The Life of Adventure

Four Years Ago


Their new associate, Kristoff, turned into a reliable and steady companion that Elsa and Anna often worked with. As it happened, Kristoff was a skillful pilot in his own right, having spent some time in the British RAF before being discharged. Following his brief stint as a fighter pilot, Kristoff managed to acquire a vintage Grumman G-21 Goose amphibious plane that he had won from a bet. He had affectionately named it Sven, after a dog he had loved as a child and ever since had been using it to fly around the world. In any event, Kristoff's aviation expertise certainly came in handy for Elsa and Anna.

As for the sisters, they acquired skills they had never needed before, while honing some of the ones they already had. Gunslinging and marksmanship were necessitated as a means of self-defense against the mercenaries and thugs with itchy trigger fingers they often encountered. Thieving and larceny were required as the items they sought were not always legally acquired or legally owned themselves. Their climbing capabilities that they had honed as children found frequent use in the old ruins they scaled, secure buildings they broke into, or private mansions they plundered. Finally, when push came to shove, Elsa and Anna found plenty of opportunities to practice their close-combat training in scrapes, brawls and melees that they were caught in. In any event, they came to possess a unique and diverse skill set, which they employed rather handily and frequently.

... ... ...

Dublin, Ireland

... ... ...

"You're a goddamn cheat!" Kristoff spat as he stood and squared off against Flynn.

Elsewhere in the speakeasy, Flynn's hired thugs that he had planted shifted uneasily. Elsa and Anna became aware of the intensity with which they were regarding the two men staring at each other now.

For a brief moment, Flynn's jovial composure slipped as he dropped his voice to an acidic tone. "Now, now. How… dare… you," he rose and planted his palms flat on the table as he steeled his gaze. "I invite you to this private poker game, you come into my bar, and you have the audacity! The nerve! To call me a cheat!" he shouted.

"It wouldn't be the first time you've duped us, you goddamned rat," Kristoff with as much vitriol.

No one can be sure exactly what happened next, but following Kristoff's insult, the entire bar seemingly descended into a melee all at once. Kristoff lunged across the table. Flynn jumped back, but not quick enough to escape Kristoff's right hook that caught him in across the jaw with an echoing smack. In the same moment that Kristoff prepared his left arm to deliver another blow, the card dealer stepped between the two and Kristoff's closed fist found a different face then the one he had intended to pummel.

Next, Flynn's hired thugs, numbering three in total, stepped up from their seats. One of them along, with the dealer, clasped a hand on either of Kristoff's broad shoulders as they pulled him back from Flynn. Immobilized as he was, Flynn seized the opportunity to rear back his arm and punch Kristoff right in the gut.

"Get the hell off of him!" Anna shouted as she stood and attempted to pull one of the goons holding Kristoff away. When a pair of arms wrapped themselves around her waist and hoisted her up, she kicked her legs frantically and struggled to free herself. "Let me go, asshole!" she yelled indignantly.

"Anna!" Elsa yelled, rising immediately.

She had just about leapt up from her chair when a gruff looking man clamped a hand to her shoulder and forcibly pushed her back into a sitting position. With one fluid movement, Elsa wrenched the thug's grip from her shoulder, twisted his hand at the wrist and then she picked up a nearby glass tumbler and smashed it into his face.

Kristoff was doubled over in pain, as Flynn continued to rain blow after blow into his abdomen.

"Had enough?!" Flynn asked breathlessly.

Unable to use his arms, Kristoff seized the moment that Flynn took to gloat and jumped up with both feet before extending them outwards in an explosive movement. The kick struck Flynn in the chest and he flew back several feet, crashing into the poker table and spilling all manner of cards and chips. Next, he leaned over and thrust the back of his head into the card dealer's nose, shattering it.

Anna bent over and sunk her teeth deep into the hand that was clasped over her waist. As her attacker howled in pain, his grip slackened and she found her footing again. As she did, she stomped as hard as she could on his toes, then twirled around with her elbow outwards and struck him across the face.

"Hands off!" Anna shouted as he stumbled back. Now that the thug was vulnerable, she reared back her right leg and swung upwards between his legs, the toe of her boot meeting his crotch with merciless accuracy. "Ha! How do you like them apples?" she laughed tauntingly.

Elsa ducked the first haymaker then sidestepped the follow up hook. The thug was swinging wildly, blinded and bloodied as he was by the glass tumbler that just shattered in his face. He lunged forward, attempting to wring Elsa's neck when she dipped beneath his arms. In a burst of movement, she thrust her body upwards, driving her knee into her assailant's diaphragm and knocking the wind from his lungs.

"Please don't get up," Elsa said as she maintained her defensive posture.

The thug was wheezing and struggling to catch his breath while regaining his footing. Elsa shifted her stance and as the thug straightened up and rushed at her again, she struck outwards with her open palm, driving it up and into his nose, breaking it completely.

Kristoff now had a better handle on his situation, with the one thug and card dealer's heads locked in his grip beneath his armpits. As they struggled with his immense arms, he tightened his grip and cut off more of their circulation before swinging the two bodies in his grip forward and knocking their heads together. They fell in a clump at his feet, then Kristoff strode over to where Flynn had landed and was currently struggling to stand.

As Flynn opened his mouth, likely to hurl another insult, Kristoff lifted the smaller man up by the sides and threw him into yet another table. Flynn cried out indignantly and landed in a heap as his weight shattered the flimsy wooden furniture. Kristoff then strode up to Flynn, lifting him by his collar and was just about to wipe the smug look off his goatee'd face when a strong, shockingly pale hand grasped him by his shoulder and spun him around.

Kristoff gasped. The man was a giant , easily seven feet tall with skin white as snow. He lifted Kristoff up by neck, pulled him up to his gaze and tossed him clear across the bar counter. He slid all the way to the far end before crashing into a pile of stools.

The giant helped Flynn to his feet, who brushed himself off and ran a hand casually through his tousled hair. "Get'em Max," he smirked.

"Jesus, who invited the fucking mountain!" Anna yelled.

The giant reared on Anna, striding over to her in three easy steps.

"Aw crap!" Anna yelped, ducking his wide swing as he tried to catch her in his grasp. She darted backwards, eyes flitting about when she spotted a wooden chair that had been knocked over.

Elsa raced to Anna's side, gasping when she looked up at the giant.

"Little birds," the giant hissed as he advanced upon them.

Anna knelt to retrieve the chair and with all her strength, she hurled it with a sidelong toss aimed towards the giant. It bounced harmlessly off his chest and he grinned, right before responding with a backhand across Anna's cheek that sent her to the floor.

Elsa leapt forward, leaning back on her left leg and kicking high with her right, which only reached the giant's abdomen. The blow barely phased him, and he caught Elsa's foot with one hand and casually swung her over the bar counter. Elsa flew into the wall, colliding against the multitude of bottles that were on display and fell to the floor, glass crashing all around her.

The giant turned his attention back to Anna, who was crawling on the ground away from him. In the meantime, Kristoff had managed to get back to his feet and raced forward and roared. With a mighty swing, he smashed a bar-stool against the giant's back which shattered to pieces. The giant merely grunted, and turned slowly to face Kristoff with the look of someone who was just mildly inconvenienced.

"Aw, nuts," Kristoff said as he backed off. "You got to be kidding me."

Anna had now risen to her feet and using the momentary distraction that Kristoff provided, she struck out with her heel, aiming towards the back of the giant's left knee and driving it down with all her strength. It worked, and the giant fell on one knee, stunned for a moment.

Kristoff seized this opportunity to pick up an empty beer bottle, gripping it by its neck and smashing it over the giant's head. He grunted again, this time more surprised than merely irritated.

Elsa finally recovered, shaking the glass off her when she noticed Anna and Kristoff had managed to bring the giant to his knees. Leaping over the counter, Elsa followed up Kristoff's bottle attack with her own spinning roundhouse kick. It connected with the side of the giant's head and knocked him over face down in a heap.

"Well… shit. That wasn't supposed to happen. Heh," Flynn chuckled nervously as he ran a hand through his hair. "He's gonna feel that tomorrow, that's for sure."

Immediately, Elsa, Anna, and Kristoff stepped up to him menacingly.

Flynn raised his hands in surrender as he took a few steps backward. "Woah, woah. Alright, time out. Hey now. Let's just take it easy now, huh?"

Kristoff grabbed Flynn by the neck, causing him to shriek rather uncharacteristically.

"Okay okay okay okay, relax. Relax!" Flynn said as he backed up until he was cornered against a wall. He shifted his gaze about uneasily, before looking down. "Fine, you wanna play this the hard way? Let's play this the hard way!" he snapped his head up and looked directly at Elsa and Anna all while squinting his eyes slightly while he puckered his lips in a slight smirk.

"What… what the hell are you doing?" Kristoff asked, utterly baffled.

"Are you… did- did you just smolder? Are you… actively… smoldering right now?" Anna asked, equally flabbergasted. "Are you serious?" she chuckled in disbelief.

Flynn was still holding his expression, glancing between Elsa and Anna. Of the three, Elsa was the most flummoxed. Her face was scrunched up in complete bewilderment.

After a few more seconds, Flynn dropped the façade and sighed. "Damn. that usually works," he chuckled embarrassedly. "So, how about a drink?"

Elsa said nothing, but rolled her eyes into the back of the skull as she threw a right hook and struck Flynn firmly in the jaw.

Finally, the smug look was wiped off his face.

... ... ...

Borneo, Southeast Asia

... ... ...

"Kristoff, I don't want to rush you, but can you please drive a little faster?!" Anna shouted over the hail of automatic gunfire that ripped through the jungle underbrush around them.

"I am literally flooring it! It's a little hard to-" Kristoff shouted back from the driver's seat of the truck when another barrage of bullets cracked the windshield in front of him. "Jesus!" he butted the glass with his fist and pushed it out of the way to clear his vision.

Meanwhile, Elsa, who was seated in the rear, took careful aim with the Kalashnikov rifle she had lifted from a fallen pirate. Just then, another truck loaded with pirates burst from the trees a few meters behind them. She adjusted her aim and settled her sights upon the driver and let loose a controlled burst. The first three rounds shattered the windshield and the next two found its mark square in the chest of her target. The driver slumped over the wheel, dead, and turned it sharply to the left, causing it to veer off the mud road and crash into a ditch. Another car sped up from behind and a renewed hail of gunfire forced Elsa to duck. As she rose to return fire, the rifle clicked several times, reporting an empty magazine.

"I'm out!" Elsa shouted, discarding her weapon over the side and searching the interior of the truck for anything else she could use. "I need another gun!"

"Use this!" Kristoff replied, as he grabbed the flare gun on the dashboard and handed it back to Elsa without taking his eyes off the road.

"What do you expect me to do with this!" Elsa yelled as she took the bright orange single-shot flare gun.

"Improvise!" Kristoff shot back.

Before Elsa could turn her attention back to their pursuers, another car loaded with pirates emerged from the jungle immediately to their left.

"Oh crap! We got more company!" Anna shouted as she took aim with her own sidearm and cracked off half a dozen shots into the engine block.

It began to sputter and violently spew black smoke but did not slow. Anna shifted her sights downwards to the front wheel well, emptying the rest of her magazine. The wheel immediately exploded, throwing the occupants off balance as its driver struggled to maintain control. Next, the engine block caught fire and the entire vehicle leaned sharply to its right before careening on its side, tipping and rolling over several times before coming to a violent stop against a tree.

"Ho-holy shit!" Anna cried. "Did you see that?!" she turned to Kristoff and Elsa.

"Yeah, yeah it was great. Now can you please get these guys off our back!" Kristoff replied as he gestured backwards with his free hand.

Anna turned backwards and crept towards the rear of their car, spotting Elsa who was lying on her back against the seat, clutching the flare gun to her side. Another hail of gunfire caused Anna to duck, falling right on top of Elsa.

"Heh. Sorry," Anna grinned sheepishly as she straddled her older sister.

Elsa stared up at her incredulously for a moment, turning red, before Anna shifted to her side.

"Are you out?" Elsa asked, glancing over the edge of the seat towards the hostile car that was rapidly bearing down on them.

"Yeah," Anna said as she removed the magazine from her pistol and inspected the empty chamber. She tossed it aside, looking around the cabin when she spotted a white cylindrical propane tank. "Ooh, how 'bout this!"

"Anna, what are you doing?!" Elsa exclaimed as she looked up at her.

As soon as there was a lull in the gunfire, Anna seized the propane tank and held it in her grasp. "I'm improvising!" she loosened the valve on the tank, causing flammable fumes to hiss out immediately.

She hefted it up with both hands before underhand tossing it straight into the windshield of their pursuers. It shattered completely, landing in the lap of the pirate in the passenger seat who dropped his weapon and began to panic.

Elsa, sensing her sister's meaning, rose and took aim towards the hissing propane tank. Squeezing one eye shut, she fired the flare, which flew towards the car behind them in a dazzling white-hot arc. She then immediately grasped Anna by her hand and pulled her down to her level to shield her with her own body.

A second later, the burning magnesium flare ignited the propane gas, causing a huge fiery explosion to billow outwards. The car was launched up into the air, rolling over several times before crashing into the jungle ground in a smoking and burning heap of twisted metal.

Elsa patted her eyebrows to make sure they were still there, sighing in relief when she found them. She turned to Anna and she was certain by the giddy expression on her face as well as the rapid movement of her mouth that she was chattering excitedly even though, at the moment, none of them could hear each other over the ringing in their ears.

... ... ...

Siberian Wilderness, Russia

... ... ...

Anna frantically pulled back the lever for the throttle, then stumbled back when the flimsy thing broke in half. "Uh oh. The throttle is busted!" she shouted as she tossed away the useless hunk of metal. "I can't slow it down!"

The train they were standing on was speeding along a narrow mountain track. To one side, a sheer cliffside lay below, and to the other a rockface stretched high above them.

"We don't have much time! We need to hurry," Elsa said as turned back around and crossed the threshold and into the interior of the train car.

Anna followed closely behind, and together the two paced up the length of the car as they inspected row after row of wooden crates. As they passed each one, Anna squinted her eyes at the unintelligible Russian script.

"There's so many, how are we supposed to find it?" Anna groaned in frustration. "I can't read this stupid Russian writing!"

"We'll have to split up. You take that end of the car, and I'll search this one," Elsa replied as she started making her way towards the opposite end. "They have to be here somewhere."

"We better make it fast. Kristoff should have already redirected the tracks by now," Anna turned back in the direction they came to begin her search. "Ooh, this will come in handy," she bent down and picked up a crowbar.

Anna came to the first row, pausing in front a wooden crate at her knees. With the crowbar in hand, she smashed open the padlock securing it shut and lifted the wooden cover. Inside, packed neatly together were a multitude of assault rifles.

"Damn," Anna muttered as she rose and repeated the process with the next crate.

Meanwhile, Elsa jogged to the opposite end, smashing the glass case covering a fire axe when she reached the far side. She began the same process as Anna, destroying the locks of a random crate and revealing its contents. Contained inside were an array of standard issue Russian army fatigues. She sighed and pressed onward.

The pair repeated this process for several more minutes until they met in the middle of the train car, sweating and out of breath.

"Any luck?" Elsa asked.

"None. Unless you're looking for enough guns and bullets to equip a small army," Anna replied.

"It has to be here!" Elsa said. "We can't have missed it."

Just then, Anna noticed a smaller, untouched metal container that they had failed to notice on their initial pass. The rectangular metal box bore a red five-pointed star with a hammer and sickle emblazoned on its front.

"This has to be it!" Anna exclaimed. She strode over and placed the edge of her crowbar between the lock and the clasp, twisting it until the lock snapped off.

Elsa joined Anna by her side as she gently lifted the container's lid.

Inside, nestled on top of a bed of straw were two Faberge eggs, both just a little larger than their counterparts produced by the ordinary chicken. Before the pair could inspect them further however, the train struck a large barrier, causing the two to stumble into one another. Around them, boxes fell from their shelves as the train continued to race forward at a breakneck speed.

Anna managed to clasp the container shut, while Elsa ran over to a window to poke her head out. Up ahead, the front of the train was speeding towards a large ravine over which a half-finished bridge stretched out before ending in a sudden drop.

"Come on Anna, we've gotta go!" Elsa yelled as she grabbed her sister by the hand and led her towards the rear of the train.

Anna held the Soviet container close to her chest with her other hand and together, the pair sprinted in the opposite direction the train was speeding. They had managed to clear the first car when the entire train suddenly lurched upwards and bounced violently, sending Elsa and Anna sprawling to the floor. Anna was the first to her feet and dragged Elsa up.

"Come on, come on!" Anna exclaimed hurriedly.

The front of the train crashed straight through the final barrier before the bridge and was seconds away from flying off the edge and into the ravine below. Elsa and Anna still had two more train cars to clear before they too were carried off into the abyss.

Together, they set off at a renewed sprint, crossing the distance of one more car when the entire train lurched upwards again. They managed to maintain their balance and kept pushing on all the way to to the end. There, and not a second too late, they burst out of the door of the last train car and jumped to safety on the frozen tracks, just shy of the drop.

In front of them, the train flew off the edge, nearly carried halfway across the chasm by its forward momentum before turning sharply downwards. An ear-splitting crash and thud followed as the train crumpled into a heap of twisted metal, splintered wood, and shattered glass. A thick cloud of snow and dust billowed up, shrouding the entire floor of the chasm which concealed the train wreck.

"Un-friggin-real," Anna said as she rose up to a sitting position.

"That was… too close." Elsa quietly remarked as she lay on her back.

Anna still had the container clutched to her chest, and finally loosened her grip to inspect its contents.

Inside, unscathed, were the two Faberge eggs that Tsar Nicholas II had commissioned in secret. On the left lay the Imperial Snowflake. A solid orb of sterling silver, gilded by a dazzling array of diamonds and sapphires arranged in the fractal pattern of a seven-pointed snowflake. On the right lay the Royal Crocus. A similar orb of gold, which at its crest was decorated with a small golden crocus flower, adorned with a delicate arrangement of amethysts and a single round topaz at its center.

Anna inspected them both in the early morning light which bounced off of the precious eggs, giving them a sparkling glow. The snow crunched next to her as Elsa sat by her side, and together they appraised the lost Faberge eggs in quiet awe.

It had been an eventful day. They had battled through a warlord's army to secure their prize, on top of which they managed to literally derail an arms deal by the ensuring that the train loaded with weapons and equipment was destroyed.

All told, it was just another day in their lives.