OH BOY YA'LL IM SO EXCITED! FROZEN IS FINALLY HERE! Seriously though I've been waiting to write this world since I started Keys and I'm already in love from the first half of it alone! This was SO much fun to work on and I hope you have a great time reading it! So I won't keep you any longer here... enjoy!


Chapter 59: Let It Go

Cut through the heart
Cold and clear
Strike for love and strike for fear
There's beauty and there's danger here
Split the ice apart
Beware the frozen heart

It had been an accident. A simple mistake. A mere slip of the hand. She'd never wanted to do this, she'd never dreamed she'd ever hurt someone she cares so much about.

She hadn't wanted to… but she had all the same. And now…

Nothing can ever be the same again.

"Fear will be your enemy," the elderly troll had told her. And every moment since, nothing has ever rung more true for her. Each time her magic so much as sparks, bright and cold over her hands, terror sparks along with it. Terror that she'll slip up once more, terror that she'll hurt someone else, terror that she'll hurt her sister all over again.

"Conceal it, don't feel it, don't let it show," her father instructed her, slipping a pair of gloves over her hands. Conceal her magic, conceal herself away from the world, from even her own sister. Her parents tell her it's for the best, and she listens, ever the dutiful daughter. Because if she can't control it, if she can't keep the storm from surging out from within her unsteady soul, then what will become of her kingdom, of her family, of her? If she can't control it, then how can she stop herself from becoming the monster she's so afraid she already is?

"Do you wanna build a snowman?" her sister sobs on the other side of the shut door. She doesn't say a word as ice crawls along her bedroom walls, snowflakes frozen all around her amidst her unrelenting grief. She's been so strong for so long, struggled to hold herself together, to keep it all inside. Even now, she tries so hard not to feel any of it… not to let it show just how much it hurts, how much she wishes she could throw that door open, how much she wishes she could give her sister the comfort they both crave, how much she wishes she didn't have to be alone anymore. But she does, she knows she does. It's the only way anyone can ever be safe. It's the only way Anna can be safe.

And to Elsa, well, that's really all that's ever really mattered. Because she's the only one she still has left to love.


It had been an accident. A simple mistake. A mere slip of the hand. He'd never wanted to do this, he'd never dreamed he'd ever hurt someone he cares so much about.

He hadn't wanted to… but he has all the same. And now…

Nothing can ever be the same again.

That same line of thought has been running on repeat through Sora's mind ever since that awful moment on the beach, a moment that had made everything go from bad to so much worse. Even after he left Traverse Town, even after slipping away from Vanitas and Naminé's contrasting ultimatums, even amidst bounding between several worlds, across several sleepless nights, it hasn't stopped. If anything, his spiraling thoughts have only gotten heavier, his guilt and despair only weighing him down more and more with every passing day. He's been all but crushed by them completely as he stumbles into another new world, but before he can sink into his usual mire of misery, he happens to pick up on the telltale presence of a Key.

The final Key to be exact.

The final Key keeping him from safety, from shelter, from standing alongside his Organization, alongside his master. The final Key that's still letting him be free, that's still stalling his transformation into someone he desperately doesn't want to be. Someone he already knows he's been for such a long time now, someone who lies and steals and runs and kills, someone who hurts their best friend, who leaves that friend without any sort of apology, without even a simple goodbye. Someone who Sora hates far more than he ever could any of the horrible people who helped bring him here.

He's drawn out of his latest torrent of terrible thoughts as a sudden chill shoots through the air surrounding him. For the first time, Sora actually takes stock of his new surroundings, a low mountainside dotted with tall, lush trees. And yet, despite the greenery, the air here is frigidly cold as snowflakes flurry down from the night skies above. The wintry weather seems oddly out of season, but as Sora shudders against the brisk breeze, he happens to spot something even stranger on the large body of water he can see from afar.

He can't make out much from his distant vantage point, but as he squints to get a better look, he swears he can see what almost looks like a woman, running across the water. A violet cape wildly billows out behind her as she races across the surface of the fjord, the water somehow turning to solid ice beneath her every rapid step. That ice spreads as she eventually slips away into the far hillside, engulfing the entire fjord surrounding a stately castle and the village that it's home to until it's frozen in its entirety. The snow continues falling faster as Sora tries to trace the woman's hasty retreat into the wilderness, finding himself bizarrely compelled to follow her, to understand who she is and where she's going. But before he can even make much of an effort to try, he's stopped in his tracks as something sharp and fast suddenly grazes across his exposed upper arm.

He lets out a pained hiss as he covers the lightly bleeding wound, spinning around to face the source of this unexpected attack. He can't say he's surprised to find a black-coated figure standing only a few feet behind him, but what does surprise him is that that figure is a woman. After all, outside of Xion, he's only ever met male members of Organization XIII before; at least as far as he can remember.

The woman offers Sora a broad, snide grin as she flashes a set of small knives between her fingers. "Whoops," she says, an undeniably haughty air to her tone. "Guess I missed. I was actually aiming for that empty head of yours."

"Who are you?" Sora asks, though he's not entirely sure he wants to find out based on his first impression of her.

"What?" the woman spits, seemingly offended. "Are you serious right now? Do you really not remember me after–Ohhhhh, that's right." She huffs, tucking a stray piece of her short golden hair behind her ear. "Marluxia mentioned you've gotten even stupider after what happened at the castle. And from what else I've been hearing, more submissive too." She takes a step closer, walking past the anxious boy as she flicks him hard on the forehead, an action he can't even retaliate against for the rank she so obviously holds over him. "How's it feel to be part of the winning team, number thirteen?"

"I-I…. I'm proud to be a member of the Organization," Sora answers, despite desperately not wanting to. He shakes this bout of forced control off as quick as he can as he fixes her with a distrustful glare, his tone shifting from false loyalty into earnest annoyance. "So, are you are gonna actually introduce yourself or not?"

"Ugh, fine," the woman rolls her eyes, equally irritated. "The name's Larxene. Don't forget it this time."

"I won't…" Sora mumbles, unable to refuse a direct order from any of his fellow members. As much as he wants to ask how this wicked woman seems to apparently already know him, Larxene doesn't give him the chance.

"Yeesh, and I thought you were a mess the last time I saw you," she sneers, circling him to 'inspect' him. "What's the matter, Sora? Too dumb to figure out how to survive on your own? It's not even that hard; all you gotta do is steal what you need, and the rest is easy."

"I… I don't steal," Sora says quietly, his shameful sights trained on the ground. "Not anymore."

"Oh, what, are you too 'good' for that?" Larxene mocks, ruffling his already messy hair. "Maybe you oughta stop acting like you're so much better than everyone else. Because news flash, kiddo, you're not. Not anymore. In fact, after what you just did to that poor, innocent friend of yours, I'd say you're just about as bad as they come."

"Don't talk about him!" Sora suddenly snaps, unable to contain his rising frustration. Especially not after hearing anyone refer to Riku, to what he did to Riku, to how he hurt Riku, so cruelly and callously. Like it doesn't even matter at all when it's something that's shattered every aspect of Sora's life so thoroughly.

Larxene barely even flinches as several spikes shoot up out of the already snow-dusted ground around Sora. Instead, vicious anger permeates her wry, cunning smirk as she suddenly grabs the boy by the collar of his shirt, pulling him up and wiping the resistant scowl clean off his face. "Let's get a few things straight, you loudmouthed brat," she hisses, her voice dangerously low as her golden eyes glare into his. "I don't want to be here any more than you do. But since you've been doing so badly at the one job we gave you to do, the old man thinks someone needs to keep an eye on you to make sure you don't mess up any more than you already have. And unfortunately for us both that someone is me. Thing is, I'm not a babysitter; I don't do kids, especially not whiny, starving, stupid kids who won't stop crying about how "sad" they are or how "bad" their life is. So if you know what's good for you, then you'll suck it up, shut up, and if you're lucky, this'll all go smoothly for us both, k?"

Sora doesn't answer, instead bitterly averting her gaze when she shoves him away from her. Larxene seems to take offense with his silence though, because out of nowhere, her fist suddenly slams into his stomach, all but sending him to the already snow-covered ground. "Are you deaf or something? I asked you a question," she snarls, standing over him with a fierce scowl.

"I-I thought you wanted me to shut up," Sora replies rather curtly between pained coughs. He does his best not to flinch when Larxene reels her fist back for another strike.

"Oh, so you're still a smart aleck, huh?" she huffs crossly. "And here I thought you'd be too busy being depressed to mouth off. But you'll learn real quick now that you're one of us that absolutely no one cares about what you have to say."

"I already figured that much…" Sora mutters tiredly. Because if there's one thing his masters, his superiors, even his fellow members all have in common, it's a mutual hatred for him. So why would any of them ever want to listen to him, to care about how he thinks and feels? He doesn't live for himself anymore, he hasn't for a long time. He knows he should be used to that by now, should expect this kind of harsh treatment, and yet… some small, stubborn part of him still wants to resist it all the same.

"Now come on, you little mutant," Larxene turns, already pressing onward through the steady snow. "We've got a Key to find. And for your sake, we better find it soon, or else you won't like me very much."

"Too late for that," Sora deadpans before he can stop himself. "I already don't."

He can't help but muster a small, triumphant grin in the seconds before Larxene whirls around. She doesn't strike him herself, surprisingly, but instead, bursts of golden lightning flash out from her fingertips. The electrifying current strikes Sora squarely, sending a stark jolt searing through his entire body. It hurts, yes, but the fact that he managed to get a rise out of her, that he managed to land a knick in her seemingly impenetrable pride, still satisfies him, even if it's only in some small, largely meaningless way.

"Keep it up, number thirteen," she warns viciously. "I'm sure the old man will just love to hear about how you still need an attitude adjustment even after all this time."

"N-no," Sora stiffens, fear swiftly starting to fill in for his former confidence. "Don't tell the master. Please."

"Then don't test my patience. And just so you know, it's already running very low," Larxene turns her nose up at him, not bothering to say anything more as she continues on her way. Sora finds that he has no choice but to dutifully follow along after her, despite how much he'd rather do anything else. But as they set out, Sora still chances a look back at the now fully-frozen fjord, then back up at the mountainside that mysterious woman had fled to. Curiosity, even slight concern swells within him, yet he can't act on either of those things, his own thoughts and feelings suppressed and sequestered, just like they always are. Just as he knows, from here on out as he slips ever deeper into his unwanted place among his Organization, they'll always be.


There was a time when Kairi had been able to sense Sora's heart so vividly. Perhaps it's because of her unique abilities as a Princess of Heart or perhaps it's because her own heart had spent some time in his. But the connection between the two of them is something that can't be denied… or at least it used to be. Because now, Kairi is lucky to even sense so much as a fleeting trace of him as she travels between worlds. She's spent a week searching for him on her own, but so far has had essentially nothing to show for it. Still, she doesn't give up hope, she can't give up hope, not as long as Sora is still out there, not as long as she still has so much left to say to him, not as long as she still has so much left to share with him.

But as Kairi steps out of another light gate and into another new world… suddenly she senses it again. That telltale spark, so dim, yet so warm, the surest sign she can get as it resonates crisp and clear through the depths of her heart. Sora is here, he must be. And if he's here, then here she'll stay, until the moment she sees him again, until the moment she can finally convince him to come home.

As for this world, however, Kairi is quickly caught off guard by just how utterly cold it is. The frigid conditions nearly take her breath away, with whistling winds blowing immense amounts of snow through the nighttime air. She lets out a surprised squeal as she tightly wraps her arms around herself, immediately realizing that her sleeveless dress is incredibly ill-suited for such harsh weather.

"Ok, ok," she whispers to herself, trembling as she manages to summon her Keyblade. "H-how'd that clothing spell the good fairies taught me go again…? Uh…" She swallows hard, nervously holding Destiny's Embrace aloft as she closes her eyes and lets a particular strain of magic pour down from it upon her. Fortunately, it does exactly as she hopes as her outfit transforms; long sleeves unfurl from her shoulders, her pink dress thickening until it's more akin to a comfortable coat. Her hood rises to cover her head as a pair of sturdy gloves materialize on her hands, dark pink leggings appear to cover her legs, and the bottom of her boots become more suited for potentially icy terrain. Overall, her updated attire is quite warm, made to weather the snowstorm while still letting her travel and fight without much of a hindrance.

"Much better…" she breathes a sigh of relief as she allows her Keyblade to disappear. Her smile quickly turns into a more serious expression, however, as surveys the vast snowscape ahead of her, an almost endless expanse of forest-filled white. Finding much of anything out here would make for quite a challenge, but it's a challenge Kairi is ready to tackle all the same. Because if she doesn't, if she can't… she doesn't even want to think about what will happen if she goes back empty-handed. She doesn't want to think about what Riku will say if she has to tell him that it's true, that he was right. That it really is too late to save-

She rushes to shake such thoughts out of her head. As far as she's concerned, that's not even a possibility, she can't let it be one. Instead, she recalls what Aqua told her, how she commended her for holding out, for believing there's still time, that there's still a chance when everyone else has long since ran out of options. She hasn't traveled this far and searched for this long only to lose heart now. Whatever might happen, whenever and however she might find him, she won't stop, she won't go back until he's standing safe by her side once more.

"Sora," she takes her first steps across this seemingly silent snowy world, whispering to the echoing wind and hoping that it carries her words to him, wherever he might be. "See you soon…"


Over just a few short hours alone, a heavy blanket of snow has already settled on the vast mountain range this world has to offer. Traveling through the several feet that have accumulated by now would be troublesome for most, even for someone dressed and equipped to handle it. But for someone like Sora, it's more than just a minor annoyance; it's a nightmare.

Thanks to his upbringing on a largely tropical island, he isn't accustomed to the cold to begin with, something that his various travels hasn't changed in the slightest. But even beyond that, his clothes aren't even remotely made for snow, and their current subpar condition only makes matters worse. Though he's pulled his hood back up, it does little to warm him up, the gaping holes torn through his pants and jacket alike leaving him particularly exposed to the icy chill. With one of his shoes still missing, he can't even feel his bare foot anymore, making his already unsteady steps even more slow and awkward, something that frustrates his unwanted "companion" on a number of occasions.

"Ugh, no wonder it's taken you so long to find all these Keys," Larxene sneers. She stops short as she impatiently waits for him to finish scaling the bluff she's standing on. "Can you be any slower? If I were the old man, I would have gotten sick of waiting around for you to get just about anything done a long time ago. So what's the hold up this time? Need to stop to take a break so you can cry again?"

"Tch, no," Sora shoots her an irritated glare. "I don't know if you've noticed, but it's freezing here," he grips his arms tightly, his claws practically digging into his skin to keep the blood beneath it flowing. "Aren't you cold?"

"Nope," Larxene smirks smugly, adjusting the collar of her coat. "These things are surprisingly cozy. Not that you'd know since you decided you wanted to be an 'individual' and turn the one Xemnas offered you down."

"...How do you know about that?" Sora frowns as he finally reaches the top of the hill.

"We all do," Larxene says as she continues taking the lead. "Didn't you know? You're the talk of the Organization, Sora, our favorite subject to gossip about. We're all just so excited about you joining the club."

"...Really?" Sora asks dryly, dubiously.

"What do you think, moron?" Larxene's sickly sweet tone quickly drops into her usual snide ire.

"Ok, seriously," Sora begins, thoroughly disgruntled by this point. "What is your problem with me? I've never even met you before, but all you've done since we met is stab me, punch me, electrocute me, and make fun of me every chance you get. Is it some kind of requirement to hate my guts before you join the Organization or something?"

"Nah, but at this point it might as well be," Larxene grins, amused by his exasperation. "But hey, look on the bright side; even if we do hate you, at least we don't wanna lock you up in some dingy dungeon like some people do…"

"Stop," Sora cuts in, not wanting to talk about this, much less with her.

"Come to think of it, all of our gripes with you are pretty old by this point," Larxene muses, still smiling wickedly. "Plus, it's not like you, oh I dunno, ripped up one of our faces and left us half blind in a fit of rage or anything.

"Stop-"

"If you did, then we'd really have an ax to grind with you," Larxene continues regardless, not even knowing or caring about Sora's rising distress. "We'd would hate you for the rest of time, no matter how bad you might feel about it or how many you might try to apologize for doing it. It's a good thing you don't have to worry about something like that happening with us, right, Sora?"

"I said STOP!" Spikes suddenly erupt all around him, launching out from underneath the snow as they dully glisten in the darkness. His distraught shout echoes across the frosted hills, an echo that someone wandering through the drifts a good distance below just so happens to hear.

"Ooo, you better learn to mind that temper of yours, Sora," Larxene warns, hardly phased by his nearly violent show of fury. "It'd be a shame if word got back to the old man that you're being-"

"Sora?!"

The pair pauses in mutual surprise upon hearing this distant call, one that's almost inaudible against the din of the ongoing snowstorm. From their spot atop a tree-bordered cliffside, it takes a moment or two to catch wind of it again, but sure enough, that same call rings out again, in a voice that Sora recognizes the instant he hears it. And when he does, his blood runs far colder than even the icy air surrounding him.

"K-Kairi…" he chokes, terror swelling up within him as he stumbles backward. But sure enough, he sees her even from so high above. She rushes through the thicket almost a hundred or so feet below, a dot of pink weaving in between white-capped trees. He doesn't dare make a sound when she calls his name again, but the mere sound of her saying it alone makes him feel weak and dizzy. He'd almost forgotten how much he's longed to hear her voice, how he's longed to see her face, how he's longed to even be even this close to her, despite the fact that he's still so far away. He's missed her so, so much, his thoughts have lingered on her, his heart aching for her almost every second of every day, and yet-

His breath catches in his throat, his body trembling even more than it already had been from the cold. She shouldn't be here, she can't be here. If she's here, then she's in danger. If she's here, then her very life is at risk. If she's here… then he could hurt her just as easily as he hurt Riku.

And suddenly, he pictures himself back on that beach, back in the eye of a storm he's solely responsible for. But this time, Riku isn't the one standing before him, Riku isn't the one his claws slam into, Riku isn't the one he mutilates in a moment of untamed, unstoppable malice. This time… he sees himself raking his claws against Kairi's face instead. He sees himself ripping through one of her beautiful ocean blue eyes. He sees himself ruining the life of someone else he cherishes so deeply.

He sees himself somehow becoming even more of a monster than he already is.

"Well… what a nifty surprise we have here," Larxene pipes up. Until now, Sora had largely forgotten she's even here, but a new flash of fear flows through him as he finally tears his sights away from Kairi to look back at her. "Guess your old pals are still dead set on getting you back so they can fit you for a nice set of chains. And to send your own girlfriend all the way here to haul you back–man, I thought we were cruel. Those lights take it to an all new level, huh?"

Sora mostly ignores her in favor of throwing his hand out into the space behind him, only for his fickle, inconsistent magic to fail on him right when he wants to escape most. "P-please," he pleads with Larxene, already knowing it won't work. "You have to open a dark corridor and get me out of here."

"Aw, you wanna leave already?" Larxene protests with a fake, playful pout. "Where's the fun in that? Your poor princess came all this way looking for you, Sora. It just wouldn't be right if you didn't give her a glimpse at least."

"I-I can't," Sora shudders, not even wanting to know what Kairi would think if she saw him the way he is now. "I can't be near her after–I-if she sees me, I'll-"

"Try to get a full sentence out for a change, would you?" Larxene rolls her eyes. "If you're gonna be that much of a crybaby about it, then fine. Stay up here. I'll just go have a nice little 'chat' with her instead."

"What?" Sora starts, suddenly alarmed for an entirely different reason. "No, don't-"

Ultimately, he has no chance at changing her mind as Larxene swiftly disappears into a burst of shadow. Sora panics, rushing toward the edge of the cliff to look down to where Kairi is, obliviously unaware of the danger she's about to be in. At least until that danger materializes only a few mere feet in front of her.

"Sor–huh?" Kairi stops short, her latest call left unfinished as a black-coat clad woman appears before her, seemingly out of nowhere. She immediately senses a strong aura of malicious darkness from her, the cunning, downright cruel smirk spread across her face is more than enough to tell Kairi that this woman means trouble. And any kind of trouble isn't something she's about to face lightly.

"Hey there, princess," the woman greets with a falsely friendly wave. "'Bout time I finally get to meet you in person. I've heard soooo much about you–mostly from your Nobody. Me n' Naminé go way back; I'd like to say we were friends, but… I don't wanna lie to you right off the bat like that."

Kairi doesn't return her cheery greeting, instead fixing her with a distrustful frown as she keeps her stance steady, ready to call upon her Keyblade at any second if the need arises. "Who are you?" she asks, already on edge from what she had to say about Naminé alone. "A member of the Organization?"

"Oh gee, what was your first clue?" the woman remarks sarcastically. "It was the coat, wasn't it? Total dead giveaway. Well, if you really have to know, I'm Larxene. And-"

"And let me guess," Kairi cuts her off sternly. "You're here to look for that final Key, aren't you? And Sora?"

"Mm, well, I've already found one of those things soooo…"

At this, Kairi doesn't hesitate to summon her Keyblade, not even needing to hear another word. "Where is he?" she asks rigidly.

"...Who?" Larxene smirks knowingly.

"Sora," Kairi hisses between gritted teeth.

"...Mmm, Sora… Sora… Sora…" Larxene muses in faux innocence. "Sorry, never heard of him."

"Don't play games with me!" Kairi sharply exclaims, aiming the tip of her Keyblade at the older woman. "I know he's here, I've sensed his heart, I even heard his voice just now! If you know where he is, then you'd better tell me o-or else!"

"Ooh, look at you, all big and tough with your cute little flowery Keyblade," Larxene lets out a mocking laugh. "Let me guess, you're all new to the whole playing 'hero' gig, aren't ya, kiddo? Quick word of advice: if you wanna live to see the end of this little 'quest' of yours, then someone like you definitely shouldn't go around trying to threaten someone like me…" Her smile fades into a fierce scowl as a set of sharp knives flash into the space between her fingers.

Even so, Kairi doesn't lose her nerve, putting the thought that she's never faced an Organization member on her own before as far from her mind as she possibly can. "I didn't come here to fight any of you," she says, recognizing this standoff for the distraction it very likely is. "I came here to find Sora. Which is why I'm only going to ask you one more time: where is he?"

"Are you sure you wanna see him, princess?" Larxene asks, absently checking over her knives. "You oughta know that you're just about one of the last people he wants to be around right now."

"You really think I'm dumb enough to believe that?" Kairi scoffs, seeing straight through such a lie. Or at least, what she hopes is a lie.

"Uh, of course I do," Larxene retorts dryly. "But really, it just makes sense. Why else would he have spent the past several months running away from you? Seems to me like he wants nothing to do with you anymore. Face it, princess, whatever lovey-dovey romance you used to have with him is over. It's time to move on."

"You're wrong," Kairi adamantly refuses, tightening her grip on her Keyblade. "The only reason Sora keeps running from us is because all of you keep lying to him to make him think we want to hurt him!"

"Well, if we are telling him that, then he's the one who's choosing to believe it," Larxene shrugs and unfortunately, Kairi finds she can't find an argument to that point. Because regardless of how many lies the Organization has thrown his way, for whatever reason, Sora has seemingly decided to believe his longtime foes over his longtime friends. "Chin up, kiddo," Larxene mockingly reassures. "Sora's happy where he is now; he's finally where he belongs. If you really cared about him, then you wouldn't try to force him to be something he's not."

"You mean like what you're doing to him?!" Kairi harshly, hatefully exclaims.

"Aw, you've got it all wrong," Larxene perches her hands on her hips. "We only wanna help Sora. And boy, after how badly all of you have dropped the ball on doing that, he definitely needs it. "

"Enough!" Kairi shouts, her fury peaking as she charges forward. Her initial swing misses as Larxene easily teleports out of it's path, but even so, Kairi doesn't quit. "I'm tired of listening to your lies! Show me where Sora is now or I'll-"

She's swiftly cut off as Larxene suddenly grabs her arm from behind, the edge of one of her deadly knives pressed lightly against the side of her neck. "Get it through your thick skull already, princess," she hisses into the younger girl's ear. "He doesn't want to see you. If you keep looking for him, it's only gonna end in heartbreak, just like it did for your other friend. So turn back now… while you still have a chance."

With this sinister warning delivered, Larxene abruptly vanishes, freeing Kairi up to let out the anxious breath she'd been holding. She doesn't see her foe reappear on the cliff high above her, nor does she see the very person she's been searching for, watching the entire tense exchange from a distance.

For his part, Sora hadn't been able to make out much of anything between the two women. He spent most of the encounter silently wishing that Kairi would flee before Larxene could turn violent. Fortunately, things don't seem to escalate that far as the wicked woman suddenly steps out of a dark corridor in the space behind him, a smug grin spread on her face as he turns to face her.

"W-what did you tell her?" he asks nervously. "What did she say?!"

"Oh, nothing too interesting," Larxene notes passively. "She just demanded that I hand you over so you can face some kind of punishment for what you did to Riku."

"She… what?!" Sora asks, horrified. Not that he didn't see something like that coming of course; it only makes sense that the lights would send someone to apprehend him and make him pay for such a grave slight against their leader. But what he didn't expect was for them to be cruel enough to send Kairi, of all people, to do that.

"You heard me," Larxene rebuffs dryly. "And you'd better thank me for throwing her off your trail. Not that it was even that hard; she's even dumber than she looks."

Sora bristles at such an insult, instinctually wanting to defend Kairi against it. But his heart is what ends up betraying him, forcing him to grant Larxene the kind of gratitude she's looking for. "T-thank you…" he sighs, his tone as halfhearted as it can possibly be.

"No need to be so blue, Sora," Larxene pats him condescendingly on the shoulder as she passes him by to glance back down at Kairi far below them. "I'm just doing what the master wants all of us to do; keeping you safe… from them."

Sora says nothing to this, knowing he isn't really safe no matter where he goes. Whether he's with the Organization or the lights, he'll always be trapped in some way. He might as well accept that now, might as well come to grips with the reality that regardless of where he is or what he does, the only thing he'll ever be… is a prisoner.

"So, with all that taken care of, you've got the rest of this covered, right?" Larxene asks, throwing Sora out of despair and into confusion.

"Huh?" he asks, not following.

"Ya know, this whole Key hunt," Larxene clarifies boredly. "I've had my fill of both snow and babysitting for one day, so I think I'll just leave the heavy lifting to you from here on out."

"Wait… you're… leaving?" Sora presses, hopeful and bewildered all at once. "But… I thought the master told you to 'keep an eye' on me."

"Yeah, and I can do that without having to trudge through three feet of snow with a sad 6 year old stapled to my back."

"...I'm 16," Sora points out, deadpan.

"Didn't ask, don't care," Larxene retorts just as caustically. "I've only stuck around this long to keep any of those pesky lights from getting too close to you. But I think your former girlfriend has gotten the message to keep her distance. So until you make a breakthrough with that Key, I think I'll hang back for a bit. But don't worry, kiddo," she chuckles, roughly ruffling his hair once more and knocking his hood off in the process, much to his annoyance. "I'll make sure to check in and see how you're doing. Just get yourself into any trouble, 'cause if you do, well, you're out of luck. Saving babies isn't on my payroll."

"...The master pays you?" Sora asks, incredulous.

"It's an expression, stupid," Larxene scowls, slapping him on the back of the head. "See, this is exactly why I'm taking off. I feel like I'm losing brain cells just by standing anywhere even remotely close to you."

"Ugh, if you really are going, could you just do it already?" Sora mutters, rubbing the sore spot on his skull.

"Gladly," Larxene snaps her fingers, calling a dark corridor into existence. "See you around, number thirteen. Good luck finding that Key. Just try not to let your 'sweet' little princess find you first…"

Sora holds in the relieved sigh he's been holding back for the second after Larxene leaves. He doesn't hesitate to spare a glance back down at the bottom of the cliff, only to find that Kairi is nowhere to be found. Obviously, she must have moved on by now. And so should he.

The snow doesn't stop as he continues scaling the towering mountain before him. As his adrenaline from watching Larxene confront Kairi dies down, he starts shivering once again, unable to maintain any semblance of warmth amidst such low temperatures. His limbs are stiff and achy, his uncovered skin all but numb as a light layer of frost hangs upon any of his hair that isn't hidden under his hood. Once again, he finds himself oddly wishing for one of those black coats, especially after what Larxene had mentioned about them being surprisingly resistant to the cold. Of course, he doubts he'll be getting one any time soon; leave it to the Organization to let him continue suffering every snow-covered step of the way.

To distract himself from the agonizing chill, he lets his thoughts wander as he keeps pressing uphill. Try as he might to not think about Kairi, he finds his thoughts focusing on little else. Certainly she must still be here in this world; whatever Larxene had told her likely wasn't enough to convince her to leave. He keeps an open eye out for any signs of her as he continues on his way, ready to summon a dark corridor and flee at a moment's notice if need be. And really, if it came down to that, Sora knows he wouldn't be fleeing for his own sake; he'd be fleeing for hers. He can't let her find him, can't let her see him, can't let her say a single word to him so long as he stands to cause her so much harm. Even if he can't do much to prove to her that he still cares so much about her, he can at the very least do this. He can strive to keep what he did to Riku from ever happening to her in turn. He can still protect her, even if the one he's protecting her from… is himself.

So he'll stay away, no matter how much he doesn't want to. So he'll keep his distance, no matter how painful that distance might be. So he'll rip himself right out of her heart… no matter how much he knows she'll always be part of his.

Between his own despondent thoughts and the darkness and the snow, Sora almost doesn't see the lone figure walking up the mountain a few dozen feet ahead of him. When he does spot their vague silhouette, however, he tenses up, wondering if Kairi has somehow managed to catch up to him after all. Until he notices the shape of a long cape dragging across the slow behind them, the same cape that he saw flying out from the woman who had ran across the frozen fjord earlier.

Unable to keep his curiosity quelled, Sora quickens his pace a bit, hoping to catch up with her and check to see if she's ok. However, just as he draws in a breath to call out to her, he's caught off guard when he hears her voice instead. And that voice is, of all things, singing.

"The snow glows white on the mountain tonight, not a footprint to be seen…"

Her melody is melancholic, a tinge of remorse in her tone as she stops halfway up the hill. Sora pauses just out of her range, managing to finally get a bit of a better view of her surprisingly regal gown, of her platinum blonde hair tied up into a tight bun, of the shimmering tiara resting upon her head. From that alone, he guesses she's some kind of royalty, but that raises the obvious question: what is someone like her doing all the way up here? Much less in this kind of unbearable weather?

"A kingdom of isolation, and it looks like I'm the queen…"

By all accounts, she sounds troubled, upset over something that Sora can't see. He takes a step closer, still too far away for the woman to spot him, unsure if he should properly approach her or not. For now, he decides to stay back, listening to her song and wondering where the sadness that's carried upon each note might be coming from.

"The wind is howling like this swirling storm inside… Couldn't keep it in, heaven knows I tried…"

"...Keep what in…?" Sora whispers to himself, more and more perplexed by this mysterious woman by the moment.

"Don't let them in, don't let them see, be the good girl, you always have to be. Conceal don't feel, don't let them know…"

"Well now they know!"

Suddenly, the woman turns, prompting Sora to dart behind a nearby rock, unsure of how she'll react if she sees him. Still, he watches as she tosses the single glove she's wearing high up to the wintry winds above. And then…

Magic happens.

"Let it go! Let it go!" the woman sings as glittering sparks of ice burst to life over her outstretched palms. "Can't hold it back anymore!" Sora gasps in amazement as he stands up a bit from behind his hiding spot, wondering how such a thing is possible. Sure, he's seen ice magic before, he's even used it, but never without the assistance of a Keyblade. But this woman seems to possess it in a way he's never encountered before, in a way he wouldn't believe if he wasn't seeing it happen right before his very eyes.

"Let it go! Let it go!" she's smiling now as she summons snow together into the shape of a small snowman. The tone of her song has changed completely, her confidence seeming to grow with each frigid spell that swirls gracefully from her hands. "Turn away and slam the door!"

"I don't care what they're going to say." Sora finds he can't help but smile a bit himself as he continues following her, wanting to see more, wanting to know more about such odd, yet beautiful magic. Wanting to know how she's able to use it… and why she seemed so hesitant to before. "Let the storm rage on. The cold never bothered me anyway."

With this, the woman lets her violet cape go flying off into the breeze behind her, no longer restrained by, by much of anything really, it as a wave of newfound, almost infectious excitement blossoms into her tune. "It's funny how some distance makes everything seem small," she grins as she approaches a gorge in the mountain ahead of her. "And the fears that once controlled me can't get to me at all!"

"It's time to see what I can do," she throws her hands forward, ice spiraling out and stretching across the vast gap ahead. "To test the limits and break through," Her ice takes on the shape of a rough bridge, one that solidifies into something sleeker the moment she steps onto it. "No right, no wrong, no rules for me… I'm free!"

Free… free from whatever might've been holding her back before, free to be herself, to laugh and thrive and live. Free… just like Sora still wishes he was… just like how he wonders he still could be if he follows this weird, yet wonderful woman's lead in more ways than one.

"Let it go! Let it go! I am one with the wind and sky!" her voice raises as she runs up the icy bridge, sculpting it into a decadently elegant staircase as she arrives near the peak. "Let it go! Let it go! You'll never see me cry!"

"Here I stand, and here I'll stay!" she slams her foot down into the snow, crafting a large, perfectly symmetrical icy design onto the ground. She glances around the area, an idea clearly forming that she doesn't hesitate to act upon. "Let the storm rage on…"

By the time Sora reaches the bottom of the steps, a structure suddenly begins to rise from the snow, one entirely made of glittering, gorgeous ice. Frozen spires and towering walls burst into existence, all called forth by the woman's mighty, dazzling magic. "My power flurries through the air into the ground." He can still hear her beautiful voice echoing from outside as her castle rises higher and higher, his jaw dropped in awe as he watches every stunning second unfold. "My soul is spiraling in frozen fractals all around! And one thought crystalizes like an icy blast."

Inside the castle, the woman tops off her incredible creation with an intricate chandelier, hanging high over her as she rips the tiara off of her head, glaring down at it with longstanding disdain. "I'm never going back! The past is in the past!" She gleefully tosses the crown away, ripping her braid loose from its bun in the same motion. "Let it go! Let it go! And I'll rise like the break of dawn." She focuses her magic on herself this time, using it to transform her rather dreary dress into a glistening gown composed of fluid, flexible ice. "Let it go! Let it go! That perfect girl is gone!" A sheer, sparkling cape swirls out behind her, sweeping smoothly across the icy floor as she struts proudly toward the balcony doors. "Here I stand in the light of day!" Sora watches from far below, still absolutely astonished as the woman emerges onto the balcony, looking like a completely different, far happier person than she had before as she steps out into the emerging sunrise.

"Let the storm rage on!" she belts across the mountainside, her voice ringing out clear and triumphant from her immaculate ice palace. From the new home she's somehow miraculously made for herself. "The cold never bothered me anyway."

And with that, she turns, heading back into her palace and slamming the door shut behind her. As silence falls over the morning snow once more, Sora remains in his place at the foot of the palace, completely dumbstruck in every way. He's so shocked, he almost forgets to breathe, unable to tear his sights away from the exquisite castle before him as it shines in the bright light of dawn. When he does finally break out of that revere though, he can't help but let out a small, incredulous laugh, scarcely able to stop the countless thoughts and ideas that are already springing to life inside his mind.

He's got to know more about this woman, he has to. He has to hear her story, discover more about her magic, learn her name at the very least. So many of her lyrics strangely hit home for him that he'd be doing himself a huge disservice if he didn't. He needs to find out how, over the course of just a few mere moments alone, she managed to transform herself from someone so sad and lonely… into someone so bold and free. He needs to know… if there's a way he could somehow do the same thing too.

And as for the final Key, well, it's waited this long to be found; it can certainly afford to wait a little longer.

Not wanting to waste another moment, Sora rushes up to the palace's door, nearly slipping several times on the way up amidst his rising elation. He doesn't think twice about knocking on the massive, chilly door before him, an eager smile already spread wide across his face as he waits for her to answer it. In the beat of silence that follows, he spares a glance down at his claws, rushing to tuck them into his pockets, positioning his inhuman foot out of sight behind his other one as much as he possibly can. True, this woman may possess some of the most outstanding magic he's ever seen, but that doesn't mean she'll be particularly receptive to a literal monster standing on her doorstep.

Despite his excitement, he does tense up a bit when the door creaks open, though not all the way. The woman peeks out from behind it, initially nervous as she gets her first glimpse at the strange, unknown boy standing before her. "Um… hi!" he greets with a somewhat awkward grin.

"...H-hello," the woman frowns warily. By now, Sora's noticed that she's a few good years older than him, about Aqua's age if his guess is right, with bright blue eyes that seem to shine as a compliment to her radiant, self-made dress. "Who are you? What are you doing all the way up here?"

"Uh… I guess I could sort of ask you the same thing," Sora chuckles, rubbing the back of his neck. "A-anyway, I'm Sora, and I-" He cuts himself off as he realizes he's made a mistake right off the bat. He extends his hand out before he can catch himself, hoping for a friendly shake, only to catch sight of his damning, dangerous claws the very same second the woman does.

"Oh!" she gasps, pulling the door open a bit wider. "You… you have claws!"

"I'm sorry!" Sora swallows hard, taking a step back and nearly falling down the stairs in the process. "I didn't mean to scare you, I just–You know what, t-this was a mistake. I should just-"

"Wait!" the woman calls after him before he can slip away. He turns back toward her, clearly frightened, clearly freezing, clearly starving if his thin, nearly emaciated body is any indication. She doesn't know quite what to make of him, didn't really expect anyone to be able to find her all the way up here, really. She came up here for solitude, to keep so many others safe. But now… now there's a bizarre boy she's never even seen before standing on the steps of her newly-made ice palace. It's an odd predicament to say the least, and yet… she finds she just doesn't have it in her heart to turn him away. "...I… I'm quee–" She shakes her head, starting over. "My name is Elsa."

"Elsa," Sora repeats, easing up a bit. "It's uh… ice to meet you?"

Elsa pauses for a moment at this pun, and briefly, Sora worries that it had been a bit too corny for her liking. Ultimately though, she does let out a small, somewhat reserved chuckle, seemingly charmed on at least some level. She does sober up rather quickly a moment later, clearing her throat as she looks the boy over once more. "...Sora, was it? You still haven't explained why you're out here all on your own."

"Uh… it's… a really long story," Sora rubs his arm. "I was in the middle of looking for something, but then I saw you, and heard your song–really catchy, by the way, I liked it a lot–and I saw you make this, a-and I just wanted to tell you, um… you did a really great job. This place is awesome."

"Thank you," Elsa nods, still wearing a hint of a smile that finally fades a moment later. "But… you should probably go-"

"No, wait!" Sora protests when he sees her starting to head back inside. "I… The real reason why I wanted to talk to you is… I wanted to know how you did all this!"

Elsa hesitates, glancing back at her icy creation. "I don't… really know," she admits honestly, looking down at her hands. "I've had these powers all my life, but… I've never had enough control over them to do anything like this before. Back in Arendelle, I was never allowed–I-I never let myself use them."

"Why not?" Sora asks. "They're amazing!"

"No," Elsa shakes her head, drawing her hands in close. "They're dangerous. I'm dangerous. That's why I need to stay up here. And that's why you shouldn't."

"But… I don't understand," Sora presses as she turns away from him. "How can something like this be dangerous? It can't be any worse than my powers, that's for sure."

Upon hearing this, Elsa glances back over her shoulder at him, intrigued. "...You have powers?"

Sora draws in a tight breath, already knowing he's revealed too much. "Uh… yeah," he sighs, knowing he can't exactly deny it now. "But they're not anything like-"

"May I see them?

He pales, pulling his own hands close to his chest now, practically mirroring the same anxious pose Elsa carried moments ago. "I-I don't think that's such a good idea," he says, never wanting to use his magic, his claws, his darkness, anything that he knows could bring anyone any sort of harm ever again.

"But, I've never met anyone else with magic before," Elsa implores, turning to face him fully again. "I just… I always thought I was the only one who…" She goes quiet for a moment, seemingly contemplating as she offers him a patient, yet pleading look. "Please? If it's not too much trouble?"

Despite his reservations, Sora finds himself hard-pressed to say no. After all, he watched her expose her magic, without her even knowing he was there at all. At the very least, he owes her the same thing in turn. "...Ok, but… it isn't pretty." He turns to the snow drifts surrounding the castle, not wanting to damage the magnificent structure if this gets out of hand. He hasn't used his powers intentionally in a while; if anything, he's been trying his best to suppress them, only letting them slip to the surface when his emotions can no longer keep them contained. But he does manage to call upon a few shimmering spikes, their blackened forms glinting in the blossoming morning sun. Sora frowns when he sees them, internally comparing their hideous design to the complex beauty Elsa's brand of magic carries in contrast. As for Elsa herself however, she seems to be every bit as taken aback by his powers as he was by hers.

Her hands cover her mouth, her eyes wide with shock. She doesn't say a word as she continues staring down at the dark spikes, doesn't even glance over at Sora as he faces her once more. When he speaks a moment or two later though, her attention is raptly on him, clearly craving to know more, every bit as much as he craves to know of her magic in turn. "See what I mean?" he lets out a fake, awkward laugh. He tries to force the spikes back into the earth they burst out of, but of course, they don't listen to him. They hardly ever do. "I wasn't always able to do this; I-I didn't always look like this either. But… something awful's been happening to me for a long time now, and… well I guess I have no choice but to deal with it."

"...How have you been doing that?" Elsa asks, her voice barely above a whisper. "D-dealing with it, I mean."

"...To be honest, I'm not so sure I have," Sora shrugs in longstanding disappointment. "At least not very well. No matter how much I try to keep it under control, every time my emotions get even a little out of hand, bam! Spikes everywhere. It's the worst…"

"I think I can relate," Elsa eases up, tucking a piece of her light blonde hair back. "If I get even the slightest bit nervous, I accidentally freeze everything within a ten foot radius from me, sometimes even more than that! I used to be able to control it, but… once, when I was little, my sister and I were playing and…" She stops, sighing as she looks down, her eyes filled with years-long regret. "And there was an accident and… everything just… fell apart after that. For years, I had to stay in my room and keep away from my sister and my family and… everyone. Just so I could keep them all safe… from me…"

Elsa's woeful tale rings more than familiar for Sora. In fact, her experience sounds so much like his own that he has to take a brief pause upon hearing it, thinking back to the words of her song. Don't let them in, don't let them see… Hadn't he tried doing that ever since the second this mess began? To hide his grave and grievous secret from his friends, to keep them from seeing him for the destructive danger he was unable to keep himself from becoming? Conceal, don't feel, don't let them know… Hasn't he tried that for so long, only to fail at every step of the way? To safeguard so many others… all at his own expense? Well now they know… They do, they all do. They know what he is, what he's done, what side he's been forced to stand on. He can't turn back, he can't undo what's been done, he can't fix what he's already so thoroughly broken. Which means… all that's left for him to do now… is–

Let it go.

If only that were as easy for him as it had been for her.

"I… know how you feel…" he admits despondently. "I tried so long to stop what's been happening to me, but… I can't. I knew I couldn't drag my friends into my problems, I didn't want to hurt them! But I have!" Elsa flinches as she watches several more of Sora's spikes suddenly shoot out among the space surrounding her palace. A true testament to just how unpredictable they are, just how much that magic is like hers. "I've hurt so many people… e-even my best friend, I… I can't stop myself. So instead… I ran… And after everything I've done… I don't think I'll be able to stop running… ever."

"You ran away from your home…?" Elsa echoes gently. When Sora nods, she notices that he's fighting back tears, a fight he's very quickly starting to lose. "...So did I."

"Y-you did?" he asks, wiping a few of those first few tears away.

Elsa nods, offering the boy a small, understanding smile. She's always been a bit challenged when it comes to empathy–a result of her incredibly sheltered upbringing, no doubt. But as she looks at this child, small and shivering as he stands before her, as scared of himself as she's always been of herself… she can't help but feel anything but. It's uncanny really, how much of herself she sees in him, in the taboo magic they both possess, in the pain they've both been put through because of that magic, because of something that's undeniably, fundamentally a part of them both. She doesn't know how to help him any more than she knows how to help herself, but she does know one thing. She can't let him struggle and suffer on his own like she had to do for so many years. She can't let him be swallowed up by the void of darkness, of unrelenting loneliness she's been engulfed in her entire life.

She doesn't know how to help him, but that's fine. Up here, they'll have all the time in the world to figure that out. To figure each other out.

"...Sora," she catches his attention, her smile widening a bit as she opens the door to him. The first door she's opened for anyone in years. "Why don't you come inside?"


Kairi forces herself to sleep that night, despite desperately not wanting to. She finds a small cave to curl up in against the raging snow outside, builds a small fire that barely succeeds to keep her warm, and only ends up catching a few hours of fitful slumber as a result. By the time she sets out again the next morning, she's still rather drowsy and still somewhat surly from the previous night's encounter with a certain Organization member.

She tries not to let Larxene's poisonous words get to her, tries not to think about any of the threats she made or the lies she said. But despite this effort, one of those lies still continues to strike her over and over and over again. Namely, the idea that Sora wants nothing to do with her, to the point that he doesn't even want to see her. She won't believe it unless she hears it coming out of his own mouth, but the mere notion that it could be true, that he could be so far gone that he feels nothing but disdain for her now…

She forces such an awful thought out of her mind. It reminds her far too much of what Riku had told her, far too much of what she's done everything in her power to hold out against. It isn't true, it can't be. She knows Sora, she's known him for as long as she can actually tangibly remember. She knows his kind heart, his caring words, knows how he's always been willing to do anything for her in the past. True, things change, but Sora doesn't. Not like that. He promised her he wouldn't, he promised her.

But what if he has all the same?

"Stop it," she whispers to herself, knowing such worrisome thinking will get her nowhere. She has a job to do, someone to find. And she won't let anyone, not the Organization, not her fellow lights, not even her own uneasy heart, stop her until she does.

So she continues trudging through the snow, the air still crisp and cold even though the skies are finally clear. In truth, Kairi doesn't particularly know where she's going, much less what signs she should be looking for. She can only assume Sora is still here if the sparse echoes of his heart sounding out from hers are any indication. But as for exactly where he is could be just about anyone's guess. So far, she hasn't seen even a single other soul in this world aside from Larxene, and she'd just as rather go without seeing that hateful woman ever again. By all accounts, Kairi is starting to suspect this world might possibly be abandoned or empty… at least until she happens to overhear a spirited bout of singing echoing through the crystalline forest she's traveling through.

"Da da, da do, da da da da da da do… In summer!"

Curious, Kairi follows the sound of this singing, though she doesn't really see anyone else in the surrounding area. Not even as that singing breaks into an eager call through the trees. "Anna! Sven! Other Sven?! Where aaaaareeeee yooooou?!"

No one seems to respond to the voice's call, and though she's not who it's meant for, Kairi nearly does. At least until she stops dead in her tracks when the source of that voice finally wanders right in front of her.

It's a snowman, that much is clear, but what's beyond belief is that snowman is walking, seemingly entirely on his own. And not just that, he's talking too, a wide grin spread across his very animated face as his tiny, snowy form waddles out into the open, apparently not spotting Kairi as he absently passes her by. "You know, it would be a lot easier to find them if I wasn't so close to the ground…" he notes, perching one of his twig hands to his chin. His attention is very quickly garnished, however, as Kairi lets out a shocked gasp behind him.

"Wow!" he exclaims, fascinated as he spins around to face her. "You're so pink! Pink is such a pretty color–not that I've seen much of it since there's not a lot of it to go around during the winter–but in summer, oh, I bet there's just tons of it!"

Kairi blinks, initially wondering if she's still asleep and having some sort of strange dream. But sure enough, she's awake, and an undoubtedly living snowman is standing just a few feet in front of her. "Y-you… you're a-"

"Oh! Sorry! Didn't mean to be rude!" the snowman chuckles blithely. "I'm Olaf, and I like warm hugs!"

"But… you're a snowman!" Kairi exclaims, baffled.

"Uh huh," Olaf nods, still grinning.

"And you're alive!"

"Uh huh."

"A-and you're walking and talking and… not standing still!"

"Uh huh."

"How?"

Olaf pauses for a moment to ponder this question before offering an oblivious, yet honest answer. "I dunno. Anyway, it was nice meeting you, pink lady! I've gotta go find my new best friends. Bye!"

"W-wait!" Kairi calls, hurrying after the snowman as he continues back into the woods. "Are… you lost?"

"Mm, nope," Olaf replies. "I just don't know where I am!"

"...I think that means you're lost," Kairi can't help but let out a small, amused chuckle. "My name's Kairi. Maybe I could help you find your friends? I'm looking for a friend of mine too, so… maybe we could search for all of them together."

"Oh! That'd be great!" Olaf exclaims excitedly. "But I oughta warn you, it's probably gonna take forever to find them! I lost them hours ago. For all I know, they might be dead!"

"What?!" Kairi exclaims, aptly alarmed.

"Olaf! Stop telling people we're dead!" A male's voice sounds from the nearby woods, disgruntled and annoyed. Kairi turns to see the group emerging into the open, a young, yet rugged blonde man, accompanied by a bright-eyed red haired girl only a few years older than her, both clad well for the winter weather. A large, yet friendly-looking reindeer trots along after them, creating a rather peculiar trio that Olaf happily rushes over to.

"Anna! Sven! Other Sven!" he greets them warmly, returning the hug the girl, Anna, Kairi assumes, is offering to him. "I'm so glad I found you! You were missing for so long!"

"We lost track of you for five minutes," the man deadpans, crossing his arms. "Calm down."

"Olaf, you shouldn't wander off like that," the girl coaxes much more patiently. "Who knows what might be out here?"

"I do!" Olaf points back at Kairi. "She was!"

"Um… hi," Kairi offers the group a somewhat stiff wave.

"Hello," the girl rises to stand, smiling cordially. "I'm Anna. Thanks for keeping an eye on Olaf for us. He can be… a little excitable."

"And… delusional," the man mutters, making sure Olaf can't overhear. "He thinks he won't melt in the summer. Someone's gotta tell him-"

"Don't you dare," Anna warns, shooting him a disapproving look. "This is Kristoff by the way. And Sven."

"Oh," Kairi chuckles, giving the reindeer a gentle scratch on the ear as he happily steps up to her. "So there's only one Sven then."

"There is?" Olaf gasps, shocked.

"I'm Kairi," she introduces herself, meeting the hand Anna offers for her to shake. "If you don't mind me asking, what are all of you doing all the way out here?"

"Funny, we should be asking you the same thing," Kristoff says, eyeing the girl skeptically.

"Don't be rude," Anna huffs at him before addressing Kairi. "Sorry, he has some sort of weird hang-up about 'strangers'."

"No, I don't," Kristoff argues curtly. "I just happen to have a little thing called common sense. Not that someone who gets engaged to a man she just met that day would know much about that."

"For the last time, it's true love!" Anna protests staunchly.

"Um… do you two… need a minute?" Kairi interjects, confused and out of context.

"Ugh, no, we're fine," Kristoff rolls his eyes, ignoring Anna as she sticks her tongue out at him. "If you really have to know, we're out here trying to bring an end to this crazy winter."

"You mean… it isn't always like this here?" Kairi asks, raising a curious eyebrow.

"No," Anna shakes her head, her manner turning much more solemn. "All this…" she motions to the dense snow surrounding them. "Is sort of my fault. You see, my older sister Elsa… kind of has these crazy ice powers I never knew about until I accidentally set her off after her big coronation by telling her I that I wanted to marry a super handsome prince I'd just met earlier that day and she got scared and ran off into the mountains so we're out here trying to find her so she can stop this winter and bring back summer!" Anna heaves out a sigh after rapidly explaining the full story in only one breath.

"That's… a lot to take in," Kairi notes, trying to make sense of it all.

"I know…" Anna admits, smoothing over one of her braids. It's only as she does that Kairi just so happens to notice the strange streak of white slipped into the otherwise bright red it's composed of. "But since you're out here, Kairi, maybe you've seen her? She's got light hair, really pretty, can shoot ice from her palm, anyone like that ringing a bell?"

"Sorry, but no," Kairi shakes her head sympathetically. "Actually, I'm looking for someone too. One of my best friends, Sora, has been missing for… a long time now. I think I'm finally close to catching up with him, but I still haven't seen him yet. I was hoping he'd be somewhere around here maybe. He has…" She swallows hard, remembering all too well how she's supposed to describe him, what to expect when and if she finally reunites with him. Just how incredibly different he might look from the Sora she remembers. "He has white hair, yellow eyes, and um… claws."

"Excuse me–claws?" Kristoff asks, bewildered.

"Hm… no, we haven't seen anyone like that around here," Anna replies, seemingly nowhere near as bothered by this bizarre description as Kristoff is. "Have you Olaf?"

"Yup!" Olaf grins, turning away from Sven just before the reindeer can snatch his carrot nose for a snack.

"What?" the others all ask, completely dedicating their attention to the snowman.

"Yeah, I saw someone just like that right after Elsa built me," Olaf explains as cheerfully as ever. "He was wearing all black, he was skinny, oh and very spikey!"

"That's gotta be Sora!" Kairi exclaims, practically beside herself with relief. "Do you know where he is now, Olaf?"

"Hm… if I had to guess… I'd say he's with Elsa," Olaf says, largely confident with his answer. "He seemed like he was really enjoying her song–I can't blame him, I've still got it stuck in my head too! Let it go! Let it goooooo! Can't hold it back anymoooooore-"

"Olaf? Olaf!" Anna interrupts his dramatic solo. "Maybe we could sing… some other time, ok?"

"For now, can you take me to where you saw Sora?" Kairi implores the snowman. "Please, it's very important that I find him soon."

"Okay!" Olaf readily agrees, gasping excitedly as he hops up and down. "Oh! I get to help you find your friend, just like how you helped me find mine!"

"Exactly," Kairi says with a warm, affirming smile.

"Well, it sounds like we're all heading to the same place," Anna notes with an eager grin. "So why don't you come with us, Kairi? We'll have a much easier time finding my sister and your friend if we're all looking for them together."

"What?" Kristoff cuts in, shooting her a surprised look.

"Okay," Kairi nods, glad to have some measure of company in this otherwise lonely mission.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold it," Kristoff puts himself between Anna and Kairi before they can shake hands again. "Last time I checked, I only agreed to take you up the mountain," he eyes Anna, annoyed. "The last thing I need is to deal with two overly-feisty redheads who can't fend for themselves."

"Hey!" Anna and Kairi both exclaim in offended unison.

"I promise I won't hold any of you back," Kairi assures. "And if we run into any trouble along the way, well," she smirks as she summons her Keyblade, catching the entire group by surprise. "Let's just say I can handle it."

"Boy, I'll say!" Anna exclaims, dazzled as she looks over Kairi's Keyblade. "That's some sword!"

"It's called a Keyblade actually," Kairi laughs. "But thanks. So," she shoots Kristoff a wry look, making a point of jokingly aiming the tip of the weapon in his direction. "Still think I can't fend for myself?"

Kristoff swallows hard, tugging at his collar as he takes a wide step back. "I guess I stand corrected…"

"Hooray!" Olaf exclaims brightly, already starting to run on ahead. "We're one big happy team! And this team is gonna bring back summer!"

"And bring back Sora too…" Kairi whispers to herself as she follows along after her new friends. Her hope rises ever higher with each step closer she takes to where she hopes he might be. To where she hopes they'll finally get a chance to be together again after all this time apart.


If the exterior of the ice palace was stunning, it's interior is beyond comparison. Sora finds himself awestruck as he follows Elsa inside to find shimmering walls of ice, a beautiful frozen fountain sitting in the center of a grand, almost cavernous hall. It's captivating enough to nearly make him forget about just how incredibly cold the structure is, and just how slippery it's floors are… until he nearly falls flat on his face upon them.

"W-whoa!" he exclaims, his single shoe finding little purchase on the ice beneath it. He slides across the floor a bit, only stopping when Elsa reaches out and grabs his arm to keep him from falling.

"Careful, it's a little slick in here," she warns, laughing a bit. She's quick to pull her hand away however, as soon as she sees that he's gotten a bit steadier on his feet. His noticeably bizarre feet, now that she's actually looking at them. "Um… just out of curiosity… Why are you wearing only one shoe and short sleeves in, well… you know?"

"Oh, uh…" Sora hesitates, still mindful of the world order as he comes up with a quick explanation. "I… got caught up in the storm! I guess it sort of took me by surprise. Like I said, I've sort of been on my own for a while now, so I don't really have any winter clothes."

"Couldn't you just… buy some?" Elsa wonders, frowning.

"Heh, if I had any money, I'd focus on buying some food first," Sora shrugs, playing his longstanding hunger off as best he can. But his attempt at humor is all but lost on Elsa as she fixes him with a genuinely concerned look.

"Sora… how long have you been… on the run for?" she asks, noticing once again how his ill-fitting clothes seem to hang off his wiry frame.

"Um… a few months, I guess?" Sora says, fidgeting anxiously. "It's been… tough, but you know, you get… used to it." That's a lie, a blatant lie, and he knows it. Because the struggles he's faced, the starvation he's been suffering from, the loneliness he's felt… they're all things he'll never truly be accustomed to. Regardless of how much he tries conditioning himself to be. "How long have you been away from home, Elsa?"

"...Since last night," Elsa admits rather sheepishly, knowing her own ordeal can scarcely compare to whatever he's been through. She spares another glance at the boy, noticing the numerous tears in his clothing, the scratches marring his dark, nearly frostbitten skin. He isn't doing well physically, that much is clear just by looking at him, and being in a place this cold isn't doing him any favors. But in lieu of getting him to someplace warmer, someplace she doesn't really have any immediate access to, Elsa has another idea. An idea that only she can carry out.

"Do you mind if I try something?" she asks, taking a step further into the foyer as she prompts him to do the same.

"Uh… ok?" Sora agrees, unsure of what her intent is. Even so, he trusts her already, having no reason to suspect any ill-will from her after how kind she's already been to him. Kindness he can't say he necessarily deserves, but after how harshly and hatefully Larxene had treated him, he'll take whatever he can get.

"Stand right there," Elsa instructs, walking a circle around him. "Hold your arms out, and close your eyes."

"Like this?" Sora does as she says, though he can't deny he isn't curious as to what she has planned.

"Good. Now, stay as still as you can," Elsa urges, her tone immensely serious. Sora nods, taking in a deep breath as she awaits whatever she intends to do. For her part, Elsa also draws in a steadying breath, rubbing her hands together as she summons her wintry magic, knowing this can either go exceptionally well… or turn into yet another disaster she won't know how to deal with.

"Please let this work…" she whispers, both to herself and her powers. And with that, she lets her magic flow gently from her hands, making sure to take her time and be as careful as humanly possible. Even so, she smiles when she sees that magic doing exactly what she wants for a change. A swirl of snowflakes surrounds Sora, lacing themselves on top of his tattered and tethered clothing, weaving multiple layers over top of each other. He shivers, initially colder than he had been before, but that chill is quick to fade as Elsa continues crafting something special for him. Something she can only hope will help him, even if it's only in some small way.

After what feels like ages, Sora finally hears Elsa let out a relieved sigh. "Ok," she says, the fledgling excitement in her tone clear. "You can open them now."

Sora does so, still not feeling cold in the slightest as he realizes his outfit has been changed to the point that it's practically unrecognizable. He first catches sight of it upon one of the icy walls, which he makes his way over to with no issues at all thanks to the pair of thick, beautiful curved boots that fit just right on both of his feet. As for the rest of his ensemble, it's an intricately crafted set of wintry blues and whites, his pants and shirt thickened, the holes in them completely patched over. His jacket's sleeves are longer, poofier, but still very easy to move around in as they reach down to his wrists. His hood hangs over his head, warm and snug as it conceals most of his white hair, though of course, some still annoyingly hangs out from under it all the same. But even so, the entire outfit is an impressive, downright incredible sight, something that Sora can scarcely believe he's wearing after just how much of an unkempt mess he's been for the past several months on end.

"So?" Elsa pipes up with an eager grin. "Do you like it?"

"Like it? Are you kidding? I love it!" Sora exclaims, a bright, beaming smile on his face as he turns a full circle to admire the new attire. "I haven't looked this good since–" Since the ball, he almost says, but doesn't, the thought of that night, so blissful, so very long ago that it might as well exist in another lifetime entirely, still weighing so very heavy on his heart. So instead of focusing on that night, he focuses on right now, something that becomes much easier to do as he spares yet another look at his regal outfit. "Is it made out of ice?" he asks, running a hand along the odd, almost rough 'fabric'. "How is it so warm?"

"Believe it or not ice is actually a natural insulator," Elsa explains, quickly catching a confused look from Sora. She grins as she puts it in more simpler terms. "That means that it's keeping your own body heat from escaping. Even though it's cold on the outside, ice can still hold in whatever warmth might be underneath it. And with enough layers of it stacked on top of each other-"

"Something that's supposed to be cold suddenly becomes something warm…" Sora finishes, smiling as he adjusts his new hood a bit. "I guess that's kind of like you, Elsa."

"Hm?" Elsa raises a confused eyebrow.

"Well, ice is your whole thing, right?" he begins, gesturing to the frigid palace all around them. "And before you invited me inside, you were acting… kinda cold–no offense."

"None taken," Elsa smirks, knowing she can't refute that much.

"But now that you've actually let me in, it's like you're an entirely different person!" Sora continues enthusiastically. "You're so nice and warm! You can use your magic to make so many amazing things! Which is why I still don't get why you think all of this… could be bad."

Elsa's fond smile swiftly fades as he finishes, her delight drifting off into something much more dour as she turns away. "You would if you'd been down in Arendelle last night," she begins, stepping closer to the stairs leading to the castle's upper floors. "I accidentally revealed my powers in front of the entire kingdom. They all saw it, they all know… And they all think I'm a… a monster…"

"What?" Sora scoffs at such a ridiculous notion. "No way. You're definitely not a monster, Elsa! If anyone's a monster here, it's me!"

"Sora-" Elsa begins to scold, though she doesn't get a chance to say much.

"I mean, just look at me!" he exclaims with a forced, fake laugh as he waves a clawed hand around. "Most people turn and run the second they see me anymore. My magic can't make anything, it's only good for destroying things and hurting people." His insincere humor slips into a sob as he wraps his arms tightly around himself and shuts his eyes tightly. "My own friends don't even want me anymore… Nobody does except-"

"Except me." He looks up, caught off guard when he feels Elsa's hand settle on his shoulder. She offers him a sincere, yet vulnerable look, her voice soft as she fully weaves a tale she'd only scratched the surface of before. "...You remind me of my little sister Anna," she begins, a distant smile on her face. "We used to be so close when we were young. But then… one night we were playing–I was using my powers and… I struck her in the head. I didn't mean to–you never mean to do something like that, but… it still happened anyway. And after it did, I… I was so scared I might somehow hurt her again. So… I shut her out. I shut everyone out. I've spent so much of my life alone because I thought that's how I was supposed to be. But now? Now I see someone like you and suddenly I'm not the only one who has to carry a burden like this. I don't feel as alone as I used to… and you don't have to either, Sora."

Though Sora had been tearing up throughout most of Elsa's heartfelt speech, the floodgates finally burst open when she's finished. He breaks down, unable to keep his torrential torrent of emotions back as he all but collapses against her, catching her off guard as he hugs her, a hug that she gently returns a moment or two later. For her part, she lets him unleash his sorrow and his shame, things that she's no stranger to herself. When he finally speaks between his tears, his voice is low and mournful to the point that she can barely hear him, but she listens intently all the same. Because perhaps that's exactly what he needs: someone who listens, someone who cares.

"I-I hurt my best friend…" he admits miserably, not even looking up as he continues sobbing into her shoulder. "I hurt him so badly! W-we were fighting, a-and I threw my hand up a-and… and my claws…" For a moment, Elsa almost cuts in to tell him he doesn't have to finish, able to largely infer the rest from there. But he does regardless, his grief peaking as his voice hitches into a heartbroken, agonized cry. "I cut through Riku's eye! I tore his face up–I think I blinded him! I didn't want to–I-it was an accident, I swear! But I still hurt him! T-that's all I do now! I just go around hurting the people I love a-and I can't stop myself because I'm a mon-"

"No," Elsa tensely cuts him off, her loose hold around him tightening into something more secure. As if her embrace alone can protect him from all of the worst the world has to throw at him. "You're not. You're lost and you're scared of something you can't control. But… that doesn't make you a monster," she whispers, and as she does, she realizes, perhaps for the first time in her life, that the same might just ring true for herself as well. That maybe… just maybe, she isn't the destructive, dangerous storm she's always feared herself to be.

"...E-Elsa?" he speaks up after a lengthy moment of silence. He sniffles, trying again to hold back tears and failing miserably, not that Elsa can fault him for it in the slightest.

"Yes?" she replies, brushing a few stray white locks out of his eyes. He nearly falls apart all over again as he suddenly finds himself reminded of his mother, of how she used to do the very same thing, how she used to look at him with the very same fondness in her smile.

He hesitates, knowing what he's about to ask of her is so incredibly selfish, knowing he has a mission to complete, a Key to find, an Organization to please. And yet… "I-is it ok if I stay here?" he asks all the same, craving kindness, craving comfort, craving compassion. Craving someone who he doesn't fear he'll hurt simply by standing next to them, someone who can hold their own against his unpredictable magic, someone who can help him learn to keep it all under control. Someone who knows what it's like, someone who can comprehend what he's going through, someone who understands and empathizes because they've been there before. Someone… like her.

Elsa narrowly suppresses a smile when he finally fully glances up at her. Tears still streak down his cheeks, his lip quivering as he looks at her with pleading, doleful golden eyes. Despite his more monstrous features, he's admittedly adorable, just a child, really, a young, frightened, deeply endearing child. A child that makes her heart ache when she looks at him for just how much he truly does remind her of her equally sweet and sincere sister, the sister she left behind, the sister she could never let in like she's let him in.

She's been failing Anna ever since they were little. She knows that, spends just about every second of every day drowning in remorse over it. But perhaps now… she has a second chance. A chance to be there for someone else in all the ways she was never there for her own sister. A chance to start over, to finally be the big sister she's always wanted to be, even if this boy isn't her 'brother', even if he's a mere stranger brought in from the snow. He's a kindred spirit all the same, a reflection of herself every bit as much as he is of her sister.

And who would she be if she didn't try to give that kindred spirit all of the guidance and kindness that she never got? Who would she be if she didn't stand with him in solidarity and support after spending so long wishing someone could stand with her? Who would she be if she shut the door on someone who so sorely needs it to be open?

"You know," she begins somewhat coyly as they pull apart, though her hands still sit on his shoulders all the while. "I came up here to be by myself, but… I suppose I wouldn't mind a little company." She grips his shoulders just a bit tighter, her touch cold, yet somehow comforting all the same. "If people like us are meant to be alone, then at the very least, we ought to be alone together, don't you think?"

Sora beams, his tears finally coming to an end as he happily embraces her once more. Elsa has never been one for hugs, for much physical affection at all really, but she supposes she could get used to it for his sake at least. He's touch-starved, clearly, and even if there's little she can do to quell his physical hunger, at least she can satiate a different kind of hunger instead. She nearly invites him to explore the rest of her palace with her, but before she can get a single word out, a new voice abruptly cuts into their private conversation, one that shatters every speck of safety surrounding them.

"Aw, what a touching moment." The pair turns, equally alarmed to see their unexpected 'guest' leaning against one of the walls near the main door behind them. "It's so sickeningly sweet that I honestly might throw up."

"What?" Elsa tenses, pulling away from Sora as she eyes the mysterious woman warily. "Who-"

"L-Larxene," Sora fills in, sheer terror sweeping into his features. "What are you doing here?"

"Uh, what's it look like, idiot?" Larxene sneers, stepping forward. "You've gotten a bit too cozy here in all this ice. So I came to get you back to work. Remember, number thirteen? The Key?"

"...Right…" Sora sighs. Of course the Organization wouldn't let him see a moment's peace, of course they wouldn't let him stay somewhere he finally feels sheltered and safe. Of course they'd try to rush him to finally finish this mission, to force his final fall into their hands to happen as fast as it possibly can. Of course they wouldn't let him have even a fleeting trace of happiness ever again.

"Nice outfit, by the way," Larxene says, the mocking edge in her tone clear as she circles Sora. "Makes you look even more like a freak than you already did before. Who made it for you? Your new 'mommy' here?"

"E-excuse me?" Elsa interjects, flustered, as the black-coated woman sends a smug glance her way.

"Step aside, princess," Larxene's tone stays as haughty as ever as she passes Elsa to grab Sora by the arm. "This brat's coming with me."

"Actually. I'm a queen," Elsa corrects pointedly. A piece of information Sora didn't know, but considering the grand palace she built for herself, it makes sense. Mostly.

"Queen, princess, same thing." Larxene rolls her eyes as she begins to drag Sora away. He wants to resist her hold, wants to fight to break free, wants to even just let out any kind of protest. But like always, the searing pain strangling his heart keeps him from so much as uttering a single word. "Either way, you don't have to babysit this little mistake anymore. He has a job to do, which means he doesn't have time to waste sitting around here playing dress-up with you. Isn't that right, Sora?"

Amazingly, she doesn't use her control over him to force an answer out of him. What she does do, however, is keep him from saying no. So instead, he doesn't speak at all, instead glancing back at Elsa as Larxene continues pulling him toward the door. He sends her a silent, pleading gaze, an unspoken cry for help that he desperately hopes she understands. And, miraculously enough, she does.

A thick, solid sheet of ice suddenly solidifies over the palace door, barring Larxene from prying it open. She glares back at Elsa, whose hands are still sparkling with the remnants of her wintry magic. "I don't know where you came from, or who you think you are," she stands tall, authoritative, unafraid. "But you're not welcome here. Leave, now. Without Sora."

Sora's genuinely surprised when Larxene releases her grip on his arm, though he still isn't permitted to leave her side, as much as he wants to run back over to the safety Elsa seems keen on offering him. "Oh, how cute," Larxene smirks as she turns back to face Elsa. "What, do you actually care about him? I don't see why anyone would; in case you don't already know, your highness, your new 'friend' here is a lying, thieving, murderer."

Elsa's stern expression shifts into slight alarm as she looks to Sora for confirmation of such a torrid claim. Of course, he can do nothing to deny it, even if he wanted to. Instead, he merely everts her questioning gaze out of shame, expecting her to kick him out of her presence based on that alone. And yet…

"What he's done before doesn't matter," Elsa says, picking her brazen resolve right back up where she'd briefly left it. "What matters is that he needs help now. Help that I doubt he'll be getting any of with someone like you."

"Please," Larxene sneers. "As if you could do anything to help a lost cause like him."

"I think you'll be surprised to see just what I can do." Elsa asserts, taking on something of an offensive, almost battle-ready stance.

"Yeah right," Larxene laughs condescendingly as she roughly grabs Sora by the arm again. "I'm not gonna waste my valuable time playing with a dainty little snowflake like you-"

She cuts herself off with a sudden pained yelp that echoes through the main hall. Sora stumbles back as Larxene releases her hold on him, shocked to see the sharp shard of ice that's squarely, deeply piercing the back of her gloved hand. A shard of ice that hit the exact target Elsa intended it to.

"Ohoho, you just made the biggest mistake of your life, princess," Larxene snarls, yanking the ice out of her hand and ignoring the spray of blood that comes along with it.

"Queen," Elsa reiterates confidently, her magic already swirling steady and strong around her hands. "And just in case you haven't figured it out by now, I'm nowhere near as 'dainty' as you think I am."

"Alrighty then," Larxene throws on a vicious grin as her knives slip into the spaces between her fingers. "If you're so 'tough', then let's see just how long it takes for you and all this pretty ice of yours to break!"

"No!" Sora shouts as Larxene lunges forward, armed and ready to attack. "Don't hurt her! She's not-"

"Stay out of this, runt!" Larxene throws her arm back in his direction, a painful spark of lightning striking him hard in the side. It's more than enough to send him flying back into the nearest wall, and before he can even try to get up to rush to Elsa's side, an eclectic barrier crackles to life all around him, keeping him trapped lest he wants to face a nasty shock. At the same time, he can immediately feel his own magic being shoved under the surface, likely yet another way for Larxene to keep him out of this fight. To keep him from helping Elsa when she'll certainly need it most.

"Sora!" Elsa exclaims, aptly alarmed to see his plight. She narrowly manages to keep her wits about her to summon a burst of ice to block the first knife Larxene launches her way, her eyes wide as she glances back at the madwoman attacking her. "Y-you can use magic too?" she asks, absolutely baffled.

"Sure can," Larxene grins, proudly holding her knives off as she lets a golden current ripple through them. "Looks like you're not as special as you thought, your highness."

Elsa pushes her surprise away, knowing now isn't the time to let her guard down. Clearly, Larxene has the advantage of experience on her side, experience that Elsa's never really had from years of keeping her powers hidden and suppressed. But as she spares another glance at Sora, trapped behind a wall of deadly lightning, his freedom, perhaps his very life at stake if she loses, she knows she has to stand firm. She has to step out of her comfort zone, she has to do something she's never done before. She has to fight, for perhaps the first time in her life, for something, someone worth saving.

So that's exactly what she does.

She swerves out of the way of an electrifying blast as she thrusts her hand forward, angled spikes of ice flying out that almost hit Larxene as intended. The Organization member is skilled and graceful enough to leap out of the path of the frigid attack, tossing several of her knives in the process. Elsa once again shields herself from them, this time by way of a wintry wind meant to blow them back in the direction of her assailant. She manages to keep her focus solid, her magic oddly under her control this time, a pleasant change, and an immensely necessary one at a moment like this.

"Elsa!" she overhears Sora's tight, terrified cry over the din of the brawl. "Y-you don't have to do this! I… I'll leave with her! Just please, stop before she-"

"No!" Elsa counters as she ends up close to his makeshift 'cage'. "If you don't want to go with her, you shouldn't have to. You shouldn't have to do anything you don't want to do. Neither of us should anymore."

Sora finds he has nothing to say to such a notion, one that's become almost forign to him by this point. After being pushed and pulled in so many different directions by so many different people, the very idea of freedom isn't something he can really comprehend anymore. But the fact that someone like Elsa, who's also been denied freedom even longer than he has, for most of her life, really, is choosing to fight to grant him that very thing… he scarcely even knows how to react to that. To someone who still cares about him at all, much less enough to actually put their life on the line for him, to risk themself to rescue him.

And he hates that. He hates that so much because he knows he isn't worth it in the slightest. He isn't worth the battle that's happening before him, he isn't worth everything Elsa could stand to lose if she fails. He isn't worth a kingdom losing it's queen over, he certainly isn't worth someone losing their life over. He isn't worth any of this…

But Elsa still believes he is all the same.

So she keeps fighting, shooting out ice spell after ice spell in an effort to pin her slippery foe down. Larxene doesn't let too many of her chilly attacks land, but Elsa holds her own just as well, blocking and evading almost everything the Organization sends her way. Despite their earlier tense banter, their battle is largely a silent one, with both women opting to focus on what's quickly becoming a tricky fight on either side. While Larxene's moves are fast and versatile, Elsa's are strong and widespread. Whatever strengths and weaknesses either of them have seem to negate each other, leading to an even match, a possible stalemate by all accounts. Or at least it would if either of them could even consider giving up.

"What's wrong, your majesty?" Larxene taunts, narrowly slipping out of the path of yet another one of Elsa's icy blasts. "Not used to putting those flashy powers of yours to good use?"

"Maybe I'm not," Elsa admits, creating a rapid shower of icicles to send her opponent's way. "But using them to stop a witch like you is just about the best practice I can get!"

"Oh, I'm a witch, huh?" Larxene shoots back, dispelling the brunt of Elsa's magic with a bright flash of lightning. "If that's not the pot calling the kettle black, I don't know what is. I mean, it's not like I ran away from home to hide from everyone who might hunt me down and lock me away or kill me just for using a little innocent magic…"

"What?" Elsa winces as one of Larxene's knives happens to skim her arm. "How could you possibly know any of that?"

"Word gets around," Larxene grins, and as she does, Sora realizes she's using another weapon entirely to attack Elsa now. A weapon that's far more painful than her knives or her electricity could possibly be. "Especially about Arendelle's out-of-control snow queen." Suddenly, Larxene seems to change her tactics, choosing to fight close quarters now as she comes in to slam a handful of knives into the icy shield Elsa erects against her. "They're all terrified of you down there," she continues her cruel rhetoric as the queen struggles to stand strong against her onslaught and her words alike. "And why wouldn't they be? With magic like yours, it's only a matter of time before you slip up and destroy everything. That's just what monsters like you and Sora do."

By now, Larxene has nearly cut through her defenses in more ways than one. But that final claim, callous and coldhearted, is what finally ends up pushing Elsa over the edge. She lets out a furious shout, her magic erupting chaotically, yet masterfully throughout the hall. Ice surges all around her, flying out from her fingertips with enough force to throw Larxene back brutally. Her knives are knocked out of her grip, her coat strewn with multiple rips and tears, her slick hair disheveled as she sustains more than a few injuries from such a heavy blow. And yet, that attack never touches Sora, not even as the electrical barrier around him falls, as he finally runs back over to Elsa. She offers him the briefest relieved smile as she positions herself squarely in front of him, ready to defend him for as long as she has to. Ready to use her powers to keep someone safe for a change.

"Ugh…" Larxene groans as she weakly sits up, her head pounding, a small stream of blood trickling down her chin. "H-how did you-"

"You're wrong," Elsa takes a bold step forward, her hands poised to let even more of her powerful magic fly. "I… I am not a monster. Neither of us are." She smiles back at Sora once more, who can't even manage to return it, despite how inspired and awestruck e is by everything he's just seen. "Now," she looks to Larxene once more, her expression rigid, unshakable, unbreakable. "Get out of my palace. And don't ever come back."

Nothing less than absolute hatred burns in Larxene's eyes as she clumsily manages to stumble to her feet. She grips the gash torn across her arm as she glares violently at the pair before her, her words every bit as sharp and fierce as her knives had been mere moments before. "You have no idea what you've gotten yourself into!" she hisses viciously before pointing an accusatory finger at Sora. "You have no idea what he even is! But you'll find out sooner or later. And when you do…" A treacherous, knowing grin spreads across her face as a dark corridor forms behind her, one that she steps backward into just as she offers the pair a final, ominous message. "You'll be begging us to swoop in to save you from him… princess."

Despite the seriousness of such a warning, Elsa doesn't buy a single word of it. In fact, it seems to hit Sora much harder as he collapses to his knees behind her almost the second Larxene leaves, a heavy sob escaping him as several small, blackened spikes slip up through the ice beneath him. "Sora?" she frowns, reaching out a hand toward him.

He flinches away from that hand, however, engulfed in so much shameful despair that he can barely even voice any of it aloud. Though he still tries to all the same. "I-I'm sorry!" he cries morosely, his face buried in his hands. "Y-you shouldn't have had to fight her for me! I shouldn't even be here to begin with! I'm putting you in so much danger–I always put everyone I get close to in danger, a-and I-"

"Slow down," Elsa urges, kneeling down to his level as she places a gentle hand on his back. "What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about Organization XIII!" Sora exclaims, beyond distressed at this point. "T-they're this group Larxene is a part of and… a-and so am I." He shudders as he admits this, unable to deny it now, unable to keep his heart from forcing him to say something he desperately wishes wasn't true. "They sent me here to find a special Key, and they sent her here to make sure I take it back to them. She'll be back–I know she will, and if it's not her, it'll be someone else. They'll never stop, they'll never just leave me alone! They'll never let me be free now that I'm one of them…"

"...But you don't want to be," Elsa infers solemnly. Sora isn't even capable of nodding in agreement; the most he can do is glance up at her with wet, woeful eyes. It's more than enough to tell her that her guess is exactly right, that he's even more trouble than he initially told her about. That he needs her even more than she could have ever known. "Sora," she sighs, but her tone is sincere as she garners his attention. "If you don't want to be one of them… then I'll do everything in my power to keep that from happening."

"Y-you can't," Sora protests, tearfully glancing away. "Nothing can stop this. They'll just keep coming after me and-"

"And I'll fight them off every time they do, just like I fought off Larxene," Elsa insists boldly, bravely. "I won't let them hurt you. I'll do whatever it takes to keep you safe. I promise."

"But… you barely even know me!" Sora counters morosely. "And if you did… you wouldn't want to help me at all. I can't ask you to risk your life for me, Elsa… I'm just… not worth it." He echoes his earlier troubled train of thought, a thought that continues to root ever deeper inside his mind the longer this goes on for, the further he falls from whatever light he used to stand in. But even now, even still… Elsa refuses to see what little worth he views himself with. Instead, for some reason he can't even begin to understand, she somehow sees so much more.

"You didn't ask," she stands, smiling as she offers a hand to help him up. "But I want to anyway. I want to help you, Sora. Because you are worth it… to me. I'll protect you-" Anna, she cuts her off before she can accidentally say her sister's name instead of his. Still, the selfless sentiment carries the same message anyway, a message that Sora so desperately needs to hear.

He wipes a few of his tears away as he takes her hand, though the second he's on his feet again, he hugs her tightly once more. Elsa smiles fondly as she lightly returns his embrace, glad for his company, glad to finally have someone who knows what it's like, who understands her in a way no one else can. She means every word of what she just said to him, every ounce of her heart dedicating itself to such a simple, yet solemn promise. She couldn't keep her kingdom safe, couldn't protect her people, her parents, even her own sister. But if nothing else, then maybe she can still keep someone safe; maybe, even in some small way, she can show the world that she's more than just a witch or a monster or anything else they might try to call her. Maybe she can show the world that she's still good, that she's still worth the same kind of effort she's willing to put into saving Sora.

And maybe together… they can finally find some semblance of peace. Maybe here, in this frozen palace, high above the rest of the world and it's worries, there's a place for impossible people like them. Maybe here, they can start over. Maybe together… they can find a new life, a new purpose, a new home.

And maybe, just maybe… they can find a way to finally soothe the ceaseless storm brewing inside them both.


"I'm gonna kill them!" Larxene growls, her electrifying rage conflicting with her attempt to heal her multiple wounds. She's perched herself upon a snow-covered outcropping a good ways down the mountain, a safe enough distance for her to recover and plan her next move without any interference from a certain magically-gifted queen. "Both of them! I don't care how much darkness the old man shoots at me, I'm not leaving this dump until I snap that stupid brat's neck! And as for 'her royal iciness', I'm gonna make her wish she was never even born! If they think they can make a fool out of me, well they've got another thing coming!" She yells, straining her sore shoulder as she launches several of her knives into a nearby tree, wishing that it was either of the two current targets of her hatred instead.

"She got lucky; but not next time," she sneers, glaring down at the scar Elsa's first attack has left on the back of her hand. "Cause next time, all of this 'pretty' white snow is gonna be stained red." She smirks vindictively as she slips her glove back on, preparing to make her way back up the mountain to make a second attempt at claiming her prize, as well as her revenge. And yet, before she can set out, she just so happens to overhear multiple sets of footsteps, as well as low, almost tense conversation, passing through the trail nearby.

"Remember, our mission is to find Princess Anna," a young man instructs from his place at the front of a group of what appears to be soldiers. They're all on horseback as they ride through the snow at a steady pace, and though Larxene is initially disinterested in them as they carry on their way several feet below her, what their leader says next is quick to peak her interest. "Be on guard, but make sure no harm comes to Queen Elsa. If any of you see her, you are to safely apprehend her, and bring her back to Arendelle. Don't forget, she's the key to stopping this winter once and for all."

"Ooo," Larxene coos, intrigued. With this new information in mind, a mischievous, downright devious grin fills her features as a plan quickly forms in her mind. One that very well could take care of the revenge she's craving without her having to even get her hands dirty at all. "Looks like it's my turn to be lucky for a change…"

The party of soldiers continues on their way for a bit, but they're soon brought to a mutual halt as a distressed cry reaches them from just around the bend ahead. "Help!" Larxene exclaims, making herself sound and look as pitiful as she possibly can as she stumbles and intentionally falls out into the open. Her still existing injuries aid well in her act, her coat still torn and her hair still a mess as she throws on a convincing enough pout. "Oh, help! Someone please!"

The company all immediately brings their horses to a stop, the leader of the group leaping off his to rush to check on the apparent 'damsel' they've encountered. "Ma'am! Are you alright?" he asks, concerned as he kneels down to help her up. "You're hurt," he notes, glancing over her injuries.

"Yeah, no duh," Larxene deadpans, before quickly springing back into her 'helpless' ruse. "I-I mean, yes! It was the queen, she-"

"Queen Elsa?" the man starts, alarmed. "She did this to you?"

Larxene holds back a grin, already knowing her manipulation is starting to work as she overhears a round of anxious whispers from the other soldiers. "She did! I was just making my way through the mountain, and I made the mistake of crossing paths with her. And then she just attacked me for no reason at all! She's so violent and cruel! I could have died if I hadn't gotten away from her in time!"

"...Hm," the man glances down, apparently lost in thought. "And Anna seemed so sure she wouldn't do something like this… Interesting…"

"Hey, earth to pretty boy," Larxene snaps her fingers in front of the man's face. "Injured and scared woman, still sitting right in front of you here."

"Oh, right, my apologies, ma'am," the man stands, extending a hand out to help her up. "Do you happen to know where the queen is now?"

"Of course," Larxene nods, pointing up the length of the mountain. "She's holed herself up in a huge ice palace she built near the peak. Oh, and… she isn't alone. She has a loyal little minion hanging around up there with her. He might look like some sad, sorry kid, but trust me, he's every bit as much of a monster as she is. They're both so dangerous, far too dangerous to let them run free. If you ask me, you oughta lock them both up and throw away the key before they can hurt anyone else!"

"Don't worry," the man assures as he mounts his horse once more. "We'll bring them both to justice, I promise. For now, you should return to the village. It isn't safe out here for a young woman like you to be traveling on their own in this kind of weather, much less with… 'people' like that roaming about."

"Oh, yes, of course, I will, thank you," Larxene lies, her tone thick with completely fake concern.

"Safe travels, ma'am," the man offers her a brief nod of farewell as he and his company set their sights on the path ahead. "Men, let's move out!"

Larxene stands by, still wearing a faux anxious expression as the soldiers pass her by. As soon as they're out of her immediate range, however, she lets out a sharp snicker, more than satisfied with herself for such a clever, successful deception. "Men are so gullible," she chuckles twistedly, more than excited for the untold chaos she's so craftily set up. For the inevitable, amusingly agonizing downfall both of her foes are very soon about to face. "As if I'd leave right when the show is about to begin. Guess I'd better run along and get a front row seat to all the drama. This is gonna be fun…"


Ah boy looks like I've set the stage for a very fun second Frozen chapter! But yeah, KH3's take on this world was kinda shit (like most of KH3 is tbh) so I went out of my way to fix a lot of that here. I think it turned out pretty well! Of course, the real drama comes in the next chapter, perhaps we'll finally see our long awaited reunion between Sora and Kairi...? So if you wanna see that please don't forget to let me know what you thought in the REVIEWS! Until next time! ^_^