A Test of Faith


A rumbling in the deep and a shifting of the earth reported another explosion as dust and loose rocks fell from the ceiling.

"That one sounded further away," Elsa noted as she exited the crawlspace and stretched to her full height.

A few steps away, Anna slapped and jiggled her flashlight until it came to life and lit up the dark hallway in front of them. "Better for us, come on," she said as she waved the beam of her light forward and gestured for Elsa to follow. "I'm getting one of my good feelings."

Elsa lit up her own flashlight, then fell in step beside Anna. "Do you still think we're on the right track?" she asked as they pressed ahead.

"I hope so. We found the passage beyond the city, through the canyon, and in the hidden oasis, right?" Anna replied.

"Right, but other than that, we haven't even seen any other signs of- oh," Elsa was interrupted when something crunched beneath her boot.

She stepped back and cast the beam of her light on the ground before them, revealing a large collection of ancient skeletons and bones laid around them in all manner. Some wore the tattered robes of monks while others were still clad in rusty armor.

Anna kicked a skull away from her feet. "Yeah, I'd say we're on the right track," she remarked.

They took a long while to examine the macabre scenery. A few skeletons were pierced by spears while others were punctured by a number of bolts that still remained embedded in their corpses. Evidently, dozens upon dozens of people were killed right where they stood due to some unseen force.

Elsa knelt down and hefted a nearby rock in her hands. "Step back, Anna," she warned.

Anna looked at Elsa quizzically for a brief moment before she realized her intention and retreated a safe distance away. Elsa backed away until she was next to Anna and then tossed the rock towards the piles of skeletons. The rock bounced and slid along the rough hewn floor until it settled on a pressure plate.

Instantly, ancient machinery came to life as unseen gears and pulleys grinded together. A myriad of long spikes shot out from either wall while a barrage of bolts whistled through the air and slammed into the opposite side.

"Whoa," Anna muttered. "Good call, Elsa."

"There's bound to be more. We should watch where we step," Elsa said cautiously.

The grinding halted as the spikes fully extended and the mechanisms shooting the bolts ran empty. The spikes had stopped a short distance from the center of the hallway, forming a narrow path lined on either side by deadly pointed ends.

Elsa tossed another rock, disturbing the bones strewn about as it slid onto another pressure plate. It sank, and the hidden mechanism groaned and protested before falling silent. The spikes did not retract and no further bolts spat out.

"Got to hand it to them," Anna remarked. "They sure built these things to last."

"Guess that's all then," Elsa murmured. "I'll go first."

Carefully, she shuffled sidelong into the narrow path, passing by as slowly as she could so as not to impale herself on the protruding spikes nor trigger another trap.

"Oh, Elsa. Be careful," Anna fretted nervously.

Soon enough, Elsa made it through to the other side free of the spikes. "I'm through, now your turn. Just take it slow!"

Anna proceeded forward, shuffling and sidestepping along. "It's okay, just go slow. Nice and slow," she kicked another skull away from her feet she while she continued along. "Oh, excuse me. Don't mind me, I'm just passing through," she exhaled in relief when she made it through to the other side.

"Are you okay?" Elsa asked.

"Mmhmm! Super!" Anna gave a thumbs up and smiled brightly. "Let's keep going. Carefully," she added cheerfully, despite their grim surroundings.

Together, they set off again, walking slowly while scanning the floors, walls, and ceiling for signs of any other traps. They rounded a corner without incident and found themselves staring down a long corridor, at the end of which lay the entrance to a sort of antechamber.

"Hmm," Elsa frowned in thought.

"Well, that's suspicious," Anna added.

They inched their way ahead, testing each stone with one foot before committing and stepping forward. Despite the cool subterranean air, Elsa and Anna were sweating in concentration. They approached a section of flooring that held telltale scratch marks that lay perpendicular to the walls and suggested some type of linear movement. There, they paused again and Anna kicked a nearby rock over the scratched flooring. It slid along the floor and came to a rest without activating any trap mechanisms.

Anna cocked her head to the side. "Very suspicious."

Suddenly, an explosion rang out much closer, detonating with a resounding blast that echoed through the corridor and shook the earth around them. Elsa and Anna stumbled into each other, holding on for balance as rocks loosened and fell from the ceiling.

"Holy crap!" Anna yelled as the earth settled and stilled around them.

However, as it did, ancient gears and cogs audibly loosened and came to life. The scratched portion of floor split down the middle and retreated into the walls, revealing a deep pit filled with spikes that were pointed upwards. A few more skeletons lay impaled upon them, greeting Elsa and Anna with grimacing visages of death.

"Great," Elsa muttered. "Think we can jump it?" she asked, gauging the distance between them and the other side.

"Don't think we have a choice," Anna replied as she backed up and readied herself. "I'll go first this time."

Elsa stepped to the side, allowing Anna room to sprint forward and leap easily over the spiked pit. She landed on the other side, then turned and gave Elsa a thumbs up.

"Come on! It's an easy jump," Anna said as she waved her over.

Elsa retreated a few paces, huffed in and out a few times before sprinting towards the gap. At the ledge, she leapt off with her leading foot, propelling her body through the air and landing on the other side with Anna.

"Piece of cake," Anna said.

Just then, more gears began grinding against each other, followed by the sound of a chain unfurling from above them.

"Anna, move!" Elsa exclaimed, shoving her out of the way and diving to the side next to her.

A large vertical metal grate studded with spikes slammed into the floor behind them. It stood nearly as tall and wide as the hallway and covered the way from which they had come. More chains bounced and rattled as the spiked grate began to lurch forward, pulled along by tracks embedded in the floor.

"So much for being careful!" Anna pulled Elsa to her feet. "Run!"

They sprinted ahead, abandoning caution as the spiked grate was pulled forward and lurched after them. Ahead, a large slab was gradually lowering to the floor, covering the entrance to the antechamber. It was already a quarter of the way down and if it closed, they would be trapped between the slab and the spiked grate.

"Faster Anna, go go go!" Elsa yelled, looking behind her.

The slab was now halfway down. Putting on as much speed as possible, Elsa and Anna raced down the corridor. The spiked grate was scratching, sliding, and sparking along the floor as it steadily gained on them.

"Crap crap craaaaap!" Anna cried out as the slab reached the final quarter before it sealed completely. She dived through, landing roughly on her front before flipping over onto her back. "Elsa!" she reached out for her.

A second later, Elsa dropped down into a slide as her momentum carried her through the door just in time. She came to a stop on the other side and glanced behind herself, noticing that her blonde braid had loosened slightly and still laid in the threshold. With only inches left before the slab sealed the door shut, Elsa reached in and pulled her hair out at the last second before it closed.

"Whew," Elsa sighed in relief and smoothed her hair.

Another moment later, the spiked grate crashed into the other side of the thick stone, echoing and ringing throughout the corridors.

Anna sat up and clutched her chest as she caught her breath. "Oh man, that was intense," she panted.

Elsa rose to her feet first then helped Anna up. She examined the darkness of the room around them and patted her belt until she found her flashlight. Clicking it on, she cast the light over the entrance they had come through.

"No way back now," Elsa muttered.

Anna cursed and mumbled as she knelt and patted around in the darkness for her flashlight. "Great, I must have lost it back there," she groaned in frustration. "Damn it."

"We still have mine, at least," Elsa said as she waved the beam of her light onto Anna. "You good?"

"Uh huh," Anna smiled. "Still got all my parts, you?"

"Pretty sure," Elsa nodded and dusted herself off. She walked past Anna, leading the way forward as she explored the antechamber.

The room was small and rectangular in shape. Behind them laid the sealed entryway, and ahead the antechamber connected to a secondary chamber that appeared to be much larger. Flanking either side of the way into the next chamber were two large statues that stood tall and silent as if guarding the entrance. Each stone sentinel was a knight, fully clad in plate armor with a cloak wrapped around their shoulders. They each held a sword, pointed down in between their feet with both of their hands resting on top of the hilt. Their heads were uncovered and their faces were expressionless as they gazed downwards forever in watchful silence. One knight was long haired, coming to a rest above his shoulders, while the other had short hair.

Elsa's eyes widened in recognition of the figures. "Anna, do you know who these are?" she asked without taking her eyes off the statues.

Anna walked over to Elsa's side and gazed upwards. "That's… Sir Galahad," she said, pointing to the long haired knight.

"And Sir Percival," Elsa added, pointing to the short haired knight.

"Those are our boys, alright," Anna smiled brightly. "Well, let's go see what they've got for us!" she skipped on ahead.

They passed through to the next chamber and found themselves in a large circular room. In the center on a raised platform, a large statue of a man seated upon a throne presided over the chamber. A crown rested on his head and his stony expression frowned as if in pain. He was haggard looking and dressed in simple robes, save for his legs which were wrapped in bandages. On either side of the statue, two cold braziers sat, still filled with kindling and firewood.

"What do you suppose this place is?" Elsa asked as she peered up at the statue and cast her light over the man's stony visage.

"Hmm," Anna approached the base of the statue then peered down to the braziers. "I'm not sure, but look! We can light these up," she said as she knelt and withdrew a match from her satchel.

She struck it against the heel of her boot and held it to the dry kindling which eagerly lapped up the flame. Within seconds, the brazier was lit with a roaring fire and another curious thing happened. As the fire crackled to life, tiny flames shot out from beneath the brazier in different directions, burning along small tracks of fuel. One flame shot towards the second brazier, which blazed to life immediately. All around them, flames raced along tracks towards the circumference of the room and up the walls, lighting torches in wall sconces. Soon, the entire room was alight from the glow of crackling fires.

"Cooooool," Anna murmured, gazing all around the room in wonderment.

Elsa turned slowly, looking all around the room in curiosity. She clicked off her flashlight as her focus settled on Anna. She was bouncing on the balls of her feet, giddy with excitement as she turned all around the room. Her teal eyes reflected the firelight, and for a long moment, Elsa simply looked at Anna with a serene expression.

"Very cool- woah!" Elsa was interrupted when the ground beneath her feet began to buckle and rise.

She hopped to the side, and the place where she had been standing moments ago was now an upright cylindrical surface that stood about waist high.

"Uh oh," Anna muttered as the entire chamber groaned and shifted. "Is this another trap?" she asked nervously.

All around them, four statues slowly rose from the ground. They rotated slowly as they appeared, settling in a position facing the center of the room when they reached their full height. Each new statue was spaced equally apart along four points around the circular room directly in front, behind, and on either side of the seated man. The four statues were all different; one was a man holding a tall lance in front of him, one depicted a woman holding some sort of platter, one depicted two boys standing side by side holding candelabras aloft in front of them, and the last was of a young girl holding a simple cup.

"I don't think so," Elsa murmured as she examined the new statues.

She turned to the cylindrical surface that had risen from the ground and looked at it more closely. On top were three rings, each one smaller than the last starting from the largest ring that lined the edge of the cylinder. There were deep grooves carved into each ring.

"I think it's a test," Elsa said confidently.

"A test?" Anna asked, standing beside Elsa. "What sort of test?"

"Look at him, recognize him?" Elsa pointed to the seated figure in the center.

Under the firelight, Anna could make out his features much more clearly. "Crown on his head… so he's a king or monarch of some kind. He looks hurt, and there's bandages all over his legs," she snapped her fingers in realization. "The fisher king!"

"And the other statues, see them? The objects they're holding?"

"A lance, a platter, two candelabras, and… the grail! These were the artifacts that were presented to the fisher king!" Anna exclaimed. "But, what test? What are we supposed to do here?"

Elsa pursed her lips and furrowed her brows in thought. She examined the room again, and under the firelight she could see that another series of rings surrounded the platform they were standing on much like on the cylinder that had risen from the ground. She looked between the rings on the ground and the rings on the cylinder and an idea came to her.

"I have an idea," Elsa said as she walked over to the cylinder and laid her palms on the outermost ring.

She gripped the grooves and gave it an experimental turn clockwise. To her surprise, the stone ring rotated easily and at the same time it did, the outermost ring on the floor before the statues rotated as well. The room rumbled deeply as the floor shook and rearranged itself.

"A ha!" Elsa exclaimed.

"Whoa!" Anna leapt back in surprise. "How did you do that?"

"Come take a look at this!" Elsa called, gesturing Anna over. "This thing rotates the floor somehow, the rings on this correspond with the rings in the floor."

"Okay, so it's sort of like a puzzle!" Anna said excitedly.

"Exactly!" Elsa agreed, then walked down to look at the rings in the floor more closely.

Anna followed behind her and knelt, brushing away some dust with her hand. "Look, there's tracks in the floor here," she pointed to a square indentation closest to the center.

It was the same size as the base of the statues adorning the perimeter of the chamber. Next to it were three other indentations of the same size that all rested in front of the fisher king. The floor was etched with similar tracks, seemingly placed in random spots around the chamber. Some were interlinked, while others were disconnected from one another.

"I think we're supposed to move these statues," Elsa said as she took in the intricate network of tracks surrounding them.

"Move them? Move them how?" Anna asked.

"By sliding them along the tracks in the floor, and then I think they're supposed to go here," Elsa pointed to the four empty indentations before the king. "I think we're supposed to present the artifacts to the king like in the story."

Anna paused for a moment, examining each of the four statues in turn before settling her gaze on the king. "Oh, of course! Sir Percival was invited to dine with the fisher king in his hall, and then during the dinner, the four artifacts were presented to him and the king!" she bounced up in down from giddiness. "So cool!"

"First it was the lance, then the candelabras, then the grail, and then the platter!" Elsa looked around the room, feeling a similar level of excitement as Anna did.

"Great! So, we know the order, only these tracks are all over the place," Anna walked around in a circle. "How are we supposed to align them?"

"I think that's what the mechanism is for," Elsa said, climbing up the steps to regard the cylinder again. "We have to align the tracks, then slide them along I guess."

"Good, because I don't think I can lift those things," Anna said.

Elsa placed her hands on the outer ring of the cylinder again and gave it an experimental turn. "Okay, let's see."

The action corresponded with the outermost ring rotating the chamber, sliding along in time with her movement. Next, she rotated the middle ring, which did the same to the middle ring of the chamber, and the case was the same with the inner ring.

"Okay, I think I've got the hang of this," Elsa said. "Anna, why don't you head down and be my eyes? I can't see all the tracks clearly from up here."

"Aye aye, cap!" Anna saluted then skipped down. She paused at the base of the statue holding the lance and walked along the circumference of the ring just before it. "This one should be easy! You just have to align the tracks in front of each statue!"

"Got it!" Elsa gave a thumbs up and rotated the outer ring.

The ring Anna was standing on lurched and shifted suddenly, causing her to stumble. "Whoa, fun!" she giggled gleefully as she braced herself against the statue. "This is so cool! Kristoff is missing out."

"Tell me when to stop!" Elsa called out.

Anna hopped off the rotating ring and stood by the statue, kneeling and focusing on the section of track that was steadily moving towards her.

"Little closer… little closer… little closer," Anna instructed, making a come hither gesture with her hands. As the track lined up with the base of the statue she held up her hands to stop. "Stop! You've got it."

"Okay, next one," Elsa said.

They continued this same process for the middle ring, though it was a tad more complicated since the tracks ran along its circumference were misaligned from the outer ring. It appeared like a labyrinth at first, but as Elsa continued to twist and turn the rings, the tracks snapped into place. Now, all that remained was the final inner ring.

"Last one," Elsa muttered.

Anna was bouncing on the balls of her feet on the inner ring closest to the throne. "This is exciting," she giggled.

After a few more minutes, all the tracks were aligned and all that remained was to move the statues into place. Elsa and Anna walked over to the statue with the lance that faced the front of the throne.

"This thing is probably really heavy," Anna muttered.

"We'll push it together," Elsa said, standing to one side of the statue while Anna stood on the other. "Ready?"

"Ready," Anna nodded. "Push!"

They braced themselves against the ground and gave a hard push and to their surprise, the statue slid forward quite easily. So much so that Anna nearly tripped when the statue moved far more easily then she had expected.

"Huh, that was easy," Anna brushed her hands off. "Heh. Gotta love that medieval engineering."

"Far be it from me to interrupt your celebrations, but uh… we still have to get it to the center," Elsa teased. .

"I'm just saying," Anna replied.

Together they pushed the statue with the lance along the tracks until it came to a rest in front of the king, to his left side.

"One down, three to go," Elsa remarked, dusting her hands.

After a great amount of effort, the remaining statues were moved into place before the king. In order from his left to right it went; the lance, the candelabras, and the grail. They were presented before the fisher king in the order they had been in the story. All that remained was the statue with the platter, which they were pushing along the tracks.

"Here we go, moment of truth!" Anna exclaimed as they slid the final statue into place.

At first, nothing seemed to happen. Elsa climbed the steps and examined the cylinder again, while Anna stood at the base of the throne with her hands on her hips.

"Well… that's underwhelming," Anna muttered and kicked the statue with the platter. "Elsa? Anything?"

Elsa toyed with her braid as she went from looking at the king, to the cylinder then to each of the four statues in turn. "I don't know, it should be right," she said.

Anna groaned and stomped her foot. "Come on! Do something! I didn't come all this way just to get blue-balled by a bunch of statues!" she yelled, kicking the statue repeatedly. "Go on already!"

Whatever Anna had done worked, because as she finished her tirade, all four statues sank slightly into the ground at once. As they did, unseen mechanisms clicked into place. Slowly, the raised platform that the throne stood upon rotated until it was facing the opposite direction. Directly ahead of them, a section of wall was sliding away to reveal another tertiary chamber that had remained hidden.

"Haha!" Anna exclaimed and pumped the air with her fist. "Secret door! Yes! Teamwork!" she held her hand up for a high-five.

Elsa chuckled to herself and smiled at Anna, high-fiving her sister. Anna laughed brightly and grinned goofily, the same way she always did when she was excited or beaming with happiness.

"Well come on! Let's go!" Anna exclaimed and skipped over to the next chamber.

Elsa lingered a moment longer, allowing herself to smile warmly before she too followed behind Anna.

"Woah nelly," Anna's eyes widened as they entered the hidden chamber. "This has gotta be it."

The place they were standing in was a circular room, similar to the first, though it was a bit smaller in size and a ring of columns lined the interior walls. The room was lit in the warm glow of torch light, apparently ignited thanks to the mechanisms from the last chamber. In the center of the room was a round basin filled with clear water. Across the room from the entrance, on the opposite wall, was a raised square surface on top of which sat a statue of a crucifix.

Elsa went towards the round basin and peered in, looking at her reflection in the still water.

At the other end, Anna approached the crucifix and blew some dust off of it. "Crown of thorns, nailed to the cross, that's Jesus alright," she studied the empty stone bowl sitting in front of the crucifix. "This can't be it," she scoffed as she leaned down to get a closer look.

Meanwhile, something else had caught Elsa's attention. Flanked on either side of the crucifix was a sarcophagus, lying embedded in the wall inside of a small alcove that contained each one. The lid of each sarcophagus was carved into the effigy of the deceased occupant. They were each lying on their back, dressed in their armor and clutching their swords over their chest. The eyes upon their stony visages were closed in peaceful repose, however there was no mistaking their likeness. This was the final resting place of Sir Galahad and Sir Percival.

"Anna, this is a tomb," Elsa stated in a reverent tone. "Look," she pointed to each sarcophagus.

"Galahad and Percival. They were real after all," Anna chuckled to herself as she inspected each one. "Mom and dad would never have believed this," she turned to Elsa, her eyes shimmering.

"All the stories they told us… it's all true," Elsa laid her hand flat against the sarcophagus of Sir Percival in commemoration.

Anna shook herself out of her reverie, shooing away the melancholia that had settled between them. "So the grail should be here then, right?" she gestured to the empty room around them. "Only there's nothing else here."

"Maybe it's another test," Elsa suggested.

Anna groaned in frustration. "Another test," she grumbled and rubbed her eyes. "Well, what do we do here?"

Elsa turned to regard the crucifix, the bowl, and the basin one after the other. Whatever they were meant to do here was evidently simple enough.

"Maybe we fill this bowl and present it as an offering?" Elsa pointed to the basin.

"Well, the grail did catch the blood of Christ… so, maybe this is like, uh, a metaphor. Is that the right word?" Anna wondered as she scrunched up her face in thought. "But there's no way it can be that simple."

"It's worth a shot," Elsa replied as she picked up the bowl and went over to the basin where she filled it nearly to the brim. "Maybe it's holy water," she wondered as she withdrew the bowl.

"Think it's safe to drink?" Anna asked, dipping a finger into the basin. She withdrew it, and watched as a singular perfect drop of water fell from her finger tip and collided against the glass-like surface.

"I wouldn't. Who knows how long this water has been sitting here," Elsa replied.

"Yeah, probably a bad idea," Anna said as she wiped her finger on her shorts and joined Elsa in front of the crucifix.

Elsa placed the bowl of water down and backed away. Next, the weight of the filled bowl pressed down on another pressure plate, triggering another mechanism. Above them, pale moonlight shone through crevices in the ceiling, painting a series of shapes on the floor. It took a few moments for them to register, but the shapes were of landmasses around the European continent.

"Look at that. I guess it really was that simple," Anna mused.

Elsa walked all around the room to take in the new shapes. "It's a map," she muttered as realization dawned on her.

"Yeah," Anna replied. "There's Ireland and Britain," she said as she pointed out the countries.

"Hmm, there's a star here over the Celtic sea?" Elsa wondered. "Off the coast of Wales. What's over there?"

"Great, that's just great," Anna muttered as she started pacing back and forth. "No grail… no treasure… and now this? The Celtic sea? What's next? The fucking moon?! You got to be shitting me!"

"Anna," Elsa started, holding up a hand to placate her frustration.

"No, Elsa! This was supposed to be it! The grail should be here!," Anna vented. "It should be here! We came all the way out here for what? To find another map pointing us to the middle of the damn sea?!"

"It could have been moved," Elsa suggested, though she was just as baffled as Anna was.

"Why would they move it? Why build all this just to move it somewhere else?" Anna gestured with her arms to the chamber around them. "None of this makes any sense!"

Just as Elsa was about to respond, the wall to their right suddenly burst open as it detonated, sending a wave of dust, rocks, and debris into the interior of the chamber. The explosion caught both of them off guard, knocking them to the ground. Elsa was the first to rise and helped Anna to her feet just before a familiar voice called to them.

"Well, what a lovely surprise."

Elsa and Anna reached for the sidearms, but before they could, Hans stepped through the dust, aiming a pistol at them. Behind him, a retinue of Westguard mercenaries came through and aimed their weapons at the pair.

"Ah ah ah," Hans cautioned, wagging his finger. "Guns on the floor."

Elsa and Anna glanced at each other in uncertainty, then relinquished their weapons as they tossed them towards Hans. Afterward, they held their hands up in surrender.

"Now, what are the chances? Here I was, searching for the lost city of Sarras and the holy grail when I come across you two, apparently doing the same thing. It's a small world isn't it?" Hans paced side to side. "You know, I still owe you for last time, Miss Croft," he recited her alias mockingly as he gestured towards Anna.

"What?" Anna scowled. "Pinning me against a bookshelf and groping me wasn't enough for you?"

Elsa snapped her eyes to Anna, then to Hans as she fixed him with a hateful glare. She hadn't known Anna had run into Hans at the Rahn estate. Her body swelled with fury at the thought of Hans laying a finger on Anna, especially in the way that she had alluded to. If it weren't for all the guns currently trained on them, Elsa might have wrung his neck then and there. She inhaled sharply and balled her hands into fists, trying to remain calm.

Hans laughed humorlessly, then reached for a radio and held it up. "Weselton, come in."

A few moments passed before Weselton replied from the other end. "What is it?" he snapped.

"I'm looking at two of our mutual friends right now, thought you'd like to know."

"What? Where are they?"

"Beneath the chapel," Hans smirked at Elsa and Anna. "Follow the holes."

"I'm on my way."

The line clicked dead and Hans paced around the room leisurely. "You girls have caused a lot of trouble for me. You killed some of my men in Austria."

"They were trying to kill us," Elsa said firmly.

"You had plenty of warning to stay away, and yet here you are," Hans countered. "And speaking of trouble... bring him in!" he called over his shoulder.

Another pair of Westguard mercenaries entered the room, dragging a man along between them by his arms. There was a bag over his head.

"Ah! Take it easy will ya!" a familiar voice protested.

The mercenaries dragging him bought him over between Hans, Elsa, and Anna then dropped him roughly to the ground. The bag was removed from his head, and the man looked up. Elsa and Anna were greeted by Kristoff, who smiled thinly. His face was bruised and his lip was bloodied.

"Oh, you guys made it," Kristoff said tiredly. "Hooray."

"Kristoff?!" Elsa and Anna said simultaneously.

Hans stepped over and drew back his arm, punching the prostrated man across the jaw.

Kristoff spat out a glob of blood and looked up, grinning. "Who taught you to punch? Your husband?" he taunted. "Is that the best you can-"

"Shut up!" Hans shouted as he punched him in the gut.

Kristoff fell over, coughing and wheezing.

Hans exhaled deeply and straightened up, running a hand through his hair as he turned to regard Elsa and Anna.

"How did you find us?" Elsa demanded. "In Austria, and out here?"

Hans looked amused and reached into his back pocket to withdraw Kristoff's smartphone. "It's remarkable how unsecure phone networks are these days," he said, tossing the phone on the ground. "After the debacle at the estate, I had my tech guys track you guys down. You do know your phones are equipped with GPS, right?

"You hacked our phones," Elsa sighed.

"Yes," Hans said simply, as if it were the most obvious fact in the world. "But now, I believe it's my turn to ask a question. Where is it?"

"Where is… what?" Anna asked innocently. "Gotta be a little more specific."

Hans shrugged casually then walked up to Kristoff who was still lying on his side and kicked him in the chest. After he was done, he looked up at Elsa and Anna as he arched an eyebrow.

Kristoff grunted in pain and violently coughed up a few more globs of blood.

"Don't play coy with me. Enough games!" Hans stepped in front of Anna and rested the barrel of his pistol underneath her chin. "Where… is… the grail?"

"It's not here! And if you're gonna point that gun at anyone, you point it at me!" Elsa shouted.

"What?" Hans asked, stepping towards Elsa.

Elsa levelled a steely glare at Hans. "It's not here," she said through gritted teeth. "It must have been moved."

Hans narrowed his eyes. "Search them," he waved his hand in his air, signaling for two of his men to come over.

Anna scoffed and crossed her arms. "We're telling the truth."

"And why should I believe you?" Hans retorted.

While two of his mercenaries patted them down, Anna sighed and blew a loose strand of hair from her forehead while Elsa fumed. One mercenary rummaged through Anna's satchel, and after finding nothing of note, he tossed it to her feet.

"They're clear, sir. Nothing on them," the mercenary said.

Hans scowled and turned away, scratching his sideburns in thought. "Search the room," he ordered. "It has to be here somewhere."

As his mercenaries scattered about, Elsa and Anna stepped closer together towards Kristoff to check on his condition. He was in slightly rough shape, having been worked over by the mercenaries, but it was nothing he couldn't walk away from.

Meanwhile, Hans had resumed pacing which was when he finally noticed the shapes on the floor. "England? What's this about?" he pointed with his gun to the landmass on the floor.

Elsa and Anna looked at each other and then shrugged at the same time.

"We already told you, it isn't here," Elsa said.

"And you'll need our help to find it," Anna added. "You said so yourself, you've been tracking us. Without us, you wouldn't even be here," she turned to Elsa and gave her a look that said just roll with it.

"Sorry, ladies," Hans chuckled dismissively. "I'm not here to negotiate. I think we can find it well enough on our own."

"What? You and that little weasel?" Anna laughed.

Hans gestured with his pistol between her and Elsa. "Found you two, didn't I?"

"After stumbling through this whole city like a bunch of well armed bulls in a China shop!" Anna replied snarkily. "Do you honestly think you can find it yourself? Please, you couldn't find your own ass with both hands."

"And a map," Elsa added.

From the floor, Kristoff looked up and chuckled weakly. "Good one," he wheezed.

"I said, shut up!" Hans shouted and stepped forward to reprimand him again.

Just before he did, one of his mercenaries called out to him.

"Sir! I think you should come take a look at this!"

Hans looked up and walked over to where two of his men were struggling to lift the lid of Sir Galahad's sarcophagus. "What do we have here then?" he asked.

"Some kind of coffin. Could be something inside."

"Well, open it. Let's have a look," Hans ordered.

"Uh, I wouldn't do that if I were you!" Anna called out.

Hans turned around, looking incredibly annoyed. "And why is that?"

"You know. Ancient curses and all that," Anna replied.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Hans furrowed his brow and gestured in exasperation.

"Well, just… whenever you break into an old tomb, some evil spirits might get released and," Anna shifted on her feet then turned to the side, deciding it wasn't worth the explanation. "You know what, never mind."

At that moment, the mercenaries managed to get the lid off of the sarcophagus, pushing it aside and letting it slam to the ground. Before they could inspect its contents, the floor immediately beneath their feet collapsed and the two mercenaries cried out as they plunged into darkness. Hans dove back just in time as all around them sections of the floor buckled and fell away. Above, the ceiling was beginning to cave in as large boulders came falling from above and crashed through the floor.

"Get out!" Hans shouted, running across collapsing sections of flooring until he jumped to safety through the hole in the wall he had come from.

Meanwhile, Anna quickly grabbed her satchel and followed Elsa as they clung to the flooring next to a column that had not collapsed. Kristoff rose to his feet, diving for Elsa's dropped gun. He took aim at Hans who was backing away from the rapidly growing pit and squeezed off a shot.

"Shoot them!" Hans ordered, retreating away.

The remaining mercenaries took up cover behind the columns around the room and fired at the trio.

"I think now would be a good time to leave!" Kristoff shouted over the hail of gunfire from behind a column a short distance away from Elsa and Anna.

"Let's go, Anna. This way!" Elsa shouted, darting out from cover and running over to Kristoff.

As she did, the floor beneath her feet gave away and plummeted into the pit below. Elsa teetered over the edge and she realized there was a rushing underground river far below them. She looked up, and noticed Anna had realized that as well. She was crouching behind a fallen boulder and her eyes were bulging in terror as she gazed into the abyss.

"Come on, guys! What's the hold up?!" Kristoff shouted from ahead. "Move your asses!" he peeked out from cover and fired off a few rounds, dropping a mercenary who fell screaming to the river below.

"Anna, Jump!" Elsa shouted as she held out her hand. "I'll catch you!"

"Oh crap," Anna fretted in place a moment longer before nodding and mustering her courage. "Okay, here I come!" she backed up a few paces, then sprinted forward and leapt over the gap with her arm outstretched.

"I've got you!" Elsa yelled as she caught Anna's hand, then pulled her up to her feet.

The gunfire continued to rage around them and Kristoff was returning fire until the magazine of Elsa's pistol ran empty. "I'm out!" he shouted, then peeked out of cover to locate the remaining mercenaries. "Look out!" he pointed towards a mercenary taking aim at Elsa and Anna.

Elsa turned around to see a gun pointed in their direction. Reacting quickly, she instinctively stepped in front of Anna to protect her which was exactly when a bullet struck her in the left shoulder.

"Elsa!" Anna cried out.

The impact from the bullet had caused Elsa to stumble back, knocking into Anna and sending them both plummeting over the edge. As she fell, she briefly saw a flash of Anna's red hair tumbling into the river below.

Terror filled Elsa's body and she screamed in panic. "Anna!"