Hello, everyone!

As promised, here is the next chapter, though admittedly, it's a little later than I thought it would be. Sorry, guys, I was worked a lot more than I thought I would be.

This chapter is officially the longest chapter I've ever written, and I'm finding it easier and more fun to write longer chapters. I hope you guys like these really long chapters, there will be many more like them in the future.

So, this is the first time I've ever tried to write (or more, re-write) a Disney story with Kingdom Hearts aspects. I had a lot of fun with it, though would change things had I allowed myself more time to think about setup. For me, ideas can change mid-chapter, even mid-sentence, and I feel like I could have done a better job with the setup of this particular Disney world/Kingdom Hearts cross.

That being said, I will be editing and revising all of these chapters at some point, just to weed out spelling and grammar mistakes I didn't catch the first go-round. Some chapters I'll even rewrite to suit the story better and so you guys won't be stuck with a bunch of filler the movies already set up.

Again, thank you so much to Tashasaurous for you idea to send Nightly and Aqua to Arendelle, as well as your idea to send Lea, Ephemer, and Skuld to Kingdom of Corona. This one's for you!

The quintet came to a flatter part of the mountain. Thankful for an easier trek on their legs, they looked around at their newfound surroundings with surprise and awe.

A throng of willows stood around a frozen lake. The branches hung low, the water that had been in the process of running down them frozen in multiple spots along them, looking as if each branch were its own string of smooth, glittering Christmas lights that dazzled in the sunlight.

Kristoff reached out, running some of the branches through his hand. Nightly drew in an excited breath, hearing the slight 'tink' they made as they hit each other in his hand. She grabbed a handful of the branches, running a little along the edge of one of the trees, ending up with about fifteen of them in her hand.

Seeing her antics, Aqua looked to see what her unofficial charge was up to. "Nightly, what—?" she began.

"Watch," Nightly said with a smile. She pulled her hand back before throwing it across her body like she was casting magic without her Keyblade. The branches flew from her hand, knocking into other branches, creating a chain reaction that set the entire tree into motion, creating the largest natural windchime they had ever seen, the clinks and plinks combining into a chorus of tiny xylophones flitting through the air.

The group watched in awe as the tree's branches grew quieter. Anna, with her hands clasped in admiration, thought aloud, "I never knew winter could be so beautiful."

"Yeah, it is beautiful, isn't it?" said a voice, giving the group pause. The four humans looked around for the voice as it continued, "But it's so white. You know, how about a little color?"

Anna and Kristoff looked to Sven, who looked back with as much equivalence to human confusion a reindeer can muster. Still, the voice ranted, "I'm thinking, like, maybe some crimson, chartreuse—"

Nightly gasped, partly covering her mouth as she stared in wonder and bewilderment at something approaching the group. The other four turned, seeing a two-foot-tall snowman waddling his way toward the group.

Incredulously, they watched as his mouth actually moved as he thought aloud, "How about yellow—no, not yellow. Yellow and snow? Brr—no go."

By this point, it had made its way to the center of the group. Completely oblivious to their looks, he looked up to Anna and asked, "Am I right?"

Something within Anna flipped. She screamed, kicking the snowman's head clean off his body. It flew into Kristoff's hands, where the snowman greeted him cheerfully. "Hi!"

"You're creepy," Kristoff returned, hot-potato-ing the head back across to the other half of the group.

This time, it landed in Aqua's hands, and instinctually, she pitched it back to Kristoff with a cry of shock.

"I don't want it," Kristoff complained, throwing it to Anna.

The snowman's body, which kept moving this whole time, turned to Anna as the head said, "Alright, we got off to a bad start."

"Ew, ew, the body!" Anna said, throwing down the head onto the body.

The snowman hit the ground with a thud. It groaned, picking itself back up, only for the group to see its head upside-down on the rest of its body.

Confused, he looked back and forth between everyone, inquiring, "Wait, what am I looking at right now? Why are you hanging off the earth like a bat?"

Anna, having gained her composure, went to the snowman and knelt in front of him. "Okay, wait a second." She gently took his head and turned it right side-up.

"Oh, thank you!" the snowman said with a smile. Anna returned the smile.

Aqua's attention was pulled from the strangest of introductions by a small hiccup. She looked to its source, seeing Nightly frozen in place, staring at the snowman but seeing nothing.

Nightly didn't know what happened. The head-tossing almost seemed comical, and she was about to laugh…when she saw how hard the snowman had hit the ground. The thud his head made when it hit the ground…she suddenly didn't see the snowman anymore, but the head of a Keyblade burying itself in the snow.

The remaining sounds of the windchime trees grew exponentially louder. In her mind, they evolved into the clash of metal on metal. It was too loud. Too loud. Too loud too loud too loud!

"Nightly," Aqua's soft voice cut through the flashback. She opened her eyes, and she was back on the snow-covered mountain, the clang of metal reverting back to its true form: the simple dance of the ice crystals on the trees.

Nightly took a deep breath, nodding slightly as she focused her attention on Anna, Kristoff, and the snowman. Aqua kept her eyes on Nightly for a moment, her brow furrowing as she saw the slightest bits of blue and green fade from her eyes before they fully returned to their normal brown.

Interestingly, it seemed the snowman now had a carrot running all the way through his head. His eyes crossed as he touched the tiny bit coming out the front of his head. "It's like a little baby unicorn," he cooed.

Anna precariously put her hand on the back of the carrot, quickly pushing it back through while the snowman's back was turned.

The snowman gave a shout of surprise before looking back down at his now-bigger nose. "Oh, I love it even more now," he gushed, grinning at Anna. He pat his sides, happy that the situation had calmed down. "Okay, let's start this thing over." He gave a little wave with his stick arm. "Hi, everyone, I'm Olaf, and I like warm hugs." He ended his introduction by spreading his arms out to Anna.

"Olaf…" Anna mumbled, feeling a sense of déjà vu as she saw his innocent figure standing before her. She found the memory: her and her sister created a snowman just like him when they were little. "That's right…Olaf."

"And you are…?" Olaf asked slowly, trying to move introductions along.

"Oh, I'm Anna," Anna replied. Olaf smiled at her, turning to Sven and Kristoff.

"Who's the funny-looking donkey over there?" he asked.

"That's Sven," Anna said, gesturing to Sven.

"Uh-huh, and who's the reindeer?" Olaf asked obliviously.

Taken back, Anna answered, "…Sven."

Anna glanced back at Aqua and Nightly, giving them shrugs as Olaf muttered something about the names being easy to remember.

Olaf approached Aqua and Nightly, an annoyed glare from Kristoff trailing behind him. "And what's your name, blue girl?"

"Hm? Oh, I'm Aqua," Aqua said, realizing Olaf meant her.

Olaf let out a chuckle as he stepped to the side. "And what's your name, sad girl?"

Nightly hesitated. She glanced at Anna and Kristoff, who had just noticed the pain that she was sure was still etched on her face. She pulled a smile on her face, kneeling in front of the snowman. "My name's Nightly. It's nice to meet you, Olaf."

"You too, Nightly," Olaf said with a smile. Almost like he projected his emotions, Nightly felt her own lift. She felt her smile turn genuine, his unbounding happiness rubbing off on her.

"Ooh, you're not sad anymore, that's good," Olaf said, his smile seeming to grow.

His words once again caught Nightly off-guard. She paused before she felt a giggle escape her lips. "Yeah, you helped me feel better, Olaf. Thank you."

"You're welcome," he said cheerily, waddling back over to Anna and Kristoff.

"Are you okay?" Aqua asked Nightly quietly as she stood back up.

"Yeah," Nightly replied. "Sorry, I don't know…it's like a switch was flipped or something. I didn't see it coming…and I couldn't control it. I'm sorry."

"You have nothing to apologize for," Aqua said, hearing Anna ask Olaf if he knew where Elsa was. "You're healing. This is just part of the process."

"I guess so," Nightly resolved, watching Kristoff take one of Olaf's arms off his body, bending and observing it as Olaf talked. "Does it have to be so…explosive, though?"

Anna caught the two girls' attention as she told Olaf, "We need Elsa to bring back summer."

"Summer?" Olaf asked, suddenly looking very wistful as he stared into space. "Oh, I don't know why, but I've always loved the idea of summer, and sun, and all things hot."

"Really?" Kristoff asked jokingly. "I guess you don't have a lot of experience with heat."

"Nope!" Olaf answered simply. "But sometimes I like to close my eyes and image what it will be like when summer does come," he mused as music started to float in from the background.

"CUT!" came a shout. The author walked into the scene, sporting a red hoodie and jeans, shivering slightly in the sudden cold.

"Hi, NightOwl!" Nightly greeted happily, giving her a friendly wave. "Is something wrong?"

"Hi, Nightly," NightOwl returned with a head tilt. "No, nothing's wrong, I just need to clarify something." To the rest of the cast, she announced, "Alright, take five, everyone." She knelt down by Olaf as the other five on stage walked off to take a short break.

"Olaf," she began.

"Yes?" he asked obliviously.

"You know I love you," she continued.

"Aw, thanks! I love you, too!"

NightOwl chuckled. "I love the song, and I love the movie…but I'm not SquareEnix, and I'm not Disney. Love them, but I'm not them.

"Anyway, that being said, it's kinda hard for me to write musical numbers without sounding…" she trailed off, trying to find the right words.

"Boring?" Olaf asked, seeing where the conversation was going, but understanding completely.

"Yeah…" NightOwl agreed, not wanting to hurt his feelings. "It's hard enough for me to write actions and words at the same time, but sudden scene changes, randomly appearing snowmen, out-of-nowhere picnics…It's a bit much."

"Oh, that's okay!" Olaf said, giving her a big, bright smile. "You can't hear a song with your eyes, anyway. Now that would be hard!"

NightOwl gave Olaf a smile. "Yeah, it would, wouldn't it?"

Olaf chuckled as NightOwl pulled Olaf in for a hug. "Ooh, hug!" Olaf gushed, returning the hug, making NightOwl laugh. She put the snowman down before nodding to him and calling the rest of the cast back to their places.

"Okay, guys, we're gonna take it from 'Bring back summer', okay?" Everyone nodded to her, standing where they had before.

Before stepping back to Reality, NightOwl called out, "ACTION!"

"Come on," Olaf said happily, taking Anna's hand. "Let's go bring back summer!" Anna happily agreed, running after him, Nightly following close behind.

Aqua hung behind with Kristoff and Sven. Kristoff's comment about Olaf and heat had stuck with her. "But if summer comes back, won't he…"

"Yeah," Kristoff agreed. "I mean, I don't want to, but somebody's gotta tell him."

"Hmm," Aqua thought to herself. "Well, for right now, I think we should just let him stay excited for right now. We'll figure out how to tell him later."

"Hey, guys!" Nightly called, running back to the stragglers.

"Yes?" Aqua asked.

"We're almost there," Nightly said, pointing to where Anna and Olaf had walked away to. "I can almost see the top of the mountain."

"Oh, that's great," Kristoff said, pulling on his serious demeanor again, shaking off his earlier realization as best he could.

"Are you okay?" Nightly asked him.

"Yeah, I'm great," Kristoff replied sarcastically. Nightly looked to Aqua for help.

She put a hand on her shoulder comfortingly. "He's fine, just grumpy," she said with a smile.

Kristoff rolled his eyes as he and Sven went to join Anna and Olaf. Nightly giggled as she and Aqua followed behind them.

"Woah," Anna breathed, gazing up with the others at the large ice palace that stood before them. Her eyes panned to the stairs that awaited them. She closed her eyes, gathering her wits before taking the first step, ignoring Olaf as he bounded up the stairs after her.

Nightly hopped up the stairs after Olaf, looking back as Aqua joined her, a bit more cautiously, considering the stairs were made of ice. She had to jump back a bit, though, when Sven started trying to run up the stairs himself. His hooves were unable to gain traction, however, and he ended up sliding back down.

"Alright, hold on, buddy," Kristoff said, grabbing the reindeer and helping him back up. "You just stay right here."He turned back to the stairs, running his hand up the rail, admiring every groove and crevice of the stairs. He whistled, "Flawless," as he began his ascent.

At the top of the stairs, Anna hesitated. Nightly reached the top in time to see her bring up her hand, but couldn't bring herself to actually knock.

"Knock," Olaf encouraged. "Just knock." Anna seemed to ignore him, deciding something within herself. Olaf leaned back to Nightly, asking, "Why isn't she knocking? Do you think she knows how to knock?"

Just as he asked, Anna steeled herself toward the door, rapping her knuckles against the thick ice. At the third knock, the door cracked open by itself.

"Wow," she said to herself, "it opened. That's a first."

"Sixty!" Olaf exclaimed, hopping up and skipping into the castle, the door staying slightly open behind him as the others heard him shout, "Hi I'm Olaf and I like warm hugs!"

"Olaf," Kristoff muttered, about to stand up and get the runaway snowman.

"Kristoff," Nightly stopped him. He paused in his pursuit and let the girl continue. "If someone kept something from you, like with Anna and Elsa, what would you do?"

Kristoff settled back down, humming as he thought. "Well, I'd probably end up doing what Anna's doing, just not as quickly, I guess." He chuckled. "To be honest, I'd probably end up sulking for a while, then realize it was kept a secret for a reason, then eventually, I'd talk to whoever I had a problem with." He looked up at the balcony thoughtfully. "You know, as much as it hurts Anna, I can't imagine what Elsa was going through all those years without telling her sister what was really going on."

Nightly nodded, her gaze falling to her boots. Her brow furrowed before she nodded to herself, deciding something.

"Nightly…?" Aqua asked tentatively.

The younger girl looked up at her. "I know what I need to do," she said, determination shining in her eyes.

Aqua smiled at her, rustling her hair. "I'm glad to hear that."

"Hey, Sven," Olaf called. "Elsa ran upstairs, Anna chased her, and now it's blizzarding."

"What?" Kristoff jumped up, shoving the door open. Aqua and Nightly felt the chill of icy air billowing out of the castle. "Anna," Kristoff breathed, struggling through the inside storm to get to the staircase. Aqua and Nightly tried to follow, but a gust of wind made Nightly slip. Aqua tried to catch her from behind, but only succeeded in making herself fall.

The two were pushed to the door, but saw Kristoff reach the stairs after Olaf. "We won't be able to make it," Aqua said over the wind in Nightly's ear. Nightly nodded and the girls picked themselves up and pushed the door open.

They stumbled out onto the stairs, breathless and amazed at the calmness of the outside. Aqua shut the door behind them. Nightly gasped, looking up to the balcony high above them.

"What is it?" Aqua asked, seeing her distraught expression. Nightly ran down the stairs, Aqua following as she vaulted over the last few. Sven grunted a greeting as Nightly turned and pointed at the balcony. Aqua followed her gaze, seeing the flurries of snow swirling furiously from the top of the castle.

As she watched, the snow switched directions. What had been flowing out from the door had suddenly gone back inside, completely out of sight. Not a second later, the same blue light that had frozen the lake from earlier shot out of the window, leaving an eerie stillness in its wake.

Aqua and Nightly exchanged a glance, looking back up. A smaller flash of light lit up the castle's interior before the two heard a thunderous roar.

"What in the…?" Aqua began.

"I don't know," Nightly said softly. Muffled thuds sounded from the castle before the door flew open.

Aqua felt her heart jump to her throat as she saw a wall of snow at the door. The snow moved, turning around to show a large body, arms, and head atop the stairs. In one of his gargantuan hands, he held Anna and Kristoff, and in the other, he held Olaf.

"Go away," he growled, pitching Anna and Kristoff down the stairs. Aqua jumped off next to Nightly as they slid down, landing in the snow but not stopping until they reached a rock a few paces away.

Nightly and Aqua ran for the two as the heard Olaf shout, "Heads up!"

They turned in time to see his head thrown at Anna and Kristoff, who barely dodged it as they picked themselves up. "Watch out for my butt," Olaf said as Nightly and Aqua reached them. They looked back, all four having to duck out of the way to avoid getting a face full of Olaf.

Anna growled, scooping up a bit of snow. "It's not nice to throw people!" she shouted, winding up to the throw the snowball at the giant snowman.

Seeing what she was about to do, Aqua grabbed her throwing arm and Kristoff put an arm around her waist. "Woah, easy, feisty pants. Just let the snowman be," Kristoff said as the two successfully kept her from throwing the snowball.

"Okay, okay," Anna protested. "I'm calm." She drew herself up, beginning to walk away, before about-facing and hurling the snowball before anyone could stop her.

The snowball soared through the air, finding its target and dissipating on the snowman's arm. Without hesitation, the snowman turned, sharp icicles growing from his hands, mouth, and back as he let out another ground-shaking roar.

"Uh-oh," Nightly despaired.

"Great, now you made him mad," Kristoff chastised.

"You guys go, I'll hold him off," Olaf said. The four humans gave a collective nod, seeing Sven run by as they took off in the opposite direction.

"What are we supposed to do?" Kristoff asked desperately.

"I think we can handle it," Aqua assured them, nodding to Nightly.

Nightly nodded back, and the two wielders summoned their Keyblades, taking aim as best they could while they ran and firing spells of fire and thunder at the advancing snowman.

"Cliff," Kristoff announced, putting his arms out to stop Aqua and Nightly in their tracks. The sudden stop pushed some snow off the cliff and over the edge.

Anna watched it go. "It's a hundred-foot drop."

"Make that two-hundred," Kristoff added as a second ticked by with no sound of the snow hitting ground.

Aqua and Nightly faced the oncoming threat and shot as many spells as they could. Thunder did absolutely nothing, while the snowman seemed to be pulling so much wind around him the fire was put out before it could touch him.

Nightly's Keyblade disappeared as she put her hands on her knees, her strength and MP spent. Aqua kept going, the snowman bounding closer and closer. She paused, and Nightly recognized her expression as she fired a Shotlock at the snowman, the fire swirling outward before homing in on the snowman.

The large hit sent him backward, landing hard on the ground. Aqua slumped over in relief, Master's Defense vanishing as well. Anna jumped up, whooping in joy that the lumbering snow giant was defeated.

Her celebration was cut short, however, when the snowman began picking itself up again. The four stared in shock as it stood above them, not twenty paces away. Nightly and Aqua summoned their Keyblades, standing in front of Anna and Kristoff in a block, unable to do anything else.

A tiny movement of white caught their eyes, however, as Olaf waddled in front of the snowman's foot. "Hey guys, we totally lost Marshmallow back there." He paused at their dumbfounded expressions, his eyes going wide as he realized his mistake. He turned, looking up at the snowman as it looked down at him. "Oh, hey, we were just talking about you. All good things, all good things."

The snowman ignored him, however, bringing his foot back and bunting the smaller snowman through the air. "Hang in there, guys!" he shouted at the others as he went over the edge.

The snowman stomped on the ground, lifting his head up to the heavens. Wind rushed toward his mouth, a large snowball that put Anna's to shame forming at his teeth. He brought it down, bellowing out all the wind it stored at a breakneck speed.

The four stumbled at the edge of the cliff, unable to stop themselves from backing up. Nightly felt her feet beginning to leave the ground, and slammed the teeth of her Keyblade into the snow. It caught, and she threw her right hand back to try and help anyone who could grab it. She felt a hand, and looked back to see Aqua clinging to her, Anna and Kristoff nowhere in sight.

The snowman's winds wouldn't let up, Aqua's grip on Nightly's hand tightening. Nightly felt something slip, and before she could warn Aqua, her glove came off her hand in Aqua's grip. Aqua's eyes widened as she flew over the cliff.

"No!" Nightly screamed, reaching out desperately for her friend. As she watched Aqua disappear, she felt a familiar shift. She closed her eyes tightly.

'No, please, not now. Not now,' she begged. Her eyes opened again, and instead of reaching out to catch a friend, she was reaching up, falling to the ground as her legs could no longer support her. Two feet from her hand, her own heart floated away from her, the last casualty of the Keyblade War, to join the others in the dark, overcast sky.

She blinked, and she was back on the cliffside, lying in the snow as the cold cut through her clothing. She shivered, bringing her hand to rest on her chest, where she swore she could still feel a rhythmic beating of something she knew couldn't possibly still be there.

'How am I still alive? Why am I still here?' she thought to herself hopelessly. She felt sobs rising up in her chest again, this time not bothering to try and hold them in as she curled in on herself. 'I just don't understand.'

Her exhaustion finally caught up with her, and she felt her vision begin to fade as she fought to even her breathing.

'I just don't understand…'

Aqua opened her eyes to a sky of white. Her back ached from the impact with the ground two-hundred feet from the cliffside, and with a start she realized she couldn't breathe.

"Aqua," she heard her name, muffled, coming from somewhere near her foot. Worried, the voice was worried…masculine…Kristoff!

She moved, trying to get to the voice. She heard crunches move to her head, and felt hands shuffle the snow encasing her body at her shoulders. A quick tug upward, and she was free, gasping for air and blinking the snow out of her eyes.

She coughed as Kristoff put her down, hands on her knees as she caught her breath.

"Are you okay?" Anna inquired. Aqua nodded, wiping the snow off her face. Something suede touched her face instead of the fuzz of her own glove. She looked down at the black material, suddenly remembering the event prior to her falling over the cliff.

"Nightly!" she exclaimed, looking around in the snow. "Where's Nightly?"

"She never came down," Kristoff said. He pointed upward, "She's still up there."

"I have to get back to her," Aqua said, squinting as she peered up the cliff.

"Yeah…that's not gonna happen," Kristoff shot back. "There's no way you can climb that, and we gotta get Anna some help."

"What? Why?" Aqua inquired, turning to Anna. She blinked at the sight of her. Her hair's small white streak had seemed to grow, with half of the braid on her right side now white as the snow.

"What happened?" Aqua asked.

"Elsa struck me," Anna explained half-heartedly.

"We have to get her to my family. They can help her," Kristoff explained. "As soon as we get her help, we'll be right back for Nightly, okay? Our place is a little east of us, and it's an easy hike back up from there."

Aqua clutched Nightly's glove, a torn look in her eyes as she looked back up the mountain. 'Nightly said Anna's a Princess of Heart. If that's true, I need to make sure she's safe.' Her gaze returned to Anna. 'That's what Nightly would want me to do,' she decided with a small sigh.

"Okay," Aqua agreed.

Anna gave a small smile. "Alright, then, let's go see the love experts," she joked.

"Love experts?" Aqua questioned.

"Yeah, I'm so excited to meet them," Olaf said from behind Aqua, making her jump. She was greeted by the happy-go-lucky snowman as well as the reindeer that had somehow found them through all the confusion.

Kristoff chuckled, beginning to walk in a certain direction, the others trailing behind him. Olaf continued, "You know, I've always considered myself a love expert, but I can't wait to meet professionals in the field."

Aqua hummed to herself, amused at Olaf's out-loud thoughts. Her gaze fell as she looked back up at where Nightly surely still was. 'I'll be back soon,' she thought, 'I promise.'

Nightly jolted, shaking herself awake. She shivered against the cold of the snow, drawing a deep breath. She lay still for a moment, no longer hearing the giant snowman that had been chasing them before. She felt a biting pain in her right hand, and opened her eyes to see her glove missing. Her hand was beginning to feel numb, her fingers bright red at the loss of their source of warmth.

She pushed herself up onto her knees, cradling her hand to her chest before puffing her breath into her fists.

Her gaze trailed back up to Elsa's ice palace, and her mind flashed back to the angry giant snowman as it threw out Anna, Kristoff, and Olaf.

"She can't keep throwing Anna out like that," she reasoned with herself. "It'll only drive them apart."

She felt her own pain rise up within her again, but forced it back down. 'Anna and Elsa are more important right now.'

Nightly stood, staring at the palace. "What if I talked to her?" she mused. "Maybe I can talk to her."

She trudged through the snow, slowly making her way back up the hill. Upon reaching the staircase, she paused when she saw a large snow mound to the left of the staircase. She eyed it suspiciously, walking along the rocky wall to the right as slowly as possible, stepping as lightly as she could so the snow wouldn't crunch.

She reached out her hand, finally touching the smooth ice of the staircase railing. The snow mound didn't move. She put a foot on the first step. Nothing. She breath a silent sigh of relief, creeping up the stairs back up to the palace.

"Come on," Queen Elsa muttered to herself as she paced back and forth. "Control it. Don't feel, don't feel, don't feel." She stopped in her tracks, looking up at the walls of the room in despair as she just noticed the red and purple-ish hue they had taken on.

"Your Highness?" said a small voice from the entrance to the room.

Elsa spun, seeing a girl in the doorway. She hid slightly from view, her gaze curious as she took in the sight of the distraught queen and the room in which she stood in.

"Who are you?" Elsa asked, exasperated.

"Just a traveler," the girl replied, stepping lightly into the room, her hands held up to show she didn't mean any harm. "My name is Nightly. I just wanted to talk to you, Your Highness."

Elsa eyed the girl, wrapping her arms around herself. "Well I'm sad to say you've come here for no reason." She turned away from Nightly. "Please just leave me alone."

"Forgive me, Your Highness, but I'm not going anywhere." Elsa looked back over at the girl, seeing the resolve in her eyes. "And, if I may say so: it looks like you could use a friend."

The Queen of Arendelle felt a pang through her heart. This girl was so…innocent. Did she not know how much danger she was in being around her?

At Elsa's silence, Nightly cautiously said, "I've met your sister. My friend and I helped her get up here. She was really excited to see you again."

Elsa's gaze trailed to the floor, her grip on her arm tightening. Nightly stepped toward Elsa, observing, "You love her very much, don't you?"

Elsa nodded slowly, "All I want is for her to be safe. I don't want to hurt her—or anyone."

Nightly nodded to herself, her face lifting as she came to a realization.

"Then don't think about what could happen. Just think about what already is."

"What?" Elsa questioned, looking back up at Nightly.

Nightly paused before taking another step towards Elsa. "May I?" she asked, holding out her hands.

Elsa hesitated, letting go of herself and reaching her hands forward before stopping short. "But—"

"You won't hurt me, You Highness," Nightly interjected. "Trust me."

Elsa hesitated before finally gently putting her hands in Nightly's gloved and ungloved hands. She felt panic shoot through her heart when she saw the thinnest layers of ice grow across Nightly's hands as it sprouted from her own. But when she looked at Nightly, she didn't see any fear. Instead, her own fear was met with a smile.

"Nightly—" she began, trying to pull her hands away.

Nightly's grip tightened, shaking her head. "Trust me," she insisted. Elsa looked back at her, her eyes so sincere.

'She…she's really not afraid of me,' she thought to herself. 'Maybe…maybe I can trust her.'

Elsa took a deep breath, letting herself relax on the exhale. She nodded at Nightly.

Nightly's smile widened. "Close your eyes."

Elsa paused a moment, nodded again, and closed her eyes.

Nightly looked down at her hands, swallowing at the slowly spreading ice that had already reached her wrists. She took a breath of her own, letting go of her unease as she spoke.

"I want you to think about the first time you used your powers, about the day you discovered you had them."

For the first time, Nightly saw a small smile grace Elsa's face. "I don't remember, actually, but my mother told me it started when I was a baby. She said I was asleep and it started snowing in my room. It stopped once I woke up."

Nightly chuckled, her own image of the event conjuring in her mind. "Now think about the day your sister was born. How did you feel?"

Elsa's mind took her back to that day. Only two years old at the time herself, she dimly remembered holding the little bundle of pink as she sat in her father's lap.

She reflected, "I…I was so happy. I didn't want to let her go. I wanted to do anything and everything for her. I was able to control my powers a bit better then, and I remember staying up late to practice so I could show her when she got a little older."

Nightly smiled, glancing down at her arms. The ice had slowed, almost stopping halfway between her wrists and her elbows.

"When did she first realize you had powers?" Nightly inquired.

Elsa chuckled. "She was about a year old, just starting to walk. She was walking across the room to me and tripped. It was almost instinct, but I created a small snow mound in front of her that caught her. She landed face-first, but when I pulled her up, she was laughing. Then she started playing in the snow. She was so happy that day."

"You kept her safe that day," Nightly said. "You would always keep her safe, wouldn't you?"

"Of course, I would," Elsa replied. "I love her."

Nightly felt the ice stop, just a couple inches from her elbow. Past her arms, she saw swirls emanating from Elsa's feet. The swirls spread around the floor, the red hue of the room evaporating along with it.

"Your Highness, open your eyes," Nightly said.

Elsa did so, following Nightly's gaze to the floor. She pulled in an amazed breath as she watched the red disappear from view as a light flurry danced across the floor, leaving a trail of gold in its wake. It climbed the walls, expelling the fiery redness until it reached the very top of the room, gathering at the center before twirling down to Nightly and Elsa, where the ice on Nightly's arms rose to join the swirls.

The two watched as the flurry rose into the air, dispelling in a puff of snow, glittering particles flitting back down like the lightest of snowfalls before disappearing altogether.

Nightly and Elsa took in the new look of the room. What once held an air of fear now had one of majesty in the golden gleam of the ice. Elsa looked down at Nightly's arms.

"The ice went away…when I wasn't afraid anymore."

Nightly's gaze trailed off in thought, seeing a connection. "If fear is what caused the winter in the first place, then maybe love will take it away."

Elsa regarded Nightly, letting the words sink in. "I think you're right," she smiled.

Nightly grinned, nodding before practically running to the stairwell. "Let's get you home, Your Highness."

"Please," Elsa replied, "call me Elsa."

"Okay," Nightly replied, holding out her hand to the Queen of Arendelle. "Let's get you home, Elsa."

Aqua…wasn't exactly sure how she got in this situation.

The five had made it to an alcove of rock, moss, and steam. After thinking Kristoff mildly insane for introducing them to a bunch of boulders, said boulders had revealed themselves to be trolls.

She decided everything had gone downhill after they had met Anna.

After one female troll had examined her, the trolls collectively decided to start telling Anna all she could have wanted (or not wanted) to know about Kristoff, calling him a "fixer-upper".

Before she knew, Aqua had had a grass shawl draped over her and a small flower crown affixed atop her head. The trolls picked her up and carried her behind where Anna and Kristoff now stood. An arch of earth stood over them, shelf mushrooms and flowers blooming from it as they stood in the small trench that had been created in the process of making the mossy structure.

She looked in bewilderment at the two in the trench, who looked back at her with just as much confusion. A troll with a book of bark approached the two. Aqua shook off her daze, and the troll's voice came back into focus.

"…to be your trollfully wedded—"

"Wait what?" Anna asked. Aqua finally understood what was happening, and couldn't help but blush in embarrassment for the two in front of her.

"You're getting married," the troll explained.

As if on cue, Anna shivered profusely. Suddenly losing feeling in her legs, she collapsed into Kristoff's arms. From behind, Aqua could see Anna's hair double in its whiteness as Kristoff said worriedly, "She's as cold as ice."

Aqua threw off the shawl and reached down to help Kristoff. She reached for Anna, her hand jerking back as she felt a pain shoot through her head and heart.

"Aqua!"

Nightly's voice resonated through Aqua, the fear of its tone filling her core with its urgency. She clutched her head, her heart beginning to race.

'I knew I shouldn't have left her,' Aqua thought in panic. 'I need to get to her. Now.'

She looked up desperately at Kristoff and Anna, seeing an older troll in front of the two, holding Anna's hands, a look of worry and concern on his face. Aqua forced herself to listen to what he was saying.

"…if it were her head, it would be easy, but…only an act of true love can thaw a frozen heart."

"An act of true love?" Kristoff asked, his mind wildly searching for what may qualify.

"A true love's kiss, perhaps?" the same female troll from before suggested. At her suggestion, the trolls paired off with their significant others, each pair locked in their own kiss.

"Hans," Kristoff said, realizing. "We need to get you to Hans."

"Hans…" Anna nodded weakly, trying to turn to get out of the hole.

Kristoff pulled her close. "Sven, help us out," he said, reaching up.

Aqua shuffled to the side, letting Sven reach down with an antler and pull up his human companion. Kristoff scooped Anna up bridal style and hopped on Sven.

"Kristoff," Aqua began.

He turned to her, the look on her face stopping him in his tracks. "Yeah…?" he asked slowly.

"I have to get to Nightly. Something's wrong, I've been away for too long."

Kristoff hesitated, glancing down the path to Arendelle and then back to her. "Go," he said sternly, pointing to another path up a small overhang. "That'll take you straight back up."

Aqua nodded, "Thank you. And good luck."

Kristoff nodded wordlessly. He pat Sven's back, "Sven, let's go." The reindeer nodded in response, taking off in a mad dash as Olaf grabbed on to his fur and swung onto his back.

"Bye, Aqua!" Olaf shouted, giving a happy wave that Aqua couldn't help but chuckle slightly at.

She turned and sprinted to the path Kristoff had pointed to, summoning Master's Defense and casting Blizzaga in front of her, riding the ice trail back up the mountain.

'Please be okay,' she prayed, 'please be okay.'

Nightly winced at the pain at the back of her head, her eyes blinking open. "What in the…?" she asked herself.

She rose slowly from the cot she lay on, the world around her tipping slightly. She saw gray cobblestone surrounding her, pale light coming in from a window on her right, with a wooden door on the other side of the room.

Her head pulsed again, and she winced, clenching her teeth. She went to rub her head, only for her hand to stop short. She froze, her eyes following the chain from the shackle on her wrist to where it connected to a metal hoop on the floor in the middle of the room.

'How did I get here?' she wondered, thinking back.

Her memories returned to her in a rush.

As the two made their way down the stairs, a loud roar split the air around them, making them stop in their tracks.

"That was the snowman," Elsa had said. "Something's wrong."

Another roar was followed by the sound of men shouting. Two shadows appeared on the other side of the door, trying to shove it open.

"Elsa, run!" Nightly shouted, summoning Starlight as the door opened, reveling two men in red trench coats, each wielding a sword and a crossbow.

They charged her, and she fired Fira at them. They dodged, the one on her left firing an arrow at her. She rolled out of the way, but couldn't find her footing again from moving too fast on the ice.

She slipped, struggling to stand up again. The men were faster, and she felt a gloved hand grip her arm.

"Get the queen!" he shouted to his partner as he jerked her up.

"No!" Nightly screamed, watching the other man run up the stairs after Elsa. She pushed against the man, trying to free her arm.

She felt panic set in her mind.

"AQUA!" she cried out in desperation before the hilt of the man's sword cracked against the back of her head, her vision fading to black.

Nightly sat in silence for a moment, contemplating the situation. She decided, 'I need to find Elsa and get us out of here. We need to find Anna.'

A door creak snapped her out of her thoughts, footsteps following. She thought quickly, laying back down on the cot, pretending to still be asleep. She listened as the footsteps got closer until they stopped right outside her door. She kept her breathing as slow and even as possible, and breathed an internal sigh of relief when they moved on, continuing their pace down the hall.

Another door opened, and she heard muffled voices talking. The first was a man's, and the other…

'Elsa!' Nightly strained her ears, trying to hear what was being said.

"Anna has not returned," the man's voice said.

'She hasn't? Where is everyone? Did…did they survive the fall?' Nightly's breath caught in her throat, not wanting to think about the alternative.'

She continued to listen, unable to make out anything else until she heard Elsa beg, "You have to let me go."

The replied with something before the door closed and his footsteps came back down the hall. Another set met his at Nightly's door.

"Any word about the girl?" he asked.

"No, Prince Hans," came the reply. "We are still asking around, but no one seems to have heard of the child."

"Okay, continue your search. We need to return her to her family."

"Yes, Prince Hans."

The footsteps left, and another door creaked closed, leaving the place in silence.

Nightly opened her eyes, hopping up from the cot. She summoned Starlight, slamming it down on the chains, snapping them both on impact. She paused, waiting for an outside reaction. When none came, she moved to the cot, putting her left wrist on the wood and bringing down her Keyblade on the hinge. She shook off the shackle, switching hands and doing the same to her right.

Still holding Starlight in her left hand, she approached the door, gripping the handle and pulling as hard as she could on the wood. It didn't budge.

"Fine, then," she muttered to herself, taking a couple steps back and holding Starlight to the door.

The familiar beam of light shot to the door's keyhole, and a satisfying unlocking sound resounded about the room. She sent Starlight away, pulling the door open.

Nightly glanced down the hallway to her right, seeing the door Prince Hans and the other man had left the prison out of. To her left, there was one long hallway lined with wooden doors on either side. She crept out of the room, walking briskly down the hall, standing on her toes when she got to the doors, trying to see whichever one Elsa may be in.

After passing three doors on either side of her, she came to one on her right with a snowflake etched into the door. Curious, she ran a finger along the wood before hopping to see in the window.

"Elsa!" she whispered.

"Nightly?" she heard from the other side.

"Hold on," she replied. She backed up, unlocking the door with Starlight before throwing it open and rushing inside, pulling it shut behind her.

"What are you doing in here?" Elsa asked.

"I was brought here, too," Nightly answered, looking at Elsa's chains. Unlike the ones that held her, Elsa's covered her entire hands, rendering them useless.

"Hold your hands together," Nightly instructed, moving to Elsa's side and summoning Starlight.

Elsa did so as Nightly aimed Starlight at the cuffs. The beam shot from Starlight and both of Elsa's cuffs simultaneously, where they broke open and fell to the floor in a heap.

Nightly sent Starlight away again. "Thanks," Elsa said. "You have to get out of here. I don't want anything to happen to you."

"But we have to find Anna," Nightly protested. "We can get out together and find her and my friends."

"But who knows where she is?" Elsa argued. "I don't know what I'd do with myself if she got hurt because of all of this."

"That's why we have to find her," Nightly shot back. "She'll help you bring back the summer, we just have to get you to her."

Elsa's gaze trailed to the floor. "I'm not sure if that's going to happen," Elsa said, defeat coating her voice.

"What? Why not?"

"Anna hasn't come back yet, and who knows what that could mean." She hesitated. "I don't think I can do this. There's no way I could possibly stop this winter…because…there's no way I can be stopped."

Nightly paused. "Who said anything about stopping you?"

Elsa hesitated. "I'm too dangerous to be around anyone. It would be best if I just left and stayed alone. That way, I won't be able to hurt anyone."

"But wouldn't you just be hurting yourself in the process?" Nightly questioned.

"Better myself," Elsa replied, sadness coating her voice, "than anybody else."

"I know you don't believe that," Nightly said, refusing to lose hope.

"Actually," Elsa replied, her gaze rising to meet Nightly's eyes, "I do."

Nightly opened her mouth to argue back, but the door to the prison opening interrupted her, angry voices echoed down the hall as two sets of footsteps pounded down the corridor.

Nightly aimed Starlight at the door, locking it tightly as two faces appeared at the window. She paused, realizing she had just locked them in. "Oops."

She felt a chill behind her, seeing Elsa shooting ice at the wall to the outside. Nightly joined her, shooting ice at the wall also.

"What do you think you're doing?" Elsa asked.

"I'm coming with you," Nightly claimed.

"No," Elsa replied, "no, you're not."

Elsa flared her hands, shooting ice to the ground. Before Nightly knew what had happened, Elsa shot a gust of icy air to the wall, effectively breaking through and jumping to the outside world, running away as snow-filled winds began to surround her.

Nightly went to follow her, but found herself unable to lift her feet. She looked down, seeing Elsa had frozen her feet to the ground, thick ice reaching from the floor to halfway to her knees stopping her in her tracks.

'Elsa, please don't do this,' she begged mentally, watching Arendelle's wayward queen running away in the growing blizzard.

Aqua slid down the mountain on a trail of her own Blizzaga spell. When she reached the ice palace again, she found the stairway to the entrance half-shattered, the doors ajar.

Inside, the topmost room had ice spikes, pillars, and shards all throughout the room, with the remnants of what appeared to have once been a chandelier shattered across the floor. With neither Nightly nor anyone who may have been Elsa in sight, Aqua set back down the mountain, trying as hard as she could to get down as fast as she could.

She heard yelling in front of her, dispelling the Blizzaga and running to the source, seeing Kristoff and Sven having an argument.

"She's with her true love," Kristoff said sternly, though the slight sadness in his voice couldn't be missed.

"Kristoff!" Aqua called, stumbling to a stop in the snow.

"Aqua?" Kristoff looked up in surprise as she halted.

"I couldn't find Nightly," she explained breathlessly, "or Elsa; and the palace was a wreck. I don't know what happened, or where they could be."

Kristoff hesitated, the news catching him off-guard. He didn't need to answer, however, as a gust of wind rushed up to them, sending an icy chill mixed with flakes of snow up into the forest. They looked to the source, eyes taking in the giant blizzard-like cloud of snow that rose and grew from right by Castle Arendelle.

The two exchanged a glance, knowing only one person could make a cloud like that, both feeling a deep fear for their respective companion as they took off down the mountain. Kristoff jumped on Sven's back, the reindeer's four hooves far steadier in the snow than Kristoff's two feet.

Aqua once again cast Blizzaga, sliding down the ice alongside Kristoff and Sven as the three headed into the blizzard slowly overtaking Arendelle.

They made it to the frozen-solid water of the fjord, neither breaking stride as they continued on towards the castle.

As they went, the blizzard air suddenly turned into a wall of white, rushing right towards them. Aqua and Kristoff exchanged a glance, both bracing for the storm. Sven hunkered down, running faster as he dove into the storm, not even stumbling as he powered through.

Aqua, however, wasn't so lucky.

The gust of wind from the initial impact combated her spell to the point of halting it. She dispelled it before she could run into the chunk of ice leading the trail. The sudden change in environment along with the short stop led to her nearly face-planting on the fjord.

Kristoff continued on, not noticing Aqua's tumble. Aqua picked herself up, trying to regain her balance in the ice and wind. On her left, a tilted ship stuck in the ice caught her attention, and she struggled towards it, grabbing on to the ragged wood to steady herself. She closed her eyes, finding her sight useless in such a storm, straining her ears as hard as she could to find any source of sound other than the howling wind.

Her ears perked up, and her breath hitched in her throat. She could barely hear it, but the sound of clashing metal rang through the air before being silenced by the storm. She waited, a heartbeat passing before hearing it again. Behind the ship.

She moved along the side of the ship, running a hand along the wood to brace against the maelstrom. Reaching the helm, she squinted, just able to make out a dark, large square structure. At the center, she saw a flash before once again hearing the sound.

Curious, she left the ship, shuffling towards the sound. Halfway between it and the ship, she saw the flash was really a movement of gold, and right behind it, a figure stood, red fabric whipping madly as it was pulled to and fro in the wind.

'Nightly!' Aqua began running—or more, stumbling—as fast as she could toward her friend. "Nightly!" she yelled over the whistle in the air.

The movement paused, the figure looking out at Aqua as she got closer. "Aqua?" Nightly shouted back.

Aqua tried her hardest to keep her footing on the slick ice as she scrambled to get to the structure. She finally touched stone, using it to guide her as she jumped, her feet landing on a cobblestone floor, the wind not as chaotic inside the destroyed wall of the building she found herself in.

"Aqua!" Nightly exclaimed, a relieved smile on her face. Aqua threw her arms around the girl's shoulders, pulling her close. Nightly returned the embrace, her arms wrapped tightly around Aqua's waist.

"I was so worried," Aqua cried. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Nightly replied. "Are you?"

"Yes, I'm fine." The two broke away, Aqua holding Nightly's shoulders. "We have to get to Anna. Something's wrong. Elsa's magic struck her and her heart is freezing."

"Okay," Nightly nodded, "but, I, uh…" she looked down as her words trailed off.

Aqua looked down, noticing for the first time the predicament Nightly was in. "Oh."

"Elsa wouldn't let me follow her," Nightly quickly explained, summoning Starlight again. Holding it in a reverse grip, she slammed the head into the ice holding her feet to the floor, Aqua realizing this was the movement she had seen through the snow.

Aqua summoned Master's Defense, each chipping away the ice encasing Nightly's feet. The cracks Nightly had already formed grew bigger and wider with each strike the two now made. Finally, the ice seemed to break all the way through. They paused in their work, and Nightly pulled as hard as she could on her left foot, the limb breaking out of the ice after a little bit of effort. She did the same to her right, the two breathing easier as she pulled that foot out of the ice as well.

"Where did Elsa go?" Aqua asked as they moved to the hole in the wall, peering out into the storm.

"I don't know. And now we can't see a thing in this storm," Nightly replied.

The two stared out, straining both eyes and ears for any sign of their friends. After only a moment of searching, the storm…stopped.

An unnatural pulse reverberated through the air, shaking the very atmosphere as the blizzard halted, the air clearing, giving the two full view of the frozen sea.

"There!" Nightly pointed, seeing Elsa kneeling on the ice, hands covering her face. A man in a grey cloak stood behind her, a sword in his hand.

Without so much as a cry of fear, the two jumped out of the building and ran. A thought hit Aqua, and she cast Blizzaga at the man, riding the trail it left behind. Nightly watched her go, not knowing how to follow her, but trusting her, nonetheless.

Aqua looked over the large ice arrow as it headed for the man. It was aimed right where he was about to stand.

'Perfect,' she thought to herself, her eyes narrowing as she prepared to jump.

Movement caught her attention from the corner of her eye. A blur of pink and blue sped toward the man, and Aqua realized too late that it was Anna.

Anna moved too fast for Aqua to end the spell. Before she could fully grasp the situation, Anna had put herself in front of the man, raising her hand to stop the path of his sword.

"No!" Aqua and Anna both shouted. Aqua jumped from the path, moving too fast to stop herself and the arrow of ice as it slammed into Anna's back.

Starting from the impact of the Blizzaga spell, ice spread throughout Anna's body, freezing everything from her clothes to her hair in place as her entire body turned a translucent blue.

As the blade descended to her, the ice spread to her hand, freezing her fingers in place. Now solid ice, the sword shattered on impact, the force from the hit sending the man to the ground.

A small puff of air escaped Anna's lips, piercing Aqua's heart with its finality.

Elsa looked up, her heart breaking at the sight of the source of the commotion. "Anna!" she cried, jumping up, not believing her eyes.

Aqua felt her legs give out, falling to her knees. She put a hand to her heart, the ache of what she did unbearable.

Nightly rushed to her friend, sliding on her knees to her and grabbing her tightly. She pulled her close, muttering, "It's not your fault," in her ear.

Aqua numbly returned the hug, her gaze unable to leave the frozen princess as Elsa threw herself onto her sister, weeping. She felt tears prick her eyes, and buried her head in Nightly's neck, unable to face the result of her mistake any longer.

She only had a moment to mourn. Hearing a happy gasp from first Olaf, who had come out of seemingly nowhere, and secondly Nightly, she looked up, her heat lifting as she watched color beginning to return to Anna, starting from her heart and spreading quickly to the rest of her body.

Not at first noticing Kristoff's and Sven's return, she saw Sven nudge Kristoff out of the corner of her eye. He looked up, hope flooding his previously dismayed face.

Elsa felt warmth, the kind of warmth she knew could only come from her little sister. She looked up as color returned to Anna's face and breath returned to her lungs. No longer frozen in place, her hair and clothes drooped, her raised arm loosening as she blinked the daze out of her eyes.

Queen Elsa embraced her sister, newer, happier tears flowing down her cheeks. "You sacrificed yourself…for me?" she asked, holding her sister's hands.

Anna looked her sister in the eye, not knowing any other explanation as she replied, "I love you."

Olaf gasped, "An act of true love will thaw a frozen heart."

"Love?" Elsa questioned. She exchanged a glance with Nightly, who nodded eagerly. Excitement sparked in Elsa's eyes as she looked at her hands.

"Elsa?" Anna asked.

"Love," Elsa repeated wistfully, reaching her hands to the ground. Anna looked to where her hands reached, excitement flooding her own expression.

Nightly and Aqua stood, watching flakes of snow gather and rise from the ice coating the sea. Ice rose in twisting, twirling swirls from the ground, revealing the green grass that had been trapped underneath, the gray white of the snow rising to show the colors of summer that had been hidden in the storm.

The two felt themselves rise, realizing a ship that had been caught under the ice now rose in the thawed water, lifting the group safely out of the sea.

All of Arendelle watched in awe as the kingdom was surrounded by their queen's magic, banishing the winter that had previously plagued them. Following the command of Elsa's hands, the swirls of snow rose into the atmosphere, joining at the queen's zenith in a snowflake pattern before dispelling and disappearing altogether, leaving everyone in amazement as they felt the heat of summer return in winter's absence.

"I knew you could do it," Anna broke the silence, nudging Elsa playfully.

"Hands down, this is the best day of my life," Olaf declared, his body quickly sagging as his snow melted in the sudden returned heat. He held up a finger, adding, "And quite possibly my last."

"Olaf," Elsa chuckled, "hang on, little guy." With a swirl of her hand, she sent a flurry of wind his direction. The chilly breeze picked him up, reforming him and settling above his head, creating a small snow cloud that gave Olaf his own personal light snowfall.

"Oh, my own personal flurry!" he gushed.

Nightly smiled at the sight of the happy ending, her thoughts wandering back to the events she had learned about in Elsa's past.

'If Anna had known Elsa's secret, all of this could have been avoided,' she figured. 'But Elsa never knew how to tell her, didn't even know if she could tell her. And then all that hurt accumulated and caused this whole mess. Is that…is that what Ephemer and Skuld went through?'

Knowing what she needed to do, Nightly looked up in time to see Anna approach the man that had been about to kill Elsa.

"Anna," the man asked, confused. "But…she froze your heart—"

Anna interrupted, "The only one with a frozen heart around here is yours." She turned, and with a second thought, sucker punched the man, sending him over the side of the boat and into the sea below.

Elsa and Kristoff busted out in laughter, while aqua and Nightly covered their mouths in shock and slight amusement.

Elsa turned to the two Keyblade wielders. "I suppose it's time for the two of you to be heading off."

Aqua shared a look with Nightly before answering, "Yes, Your Highness. It's time for my friend and I to be on our way."

"Aw, but we've had so much fun together," Anna protested.

"As much 'fun' as it's been," Elsa replied, "Keybearers are never able to stay for very long."

Aqua and Nightly froze, their eyes cutting to each other before landing back on Arendelle's queen.

Elsa gave them a sly smile. Anna looked to her sister, confused, "Keybearers? Elsa, what are you talking about?"

Elsa chuckled. "I'll tell you later, Anna." To Aqua and Nightly, she said, "Come back anytime you want. Arendelle is always open to you."

Aqua, still trying to recover, gave a small bow, "Thank you, Your Highness."

"Please," Elsa said, "just Elsa."

Aqua straightened, giving a small smile.

"Now go on. I believe you've meddled enough," she said, winking at the duo.

Nightly and Aqua looked to each other again, sheepishly laughing at Elsa's words.

"Wait a sec," Anna said. Before the two could respond, the Princess had pulled the two in a group hug. They returned the embrace, bright smiles on everyone's faces as they broke apart. "Okay, now you can go, but you better come back," Anna said.

"We'll try," Aqua said. "It's been wonderful meeting you all, but…we have some friends we should be getting back to. Right, Nightly?" she said pointedly.

Nightly paused, gazing at the ground before looking up at the Master, a content smile gracing her lips. "Yeah."

Ephemer sat on the steps of Yen Sid's clock tower, the previous events he, Skuld, and Lea had been through replaying over and over again in his mind.

His thoughts were interrupted by the door closing. He didn't look, knowing it was Skuld as she sat beside him. "Hey," she said half-heartedly.

"Hey," he returned with just as much enthusiasm. The two fell into silence.

"I've been thinking," Skuld began. "About what happened in Corona."

Ephemer stayed silent, letting her continue. "Rapunzel, she…she spent her whole life locked in that tower. She wasn't allowed to leave, wasn't allowed to talk to anyone, or talk about leaving, for that matter. She wasn't even allowed to think about things that woman didn't want her to think about."

Ephemer's gaze rose to her, his heart already knowing where she was going with this.

She continued, "Is that…is that what we put Nightly through?"

He stayed silent, not having an answer to give her but no answer needed. They both already knew it.

Their collective silence was interrupted by a Corridor of Light appearing before them. They stood, not knowing who would be coming through.

They blinked, and Nightly stood in front of the Corridor. Ephemer and Skuld could have sworn they felt their hearts stop as they locked eyes with their wayward friend.

Aqua appeared next to her, stopping as she saw the staring contest between the three as the Corridor closed behind her.

That seemed to break the spell. Nightly took the first step, striding quickly to the two on the steps. They broke the stare, their gazes falling to the ground as they heard Nightly approach them.

She stopped at the first step, and the two waited for a sniff, a reprimand, a slap, something.

Instead, they felt Nightly take hold of their wrists in a vice grip. They looked up in surprise, meeting her eyes as they searched their own. They held the look for a moment before Nightly opened her mouth to say something.

It closed again, as did her eyes as she tried to gain the words she wanted to say. She began again, "I need to know your side."

The statement caught Ephemer and Skuld off guard. "What?" Ephemer asked.

"I need to know your side," Nightly repeated. "Your side to all of this…this mess." Tears welled in her eyes as she continued, "If I don't know…then I'll just keep hating you," she sobbed, "and I don't want that. So please, tell me your side."

Ephemer and Skuld exchanged a glance, smiling to each other before looking back at Nightly.

"Okay," they both agreed.

Okay, guys, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. I had a lot of fun writing this chapter and learning what I could do differently to improve myself.

One of those said improvements includes what happened to Lea, Ephemer, and Skuld in Kingdom of Corona. The whole idea was that Nightly was going to learn what Ephemer and Skuld may have been feeling through all of this through her adventure in Arendelle. It didn't occur to me until the middle of this chapter that Ephemer and Skuld could have learned what Nightly was going through as they went through Kingdom of Corona. I would like, one day, to explore their story and combine both Nightly's and Aqua's adventure as well as Lea's, Skuld's, and Ephemer's. Let me know if you guys want to see that, too.

Now, I'm really excited to show you guys something. If you pop over to my DeviantArt account ( nightowl9810) you will find the first of many character concept arts that will be coming y'all's way. The first group of concepts will include a small excerpt that will touch a bit on their personalities. Check it out and let me know what you guys think!

Okay, I'll see you guys next time, where we will get a look into the past and see a different side of an all-too-familiar story. See you next time!