'Anna…are you sure about this?' Kristoff asked as he adjusted atop of Sven. The reindeer huffed in preparation for what had just been outlined to him,

'Yeah-huh! It's obviously a bit risky, but if we pull this off, we can help everyone today!'

'If we pull this off. Right.' Kristoff didn't sound so sure. But how could he be? Anna was suggesting a somewhat insane idea, but considering Yelana had given her approval, it couldn't have been that bad, right?

Upon hearing the Earth Spirits approaching, Anna had dragged Kristoff back to the Northuldra camp, proposing she and the ice harvester be used as bait to draw the Rock Giants' attention toward the dam, forcing them to hurl rocks at the massive construct to destroy it with relative ease. In order to truly gain the colossal spirits' focus, Anna also asked Lieutenant Mattias and his men to bang on their shields initially a fair distance from the camp, leaving Anna and Kristoff to do the rest.

'You ready for this, buddy?' Kristoff stroked Sven's neck, leaning forward and allowing Anna to squeeze his solid waist tight.

'Umph!' Sven grunted back.

'You're the only one we can count on here, Sven.' Anna encouraged, also gently petting him.

'You sure you have to be here with me while we do something dangerous like this, Anna?'

'Definitely.' Anna didn't have a choice. It was her idea. She had to follow through with it. Maybe that wasn't the most queenly approach, but Elsa wasn't one to passively let others do her dirty work either. Now, granted, Elsa also had otherworldly power to assist her, but that was just a minor detail.

'Okay, Mattias! Let's do this!'

'Understood, Princess Anna!'

The ground trembled as the Earth Spirits naturally drew closer. This seemed to be all the encouragement Lieutenant Mattias needed, as he and his men hollered confirmation back followed by loud banging upon their knightly shields.

'Oh, boy…' Kristoff groaned, kicking Sven into a run and dashing past the soldiers.

Immediately, the earthquakes quickened ever so slightly, and when Anna turned back to check on the status of the Enchanted Forest, she quickly sighted trees being parted to make way for no fewer than three enormous Rock Giants.

'Okay. Let's try this again.' She muttered to herself. Anna allowed a thought about Elsa one last time, recalling how they had ran for their lives from this same spirit not that long ago. It felt like a distant past already, Elsa's absence from Anna's life dragging out each minute and hour of the day.

'Nothing a little run for my life can't take care of, I guess.' Anna concluded, and before Kristoff could ask her what she meant, Anna lifted one hand in the air and started screaming at the top of her lungs, her voice cracking and her chest burning.

'We're over here! Come and get us!' Anna bellowed, her words echoing in the forest. The Rock Giants appeared to react, their heads shifting about as if searching the ground for ants.

Anna still didn't completely understand the details surrounding why the Earth Spirits might be so antagonistic. She assumed it had something to do with Elsa having not been "worthy" of their cooperation, but the fact they had appeared capable of listening to Elsa and Anna in the beginning before going berserk was suspect. Had something triggered them into acting out? Their aggression was supposedly reserved for Elsa, yet they were content seeking out whatever was grabbing their attention now?

It didn't matter, in the end. So long as the Earth Giants began tossing boulders, Anna wouldn't complain.

As the ground began to really shake, Sven huffed in irritation, his pace obviously compromised due to the inability to properly gauge his footing.

'You got this.' Kristoff proceeded to encourage, and it was pretty endearing to see the man and animal synchronize so flawlessly. Everyone should have individual in their life that understood them inside and out. Would Anna ever find someone even slightly close to such a blessing ever again?

'You couldn't catch me before! What makes you think you have a chance now?' Anna proceeded to provoke.

Finally, one of the Earth Spirits bent over and extracted a piece of land, prepping to hurl it through the air, trees and rocks of various sizes still attached.

'Oh, boy! Here it comes, Kristoff!'

'Just give us a little direction! We'll be at the dam in about thirty seconds, if Ryder's directions are on point!'

The wind from running through the forest on Sven's back slapped Anna's hair about her face as she squinted into the sky, hastily judging where the Earth Spirit's attack would likely land.

'Left! Left!' Anna decided, and Kristoff instantly did so, the projectile missing by quite a bit, but the impact clearly startling Sven.

The Rock Giants were slow enough, but one step from them spanned about one hundred feet for a normal human. Taking Sven's steadily declining speed into account, Anna could assume the Earth Spirits wouldn't actually catch up, meaning…

'Here comes another one!' Anna observed a second giant lift up an incredible boulder this time. That was more like it.

'Say the word!' Kristoff shouted.

'Keep straight! It should miss us by – '

The impact was much more intense this time, Sven lifted right off his feet and nearly toppling over as the earth vibrated from the sudden crash landing. Anna had to use both hands to hold fast to Kristoff, the two of them muffling screams as they proceeded forward.

'Whoa…! Way too close for comfort!' Kristoff laughed with relief.

Anna glanced back again, her eyes widening.

'Incoming…!'

There was no time to give any direction. Another boulder landed, this time even closer, and all three individuals were sent scattering, Anna feeling the rough earth stabbing into her body as she tumbled over sticks, rocks, and general debris found in the forest. A tree stopped her momentum, which knocked the air out of her, practically forcing her unconscious.

'U-ugh…!' Anna gasped, coughing up some blood. It was either from her nose or tongue. Both were definitely bleeding, and her head was spinning. 'Kristoff…!' She tried weakly, attempting to push herself up with trembling arms.

The Earth Giants only loomed closer, another king-size rock lifted from the forest and lobbed into the overcast sky. Fortunately, Anna was concealed by branches and leaves, but she didn't trust her luck further, scrambling to get up and continue leading the Earth Spirits to the dam.

As it was, she could hear the water, its presence forcing her to her feet no matter how much they didn't want to perform their function.

'Move! Come on!' Anna punched at her thighs, eventually getting herself into a messy jog. 'I'm over here!' She screamed, her throat hurting.

The Earth Spirits all shifted their focus, and Anna broke into one last run. Elsa would have done the same. She didn't give up. Against worse odds than this, Anna's older sister had toppled anything that stood in her way.

The stoutest of the Rock Giants hurled a slightly smaller boulder, but it was no less dangerous, and its accuracy was surprisingly good, Anna wondering if she had enough time to ensure a proper evasion. It was hard enough to run, let alone turn on a dime to guarantee she didn't get squished.

'Anna!' Kristoff's voice hollered, and Anna searched for the man, spotting him with just enough time to reach out to his extended hand and allow herself to be pulled up and on top of Sven anew. 'Need a lift?'

The boulder crashed, snapping a few trees apart in the process with a deep thud and crack.

'Thanks.' Anna held onto her friend with a rush of relief pouring out of her adrenaline.

'You okay?'

'Let's just get to that dam.'

'Roger! You heard the lady, Sven!'

The brave reindeer practically roared as he picked up the pace, likely seeing the dam in the near distance spurring him into one last burst of energy.

'Uh-oh! We're on the move again! Better get us this time!' Anna taunted, waving her arms and almost toppling off of Sven again. 'Oops!'

'Careful!'

'Here they come! Two for one deal! Swerve toward the dam, Sven!' Anna heard her own voice break, and Sven did as he was told, darting to the dam and swooping around to the side so he could begin across it.

One of the two boulders successfully collided with the dam, nicking it enough to chip off a piece. It was a small chunk, but still enough for Anna's heart to begin pounding even faster. This might actually work! It wasn't completely insane!

'Okay! Wait here!' Anna leaped from Sven, knowing what she had to do now.

'Pardon? We're coming with you.' Kristoff didn't even think about it, and that was kind of sweet.

'I'll be okay. I just need them to definitely, one hundred percent go for the middle here and really crack this guy open! If something goes wrong though, I need you boys on the wings to catch me.'

'What!? Are you serious?'

'Here comes another one! No time to chat! Go!'

Anna watched as the Earth Spirits zeroed in on her, the dam out in the open enough for the incredible beings to easily discern where to aim (even if they didn't exactly appear to have eyeballs). The princess of Arendelle ran as fast as she could to the centre of the dam, her body still sore from her fall, but her mind fortified and willing to push past all the pain she felt to fulfill the task Elsa had left for her.

Each Earth Spirit seemed to prepare a boulder this time, dirt and pieces of the ground raining down from the massive objects held in the giants' hands. Anna swallowed, reaching the middle of the dam and outstretching her arms wide on either side, calling out with more emotion than she knew was necessary.

'Who's got the best arm? This is your last chance! Come on!'

Anna watched the world slow down as the triad of Earth Spirits pulled their arms back in preparation for the toss. She breathed out slowly, her legs shaking and limbs sore. A sad, dark part of her almost didn't want to move. A lonely, desperate girl inside begged for release from a world without Elsa. Her sister was never coming out of her room again. They'd never build another snowman. Hope was gone. What was even the point anymore?

Anna shook her head and focussed, aware the swirling depression in her heart was just that. Elsa would never want her to give up. Never. So, she wouldn't. The hardest days following her sister's passing would eventually be gone, and Anna might be capable of finding new joy in her life. She just had to finish the adventure they had started together. Complete the task Elsa had given her life for…

'Here we go…' Anna saw the first boulder leave one of the giants' hands and she instantly broke back toward Kristoff and Sven. She made it about ten feet before the dam was hit, shaking her off balance.

'Anna…!' Kristoff hollered, already running to get closer to her.

Two more, nearly simultaneous blows were made to the dam, and Anna felt herself falling. How big were those rocks being tossed? Were the Earth Giants really trying to kill her? This was crazy! The construct Anna was nearly across crumbled with every step she attempted, and before she knew it, Anna was falling with the dam itself.

Elsa…!

The name came to her mind without missing a beat, and once again, Anna thought about giving herself over to the end, her final job done and her duty to her older sister surely fulfilled.

However, a strong hand grabbed hold of her wrist, and the whiplash made Anna squeak in discomfort, her legs kicking at the air as chunks of the dam fell into the freed water. Within moments, more and more of the water pushed up against the dam, squeezing through the tiny crack created only to peel away at the blockade, the sheer pressure of the stuff finishing the job and picking apart more of that which attempted to restrain it.

'I got you!' Kristoff grunted. 'Pull us up, Sven!'

Anna stared down at what could have been her demise, and understood that giving up simply wasn't the answer. That was the easy way out. The coward's escape from the despair she would have to learn to live with.

Kristoff helped Anna back into the Enchanted Forest, and he held her close, his grip strong and shaky on Anna's shoulder. He really did care about her, huh?

'Unbelievable…' Kristoff exhaled.

'It…actually worked?' Anna blinked, amazed by how swiftly the rushing water was pouring into the entrance created through the dam, crashing over the mountains and swirling through the region without reserve. She then looked back to the Earth Spirits, surprised to see they were simply standing over the forest, unmoving and almost statuesque. Did they realize what they had just done? Or were they confused? Anna almost felt bad for using them as such.

'Oh, boy. That opening is getting larger by the second. I was sort of hoping the water wouldn't be able to pick up enough momentum to harm Arendelle, but…' Kristoff let the thought trail.

'It's fine.' Anna heard herself say. 'This is for the best.'

Arendelle without Elsa wasn't Arendelle to Anna anyway. Perhaps that was selfish and ignorant of her to think, but without Elsa, the old Arendelle wasn't her home anymore. Building a new city and kingdom was likely the best way to begin coping with the loss of the previous queen…

'Look. They're…leaving?' Kristoff pointed to the Earth Spirits, their backs already to Anna and her two friends.

'Huh.' Anna still couldn't figure them out. Maybe even the Earth Spirit wasn't certain of its actions. Being split among so many entities, was it possible intelligence was compromised in the process? Were orders from the old Ahtohallan just left before anything could be re-written? Test Elsa. Make her prove herself.

'So, it was up to Elsa to tell them what to do? But then…why keep attacking?'

'Whoa! Anna! Look!' Kristoff was pointing upward to the sky, his grip on her shoulder tightening.

Anna checked to see what the man was directing her attention to. When she did, she noticed the fog that had encapsulated the Enchanted Forest was already beginning to fade away, a brilliant blue sky revealed in all its splendor. She had partially assumed it was simply an overcast few days, but obviously she had been wrong, and the mist that had kept her and Elsa out from the beginning expanded all around the forest, blocking out any true sunlight.

Thinking about how much the Northuldra and remaining Arendellian soldiers had endured for so many years, Anna breathed out with relief, thankful she and Elsa had managed to liberate the forest and literally destroy that which had clogged up the relationship nature was meant to have with the rest of the world – Arendelle included.

'We did it, Elsa…' Anna caught her breath.

All that was left was to return to the Northuldra camp and confirm that everyone really could leave the forest. If the dissipating mist was any indication, Anna had no doubt that would be the case, meaning the adventure in the Enchanted Forest was all but over.

'You okay?' Kristoff asked quietly.

'I will be someday. Probably. Maybe.' Anna sighed. 'But I have to get back to my people. They deserve to know why Arendelle was flooded and the plans I have for rebuilding. They also need to hear about Elsa…'

'Right.' Kristoff gave Anna's shoulder one last squeeze, releasing her and approaching Sven. 'Want a ride?'

Anna blinked, feeling terribly disconnected from the world now that she no longer had a focus directly tied to Elsa's final wish. Listless didn't begin to describe how she felt. Empty? Something like that. It was hard to even move again. If Kristoff and Sven weren't with her, Anna was scared to think how any of this final leg of the journey would have played out.

'Sure.' Anna snapped herself out of the daze. Arendelle still needed her. Elsa's legacy still needed her. No matter how hollow her heart felt, life would go on. That was her reality now. Despite a lingering sense of loss beyond her control, Anna had to press forward with the present and lead her people to the future. She was Queen Anna now. Proceeding with a reality without Elsa, no matter how agonizing, was her inevitable truth.

Steele her heart. Barricade it with impenetrable fortitude. Smile. Smile. Smile. Laugh. Laugh. Laugh…

"Well done, Anna of Arendelle…Yet, unfortunately, Elsa shall not…be returned to you in this instance. So is the fate of a world where sisters…dared to defy the will…of nature's…purity. Farewell. It is good…at last."