Thirteen massive stone pillars stood tall in the middle of an immense dry dusty wasteland. A lone figure was perched atop the largest of the rock outcroppings, his ankle-length black and grey coat flapping in the harsh desert breeze. He appeared ancient, what with the steep hunch to his shoulders and the high sun reflecting off his bald wrinkled head. His golden eyes studied the cragged plateaus off in the distance as he waited, arms folded behind his back, fingers drumming idly against the opposite arm.

"You summoned us, Master Xehanort," a voice said as a dark portal abruptly appeared on one of the other pillars. It dissipated just as quickly, leaving behind a man in a black robe with his hood up, kneeling down low on one knee, head bowed.

"Teacher's pet," a second voice scoffed. Five other Corridors of Darkness deposited five more hooded figures onto various other jagged columns. The first cloaked entity shifted his head sharply towards the one from which the sneer had originated, but made no retort.

Xehanort did not bother to even grace them with so much as a look, just kept his back to them all and continued to stare off into the distance. "The New Seven Hearts," he said, tone flat. "Bring them to me."

No one said anything at first as there was a brief exchange of glances. Then, "But what about the one that's also a Guardian? We've lost track of her and believe one of the sorcerers have hidden her away with their magic."

The old man shook his head. "Worry not about her. When it's time, she'll come to us herself."

Still some hesitation. "...three of them are still unknown to us. How will we-"

"I trust," Xehanort cut in, raising his voice slightly as he now turned to face them, "in your very capable abilities to seek out and swiftly fetch them all." One wispy eyebrow arched. "See that my trust is not misplaced. Now go." With that, swirling darkness erupted around him and he vanished.

"Huh," one of the hooded figures looked to the others. "I thought the New Seven were only a backup plan. The Guardians seem to be playing ball, so what gives?"

Another crossed one arm over their abdomen and tossed the other hand up in a shrug. "Maybe he's looking to raise the stakes."

"It's not our place to question Master Xehanort," a third growled. "Only to carry out his commands without delay."

"I don't care why the ol' codger changed his mind," this one giggled behind their fingers. "I was getting so bored just twiddling my thumbs all day. This will be fun."

"Enough. You have your objectives. Make haste and go." A churning black portal leapt up around the figure and they were gone.

One by one, the others followed suit. The last to leave gave a derisive snort as tendrils of darkness rose from the ground beneath their boots and began to wrap around their form. "Thinking he can order me around. As if." Then they too were swallowed whole by a Corridor, leaving the thirteen pillars to their quiet solitude once more.

Elsa's hands rubbed anxiously against one another. Her bare, exposed hands. How she longed and all but prayed for the return of her gloves as she worried her bottom lip between her teeth, eyeing the throng of people before her.

Anna had decided to throw a ball. Celebrating what, one might wonder? So many things… no more keeping secrets, no more shutting each other out, the castle gates being flung wide open at last with the intent of never closing them again… the list could go on and on. But to be honest, knowing Anna, she was probably celebrating just for the sake of celebrating and Elsa wouldn't be surprised if this was only the first of many more parties to come. After all, Anna had to make up for a life's worth of missed festivals and revelry - Elsa was sure that's how her sister would see it anyway. And… Elsa couldn't blame her.

She sighed. Had it really only been a day since it had all happened? It felt like a lifetime ago. So much had occurred in so little time.

Only one day had passed since she had fled from her disastrous coronation. One day since she had cursed her kingdom with a magical winter that had stretched far and wide. One day since her brave, kind, wonderful sister had sacrificed herself to protect her. One day since those vile little shadow creatures, those… Heartless had attacked. One day since that traitor Hans had succumbed to darkness and mutated into a monstrous wolf spectre, only to be defeated by a mysterious boy with nothing but an odd weapon shaped like a key and his strange companions.

The bizarre trio of heroes had departed not too long after that. A few dregs of Heartless still popped up here and there, but they were scarce. A dying breed, really. She had left Marshmallow on patrol duty, scouring the land for the last of them and squelching the foul things out of existence. Any he missed she simply banished with a snow-laced blast from a wave of her hand.

The queen pulled herself out of her musings, returning her attention to the here and now. She stood in front of her throne, her pale gown woven from ice glittering under the lights overhead, her platinum blonde braid pulled forward over one shoulder. She watched her guests dance and laugh, all the while subtly wringing her hands together as butterflies stirred in the pit of her stomach.

Sure, her people had been so accepting and welcoming of her and the powers she wielded. It warmed her heart to feel all the love and acceptance practically radiating off her subjects and directed at her. And she did her best to put on a brave front, smiling for the crowd as she put on demonstrations for their amusement, freezing the fountains into beautiful ice sculptures and magically transforming the castle courtyard into an ice rink for skating. She was trying so hard… and yet still…

She couldn't help worrying.

She knew… she knew she no longer needed those stupid gloves. She knew how to control her powers now. Or, at least, she was starting to get a handle on it anyway. Just because she better understood her powers, didn't mean that had fixed everything over night. There were still a few… kinks to work out. If for instance she were to be surprised, she might still frost the ground beneath her feet. Or if by chance she were to be angered, the air around her might pick up with an icy gale.

It… was still a bit of work in progress.

But that didn't mean she needed those accursed gloves! Those awful, wretched things. Those symbols of her life-long, self imposed confinement of fear and loneliness. Those gloves were just a crutch, nothing more. She had nothing to be afraid of now. She wouldn't hurt anyone. She wouldn't.

…right?

Just when she was about to lose her nerve and retreat to a smaller, private room, her eyes met with her sister's. Anna was exactly where anyone who knew her would expect her to be - smack dab in the middle of all that merrymaking, being lifted above the sea of dancers by Kristoff and whirled around, having the time of her life. The brief instant where the sisters' gazes met, the princess smirked and stuck her tongue out at the queen before her nose wrinkled with laughter as she disappeared into the crowd once more.

A grin fought its way onto Elsa's face, which she hid behind her fingers.

And just like that, the butterflies in her belly scattered and fluttered away.

She could do this.

Taking a deep breath and releasing it, she stepped forward and descended into the mass of revelers. The crowd parted slightly as Elsa made her way through it - not by any sort of impressive amount, but just enough to respectfully allow the queen her personal space. She nodded and smiled to any guests who greeted her as she passed, and politely declined any humble offers to dance. She may have been beginning to warm up to this whole mingling thing, but twirling around the ballroom hand in hand with another? She wasn't quite there yet.

Her blue eyes came to rest on Olaf and her feet stilled. He was off to one side of the great hall, cheerily chatting up a second snowman as he twirled about the dancefloor with it beneath his small conjured flurry. This other snowman was of the normal variety, just a pile of snow packed tightly together to vaguely resemble a person, not magically alive like Olaf himself. The adorable sight brought a smile to Elsa's face, but she couldn't help a pause to wonder as she raised a knuckle to lightly tap against her lips.

Perhaps it was high time she crafted a small friend for Olaf. Marshmallow was all well and good, but he was hardly the most social of creatures. More the strong silent type, he prefered to steer clear of large crowds and keep to himself. Not to mention he and Olaf didn't have the best history, what with Marshmallow having dismembered the poor little guy before tossing him out of the ice palace the last time they'd encountered one another. No, perhaps it was time to summon another being of snow that would be a little more… compatible with Olaf and able to keep him sufficient company.

As she pondered over it, a flash of auburn across the room interrupted her thoughts. Turning her head to focus on it, she spotted Anna, giggling and tugging Kristoff behind her. She pulled them towards a door leading out of the ballroom, stopping in front of it briefly, her eyes darting about. Then she planted a swift peck on his lips before yanking him through the door and out of sight.

Elsa's eyes narrowed. Oh no. Not on her watch. Those two had known each other for hardly more than a day and there they were, already sneaking off for secret trysts. She supposed it was better than getting engaged after less than twenty-four hours, so progress was being made in a sense, but still... Anna's actions were not befitting of a princess! Elsa was going to have to put a stop to this right-

Her mind immediately fell mute when she caught sight of Olaf waddling up to the same door Anna and Kristoff had just slipped through. He'd abandoned his makeshift dance partner in favor of mulling over the exit now before him, rubbing his chin with his spindly twig fingers as he pursed his lips to one side. It seemed Elsa was not the only one to notice her sister stealing away with her new beau. Unlike Elsa however, he seemed to be a little more lost on the implications. His curiosity finally getting the better of him, he too went through the door, closing it gently behind him.

The queen snerked softly. She could be at ease now. Anna and Kristoff were not going to be able to get far, not with an inquisitive enchanted snowman hot on their trail. Still, she would have to have a word with Anna later.

Suddenly a scream tore out from the other side of the grand hall. Elsa whipped her head around in the direction it had come from, where more yells and shrieks were joining the first. The guests - her subjects, her people - were fleeing in terror, though from what, she could not see. Not wasting a moment, she ran off directly for it - whatever it was.

The flow of the crowd was going against her, and she had to struggle and push to make her way through. The tide of people seemed to be endless, but abruptly and without warning, she broke through into open space and she had to catch herself in order not to fall from the sudden lack of resistance. Her eyes flicked around, looking for the cause of the disturbance. It did not take long to spot and when she did, her eyes widened.

Shadows. Little silhouettes black as a moonless night that had separated from the ground and taken form as nightmarish creatures with eyes that glowed a noxious yellow as they stared hungrily after their fleeing prey.

Heartless.

Hundreds of them, if not thousands. A veritable swarm invading her castle and attacking her people. She had been easily dealing with the cleanup of what few stragglers still cropped up ever since Hans' defeat, but this was different. This was too many. Far, far too many.

Where was that boy with the key now? Where was Sora?

One of the little fiends directly in front of her pinned her with its eerie gaze. It had antennae that twitched as it considered her… sized her up… and then abruptly launched itself at her. It would seem the thing thought her an easy target.

It had thought wrong.

Narrowing her eyes, she thrust both her hands forward. From her fingertips launched a colossal ice lance that speared the thing, making it explode into inky black mist before vanishing.

She couldn't wait around for Sora to show up and save the day. Her people needed help now.

Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted a pack of them skittering straight for her, preparing to ambush. She swept her arms in their direction and a blast of frigid wind twined with frost burst forth from her palms. The gust hit the monsters hard and sent them crashing into a wall. She then dropped her arms to her sides before raising them slowly above her head. A massive bulwark of ice raised from the floor before her with the gesture, stretching up towards the ceiling. With a flick of her wrist, she sent it rushing forward to crush the Heartless between it and the wall, spraying black mist in every direction.

The front doors to the castle suddenly burst open and in charged Marshmallow with an ear splitting roar that shook the whole room. Elsa blinked in surprise at his appearance, but slowly smiled as she felt relief flood her chest. The courageous brute must have sensed from her that something was amiss, making him come running to her aid. Mindful of the innocent bystanders running past his feet as they made their way towards what was hopefully the safety of outside, Marshmallow barrelled forward, ice spikes raised like hackles as his frozen claws started shredding through the Heartless in droves.

With a smirk, Elsa turned her attention to another wave of little shadows, flinging one hand forward, shooting off a blue beam that struck the front runner and encased it in solid ice. Another wave of her hand, another beam, another one of those things now nothing more than harmless frozen statue. And so she continued.

It felt like the two of them were laying the enemy army to utter waste and ruin. And yet... the Heartless kept coming. Their numbers seemed to be without end. From best Elsa could tell, the guests had all managed to flee to safety by now, for she saw no bodies, no one lying about injured in need of help. That was good. She wasn't sure how long she and Marshmallow could keep this up, but it helped knowing that everyone had made it out.

...everyone…

Elsa gasped, eyes widening as she went stock still, a name flashing through her brain.

Anna!

Had she managed to make it out too? Blast it, she didn't know! She hadn't seen her sister since she had snuck off with Kristoff before the assault had started. Surely, she had escaped… right? She must have!

Or… she could still be in the castle somewhere and in trouble. Cornered, trapped by a horde of these dreadful things. She could be hurt. Scared. Alone. In need of-

Darkness suddenly filled Elsa's vision, making her squeak and jump back. A second too late she realized it was a Heartless in mid-pounce coming straight for her. She mentally cursed at allowing herself to get distracted, hastily bring up her hands. But it proved unnecessary as Marshmallow suddenly appeared behind it, looming menacingly over the thing before smashing a ginormous hand down and squashing the Heartless like some sinister bug beneath his palm He then moved to stand defensively at her side, casting a wayward glance her way, browed twisted with a hint of worry.

"I… my sister," she breathed, eyes sweeping the ballroom, looking for any sign of Anna, but only seeing a sea of black dotted by those awful glowing eyes. "I don't know if she's safe.'

A low rumble from deep within Marshmallow's chest was his only reply as he swatted a few more Heartless away, keeping them at bay.

She hesitated for a second. On the one hand, they were far from finished up here in the ballroom. They'd hardly made a dent in the shadows' numbers and the hall was still practically overflowing with their foes. On the other hand however, she wasn't so sure any sort of "finishing up" could really truly be done here. It felt like for every one of the little monsters they killed, three more sprouted out from only the gods knew where. It felt wrong abandoning Marshmallow here, but…

Anna. Elsa needed to know she was out of harm's way. Placing a soft hand on Marshmallow's side, she said, "Stay here please and do your best deal with these monsters. There may still be others are trapped in the palace, trying to find their way out, and you'll need to keep this area clear for them to make their escape easier. I'm going to search for Anna."

The abominable snowman frowned, clearly not pleased at the idea of Elsa rushing off alone into the middle of all this turmoil. But it gave a nod before turning a glare on the next horde of Heartless stampeding towards them. With a bellow, Marshmallow lunged to meet them head on.

Elsa bowed her head in silent thanks before she took off running in the opposite direction. A force of the shadow beasts stood in her path, but she waved her hand and catapulted them out of the way with a surge of wintry wind. Careening through the door she had seen Anna slip through earlier, she charged ahead as fast as her feet could carry her.

It was alarming, but not wholly surprising to discover the rest of the castle overrun with this army of darkness. Every corridor she sprinted through, her royal guard could be found battling the things. Sometimes she found her knights winning, sometimes… not so much. In the case of the latter, Elsa would shoot a chilly wave of magic in their direction as she passed to help turn the tide of the fight, but could do little more as she pressed on, desperately searching for her sister.

Perhaps this was silly, practically turning the palace upside down while trying to locate Anna. Elsa didn't even know if she was still in here. It was quite possible she had managed to get out, and this was just a huge waste of time. But Elsa just couldn't shake this terrible feeling that her sister was still in here somewhere and that she was in danger.

Just when it felt she had searched the whole damn place from top to bottom, she spotted it. That familiar glimpse of rich auburn, all but shining like a beacon down at the opposite end of the hall. It was all the incentive she needed to spur her tired legs onward into one final sprint.

There her little sister was, surrounded by those horrid monstrosities. Kristoff was nowhere to be seen, but Olaf however could be spotted cowering closely behind her leg. She was managing to keep the Heartless away with a sword she had gotten from somewhere, most likely pried from one of the ornamental suits of armor that decorated the palace. She swung it wildly at any of those beasts that got too close, but the rest of the shadowy group was closing in around her more rapidly by the second.

"Anna!" she cried out, skidding to a stop and panting from exhaustion.

Her head jerked up at the sound of her name. "Elsa?" She looked around and spotted her right away. "Elsa! Why are these things back?! I thought they were all mostly dead!"

She shook her head. "I don't know!" Even as she spoke, she was thrusting an arm forward, a blast of cold leaping from her hand and striking the nearest enemy, making it explode in a puff of dark smoke. Repeating the action, she started carving a path to her sister. "Are you okay? Where's Kristoff?"

She jabbed at one of the fiends with her blade, forcing it back several paces. "I'm fine! And I don't know, we got separated!"

"Hang on, I'm almost to you. I'll get us out of here, then we can go look for him." She grit her teeth and shot a hand out towards a Heartless that was leaping at her. It was struck with a hefty chunk of ice, sending it flying away. She just had to dispatch of a few more and she'd be at Anna's side.

"We have to hurry! I-"

That's as far as Anna got before a sinister dark portal appeared behind her. It was like the void had torn a hole in space itself, and it swirled with a miasma of blacks and purples. She gave a yelp as some unseen force abruptly sucked her into it along with Olaf and they both vanished from sight, the sword clattering to the ground where they once stood.

"Anna!" Elsa cried in horror as she destroyed another Heartless, the last one directly in her path, clearing the way. She tried to run towards the portal, ready to jump in after her sister without a second thought. But she didn't make it more than a step before another tear in reality appeared behind her and yanked her in as well, swallowing her whole.

Her surroundings went pitch black and she couldn't make out a single thing. Something had gripped around her tightly, uncomfortably restraining her arms against her sides while at the same time covering her mouth so she couldn't cry out. With a muffled snarl, her hands desperately struggled to grasp at something... anything. When they at last found purchase somewhere, she latched on with all her might and felt a chill rush down her arm, escaping her fingertips and erupting in a frostbolt.

There was a noise… something that sounded suspiciously like a hiss of pain from a person. Before she could give it much thought however, an abrupt shock was delivered to her system. Her whole body wracked in agony, her muscles seizing and her spine going rigid. Another burst of ice, this time involuntary, exploded from her entire being before she started to slip into unconsciousness.

The last thing she heard was a surprised wheeze. The last thing she knew was the sudden sensation of falling. Then she passed out altogether.

AN: Dun dun dun! What is to become of our dear ice queen? Or of her sister and a certain lil enchanted snowman? You'll just have to wait an see! I can say that some of your questions will be answered next chapter!

Once again, MUCH praise and MUCH worship to the amazing and beautiful Daughter of Kyne for being a stupendous beta for this chapter! Also, special thanks to Mad Oni, Spiderfan626, Daughter of Kyne and ScarletEmperor for being so generous as to take some time to leave their reviews! Your support really means the world for me, seriously guys, I'm gonna cry! You're all so wonderful, I'm not worthy!

Fun Fact: In the original version of this chapter, Sora made an appearance! But when I was originally writing this, it was before Frozen was even announced for KH3. So I was going off the assumption it wasn't going to be included, and so wrote this as if the events of Frozen had already happened, then Sora - just out there in the galaxy doing the whole world exploring thing he does so well - popped down onto Arendelle for the first time, discovered the lil shindig going on at the palace and partycrashed and had his first meeting with Elsa! That didn't really work anymore after the events of KH3 xD And what with Sora being a busy lil dude and all and having many worlds to visit, I just decided to write him out - he's already zooming off towards the next planet! Which one, you may wonder? You'll actually find out in a few more chapters! He does have a few options at this point, depending on what order he decided to visit the worlds in xD

Anyhoo, thanks again for reading, I super duper appreciate it! See you at the next update, lovelies, which will be coming at you real soon! Much love, peace out, and catch ya'll on the flip side!