Chapter Forty

The Witch's Endgame Part II

ELSA

"Ingrid, it's over!" Elsa formed a blockade of ice and knelt behind it. "You failed."

"No…" Ingrid hissed wildly. "If I'm going to die, you will never take my place. There will never be another Pilgrim!"

Elsa gritted her teeth as an explosion of black magic shattered her wall of ice. "I don't want your title. I only want you to pay for what you did to my family!"

"You took the League from me!"

It was clear that Ingrid wasn't listening. She was in a world of her own, that was already on the verge of collapsing into oblivion.

"No. You had no right to control their minds or their will!"

"I know what's best for them. Only I know!"

"Face it Ingrid!" Elsa lashed out with her own attacks, and ice pellets flew in the witch's direction. "Prometheus betrayed you, the League is free, and your quest is a failure. Give it up!"

"NO!" Her wild voice was a mix between a screech and an unhealthy wheeze. "I didn't come this far to be defeated by a child!" Ingrid mustered up all the magic she could summon and hurled a gleaming red aura of energy at Elsa.

Elsa froze the attack in mid air, and a huge explosion rained down shards of ice tainted with dark red slimes of Ingrid's black magic upon the cavern. The anger she had been holding at bay began to wash over her, surging through her being.

Use your fear, your anger, your hate, Ingrid's words rang in her ears from the training. Elsa allowed her rage to seize her, and bathed in the flood tide of wrath. The witch trying to kill her had succeeded in killing her parents years ago and manipulated her at every turn. It was time to end her reign of terror. Permanently. Raising both her hands, the entire catacombs filled with a bitter cold, and icicles descended from the ceiling of the cavern and ascended from the floor. Stalagmites and stalactites grew from every which way, changing the terrain significantly in Elsa's favour. But she wasn't done yet.

Hail stones began to fall out of nowhere, and the bitter chill swept Ingrid off her feet. The air grew increasingly thin, and the witch began to gag, clutching at her throat. Elsa tightened her fists and narrowed her icy blue eyes, the storm growing only stronger.

So this was what Ingrid had meant. Harnessing her anger and hate only made her stronger, and Elsa found a sweet release. This was power unlike anything she had ever experienced. Elsa gritted her teeth and screamed as she threw down both her hands. The entire cavern was blanketed in white and the storm ceased abruptly. Ingrid dropped to the ground, on the harsh terrain of ice and rock. She coughed wetly, and red stained the cold, lethal ice.

Elsa strode across the new terrain towards her fallen enemy, her blood still boiling and her fury still unquenched. She watched in contempt as Ingrid wheezed heavily and tried to catch her breath.

"At least-" Ingrid managed to utter softly between unhealthy chokes. A semblance of coherency had returned to her, and even to a madwoman like her, it was clear that she had lost and her quest was over. "At least you accomplished something your parents never did."

"Shut up." Elsa growled.

"Qa'nneth or no Qa'nneth, you…you managed to defeat me." Ingrid sat up with ice stuck to her skin, her body shaking visibly and she coughed up more blood. It was obvious that the fight was over, and the Pilgrim couldn't possibly carry on. The fight had taken a physical toll on her, and as it was, she was already on the brink of death.

"You had my family killed in that storm." Elsa formed a sharp icicle in her hand and gripped it tightly till the whites of her knuckles showed. "You sent me down a path which resulted in nothing but pain and suffering."

"If you're going…to kill me," Ingrid snarled, blood trickling from her mouth. "Just…get it over with. Stop dragging this out. Finish me, like I taught you to."

Elsa raised the icicle over her head hesitantly.

"You stupid little girl! I killed your parents!" Ingrid screamed hoarsely, spitting blood onto Elsa's clothes. "I threatened the ones you love! If you don't end me right here and now, I will keep coming for you and everyone you love. Again and again, till my very last breath!"

"You're right," Elsa said coldly. "It's time I end this."

ANNA

"Smash it again!" Anna shouted.

Maui slammed his body into the barrier of ice that blocked the Crossing Point. It cracked upon impact, but it still held up as if it were tempered glass.

"Hurry!" Tracy said weakly. "I can't…I can't hold it open much longer!"

"I'm trying!" Maui said through gritted teeth. With a loud bellow, he rammed himself into the ice with every ounce of strength in his body, and the ice shattered. He fell through the opening in the Crossing Point, and landed hard on the narrow ledge of the catacombs.

"Go!" Tracy hollered.

Anna leapt through the Crossing Point and grunted as she landed on the ledge behind Maui. Tracy herself quickly jumped out of the Crossing Zone and joined the Warriors in the catacombs.

"Come on," Anna looked at Tracy and Maui. "We have to help her. My sister's not thinking straight."

"You got that right," Maui agreed. "She's angry."

"And she has a right to be. The Pilgrim killed our parents and manipulated her." Anna said worriedly. "But I'm afraid Elsa's going to do something she'll regret. And if we don't stop her, it might take her to a dark place for real this time."

"Look!" Tracy pointed to the tunnels further down which began to glow erratically. "Something's happening."

"Hurry!" Anna took off running into the tunnels, followed closely behind by Maui and Tracy. There was sick feeling in the pit of her stomach, and it wasn't because she hadn't eaten. Anna had somehow known that telling Elsa about the Pilgrim's last secret at a tense moment like this was a bad idea, but she did it anyway to attempt to knock some sense into her sister. As expected, it had backfired terribly, and now Elsa had gone off on her own to face down the Pilgrim in a fit of rage. Elsa wasn't thinking clearly, and Anna was genuinely afraid that her sister would go too far and…kill her enemy.

As she ran through the narrow tunnels, she could feel a chill and the air growing colder. "We're close," Anna slowed down and glanced back at her friends. "Be careful."

A gust of cold wind blew through the tunnels which began to widen, and the Warriors stepped into a wide cavern covered in ice and snow. Across the cavern at the opposite end were two figures, one towering menacingly over another. Anna's heart lurched when she saw that it was Elsa who had the upper hand, with a sharp icicle raised above her head.

"Elsa!" Anna screamed at the top of her lungs, clambering her way across the difficult terrain as best and as fast as she could without slipping. "Elsa, stop!"

"Anna?" Elsa spun round, a wild look in her eyes. "You-you shouldn't be here!"

"Elsa, please." Anna stopped near her sister. "Put it down." She glanced at the Pilgrim who looked extremely weak and was wheezing erratically. "She's beaten. It's over."

"What are you waiting for?!" The Pilgrim's voice cracked and red spots stained the white ground. "Do it!"

Anna held out a hand cautiously. "Please, don't."

"Don't you see? This is the only way to keep us safe." Elsa looked at her in despair. "You said it yourself, she killed our parents! She tried to kill you, and she won't stop! Not unless," Elsa turned back to the fallen witch. "I end her threat here and now."

"That's it." The Pilgrim gave a sick, weak smile. "Use your fear. Use your anger. They make you strong."

"No!" Anna grabbed her sister's arm. "No, she's wrong!"

"Let go of me, Anna."

"The Pilgrim's wrong." Anna protested. "Don't give in to your fear or hatred."

"I'm doing this for us!" Elsa snarled fiercely. "This is the only way we stay safe!"

"No, it's not." Anna pleaded. "If you do this, the Pilgrim wins. After all you've fought for, after everything you've been through, you would've just become what the Pilgrim wanted you to be since the very beginning. A dangerous, murdering sorceress that the world should fear."

"Don't listen to her!" The Pilgrim screeched hysterically, and collapsed to the ground in a fit of painful coughs. "If you don't kill me now, you and your loved ones will never be safe."

"Elsa."

With tears filling her eyes, Elsa shot a look of despair at Anna. She looked round at Tracy and Maui as well who were speechlessly watching in horror, and turned back to the Pilgrim who was breathing heavily, sprawled on the ground.

"What are you waiting for?" The Pilgrim whispered feebly, curled up in agony.

The icicle in Elsa's hand hovered above her head, and she hesitated silently in contemplation. Anna held her breath, hoping with every fibre in her being that Elsa would do the right thing. One thing was for certain. What her sister did here and now would determine the path she would take from here on.

To her relief, Elsa lowered her arm and the icicle vanished.

"No." Elsa said, coherence and rationality returning to her voice.

"You stupid little girl…" the Pilgrim croaked.

"You're wrong." Elsa said. "This isn't the way. I won't repeat the same mistake my father did, even though you were responsible for making us orphans. I ought to kill you, but I won't. Because I'm not the Pilgrim's Apprentice. I'm the Queen of Arendelle, and a Warrior."

"I will come for you…"

"No, you won't. You'll be locked up for the rest of your days." Elsa glanced down at her former captor. "And I'm guessing you won't dare risk using your magic, given your state of health. No more Augbine Herbs, no more League, and no Eternal King to save you. It's over."

"Elsa." Anna lunged forward and hugged her tightly. "I was so worried."

"You saved me, Anna." Elsa's voice cracked a little. "You pulled me back from the edge. If you didn't stop me, I-I could have…"

"No, you made the right choice," Anna stroked Elsa's hair comfortingly. "You did the right thing, and that's all that matters."

"You were right, I almost went to a dark place for real this time. I almost became what she wanted." Elsa closed her eyes. "And that scared me. I was ready to kill her for what she did to us. To our parents."

"She will face justice." Anna reassured her. "True justice."

"Heh," the Pilgrim gloated weakly. "It's funny. I think you're forgetting something."

Elsa turned to face the witch, who was trying to sit up. "What are you talking about?"

"Our deal included one more factor you didn't account for."

Anna flashed a worried look at Elsa, who returned it.

"I told you," the Pilgrim cackled between wet coughs. "Even if your sister knows the truth, there's still the Arendellian public who would love to know about your father's secret."

"You didn't." Elsa sounded horrified, and Anna felt the same way. So this was one of the reasons why the Pilgrim had spies planted within the government. If Tobias hadn't told her, she would have been just as shocked as Elsa was.

"I did." The Pilgrim spat blood on the floor. "While you were all so busy dividing up the League, fighting my sorcerers and trying to stop me, I was able to execute my backup plan."

She looked round at the Warriors, who were silently soaking in the news. "What, you didn't think I would actually do it?" She sneered at Elsa.

"How did you…"

"You," She pointed weakly at Tracy. "You might've broken my psychic hold over the young sorcerers, but you've all forgotten. There are old League loyalists planted within Arendelle's infrastructure, and I gave the order to have King Agnarr's secret leaked to the public. To the world."

The Pilgrim glanced at the dismayed look on Elsa's face and cackled in glee. "You think you've won? You think just because I'll be locked up in a cell for the rest of my days, I've lost? No." She shook her head slowly and grinned wickedly. "I've had my ace in the hole this whole time. You didn't think I'll risk losing everything in a fight with you?"

Anna glanced quickly at her sister, who looked utterly distraught. She was afraid of what Elsa would do, and prayed hard that her worst fears wouldn't be realised.

"There will be doubt and chaos in the streets. Your beloved supporters who once voted for you to stay on the throne will turn against you. The kingdom will fall to another like Tobias. Your sovereign family's name will be tarnished forever. This may not have been the true endgame I'd had in mind, but I'll take it, nonetheless. Kill me. Don't kill me. It doesn't matter anymore. I've won, after all."

Quietly and unpredictably, Elsa stepped forward.

"Elsa," Anna said worriedly. What if her sister had been provoked into finishing what she'd meant to do to the Pilgrim?

"It's alright, Anna," Elsa said, her voice calm and poised, and Anna heaved a sigh of relief. "We'll figure this out later. Somehow." She turned to Maui and Tracy. "For now, help me get her out of here."

"You got it." Tracy began trying to conjure up a Crossing Point, and did so successfully while Maui carried the limp witch off into the portal.

"Elsa, are you alright?" Anna slipped her hand into Elsa's as the two sisters made their way towards the Crossing Point.

"Not really, no." Elsa pursed her lips and glanced at Anna. "But we'll deal with this mess when it's time."

"Together." Anna squeezed her hand reassuringly.

"Together."

Author's Commentary:

Close to 17000 words in total for these chapters detailing the climax. Quite an achievement for myself. I'm pretty proud :)

Anna has always been the best part of Elsa, and here we see that all the more clearly. Without Anna, Elsa will have no guiding light, and it makes us wonder if she will give into her darker instincts. She has always had somewhat of a darker side to her, and battling the Pilgrim really brought it out. Will we ever see more of that? Will Elsa ever give into her darkness for real and become what the Pilgrim wanted her to be? We may never know. But for now, the ordeal is over.

As always, I'll love to know what your thoughts about the story are. Do leave a review, I'll really appreciate it as a way of saying you've been with me on this journey till the end :)

Don't worry, even though this book is coming to an end, a sequel is well on its way, and the first draft of it is almost complete. Can't wait for you all to see what happens next!