Hello everyone.

I hope you are all doing well.

And I want to thank you all again for the support and feedback this story has received, and is still getting, so thank you so much for that.

As you can see, I'm back with another chapter.

Now I know things are looking bleak for our main heroes here, so without further ado, here is chapter 11.

Enjoy!

Chapter 11: The Way Back

You were falling. Oh god you were falling. You didn't know how much time had passed since you had been sucked into the gym floor as you had lost track of it. All you knew is that a long time had passed, and that all that surrounded you was darkness. Suddenly your body hit what felt like the ground, knocking you out instantly.

A while later you slowly opened your eyes again. You were laying in the middle of a field. Only, the field wasn't made of grass and dirt. No, more like rocks. Black rocks.

You got up and started walking. You couldn't think of anything else to do. As you walked you could feel your whole body aching like it could break apart at any moment. You held onto your left shoulder and you could both see, not to mention feel that it was broken. It became apparent to you that you were beat up pretty badly and you needed to find somewhere to sit down to tend to it. But the question was, where could you even do that? The only thing you could see for miles were rocks and flames.

All around you it was darkness, only lit up by the bloodred sky above you and the flames that were everywhere. This was far from a hospitable place to say the least, but this was the home of the creature Ifer. His dark realm.

As your feet slowly moved forward you could only think of the ones you left behind. Never would you get to spend time with Anna, your mom, your dad and Olaf again. Never would you have another guys night out with Kristoff and Hans again either. Then, you thought about Elsa. You would never get to see her, hold her, hold her hand as you walked along the school hallways, park or down the streets. You would never be able to kiss her again, to feel her lips against your own, and you would never be able to tell her how much you loved her and how much she meant to you. Now it was all gone. You couldn't do any of those things. You stopped and sighed heavily at the thought of everyone you cared about.

"They must be devastated… and I too miss them so much… so so much…." You whispered to yourself, clutching your broken shoulder.

Then you remembered the promise you made to Elsa that night, after you had consummated your relationship. Now, you wouldn't be able to set Elsa free like you had promised her.

"I'm…I'm so sorry Elsa…" You whispered through gritted teeth as pain shot through your shoulder and you clutched it harder.

"I don't think I'll be able to keep my promise to you now…"

After walking for what seemed like hours, your body just couldn't take anymore and you collapsed and almost hit what looked like some kind of boulder. You barely avoided landing on your left shoulder.

"That… that was a close one… too close…" You grunted.

Breathing heavily, you managed to roll onto your back and look up at the blood red sky. It was over now. Ifer had Elsa now. He was her new master. He had outplayed you and won. Tears started streaming down your cheeks as you lay there and you used the palm of your hand to wipe them away.

"I'm sorry Elsa… everyone…." You whispered before you closed your eyes, accepting your fate.

Suddenly the sky was lit up by a very bright light. Bright enough to make you open your eyes. You looked up, but all you could see was a tall, blurry figure. You looked at it, and even though you couldn't make out any features or tell who or what it was, you did not feel threatened by its presence. Without a word the figure reached out for you and you were overwhelmed by a feeling that you should take its hand. You used the last of your strength to reach back with your right hand, but just as your hand touched the glowing figure's hand, you blacked out again.

"Urgh… where am I…? You mumbled as you slowly opened your eyes and your body slowly began to come back to life. Then you noticed you were no longer in the dark realm.

You carefully sat up and looked around and you were laying in a bed in a small room, decorated with warm colors and the whole room had a soothing atmosphere. Next to you stood a small table and across the room stood a brown drawer dresser with a mirror attached to the wall above it. Getting out of bed, you suddenly realized that your shoulder wasn't broken anymore. In fact, your whole body was totally fine. Like it had never been bruised and broken. You looked around and you could see a window next to your nightstand. You walked over to the window and looked out. Your eyes widened as you recognized some of the buildings in the unfamiliar part of the city. Then, right outside the window you saw a familiar street sign. It was the same street sign you had stopped by that day, months ago. The day you found the pawnshop, met that old man Pabbi and got the lamp containing Elsa.

"There's no way… How..?" You whispered to yourself.

Suddenly there was a knock on the door. You jumped and turned around.

"Y….Yes?"

The door opened and into the room came familiar looking person. Small built, a big nose and large ears and dressed in a green tunic. His face lit up when he saw you.

"Ah, you're awake young man. I'm so glad to see you back on your feet." Pabbi said with a small smile and all you could do was stare at him. How in the world was HE here? You opened your mouth to speak, but Pabbi spoke up first.

"Would you like some tea, my young friend?"

You were a bit confused but after a few seconds you nodded and accepted his offer and he opened the door.

"Then, let's have tea in the living room. Follow me please."

You followed him and as you exited the bedroom you found yourself in a very small apartment.

"Please, have a seat." Pabbi said and you sat down on the brown leather couch.

Pabbi's apartment wasn't the biggest but it was big enough for one person. You could see the entrance door and a door you could only guess led to the bathroom. You could also see Pabbi who was in a small kitchen in one end of the apartment, making tea.

The apartment was also decorated with all sorts of things. Most of it vintage. You could see a clock on the wall and an old grammophon player in a corner. They were quite old but it seemed like they were working just fine.

"Excuse me but… How long was I out…?" You asked Pabbi when he returned with a tray with tea, two cups and sugar.

"Just for a few hours." Pabbi said as he poured you some tea before he sat down.

"Thank you." You said as you took your tea cup. It was warm and smelled delicious. Even the smell was relaxing.

You took a sip of the tea as your head tried to figure out what was going on. If anything, your head was filled with millions of questions.

If Pabbi was here, it meant that you were back in his pawnshop. Your arm and body was healed and totally fine now. But how was that possible? Not to mention the biggest question of them all. You died. You were killed by Ifer and sent to his dark realm. How could you possibly be sitting here right now in the back of Pabbi's pawnshop, drinking tea?

"I can see you have a lot of questions young man."

"You… can say that." You admitted.

"I can answer some of your questions, but unfortunately not all of them."

You thought for a few seconds before you asked your first question.

"Did you… know about Elsa?"

Pabbi smiled a little and nodded.

"Yes, I did. You see, I've been the lamp's protector for a very, very long time."

"Then… why me?"

Pabbi again gave you one of his mysterious smiles.

"I've been waiting all these years for someone with a pure heart to trust her to. When you stumbled into my shop, months ago, you were so sad and a little lost, but I could feel it right away. Your heart is pure and that is why I gave you the lamp.

You smiled a bit. I was the first time you had heard that being said about you.

You took another sip of your tea.

"And... Ifer? Did you know about him too?" You asked.

"Ah, yes… Ifer. I know very well who he is."

"Can you…. Tell me about him?" You asked and he looked at you before he looked down at his cup of tea as he began his story.

"Several hundred years ago a pure blood balrog fell in love with a human woman, when she trekked the mountains in which he resided. The mountains were located not very far from her village. And she fell for him too. The village people did not approve. The village even tried to have the balrog killed at one point. They miserably failed…" He cleared his throat.

"Anyway, even with the whole village against them being together, the two of them secretly met with each other quite often. These encounters soon ended up with her becoming pregnant, and together they had one son. Ifer. But since Ifer was born only a half balrog, he loathed his very own existence since he was very young. His only wish was to become a true, pure blood balrog, and, as he grew up, he sought a way to accomplish his goal. His quest and the knowledge that he would stop at nothing to achieve it forced a certain deity to seal him away."

"You mean Terra?" You asked, as sipped your tea and you remembered Elsa telling you about the deity that created her. Surely something as powerful as Terra would be able to defeat and seal away a huge ferocious beast like Ifer.

Pabbi nodded as he sipped his own tea.

"You are perceptive my young friend. Yes, Terra sealed Ifer away centuries ago since he knew Ifer would come after Elsa eventually and he wanted to keep his daughter safe."

The thoughts were racing through your head as you put your teacup down on the table and got to your feet.

"But… If Ifer has lived for centuries already… He must be immortal…" You said out loud but mostly to yourself and the feeling of utter hopelessness washed over you.

"How…How can I save Elsa now? How in the world can I, a normal human, take on an immortal and powerful Balrog?" You said as you started pacing back and forth across the living room floor, not even trying to disguise the distress you felt.

"Well, my young friend, I have something to tell you" Pabbi said.

"Ifer may have lived for hundreds of years, but he is, in fact, not immortal. There may still be a way to stop him."

"Wait… there IS a way to stop him…?" You asked and Pabbi nodded.

But before you could ask how, you and Pabbi could suddenly feel the ground shake and vibrate.

The whole house was shaking and you could hear the glass clatter and some of it break as they were smashed against each other in the cabinets.

"What the…?!" You almost feel backwards but you managed to stay on your feet.

Almost as soon as it had started, it stopped.

"Earthquake?" You asked as you looked at Pabbi.

Pabbi looked around and you noticed that he had not even flinched during the Earthquake.

"I fear that was not an earthquake, young man." He said as he looked towards the window.

You walked over to the window and looked outside again.

There, right in the middle of the city stood a huge black castle.

"Oh no…" You mumbled and you could feel chills run down your spine.

"That must be Ifer… He must have made his second wish…"

"Yes… it looks like it." Pabbi said calmly.

Then you realized something. You were back. You could do something now. You could save Elsa.

Suddenly a spark of hope was ignited inside you. Maybe things were not as hopeless as you thought.

You thought for a few seconds and you smiled slightly before you got a serious expression again.

"I have to get to Elsa. I have to get her back from Ifer. And I will, no matter what. I just have to figure out a way to do it…" You said and Pabbi spoke up.

"Tell me young man. What does Elsa mean to you now?"

Without hesitation you smiled a bit as you answered his question.

"I love her. I love her with all my heart. I would do anything to ensure her safety. Including walking through fire and flames to get her back."

Your answer and the way you so sincerely said those words made Pabbi smile.

"I truly chose the right person to trust her to."

You gave him a small smile back before you thought for a second. To recue Elsa you would need help. And you knew just who to call.

"I have to call Anna. No one knows I'm alive yet. My parents, Anna, Elsa, Kristoff, Hans… They have to know."

You searched your pockets but then you remembered that your phone was broken during your fight with Ifer in the school's gym.

"Damn it…"You mumbled and you looked at Pabbi.

"I don't have a phone now… It was broken…."

Pabbi then looked at a small table in the corner of the living room.

"You can use my phone if you want to."

"Really? Thank you so much." You almost ran over to the table.

The phone was an old landline phone. It was bronze colored and had a wheel you had to rotate to dial a number. A real vintage piece of technology.

You hesitated a bit. Could landline phones even call cellphones?

"Go on. It'll work" Pabbi said.

Just as you were about to dial Anna's number you remembered something.

You looked back at Pabbi.

"Wait… Anna doesn't accept calls from unknown numbers…"

Pabbi then gave you one of his most mysterious smiles yet.

"Don't worry, young man. She will answer this one."

You smiled a bit and took a deep breath before you dialed her number.

In seconds you could hear the call connecting and in not too long you heard a very familiar voice on the other end. A voice you had missed very much.

"Hello?"

You were so happy you had to compose yourself and pull yourself a bit together to not burst into tears right then and there.

"Hello? Is anyone there?" Anna asked on the other end.

You silently took another deep breath.

"I'm hanging up now" Anna said but before she could you finally spoke up.

" ...heh. Hey Anna."

Anna gasped.

"Sorry...its just...good to hear your voice again."

On the other end you could only hear Anna muster one name.

"(F/N)…?"

That's it!

I hope you all enjoyed this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it. Let me know what you guys think of it in the comments and I'll see you all next chapter.

Bye!