Elsa winced as she came to, her eyes fluttering open.
...where…?
She was having trouble seeing properly - her sight hazy as if filtered through a fog, turning everything around her into just a blend of malformed shapes and dim colors. The fog was lifting, but gradually… much too gradually for her liking. A dull ache thrummed throughout her body, and though it seemed to fade as her consciousness grew in strength, the hard and cool surface she felt beneath her was hardly speeding the process along.
Was she… laying on the ground?
With a soft groan, she propped herself up on her elbows and looked around. Finally her vision was clearing. When it fully snapped into focus, she breathed in sharply, blinking a few times.
This was most certainly not Arendelle.
She was surrounded by dull, lifeless grey stonework, both making up the floor beneath her and the walls around her. But it wasn't whole. Massive chunks of bricks were gone, entire walls missing, like some behemoth creature of legends had come along and smashed parts of the place into ruins. Strange metal tubes stuck out here and there. Before her was an open gate leading into a darkened archway. To one side of her, steps leading up to a wide, giant window overlooking a vast valley. To the other side, broken steps leading down to the gods knew where. Behind her, the floor abruptly ended in a sheer, jagged drop. Beyond it-
An extraordinary castle. A twisted castle, all odd angles and disproportionate towers. It was as if it had been built using pieces from different jigsaw puzzles, forced together to create a nonsensical picture. More of those odd bronze tubes, some mangled and riddled with holes, all of it curling around the palace's walls like strange decorations. Clockwork gears ran all the way down one of its sides.
Overwhelmed with so many new and strange sights, it took a minute for it all to sink in. Then quite abruptly, panic seized Elsa's chest as her heart began to pound. Where was she? How had she gotten here? She struggled to remember and was rewarded with a throbbing headache. The only thing she could recall was... darkness, all consuming and cold. She sat up further, her breath shallow, her eyes wide. The air grew chilly around her and began to shimmer with snowflakes and specks of ice.
Something was coming back to her. Her fingers brushed her furrowed browed as she struggled for the memory. It was… eyes? Yes, bulbous, inhuman eyes glowing a sickly yellow, watching unblinkingly from the darkness… hundreds of them… waiting… hungry…
A noise came from somewhere she could not see, ripping her out of the phantom of a memory and back into the present. She gasped and scrambled back a bit, ice coating the ground beneath her, the snow beginning to fall more heavily around her. Lifting her chin, she called out shakily, "W-who's there?"
The only answer she got was more of the same sounds - scratches and skittering coming from the pitch black archway across from her. She swallowed hard, shakily getting to her feet and inching back a bit further, mindful of the cliff behind her. As she watched, she saw movement in the inky dark. Then, suddenly, lights. A pair of them, lined up directly beside one another, burning with an amber glow.
She frowned and squinted.
No… not lights… eyes.
Without warning, they surged forward towards her and at last she could see what they belonged to. A little beast wrought from shadows, launching through the air towards her, claws spread, preparing to strike her down.
Her eyes grew round, her hands already moving before she hardly even registered the thought. They lashed out in front of her and a chilly blue mist leapt forth from them, colliding hard with the little monster and sending it crashing into a wall. Frost quickly coated the thing and by the time it fell to the ground, it was a solid block of ice that promptly shattered.
Panting, she clasped her hands over her chest. She remembered now. She remembered everything. The ball, the legion of Heartless, her sister disappearing into a nefarious portal of darkness, her own struggle against whatever had tried to seize her, then… nothing.
Why… was she here now? Where was here?
Was this their evil lair? Had they knocked her out and kidnapped her, bringing her here? If so, why would they just leave her like this, out in the open and unguarded? Was it some sort of trick? Were they trying to play mind games with her? To what end?
More importantly, where was Anna? Had they brought her here too? Was she being held captive? Were they… hurting her?
More noises were coming from the archway before her. More Heartless. Elsa's eyes flashed icily, her back straightening as she squared her shoulders. The wind began to pick up around her, whipping her braid about. What had been a gentle snowfall seconds ago was fast becoming a vicious flurry.
A pack of the shadow beasts came charging out towards her this time, but she didn't flinch. With a flick of her wrist, ice spikes erupted from the ground beneath the abominations, skewering them and exploding them into smoke.
Her lips set into a grim line now, she took a step towards the gateway. That was where the enemy kept coming from, so it was as good a place to start as any.
Whatever their scheme was, the Heartless were seriously about to regret bringing her here. Not only had they taken her, but they'd made the grave mistake of involving her sister as well. Elsa would tear this place apart brick by brick if she had to in order to find her. And if she discovered that even so much as one hair on Anna's head had been harmed, she would not hesitate to teach the culprit the very deadly, and very literal meaning of the term chilled to the bone.
Axel quirked an eyebrow. "Wait, you want me to go where and do what for the who now?"
"Pay attention, my boy, pay attention!" Merlin gave him a couple quick jabs in the shoulder with his wand to punctuate his words. "I said you're to go to Radiant Garden and rendezvous with the Restoration Committee there! As for the what, why, you'll just have to wait until you're there to find out."
Axel exchanged a quick glance with Kairi. The wizard had interrupted them in the middle of a little sparring and their two keyblades were still poised defensively between them. They both relaxed, Axel dismissing his blade as he crossed his arms and frowned, turning his head to one side. "But what about my training? And what do they want with me? Aren't Sora or Riku available?"
Merlin huffed, his thick mustache twitching to and fro in agitation. "I would have thought you would be jumping at the chance to go out on a mission. I hear you're going a little stir crazy in here, after all."
"Oh you do, do you?" he asked, shooting some side eye to Kairi. She merely flashed him a tiny grin with a shrug.
"Besides, you are uniquely qualified for this undertaking. Now, shall we? Time is of the essence, my boy."
He scratched the back of his head before his gaze fell on Kairi once more. "Wanna come with?"
"Nah. Think I'd rather practice some more of my moves," she stabbed the air with her keyblade a couple times before resting it against one shoulder, thumbing her nose with a smirk. "Hoping to have a couple new secret techniques to surprise you with by the time you get back."
He chuckled, ruffling her hair, "Looking forward to it, Princess." As she swatted him away, he turned back to Merlin. "Alright, I'll bite. When do we-"
The wizard clapped one hand on Axel's shoulder and suddenly the forest around the two of them was gone, replaced by the rustic buildings of a sprawling city. Not just any city. One that was very familiar to Axel.
His hometown.
Radiant Garden.
...right smack dab on the rooftop of some random schmo's house.
"...leave?" he finished, blinking a couple times. The soles of his boots scraped against the shingles as he took a step back from the drop to the streets below. "Jeez, with all that phenomenal cosmic power in that itty-bitty wand of yours, woulda thought you'd be able to drop us off somewhere a lil less precarious. Sure it's safe for you to be up this high at your age? You're no spring chicken anymore."
That comment earned his noggin a swift whack from the wizard's wand. "Spring chicken or not, I can still give you a run for your munny!"
"I believe you, I believe you!" Axel threw his hands up in a placating gesture. "Now put that stick away before you really hurt someone."
Giving a curt, triumphant nod, Merlin's features then softened into a kindly smile. "Now then, I'll leave you to it, lad. I have to make a quick stop over in Twilight Town to get some affairs in order, but I'll be back shortly. I trust you'll have this all sorted out by the time I return. Just look at this as a test, one I have no doubt you'll pass with flying colors. Now toodle-loo!"
"But wait, what's the test? What am I supposed to-"
Bamf!
And just like that, Merlin had disappeared in a puff of blue smoke.
"...do?"
Okay, wizards royally sucked.
Crazy old coot.
Alright, so now what? He glanced around as a gentle wind picked up, tugging at the bottom flaps of his Organization coat. Then with a sigh, he took a seat at the edge of the roof, propping an arm up on one knee while letting his other foot dangle. What was the rush after all? Surely whatever it was he'd been brought here to do could wait while he took a brief second to enjoy the view.
After all, Radiant Garden truly was quite a wonder to behold, especially right now as dusk began to settle into twilight, bathing the sky in gorgeous blues and indigos. That eccentric yet whimsical castle as a backdrop, those waterfalls that seemed to pop out wherever they pleased, that vibrant canyon far below. And overlooking it all, a small metropolis working on rebuilding and restoring itself to its former glory. Its houses and shops were quaint, packed in tightly together on plateaus that ascended like a stairway meant for giants. And as it turned out, Axel's perch appeared to be at the highest tier atop one of the taller buildings, lending for a perfect opportunity to drink it all in.
He closed his eyes with a grin, inhaling slowly before releasing it.
This was home.
Such a shame he'd only been back a handful of times since becoming a Somebody again. He unfortunately just didn't have the time to spare to be taking walks down memory lane. The few times he had managed to drop by, he'd made sure to pay a quick visit to the Restoration Committee. Man, had that been a trip. Those were people he'd known since they were all children together. He'd grown up with them, played with them, fought with them, laughed with them. Now... they were wary of him. Seems they weren't going to forget his deeds as a Nobody any time soon. Axel didn't mind though, he probably would have judged them more if they'd welcomed him with open arms. In any case, they were warming up to him. Some more slowly than others, but it was only a matter of time before his lovable self wormed his way back into even the most stubborn of hearts.
Speaking of the Restoration Committee… hadn't Merlin said something about them? Maybe that's where he was supposed to go. But then, why hadn't the mage taken Axel directly to their doorstep? Wouldn't that have made the most sense if there was some sort of trouble and no time to lose?
Axel raised a curled finger to his chin with a frown. Merlin had called this a test. Maybe that's all this literally was. No sort of real danger or anything, but more of a… a game to put his skills to the challenge. Okay, so thinking along that route then… where was the challenge? Looking around, this part of the city was practically a ghost town. Deader than Deadsville.
Huh. Whatever he was here to do, the wizard had said he was uniquely qualified for it. So what was in his wheelhouse that he was particularly good at? ...maybe this was a stealth mission. Like a good ol' fashion round of hide-n-seek. Perhaps he was supposed to be putting all those years as the Organization's assassin to use, sneaking about, staying out of sight, not getting caugh-
"There you are!"
He twitched at the shout from the solemn voice before looking down. Standing in the alley below him was Leon.
Axel flashed him a smirk. "Oops. Busted!"
He narrowed his eyes up at the redhead. "We need to talk."
Never in the history of human language had those words ever preceded anything good. Besides, if this was a game, they weren't going to catch him that easily! Hopping up into a crouch, he pressed his thumb to his nose, waggling his fingers. "You'll never take me alive!" He then spun around and took off running along the rooftops.
Or tried to anyway.
He'd managed to dash two whole steps before an arm shot out of nowhere and rammed into his neck, clotheslining him. With a surprised strangled yelp, he fell backwards, his spine hitting the shingles hard.
Well, that had been the shortest match of hide-n-seek in the history of ever.
Grimacing, he looked up to find Yuffie standing over him, arms crossed and shaking her head. "You'll never change, Red," she grinned down at him.
"Would you quit clowning around already?" Leon's stern voice echoed from below again.
As Yuffie stretched a hand out towards him, Axel muttered, "Jeez, the Scar's cranky today."
She snerked as he took her hand and helped him up. "When is he not?"
"How'd you guys even find me all the way up here?" he asked, scratching the back of his head.
"You kidding? Please, that mane of yours is as good as a flare gun. You can be spotted from orbit, Axel." Nudging him with her shoulder, she lead him back to the edge of the roof so they could make eye contact with Leon again, adding, "Now pipe down and listen up. This is important."
"Yes Ma'am," he saluted. Well at least now he didn't have to go find the Restoration Committee, not when they had been so kind as to find him instead. He glanced down at Leon. "So, what's got your panties all in a twist, bossman?"
There was a low growl from deep within the other man's throat as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "...I can't believe you're the one they sent over."
"Shove it, Leon! He's the best keyblader for the job and you know it!" Yuffie called down to him.
Leon's lip curled in disdain. "Doesn't mean I have to be happy about it."
"Hey, I'm not exactly thrilled to be seeing that mug o' yours either, pal," Axel harrumphed. "I asked why they weren't sending Sora or Riku over instead, but Merlin was just his vague, cryptic self as usual."
"Riku's in the Realm of Darkness and currently out of our reach, while Sora's not answering his gummiphone. Honestly, I don't know why anyone bothered to give it to that kid if he doesn't ever pick the damn thing up," he grumbled. Then he crossed his arms and looked down at his shoes, clearly struggling with the next sentence on the tip of his tongue, whatever it was. At last, Leon said the last four words Axel ever expected to hear out of his mouth. "...we need your help."
His head reeled back at that, eyebrows shooting up his forehead. "You want my help? Me? Wow," he turned to Yuffie, "you weren't kidding. This is serious. Alright, color me curious. What do you need?"
Leon turned his back to him, pointing out into a lower section of the city. "Look out there. What do you see?"
He looked at the spot indicated, squinting. There was something down there obscuring the houses near the bailey from his sight. It was some floating, swirling mass of white. It seemed to be… clouds? "What the…? Oh man, is that a blizzard? How did I not see that until now?"
Leon kept his gaze focused on the weather anomaly. "It was small at first, but has been growing rapidly. It won't be long before it's overtaken that whole sector and spreads to others."
He shook his head. "What the hell, Mother Nature? That can't be natural."
"It's not," Yuffie nodded. "Temperatures are subzero inside, rapidly freezing everything over. It's locking up the Claymores and rendering them useless. Luckily, no one has been caught inside it and we're evacuating people that are too close. But at the rate it's expanding, it won't be long before the whole town will be a winter wonderland."
Giving a low whistle, Axel asked, "What's causing it?"
"Not entirely sure, but we suspect the Heartless."
"Think there's a big nasty right smack dab in the middle of it?"
"Most likely. The security system picked up a spike in darkness down near the bailey right before the storm appeared. But we can't investigate. No one can get close enough. It's too dangerous." Leon looked up at him once more. "That's where you come in."
Axel grinned. "Oh, I get it. You're thinking since fire and I are like this," he held up two crossed fingers, "that gives me a bit of an extra edge to get in there safely without having to worry about frostbite or dying to hypothermia or whatever."
He bowed his head. "More or less."
Now that whole "uniquely qualified" statement made sense!
Rubbing his chin, he gave a thoughtful hum. Then he smirked, "What's in it for me?"
"Axel," Leon snarled, accompanied with a smack to the back of the head courtesy of Yuffie.
"Ouch! Kidding, kidding! Jeez, some people can't take a joke," he winced, rubbing the sore spot. "Worry not, bossman! I got your back! I'll go in there, find that monster and put it in its place! You can count on me!" With that, he sprinted off, bounding from one roof to the next, taking him to the furthest reaches down in the city.
Leon had a sour look on his face as he watched him go, muttering, "This was a bad idea."
"Lighten up," Yuffie chirped as she hopped down to stand beside him. "He's just what the doctor ordered. You'll see"
He huffed out a snort, closing his eyes. "We're doomed."
Traversing the rooftops, it didn't take Axel long to get to the bottom tier of Radiant Garden. A few more seconds and he was at the edge of the snowstorm. His boots skidded to a stop just short of the stark line where summer ended and winter began. It was easy to see the blizzard expanding, even in the space of a few measly heartbeats. Curious, he stretched a tentative hand out into it. Immediately, he let loose a hiss and was snatching it back, flecks of frost already forming on his knuckles. He could feel the chill seeping straight through the leather of his gloves, goosebumps forming on the flesh beneath.
Jeez, was that cold!
And his gloves weren't thin, so whatever was at the core of that storm? Was freaking powerful. Sure, keyblade masters shot off ice bolts all the time. Hell, even Axel could do that by now after his training over the past few weeks, though it wasn't by any means his strong suit. But he had yet to see a keyblade wielder summon up anything on this scale. He wasn't sure Merlin or even Yen Sid himself could pull off something of this magnitude. The only person he had ever seen come close was Vexen, and he seriously doubted he would find Even throwing a tantrum at the middle of all that white. It just had to be a Heartless. A big sucker, too.
He zipped up his coat tight and surged heat through his veins, raising his body temperature so he'd be nice and toasty. Then pulling his hood up around his head and tugging on the drawstrings to trap in every last bit of warmth, he plunged into the flurry. Even with the precautions he took, the wall of cold that hit him was still a jolt to his system. Shaking off the chill and upping his internal thermostat a few more degrees, his feet took off running along the tops of the buildings once more.
He moved swiftly, stealth be damned. He needed to get to the root of this frozen madness pronto. Partly because it needed to end yesterday. Partly because he suspected that if he stopped moving long enough, even the likes of him would freeze over into solid ice. It grew colder still as he pressed on and he knew he was getting close. The chilly source was drawing him in like a magnet.
It made sense, in a way. Fire always wanted to warm the cold. It had been that way since the dawn of time. It was only natural.
When he arrived at his destination, he felt it more than saw it. By now, the snowflakes and mist pelting his face were so thick, it was difficult to make out much of anything. But there! He could see a vague silhouette outlined in the haze on the streets below. He squinted at the figure. Huh. The monster was smaller than he expected it would be. He moved to get closer, leaping over a few more rooftops until he was right above it. He squatted down, squinting and starting to make out details.
Milky white skin that blended and practically vanished into the onslaught of snow. Eyes like waves crashing on an iceberg in a tempest. Platinum blonde hair woven into a braid that danced in the freezing gale. A translucent cape and powder blue dress that glimmered as they whipped about.
He blinked.
Wait. Hold up.
The big, bad monster… was a chick?
AN: Now we're starting to get to the good stuff! Next chapter is gonna be so fun! Any bets on what's gonna go down? All I'll say is I'm excited to share it with you!
MUCH praise and MUCH worship to the fantastic and talented Daughter of Kyne and ScarletEmperor for being extraordinary betas for this chapter! Also, special thanks to ScarletEmperor, Spiderfan626, SoraKairiRikuNamine, and Daughter of Kyne for being so generous as to take some time to leave their reviews! Your support really means the world to me, seriously guys, I'm gonna weep big fat tears over here! You're all so amazing, I'm not worthy!
Fun Fact: In the original that I was working on before KH3 came out, Kairi and Axel were doing their training with Yen Sid at his tower. In that older version, no one sent Axel to Radiant Garden to deal with the freak blizzard, instead he was he was just there already cuz he liked to pop in on his hometown from time to time. Leon and Yuffie then found him and pointed out the blizzard to him, and it all just turned out to be a right place, right time sort of deal. But with KH3 showing that Axel was instead being trained by Merlin in a secret forest outside of space and time, figured in that situation Axel was now less likely to pop off to Radiant Garden whenever he wanted - I think he still could with his Corridors of Darkness if he ever felt so inclined , but he needed more of a reason to now than "just cuz he felt like it." Ultimately, I think I like it better this way!
Anyhoozle, 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 keep it real!