulled himself onto solid ground. A deep rumble filled the air.
The only warning before a maelstrom of white streaks exploded from the black clouds and fell like howling, blinding rain over the clifftop.
Their true nature was clear soon enough.
Dozens upon dozens of bloodthirsty, disembodied wolf heads streaked and circled over the cliffside. Flashing-gold eyes and gnashing fangs crashed over Kairi and the others, enclosing them in the transient trails of their spectral tails.
Everyone's movements became panicked.
Lightning bolts flashing haphazardly, only sometimes striking anything at all.
Goofy's shield sailing and crashing against rocks and fallen trees, just scantly grazing the flood of crystal manes.
And Kairi slashing without aiming, dashing without breathing, ducking and diving without any sense of direction at all, simply overwhelmed and hysterical at the relentless, carnivorous downpour that stormed without pause.
A bombardment of Pearls lit the air, but she could hardly tell if they were hers or Donald's. More lightning flashed and exploded all around. Several wolf heads burst into light fractals and smog.
Which left only a hundred to go, and it took far less to overwhelm the feathery caster. Drag him through the snow. Maul his skin and clothes as he warbled for someone to save him. Kairi sprinted without a second thought.
But then her feet left the ground. Sköll's teeth clamped around her breastplate, piercing through the magic steel. The wolf shook its head violently.
"DONALD! KAIRI!" Goofy cried as he fought his way through the flesh-eating, white-streak horde.
But Kairi caught only glimpses of this before Sköll flung her across the snow-covered earth, crashing into a pile of stones and the remains of demolished trees.
Her armor cushioned the impact, but she was still bleeding beneath it. She cried out as she struck the heap, dazed for several seconds.
She inhaled through clenched teeth, cloaking herself in the warm, green glow of Curaga.
Up ahead, Donald and Goofy kept fending off the raining pack. Gravity domes smashed five into the ground. Ten more took their place. Goofy's shield and Donald's magic could only do so much against the storm of fangs. Every effort to slay Sköll's familiars only drove the two further and further back in the midst of an onslaught without end.
Kairi climbed shakily to her feet. She rushed toward her friends.
"Gath—"
The spell died in her throat when she caught the blur in the corner of her eye. Sköll had swung a massive, uprooted tree in its jaws. It spun in the air, crashing into her, blasting the air out of her lungs.
Pinning her to the ground.
Sköll pounced and landed over Kairi and the tree that crushed her in place, pressing its paw firmly against the splintered trunk. Violet embers crackled in the wolf's maw, becoming a dark inferno ready to burst. Her heart sank as Sköll's single, golden eye and the blind parallel bore murderously into hers.
The pale-white eye, the malefic yellow—
Burst in an eruption of golden miasma as a streak of steel plunged through, sending Sköll howling back and thrashing in the snow as its last eye was destroyed.
The details sharpened. That steel length in the wolf's eye was the blade of a longsword, the same as—
Hans leaped over Kairi and the toppled tree, racing for the flailing giant without a hint of fear. It was almost unnatural, the way he lunged exactly when he needed to the moment his sword was within reach, then darting back again as blind Sköll thrashed where Hans once stood.
Just…how was anything Hans did possible? Surviving the fall, scaling the cliff, holding his own against a Heartless titan like some kind of demigod…
But he was alive. That was all that mattered.
An ear-splitting shriek echoed all around. Sköll stumbled back, summoning a wall of fire between itself and the prince.
Kairi incanted beneath the tree, "G—GATHER!" and the Magnega spell surged, tearing the tree off of her and tearing a multitude of wolf heads away from her friends. Only then did they turn around to see—
"WAK?! Is that Hans?!"
"Give 'em what for, Yer Highness!"
But there was little more that Hans could do while that ring of fire surrounded the wolf. Not much except…
"Kairi!" he shouted, and he tossed something her way, something that glimmered bright gold as it sailed through the air.
She caught it in her gauntlet, and found it was a crystal flask of Megalixir. After getting crushed by a tree, it was exactly what she needed.
By the time she finished it and her helmet rematerialized, she found that the legion of phantasmal wolf heads had dwindled to a paltry fraction of their original number. And now, with her strength and armor restored, she thrust Destiny's Embrace for one of the final clusters, annihilating them with a wave of glimmering pillars. Donald followed this up with an eruption of fireballs that incinerated several more straggling wolf heads, and when Goofy's shield sailed through the fire, it became a flaming disc that demolished several more.
A final, expertly precise lunge of Hans' sword, and the final wolf head was skewered straight through its gaping jaws, exploding into particles of light.
The immediate silence shocked them all. The downpour had stopped. But the sky…
Kairi gasped when she realized it was no longer there. Whatever influence Sköll had on the weather, it extended beyond the limitations of nature, and now it seemed they were all trapped in a pure, black dome where the laws of the Realm of Light no longer applied.
And Sköll was no longer on the ground. The blind Heartless drifted higher and higher. The black miasma that formed its body spread to its crystal limbs, then to its face. Higher still, the Heartless flew, until it reached the apex of the impenetrable shadow-dome. The wolf's smoking body curled in on itself, swelling into an immense, crackling sphere ringed by dark fire.
A sharp buzzing filled the air. The sky-eclipsing orb—this dark sun—descended, little by little, unleashing another downpour of wolf heads upon the cliff.
"W—what's goin' on?!" Goofy yelped, spinning and smacking the wolves as they fell.
More lightning burst from Donald's staff, though it was impossible to overlook his wide eyes and trembling hands. "I've never seen darkness like this before!"
Hans lunged across the snow, splitting another wolf head in half. "I don't suppose any of you can stop the sun from crushing us all?"
The timing made it seem like a suggestion, but Kairi shouted, "Gather!" and sparked another Magnega spell to life, seizing the wolf heads as they fell.
But the black star continued dropping, poised to destroy them all in less than a minute.
Donald clutched his staff in both hands, squeezing his eyes shut. "…I'll do everything I can." His voice was soft. Solemn.
He took a step back, raised his staff overhead. A bright red circle flared at his feet, adorned with stars, moons, and other runes.
Goofy rushed to his side. "Donald…!"
"Just go! Run! We don't have time to argue!"
That horrified Kairi more than their impending doom. Just what was Donald doing?
The dark sun dropped further and further…
Donald trembled where he stood, but steadied himself and incanted through broken breaths, "Giga…FLARE!"
A crackling, monstrous red beam erupted from Donald's staff, heating the air and shooting for the black star, striking it dead-center.
But it did not stop.
"Kairi! C'mon!" Goofy called from the cliff's edge, as if ready to glide back to the other side. Hans stood beside him.
Kairi did not follow.
Instead, she threw her Keyblade into the air, fashioning it into its Glider form. She mounted it and blasted off for the dark sun, even as Donald screamed from below.
"KAIRI, DON'T!"
But she'd made up her mind. No turning back.
Donald's flaming spell swelled. Crimson light melded with black shadows, cracking the sun's exterior, but not slowing its descent.
Kairi barged through the wolves as they fell, repelling streaks of violet flame that showered over her with a magic barrier. The dark sun splintered further as Donald's magic flared brighter and brighter…until it flickered and waned. She glanced down to Donald below. Whatever desperate magic he resorted to, it seemed to take a horrible toll. She'd never seen him collapse under the weight of his own spells.
But now, between the shattering sun and the struggling blast, a large enough opening appeared in the black star, and with it, opportunity. Picking up speed, she plunged straight through the fissure and into the abyss within. She would've been burned alive if it wasn't for her armor.
The dark sun's exterior was an opaque mass of shadow ringed by violet fire. But the inside? It was almost blinding. The dark fire burned brightest here, flashing and erupting in a phantasmagoria of violet flame and rolling smoke. A column of fire exploded amid the flashing lights just moments after she entered the dark sun, forcing her to swerve around one violet eruption after another. A constant, low rumble persisted all throughout the dark sun, and Kairi couldn't help but wonder if real suns sounded the same.
And up above, at the center of the dark star, floated Sköll, curled into a ball.
Picking up speed, Kairi wove between incoming firewalls, ducked between bolts of violet energy, and tore closer and closer to her target. White light spread all across the Glider.
The blind wolf's ears perked, but it was too late.
Propelled by her Glider's momentum, Kairi willed her weapon back to its original form. Taking Destiny's Embrace in both hands, she extended it outward, flying closer and closer until—
CRACK.It pierced the Heartless wolf's chest.
There was no roar. Only a haunting, hollow gasp.
And, all around her, the dark sun shattered.
Sköll spasmed and writhed in the rush of light, plummeting toward the snowy cliff below…and taking Kairi with it.
A fall from this height…would definitely hurt. Worse if Sköll landed on her. And worst for Donald if he didn't move.
Kairi wrenched free Destiny's embrace, tried to leap away, but was caught by Sköll's thrashing limbs, seemingly determined to make sure she went down with it.
But she wouldn't go down without a fight. She hacked and stabbed relentlessly as they fell, hoping to destroy this thing before they ever hit the ground so she could fly free.
One-hundred feet in the air, and Destiny's Embrace tore through the shadowy abdomen.
Seventy-five feet in the air, and the crystal talons pierced through her left pauldron.
Fifty feet in the air, and Kairi caught onto the back of the crystal mane, raised her Keyblade high in a reverse-grip…
Twenty-five, a rushing vortex of darkness tore across the open air, and they plummeted through with no idea what was on the other side.
Impact. Destiny's Embrace cracked through the Heartless' skull, plunging through the center of its emblem.
But they crashed not on jagged stone, nor a raging river, but a cushion of snow in a wide, forest clearing. The impact stole her breath away and nearly unseated her from the back of the crystal hackles, but she held tight to the Keyblade impaled deeply through Sköll's emblem.
It was another moment before, in the midst of her desperate, ragged panting, that Kairi realized that the massive Heartless beneath her no longer moved. Its twin blind eyes never closed, never blinked. The quiet wind rustled through the crystal mane, and that was the only sound for miles around.
…Miles around? Kairi's eyes darted every which way between hoarse breaths, and she realized she had no idea where the wolf had taken them.
But she had to catch her breath. Calm her nerves. As it was, her hands were shaking through her armor, one still clutching the back of the crystal mane for fear of falling off, and the other wrapped madly around her Keyblade's hilt for fear that Sköll would wake up.
But he wouldn't. Nothing would happen. It was finally over. She just needed to catch her—
Balance.
The corpse of the Heartless wolf rumbled beneath her, making her gasp and grasp tighter, only to find there was much less body to hold onto and increasingly more melting, frothing, shadowy ooze in the crystals' place. Streaks of reddish-pink light burst through Sköll's liquescent corpse, and Kairi finally remembered what happened to all Emblem Heartless when they die.
She scrambled to get out of the way, but was too late. Sköll's massive, artificial heart burst through his vanishing remains, crashing into Kairi and throwing her on her back in the snow. It hit much harder than she expected.
And as she lay stunned on the ground, dozens more, significantly smaller hearts rocketed from the melting body to join the first in the sky. The sheer number of these rushing hearts, the faint trace of dozens of howling wolves in their wake… Those must've been Sköll's familiars.
Dozens upon dozens of newly freed hearts, all going to Kingdom Hearts…
She didn't want to dwell on it. Kairi pushed herself up just enough to crawl. Her gasps for breath were drowned by the last of the rapturing wolves.
Then, silence greeted her.
No Heartless, no Donald, Goofy, or Hans. Just a wintry glade where scattered trees were adorned with frozen dewdrops and glittering icicles. A waterfall nearby, frozen completely still in all its pearlescent splendor. Soft, snowy ground…
So calm. So…pretty.
She dragged herself to the base of a tree, sliding down.
Her hand trembled, but she hoisted Destiny's Embrace toward the sky and fired off a magic flare.
At least this way…her friends could find her.
And maybe…a little rest wouldn't hurt.
x.x.xAnna limped through the forest, her cape and dress tattered.
All alone. No Kristoff. No Sven. No Olaf…
And no Elsa.
She pressed a hand against one of the toppled trees, catching her breath. Elsa's winter was one thing, but those Heartless! And Sköll! Oh, if only she still had her crossbow. Or maybe a mace! Something to fight back with…
Aside from her hunting knife. That…wasn't much help in a Heartless fight. But it was all she'd managed to hold on to.
Her eyes trailed down to a big, severed branch, and she huffed, drawing her knife to fashion it into a spear. "Well, it's better than nothing!" That's what she'd keep telling herself, because at this rate, who knew if she'd even make it to Elsa? Oh, she'd try. But now? Now…
Her eyes snapped shut. "No, Anna. You are not gonna cry. This is fine! You can do this!"
At least Sköll had stopped chasing her. That was a start. Now if only…
A streak of light cut across the sky, making her jump. That…was not normal. Not even slightly normal! And neither was Elsa!
At this point, Anna would take anything she could get, so she lumbered toward the light, using her big, makeshift spear almost like a crutch.
Her journey led her to a familiar forest clearing, the very same where she first met Olaf…how many hours ago? However long or short it was, the clearing still shimmered with pretty dewdrops and…a deep crater that was definitely not there before. Squinting, she scanned the area. Two things stood out right away.
One: no Kristoff, Sven, or Olaf in sight. That was technically three things.
Two, or rather four: a person lay against one of the trees, covered from head to toe in armor.
A total stranger…but still no Heartless! Anna tittered nervously, then, after a moment's hesitation, approached the stranger.
"Um. Hello? Are you okay?"
No response. That meant one of two things. Either they were out cold…or dead. Hopefully just the former!
Just in case, Anna knelt beside the figure, and...promptly blew a soft sigh when she noticed the stranger's fingers twitching. On top of that, however thick the armor was, she could at least hear the stranger breathing softly. So, not dead. Always a plus! But was it worth waking her up? Was she hurt? Concussed? Maybe if she took off that helmet…
Anna reached for it, when a sudden rustling in the bushes made her spin around, sweeping up the spear and brandishing it like…like she realized she had no idea how to hold a spear.
She stumbled toward the potential danger, then drew back when Sven galloped into view, carrying a wide-eyed Kristoff.
"Whoa! Anna, what're you—"
She dropped the spear and shouted, "Oh, Sven! Kristoff! You're okay." She rushed over to hug the reindeer, only to suddenly remember that, with her wounds, she needed the spear to stand upright, so she face-planted into the snow instead.
Kristoff dropped to the ground and limped to Anna's side. Sven grunted and gave him a look, and he awkwardly patted Anna's shoulder. When Anna looked up from the snow, she found that one of Kristoff's eyes were swollen shut, his hair was littered with twigs and dirt, and, just like Anna, his clothes bore their share of wear and tear.
So it was no surprise when he helped her up and said, "I don't know about okay, but…we'll live."
"Well, I sure hope so! I'm not about to lose anyone else today." But the fire in her voice died down fast, and she pulled him into the hug. "But, I'm sorry. When I asked for your help, I didn't expect any of…well, this."
He awkwardly returned the hug after some prodding from Sven. "Yeah, well, you can make up for it later. Right now…" He trailed off. "Wait a sec. Who's that?"
"Good question!" Anna trotted back to the armored girl, nearly falling down again until Sven caught her with his antlers. After thanking the reindeer, Anna answered, "She's been lying here this whole time, but I'm pretty sure she's still alive."
"Then we should probably get moving before she wakes up."
Anna pouted. "Kristoff, have a heart! For all we know, she could be hurt."
Kristoff grumbled, setting one hand on his hip. "Or a Heartless. Just look at that armor."
"Have you ever seen a Heartless in pink armor?! She's probably another lost refugee."
"That's what you said about that group of blue and pink monkeys, and look where that got us! I still can't bend my elbow! Point is, we can't afford to take chances right now. We still gotta find Olaf."
"…Then, you haven't seen him."
He shook his head. "No. So, we can't just—"
Anna raised a finger. "You saw that flare, right?"
"…Yeah. And?"
"I saw it, too. And, chances are, so did he. So, when you look at it that way…"
Kristoff threw up his good hand and said, "Okay, I get it. But, Anna, we still don't know what we're dealing with here."
Anna grimaced and leaned forward as far as she could without falling over from her wounds. "Kristoff, think about it. She sent off a flare. A rescue flare. I think she needs help even more than we do."
Kristoff brought that same hand to his face. "If she turns out to be a bloodthirsty orangutan of darkness under that armor, I will curse you with my dying breath."
"Kristoff, you can't judge all these off-worlders by their appearances. Didn't you see the talking frog? Or how about the kid who turns into a dragon?"
Kristoff stared at her with the most confused look on his face. "…What are you talking about?"
Anna realized something. "Oh yeah, you've never been inside the palace…"
"So, what does that make Hans? A hippo in a tutu?"
Oh, no. He did not! "For your information, Hans is a gentleman! Emphasis on the man!"
A tapping sound silenced them both. Behind, a familiar voice chimed in.
"Hi! Are you dead? You don't look so good."
Right on cue, Anna and Kristoff spun around and cried in unison, "Olaf!"
"Oh! Hi, Anna. Hi, Sven." He paused, looking up. "Hi, Sven!"
The reindeer chuckled while Kristoff rolled his eyes. "Hey, Olaf, you might wanna back off."
Olaf tilted his head. "Why? Is it 'cause of the dead person?" He tapped the girl again, and she moaned. "Oh! I guess she's not dead." Beaming, he looked to her and said, "Hi there! I'm Olaf, and I like warm—"
SHING.Out of nowhere, a flowery Key pierced Olaf's body, and Anna shrieked. She staggered back, bumping into Kristoff, who bumped into Sven, but Olaf just looked down with a frown.
"Oh, joy. Another trigger-happy maniac. This forest is just full of nutjobs, I tell you."
"Olaf!" Anna darted over to the snowman…and fell flat on her face again. But she hoisted herself up to her knees and yanked Olaf off the girl's weapon. Just as soon as she retrieved her snowy friend, Sven lunged between Anna and the girl, with Kristoff close behind and holding Anna's makeshift spear in a way that looked more like how a spear should be held, or a one-armed approximation. Did spears take one hand or two?
"See? What'd I tell you?!"
"Okay! You were right!" At least, right about the weapon, but when Sven lowered his antlered head, that giant Key vanished, and the girl held up her hands and removed her helmet. To Anna's surprise, she was…young. Younger than her, even.
"Wait! I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt anyone!"
"Oh, it didn't hurt," said Olaf. "I don't have internal organs!"
Kristoff seemed unfazed as he glared at the girl. "Yeah? I bet that's just what you want us to think! Not so tough now that we have the upper hand, huh?"
"No! Really! The snowman caught me off guard!" The armored girl leaned against the tree trunk, climbing back to her feet.
"So you stabbed him?"
"I thought he was a Heartless!"
…Hoo boy. Anna shook her head. "Guys, guys! I think this is all one big misunderstanding."
"Tell that to Olaf!"
"Oh, she doesn't have to, Sven! I'm right here!" Olaf stretched his little arms, grinning despite the gaping hole in his chest.
Kristoff barked at him, "And you're buying this?"
"Well, she hasn't stabbed anyone else!"
"Not yet."
Anna groaned. Why did he have to be so stubborn? Well, maybe he didn't connect the dots. After all, magic Keys meant only one thing, and she intended to voice that fact.
…Until she found the girl staring her down. But why?
Before Anna could ask, that Keyblade reappeared, and a beam of strange, green light shot straight at Anna.
"WE'RE GONNA DIE" Kristoff yelped, but froze in place when the light spread from Anna to him.
So strange. So warm. Anna's skin tingled a little, and she looked down at her arms to find the cuts and scrapes closing. Kristoff's once swollen eye blinked back open. He flexed one of his arms, seeming amazed that it could move again, then gawked at the girl.
"There," she said. "That should help."
Kristoff blinked several times, then spoke very slowly. "Okaaay. But what about—"
As if to answer his question, she flicked her Keyblade, shooting a tiny, sparkling flurry at Olaf's chest. The once gaping hole closed in seconds, and he beamed.
"Sorry, Sven! I'm with Anna on this one."
The girl jolted up straight. "Wait. You're Anna?"
"No, I'm Olaf!"
A murmur of laughter slipped from Anna, and she set her snowy friend down. "I think she was talking to me." She paused, frowning. "But, how'd you know?"
Kristoff rolled his eyes. "Not like you're famous or anything…"
"That's one way to put it." The armored girl blew a small sigh, dismissing her Keyblade. "It's a long story, but Hans has been looking all over for you."
"Aha!" Anna shot a grin at Kristoff, maybe a teensy bit smug. "See? I told you it's true love!"
Kristoff scoffed. "Or maybe he just wants to 'pick your nose.'"
Anna's expression sprawled into one of sheer outrage, and the armored girl looked incredibly confused. Shaking his head, Olaf toddled up to her and said, "You might wanna get used to this."
Anna could've decked Kristoff right in his giant nose—the armored girl could just heal him again—but…no. Because, if Hans was out here, searching for her…
She tore her attention off Kristoff and back to the girl. "But, hold on. If Hans is searching for me, who's watching over Arendelle?"
"That's another long story, but I swear it's in good hands."
Vague, but Anna could work with that. "Well, it sounds to me like we've got a lot of catching up to do! …Once I know your name, because 'mystery armor girl's' kind of a mouthful."
The girl laughed. "Just a little, but my name's Kairi." As soon as she introduced herself, her stomach growled, and she tittered. "Um. So…weird question, but do you guys have any food?"
"We could have snowcones!" said Olaf. "Without the cones."
Kairi stared at him with a funny, scrunched up look on her face not unlike Anna's.
"Wouldn't that be cannibalism for you?"
Olaf tapped his chin. "On second thought, I found this big camp a few hours ago that had an entire roast bear! Everyone looked kinda funny, and I was gonna introduce myself, but then all these mushroom jerks shot me with arrows. If we team up, I'm sure we can storm the camp and take their food!"
Kairi tried her hardest not to laugh, but the cracking smile betrayed everything. "Um…I think those were my friends. And we finished the bear."
Olaf's eyes popped wide open, then narrowed to little slits. "Oh."
That one syllable was enough for Anna to hop between the two of them. "Or how about carrots?"
Olaf worriedly tucked his nose far enough inside his head that no one could reach it. But Sven perked up, stomping his hooves in excitement until Kristoff said, "Can't. We left 'em back at the camp, remember?"
Sven's head dropped at the news, and he whined. Kristoff then spoke in that silly reindeer voice, "You didn't even pack a travel snack?"
Kairi leaned back a little, gawking at the duo. Olaf stood up on his tip-toes and whispered to her, "Yeah. I don't get it either."
Rather than comment on it, Kairi carried on. "So, what about your camp? Is it far from here?"
"Not too far," said Kristoff. "But that's if there's even a camp left."
"Heartless troubles?"
"Ugh. You've got no idea." Rubbing his shoulder, Kristoff turned the other way. "But we're probably better off relocating and resting up, anyway. Especially if we're gonna climb that mountain."
And stop? Right then and there? Anna had come too far for that. "No, Kristoff! I won't rest until we find my sister."
He gave her a deadpan look. "Anna, we almost got eaten alive, probably ran at least a few miles trying to escape the psycho wolf god, and for all we know, there's even more Heartless waiting to make us their human buffet."
"So?" She plopped a hand down on Kairi's shoulder. "We've got a Keybearer, Kristoff!"
"And she's, what, twelve?"
Whatever age Kairi was going to say, Anna spoke above her, "Regardless…" And she emphasized this by pointing her finger. "Kairi has a magic Key, healing powers, and probably at least a little experience. And I don't know about you, but I do not wanna run into that giant wolf again!"
Kairi cut in, "If you're talking about Sköll, I already took care of it."
Kristoff's eyes popped open. It took Anna a second to realize hers had as well. Kristoff stuttered, "You…all by yourself…? But…but Sköll is—was… You stopped him?!"
Kairi nodded. "And you're right about one other thing, Kristoff. There could be more Heartless out there. And that's exactly why I'm coming with you guys! Also, I'm almost sixt—"
Kristoff cut her off. "Just gonna invite yourself, huh?"
Kairi seemed to give up on the age thing. "…Of course. You're civilians, and, as a Keybearer, it's my job to protect people like you from the forces of darkness."
Kristoff and Sven shared a look. Then he did that silly voice again, "She's just a kid, Kristoff! We can't leave her out in the cold."
"Yeah, I know," Kristoff replied to himself. And with a big, heaping sigh, he waved for her to follow. "Well, c'mon, then. We should hurry back while there's still some light left."
Kairi followed and asked, "Hey, what time is it, anyway? It'd be nice to know how long I was out."
Anna replied, "Well, if you look at the sun—AAAGH!" She looked at the sun.
x.x.x
One final thrust of Kairi's Keyblade pierced the giant, Rock Troll Heartless' lavender breastplate. Its enormous axe slipped from its grasp, crashing in the snow. Its stubby legs gave out, and it collapsed in a smoking heap.
Off to the side, black smoke fizzled from Sven's antlers, and he loomed over the motionless body of a pale-blue, ice-antlered deer, now dissolving into mist. Just behind, Kristoff and Anna—armed with a pickaxe and a makeshift spear, respectively—worked together to cut down a large, armored satyr.
Just as Kairi expected, they'd met resistance a short trip from the clearing, and their journey toward the camp forced Kairi into a violent offense despite her aching muscles and sweat-soaked skin. And so, as the Rock Troll's heart took to the sky, she bent over, hands on her knees, and gasped heavily.
Waddling out of the bushes, Olaf plucked his upside-down head off his body and flipped it back around. "You know, I'm starting to think they don't like us."
Okay, enough panting. Kairi straightened herself and tipped her chin up. "You get used to it after a while." But hopefully they'd never have to. Placing both her hands behind her back, she stretched until her spine popped. "So, how much further is it, Kristoff?"
"We're getting there." He patted Sven's shoulder, and the reindeer turned around, pointing a hoof toward a veil of dangling vines and a bed of frost-coated shrubs. Kristoff hopped down from his mount, nudging the foliage aside to reveal a narrow, snowy path marred with footprints.
Kairi followed along, and in just a matter of moments, they reached the wide, open mouth of a cavern. Icicles dangled from the entrance like fangs.
"Watch your step," Kristoff warned, "the floor's still kinda slick near the entrance."
She nodded, slowing her strides and spreading her arms out. Despite her efforts, her boots still slid across the black ice, but Anna caught her mid-fall.
"Hey, take it easy. We're almost there!"
Just a few steps in brought them onto dry, stone ground. Through what little daylight reached the inside, Kairi made out a few scattered stones and one hollow log. A smaller ring of rocks formed the base of—
"A fire pit!" Olaf rushed ahead, prancing around its stony circumference. "Wow! It's even better than I imagined."
Anna and Kristoff shared strained looks. It wasn't hard to guess why. But it did confirm that, if Olaf had never seen their camp, then Anna and Kristoff knew him only slightly longer than they did Kairi.
"Y'know, maybe we should skip on the fire for now." Kristoff lumbered over to one of the cave walls, rifling through a dusty old sack. First, he whipped out a carrot and tossed it at Sven's feet. Then, digging further, he grabbed strips of…something.
He plopped one in Kairi's hands, and she shifted it around. It was so…wrinkly. She sniffed it, and…wow. Talk about some heavy salt.
"I take it you're not a fan of jerky?"
"Nah, it's okay! I'll take anything at this point." So she removed her helmet and set it aside. "Thanks, by the way."
She saw Olaf still fiddling by the fire pit, visibly disappointed that nobody lit a fire. To compensate, Kairi raised a magic barrier around him and sent a little orb of light flying into the fire pit's center. Not exactly fire, but it'd still brighten and warm up the place. The barrier seemed to do the trick, too, as the little guy gasped and stared at the gleaming Pearl without ever melting.
"It's like a little baby sun…"
"Impressive!" Anna said, her voice muffled by her own mouthful of jerky. "It's…" she swallowed, "nice to know that even total strangers care." She looked off to the side, nibbling some more. Her posture was slightly hunched and more than a little tense.
Kairi scooted closer to her. For a girl so trusting, Anna sounded like she'd had that trust betrayed at some point. Kairi offered, "Well, for what it's worth, I kinda know what it's like."
"No way!" Anna cried. "You must have all kinds of friends! You're a hero, after all."
"Sure, but…" Kairi looked down, fiddling with her snack some more, finding it more entertaining as a puppet than as a food. "It stings, doesn't it? When the people you care about push you away. When they run and hide because they think they know what's best for you."
"…When they close the door?"
"Yeah. It's…heh. I've had to deal with this twice now, Anna! First Sora, and now Riku's pulling the same old stunt." On reflection, it was kind've incredible how much of their life stories Kairi and Anna were able to share in so little time, and how little was needed to empathize. "And I get it—he wants to keep us safe—but who's gonna protect him?"
"That's exactly how I feel!" Anna slumped, resting her cheek in her hand. "I don't know what Elsa was thinking, running away like that. But that's exactly why we're gonna march up that mountain, give her a nice, stern talking to, and then we can kiss all this winter goodbye!"
A nice thought, but…
"In light of everything, I have sufficient reason to believe that Queen Elsa is now a Heartless. At the very least, she is a demigoddess who holds the world itself at her mercy. I want nothing more than to avoid breaking Anna's heart, but I fear that doing so and saving this world are irreconcilable."What if Hans was right, and it was already too late? What if Kairi had no choice but to strike down Anna's sister in Heartless form? It was one thing to face a ruthless villain. One thing to battle a mindless, faceless beast…
But Kairi could easily imagine herself in Anna's shoes. If Elsa was Riku and Riku had truly lost himself, could she even take a stand?
Across the cave, Kristoff called, "You okay?"
"Oh!" Kairi looked up at him, forcing a crooked smile. "Sorry. Just got a little lost in thought."
"Well, for what it's worth, I can't blame you. That's a lot for one kid to deal with."
"Yeah. No kidding." But Kairi couldn't just ignore the possibility, so she pressed on. "Anna, look…are you sure this is safe? I know Elsa's your sister, but if she was willing and able to drown the whole kingdom in snow, then…" She trailed off, but only for a moment. Kairi didn't want to take it this far, but, "And Hans is worried that the darkness might've—"
"No way!" Anna sat up straight, hands balled up tight. "Elsa would never let the darkness take her. And besides…" She sank back down. "It's my fault she ran away."
That was…new. Hans neglected to mention that before. "What do you mean?"
Anna took a deep breath, then let it all out. "Okay, so, I might've dropped my engagement on her without warning. And maybe I got a little stubborn about the whole situation, but can you blame me? Elsa wouldn't even give us a chance!"
"Well, yeah," Kristoff said. "You only knew the guy for ten minutes. I'd be wary, too."
That was…also new. And maybe just a little troubling. On the one hand, Hans seemed sincere in his feelings and intentions. He'd already proven himself kind, strong, level-headed, and determined to do what was right for Arendelle and his people. It was like he was already Arendelle's king.
But had they really just met? Had Kairi really known Hans just as long as Anna had, if not longer?
She had to get to the bottom of this. "Okay, just to be clear—how long did you know him?"
"Oh, maybe a few hours." Kairi winced at the confirmation, and Anna must've noticed, because she added, "But it's true love, Kairi! Even if we didn't know each other that long, there was an honest to goodness connection!"
Shoot. What was Kairi supposed to think of this? Love at first sight rang true in fairytales, and even some of the other Princesses of Heart found love in the blink of an eye. But even so, "Anna, love's…complicated. And I'm not saying there's no spark between you! If you guys hit it off, that's great! But marriage is a huge step. It's a life-long commitment, not something you should just jump into."
"Finally!" Kristoff grinned, if only for a few seconds. "See, Anna? This is exactly what I've been trying to tell you this whole time."
Olaf looked away from the light, "Not exactly. You've kind of just been shooting her down."
"Tough love's the best love of all the love there is."
"But what else am I supposed to do?" said Anna. "My life's just been a series of doors in my face, and now I've finally got a chance to be with someone who won't shut me out!"
Okay. This could escalate if Kairi wasn't careful. She needed to choose the right words. "Then be with him! Just because you're not married doesn't mean you can't be together. I just think it's important to spend time with him. Get to know him better. Let whatever connection you guys have really develop and then take the next step."
"Heh." Kristoff leaned against the cave wall, patting Sven's head. "Sounds like you've got some experience."
"Oh, well…" Kairi's cheeks burned at his comment, and she ducked her head. "I guess so?" Maybe. It was…complicated? Or was it? She looked down at her hand, fingers flexing. Her heartbeat quickened. She didn't expect to be put on the spot like this! "It's just…" Ugh. Why was this so awkward in the first place? She'd held Riku's hand so many times! They'd sat side by side, so close, atop the clocktower, pouring their hearts out as they watched the setting sun. Back then—
You're special because you're you.
Eyes locked, cupping his cheek. The sky painted in red and gold. She could've said something then. Something more direct, but…it was still too new. Maybe a little scary. They had a friend to find, worlds to save, villains to thwart…
And it was fine. They still had each other. Still sat side by side in the mansion's courtyard, spilling pent up guilt, frustration, and fears. Gentle touches, shared understanding. Smiles, laughs, and quips aplenty to dull the edge of the day to day grind.
"Well, since you're so experienced, how long should I wait?!" Anna's words made Kairi flinch.
…How long? That was…
"I…"
So confident before, so sure of herself, so ready to impart romantic wisdom on the poor girl…
But was that really her place when even she didn't have the answer?
Pushing away from the wall, Kristoff wandered in front of Kairi and crouched down. "Let me guess. It's complicated?"
Kairi looked away. "…Yeah. Like you wouldn't believe."
"Heh. Try me."
Kairi could've deflected. She could've said, 'it doesn't matter right now.'
But the words slipped out regardless of woulds and coulds. "I've known him for eleven years. We're best friends. And…well. It's not like we aren't together. We hold hands all the time. We've spent so much time alone, just…comforting each other. And…well, we had dinner that one time in the simulation, and we've fought side by side more times than I can count. He's saved me, and I've saved him."
When she closed her eyes, she could still see those enormous, spinning cogs in the clock tower over a year ago. Light and darkness melding together, striking down a monstrous, Heartless rat. She could feel Aqua and Goofy holding her back as Riku plunged to the River Styx only a handful of months before. She was so ready to dive after him, despite the certainty of death.
It wasn't the first time.
Deep within the simulation, diving through darkness, catching him as he fell. Standing side by side against the madman who sought to take Riku for himself. No longer an inexperienced little girl armed with only a few shuriken in the depths of a violet wasteland. That was the day she finally stood by Riku as an equal, and he encouraged her every step of the way.
Without Riku, she wouldn't be here, in this cave, struggling to explain her confused love life in front of four relative strangers.
"It's not like our feelings are that secret, but…we just haven't had time to really say anything. Or act on anything. Not with the worlds in danger, and not with the Organization watching his every move. That's why he's not here right now! Because he's scared and stubborn and…"
The sound of scraping brought her attention over to Olaf, who held a piece of bark like a clipboard and a sharp, rock-like pen. "It sounds to me like there's a lot of unresolved feelings between you two." He stopped scribbling, then tossed the bark and stone aside. "But what do I know? I've just got a bachelor's."
Kairi blinked. "You have a bachelor's."
"Well, I'm not married, am I? …Am I?"
No one confirmed or denied it. Instead, Anna locked eyes with Kairi and said, "So, wait. It's obvious that you two are pretty close. Well, not geographically since he's not here, but. You've at least told him how you feel, right?"
"Well…" Kairi slumped. "It's kinda just been an unspoken thing between us." Which was on both of them, if anything.
But it seemed that wasn't good enough for Anna, who leaned in close with one hand on her hip while she waved her half-eaten jerky. "So, you've had all these adventures together, nearly died on more than one occasion, and you haven't confessed? And he hasn't either?"
"Like I said before, it's complicated! We had to save the worlds, our other friend was missing, and he had a crush on me too, so I was worried about what to do for the longest time."
Olaf clapped his wooden hands. "Ooh! And then did he marry your twin sister, who turned out to be an impostor, and it was really all part of some elaborate cover up because your evil step-cousin, Joaqin, had an illegal eyepatch-smuggling ring to fund your dreams of becoming a world-class ballerina but also you were dead the whole time?"
Everyone just stared at the little snowman.
Then Kairi threw up her hands. "What? No! Sora's fine with us—I think he just wants us to be happy." Though the mention of Sora made her avert her eyes again. His fate remained up in the air, and they were still trapped in this winter wasteland…
Anna cut in, "Wait, how long have you been 'not dating' this guy?"
Kairi had to think that one over. "Well, we've known each other for eleven years so—"
"No, how long have you known?"
Oh. That's what she meant. Kairi sighed and fessed up, "Almost two years."
"TWO YEARS?!"
She saw that one coming.
"What's the holdup, Kairi?! Your friend supports you, it's obvious there's a spark, so get up, get out there, and tell him how you really feel!"
"But the Organization's tracking him—"
"So? Who cares if they know? You should show those jerks how serious you are!" Anna raised the half-chewed jerky in the air like a sword, grinning triumphantly. "Make them see that love conquers all!"
Kristoff muttered, "You're still marrying a guy you just met."
Anna shoved her jerky in his mouth in retaliation, then turned back to Kairi. "So, where is the lucky guy?"
"…I don't know." Which, disregarding the fact that there was still so much going on, only made matters worse. "He might not even be on this world anymore. Chances are, he flew away on his Glider."
"Mmphmr?" Kristoff plucked the meat out of his mouth and repeated, "Glider?"
"Yeah. We can turn our Keyblades into flying machines."
"Huh…" Kristoff looked out the cave entrance, chin in hand. "You know, I did see some armored guy flying toward the north mountain this morning."
Anna stood up straight, snapping her fingers. "Well, there you go! I've still gotta find Elsa, and you need to hurry up and find Riku!"
"But, Anna, there's still a huge likelihood that the Organization's after your sister, too. And their new member was already hard enough for me to fight without having to protect civilians."
"But I can't turn back now, Kairi! If there's even a chance that that mirror creep is after Riku, or if Hans is right and Elsa's struggling with her darkness, then we have to be there for them!"
"But you're not—" Kairi was about to say 'experienced,' but Anna cut her off.
"You say Elsa's turning into a Heartless, right? No one knows her heart better than me. If she's as far gone as everyone says, I'm the only one who can bring her back."
That's when it finally hit Kairi. There was a time when she was in Anna's shoes: ill-equipped for a life of combat, without a weapon and hardly a clue of just how severe of a path she'd walk… But she was the only one who could keep Riku from falling into Ansem's darkness at the End of the World. Regardless of her inability to fight back then, Riku never would've come back if she hadn't stood by him.
And now Elsa needed Anna the way Riku once needed her.
So, Kairi shook her head, making a sound like a sigh crossed a laugh. "You know what? You're right. She's your sister. And I know that if I was in your position, I'd be just as stubborn as you are."
"I'd prefer to think of myself as determined!" Which was equally fair, truth be told. "But, Kairi, I meant what I said. Just today, Kristoff and I could've died. Several times. And you could've, too! But, unlike me, you have to deal with Heartless, villains, and danger every day. That means any day could be your last. Or Riku's. Especially now that he's always alone. You say that you're waiting until the Organization's gone, but when will that ever happen? It's been two years, and it doesn't sound like you're winning. So, don't you think you should tell Riku while you still can?"
…Kairi couldn't dispute that. Especially when those near-brushes with death happened with each adventure. They were lucky so far. Beyond lucky. They'd survived dragons, genies, legions of Heartless, Titans, and even exploding planets…
She could hear Delbert now. "Planet-wide time manipulation and constant surveillance on Riku? How in the worlds are you people still alive?"
By all accounts, they shouldn't have been. Their days were numbered before they began counting.
Which meant Kairi couldn't afford to wait for a tomorrow that might never come.
So, like Anna, she stood tall, lifted her chin, squared her shoulders, and nodded. "You're right, Anna." She drew her Keyblade and rested it over her shoulder. "Let's go save our loved ones."
TO BE CONTINUED
A/N: So, my editor's computer died and we went several weeks without any real progress. Hence the delay! But we are back, and I gotta say, this was a very fun chapter to work on. The character introductions, the reinterpretation of a cool boss, and a moment I have been waiting years to reach.
Guest Isa: I actually misspelled Weselton on purpose to continue the gag of nobody pronouncing it right. Also, I don't really plan on using hard swears, for what it's worth. And yeah, Riku and Elsa having a strong, platonic friendship was important to me because often times male-female friendships are shipping focused, and I think it's just as important to show that they can be just… really good friendships where both parties can learn from one another.
As for ambiguity, it's obviously not very ambiguous in this chapter. My thing with ships in Antipode is that they're never the focus, but one thing that kinda bugs me in fiction is when a ship is teased for so long but never has any proper follow up. For the longest time with RiKai in this series, I went for a slow burn approach because Riku and Kairi had so much going on, didn't wanna hurt Sora, and ultimately there are just bigger things at stake… but it's also important for them to realize that, hey, they've both kinda died at numerous points and any day could be their last.
I know RiKai isn't as popular as SoKai or SoRiku, but I hope that after so many stories, even those on the fence about the ship can give it a fair chance. Ultimately, with ships, I just want them to be a natural extension of character dynamics and growth rather than hijacking the entire plot wholesale. Neither Riku nor Kairi are solely motivated by romantic feelings- they just happen to have them. Same with other cases like Xiruk and Naminé.
There's a lot of other stuff I could say, but for now I'll just say this: Stay tuned!
Also, don't forget to check out the new chapter in Antipode: Side Stories! I worked very hard on it, and I think it'll be a fun read.