Winter raked its chilly fingers through the air, an icy breeze heralding Elsa's presence. The gust ran up and down her form, playing with her hair, tugging at her gown and cape. Bits of snow twirled in a frenzied dance around her, only to fall and blanket the ground in her wake as she strode forward. Ice formed on the cobblestone beneath her very feet with every step, crackling as it spread and spidered outward. She moved slowly, cautiously, hands raised before her, ready to unleash frozen fury at the slightest hint of a threat. A scowl marred her features, narrowed eyes flashing dangerously as they scanned her surroundings.

The archway had lead her into some sort of city. A foul den of iniquity, more like. She hadn't run across a single other person so far. Any people that may have been there would have most likely just been hostages, so they wouldn't have been wandering about freely anyway. No, all she had encountered were more Heartless. They were oddly resilient, even in the harsh, snowy tundra she was summoning around herself. At best, her blizzard only seemed to slow them down. At worst, there was a certain variety that seemed to actually thrive in the cold. Still, they were no match for her. Whatever little shadow fiend she came across, she destroyed without prejudice.

There had been no sign of Anna so far. Elsa wasn't entirely sure if what she was doing was helping. As she moved deeper into this lair, was she bringing herself closer to her sister? Or was she just making a mess?

She pressed on, quieting any doubts in her mind with a shake of her head. She had to do this. For... she did not know what else she could do. At the very least, it had to be drawing someone's attention, someone in charge, someone she could negotiate with. Certainly, none of the little dark beasts she had faced so far would be of any use to her. The Heartless were nothing more than mindless drones, incapable of any thought or action beyond swarming and attacking. But they surely had to have a leader somewhere, one that wouldn't be too pleased with her going about, ripping all of its troops to shreds. And whenever it decided to rear its ugly head-

A giant blur of black suddenly leapt down from somewhere high above, landing in her path. Surprised, she stumbled backwards, but quickly caught herself. Her hands flew up in front of her once more, ready to lash out with her magic the second this new threat did something she didn't like as she studied it warily.

Now that it was still, she could see that it was a person… or at least, person-shaped. It had crouched low to absorb the impact from its landing, but now it slowly straightened up to stand. And it, whatever it truly was, was freakishly tall. She had thought Kristoff too large for his own good, but this thing seemed to have Anna's suitor beat by nearly a head. She could not make out any features, for it was clad from head to toe in malevolent black, comprised mainly of a long cloak with a hood currently hiding its face - that is, if it even had one.

So… this had to be the ringleader. The one controlling the Heartless, the mastermind behind the attack on Arendelle. That, or at least a lieutenant of some sort.

The ground was hissing beneath the entity, and some sort of fog seemed to be rising from its feet. Elsa's brow furrowed momentarily, then her eyes widened when realization struck. That wasn't fog, it was steam. It was melting her ice, apparently forming a warm dry patch around the newcomer.

How…?

How was it able to combat her magic?

Before she could ponder this odd turn of events further, the figure was holding up its gloved hands. "Whoa whoa!" a distinctly male voice came from within the confines of the hood. "Hey lady, calm down and put the frost away. You're gonna freeze the world!"

She frowned, narrowing her eyes into slits. The snow grew thicker and swirled more quickly around her.

It was time to get some answers. And he was going to be the one to give them to her.

"Freezing the world is exactly what I'll do unless you release my sister and take me to her this instant!" she demanded coldly through gritted teeth.

The figure tipped its head to one side. "Sister? Sorry, toots, but I don't know anything about your sister."

Her gaze hardened. Right. Like she was going to trust the figure in the sinister black coat. Because that sounded like a good idea. "You can't deceive me with your lies, you… you villain! I know you took her, I saw your vile shadow minions kidnap her through a portal of darkness!"

"Minions? Lady, you got it all backwards and this is all just some big misunderstanding. If you'll just listen-"

"Enough of your deceit! I said take me to her!" She cut him off with a snarl, throwing a hand forward, aiming at the ground in front of the stranger's feet. Barbs of ice sprung up from the spot and expanded out in a blur, the sharp tip of one stopping just short of his chest. "Right. Now."

The stranger stiffened, the hood shifting down to observe the chilly threat pointed at his breast. "...and here I was gonna play nice for once," he growled, the ice needle hissing as he somehow melted it to slush. She had thought him tall already, but apparently there had previously been a bit of a slouch to his stance, for now he straightened to his full height. If the intended effect had been to intimidate, it was successful, but Elsa did not let it show.

Embers started snapping at the air around him, waves of heat playing with the folds of his cloak. "The next time you aim for the heart is the second you end up missing yours."

Her eyelashes twitched, an all but imperceptible wince. Using her powers to inflict any sort of harm on another person was not an option she considered lightly. She still lived in a constant fear that she might hurt someone and it was a struggle to keep her abilities in check to make sure that didn't happen. She had nearly lost Anna by lodging a bit of ice magic into her heart merely the day before. So this stranger's comment about aiming for the heart struck a little too close to home.

But no, she couldn't afford to second guess herself. Not now, not when her sister's life might be on the line, not when Anna needed her most. That was probably exactly what this scoundrel was trying to do. To plant just enough doubt to make her lower her defense so he could then strike and catch her off guard. He probably wasn't even human under that hood. He probably didn't even have a heart. Just another shadow fiend like the rest of the Heartless at his command, merely formed into a misleadingly humanoid guise in an attempt to fool her.

"Are you going to take me to my sister or not?" she asked, her voice even and low.

He shrugged, a deceptively lazy gesture given that every inch of his lanky frame was tense, ready to spring like a trap. "I don't know where this sister of yours is, lady, but if you got a problem, we can sure as hell take care of it. I'm not one to back down from a fight. Final warning."

She scowled. Fine. If he wasn't going to volunteer any information, she was just going to have to make him tell her. For once, her powers seemed to be in agreement with her and willing to obey her command. Problem was, where most people unfamiliar with her abilities would have been shocked and fled in terror at any display of her ice magic, this guy hadn't even flinched. If anything, it had only seemed to provoke him. He was either very brave, or very stupid. Possibly both. What bothered her more however was the way he kept mysteriously melting her ice. She did not know what trickery this was, but she refused to be daunted by the likes of him.

"You're going to regret those words," she spat vehemently, her eyes defiant. She swept her hands out wide to either side. Suddenly, the blurred flecks of snow whirling around her came to an abrupt stop, suspended in midair, almost as if time itself had come to a standstill. They glimmered in the light as she froze them over into hard, jagged bits of ice. Elsa flung both her arms forward and with the motion, hundreds of tiny glacial shards launched themselves at her foe.

He didn't dodge. He didn't budge. Not one inch. He didn't even twitch. He just stood there and let the wave of piercing projectiles hit and impale him. Or… so it seemed at first. The instant any ice made contact with his cloak however, it sizzled and evaporated immediately. Each and every shard, just gone in a bit of steam that puffed off his body. She watched, eyes round, inhaling sharply through her nose.

How? How did he keep doing that?!

As the last frozen splinter hissed out of existence, he bowed his head, face still obscured. "Wrong move," was all he said. Then he disappeared in a swirling portal of darkness.

Just like the one that had spirited away Anna.

She was now more sure than ever he was tied to the assault on her kingdom and the abduction of her sister. Elsa was also convinced that while he was out of sight, he was most certainly not gone. He had to still be here somewhere, hidden in the mist and hail of her own blizzard, preparing to make his move. She could feel it in her bones, in the hairs on the back of her neck standing on end. She shifted and pivoted in place, watching, waiting for the attack.

She heard it before she saw it. A high-pitched hum from her left, distant at first but fast approaching. Even as she turned her head towards it, the source of the noise burst out of the fog, a scant few feet away from her. All she could make out was a whirling blur of flashing silver and blinding crimson. With only a split second to react, she cast her hands up and conjured an ice wall before her that slanted up at an angle over her head. The thing hit the makeshift barrier hard, cracking the ice before it bounced off and flew harmlessly past her.

Her eyes followed it until a gloved hand caught it, bringing its spinning to a stop. The weapon was some sort of spiked wheel, and the hand belonged to the cloaked figure. In his other hand was a second weapon that was the twin of the first. Not hesitating for even a heartbeat, he dashed towards her, closing the distance in the blink of an eye. And in his wake, melting the snow, a trail of crackling fire was left.

With a gasp, she barely had time to sidestep his lunge. The hood, inches from her own face, turned to regard her as he almost passed her completely by. But then he slid to a stop, spinning around, his arm suddenly wreathed in flames that rushed down and wrapped around his strange weapon before he sliced it out at her.

In a panic, her hands snapped up once again, raising a pillar of ice between him and her, blocking his attack. His smoldering weapon struck it and shattered it with a loud bang! Already, he was swinging the other metal wheel at her, it too now ablaze. She staggered back a step, hastily raising another pillar. Again, he smashed it, and again he advanced, alternating slashes with his weapons. With little time to think, her feet kept retreating as she threw up column after column.

But she knew she couldn't keep this up. She could already feel the scorching heat radiating off those weapons of his, drawing closer and closer with every slash, mere seconds away from searing her skin. She needed a moment to gather herself and get off the defensive. Gritting her teeth, she flung both arms up high over her head. With the gesture, a tall and expansive glacial wall rose between her and her opponent, several feet thick. One of the sharp wheels struck again and she could hear the harsh clink as its spikes sunk into the barricade, could see the burning glow of red hot metal dying through the fogged ice.

Then it was gone and all that could be heard was the rushing wind of her snowstorm and the pounding of her heart. She clutched her hands to her chest, releasing a breath she had not realized she had been holding.

Fire.

That… thing had fire at its command.

No wonder it had been able to counter her magic so easily.

But how did it have such abilities? Besides herself with her ice powers, the only other creatures she had ever encountered that were capable of any sort of sorcery were the trolls.

No… wait, that wasn't quite true… there had also been Sora. He'd been able to summon fire as well, along with ice, lightning, and a whole other host of elements. Elsa had meant to ask him about it, what with him being the first human she'd ever met like her who could wield magic. But there'd been no time, he'd departed so quickly once the danger to Arendelle had subsided. And even then, Sora was not cursed like she was. His powers were containable… one might even say manageable, as he'd only cast minor firebolts. Nothing nearly on the same scale as what she currently stood off against. The creature she faced now was pure flames incarnate, able to control fire for whatever nefarious purposes it wanted. This couldn't be possible! Or rather… it shouldn't have been...

Shaking her head, her lips pressed into a thin line. Elsa couldn't worry about the why or the how right now. She had only bought herself a minute of reprieve at best. That thing was still around, preparing another attack. She needed to be ready for it. She needed to end this.

"Had enough?" a mocking voice, his voice, came from behind her. She whipped around to face him, seeing him standing a few yards away, casually swinging his weapons at his sides.

Without a word, she threw one hand up, launching off a mammoth icicle that rocketed towards him. He used one of those strange pointed wheels of his to bat it away, sending it crashing into a nearby building.

He gave a soft snort. "Figured." Then he was charging at her once again, his coat billowing out around him.

She was prepared this time. Pointing down at his feet, a hazy blue beam leapt from her fingertips and slammed into the ground. Ice shimmered at the spot and cascaded outward, forming a slippery surface in his path. He was quick to react however, vaulting himself over it. The soles of his boots hit the ground on the other side of the glassy patch and he landed in a crouch, punching one of his weapons into the floor. A ring of fire erupted from beneath him, exploding outward and directly towards her.

Struggling to remain calm and in control, Elsa lifted her hands once more and beneath her a frozen monolith several yards in radius sprouted from the ground, lifting her up and out of reach of the flames. The cloaked figure sprang up, launching himself onto the platform with her. Then he was barreling straight for her once more.

Her fingers clawed upward and clenched tightly into fists. The chilly surface beneath the villain's shoes suddenly stretched out and clamped shut around his feet, ensnaring him in place. He almost tripped, but managed to keep his balance. She couldn't see it, but she could practically feel his calculating eyes latching onto her from within the confines of his hood, before he again vanished into a portal wrought from shadows.

Not a second later, she heard the slicing of air behind her. She spun on her heel, seeing him mid-pounce, blazing weapon overhead and about to be brought down upon her. Thrusting her arms forward, a frigid snow-laced gust rushed forth from her and crashed into him. It was enough to throw him off course and allow her a chance to dodge out of the way.

He landed in a roll and when he came back up, she saw his hood had been knocked back. She stiffened, her eyes wide and her eyebrows shooting up her forehead.

Long, spiky, vibrant red hair. Fierce, bright green eyes. Sharp, angular features set with an arrogant smirk.

He was… human?

He… was like her… in a way… another person cursed with the wretched power to destroy... only with fire instead of ice…

...no. This couldn't be. This was a mirage, another trick! She alone was burdened with such a curse, no one else! He wasn't a person, just another Heartless trying to fool her with illusions! A more powerful one to be sure, and more clever by far, but nothing more.

With a swift gesture, he blasted off a massive fireball that hissed through the hale and snowflakes as it flew directly towards her. An icebolt of her own catapulted from her fingers to deflect it. The hot and cold energy impacted between them, detonating into an angry cloud of steam that rippled out in waves of force. Elsa shielded herself with an arm, bracing herself as her skirt whipped around her calves. Beyond the vapor, she saw him lighting up one of those wheels with fire once more before hurling it at her.

Flicking her hand out, she shot off an icy beam. It collided with the whirling weapon and immediately coated it over in frost, extinguishing the flames into wisps of smoke as the frost continued to thicken. Weighted down more and more by the second, gravity pulled it to the floor and it skidded to a stop a few inches short of her toes. Already she was flinging off another stream of chilly magic, this time directed at the other wheel still within his grasp.

He frowned as her attack hit its mark and frost encased his second weapon as well. It expanded, crawling out to his fingers, knuckles, palm, wrist. But that's as far as it got before a scarlet glow could be seen radiating from within the rime. The ice sizzled and melted away. With a smug grin, he held the weapon up and shot her a wink.

She responded with a glare. Damn it, this was getting her nowhere. How was she supposed to make him release her sister if he was so easily able to deflect everything she threw at him? If only-

...wait...

...oh, yes. She had just the thing.

Now a wicked smirk curved Elsa's lips. That seemed to give her enemy pause. He called, "Yo, Snowflake. What's got you so giddy all of a sudden?"

"Allow me to acquaint you with a very dear friend of mine," she yelled back to be heard over the rush of the blizzard before waving her hands towards the snow piling between them. Clumps of white floated up, swirling with glimmering tendrils of magic and beginning to form a shape. A very large shape. One might even say gigantic. It sculpted into a torso, sprouting snow-packed limbs, with sturdy feet and bulky hands ending in sharp, gleaming ice claws. A lump extruded from the top, molding into a head. Deep gouges in the snow created a pair of eyes and a mouth. As the whole thing was lowered to the ground where it could stand on its own, life seemed to breathe into it. By now, it was big enough to rival some of the surrounding buildings.

Whatever her foe had been expecting, it very clearly had not been this, for he seemed stunned as he stared up at this new creature. The snowy behemoth looked down at him, its eye sockets scrunching angrily, its lips curling into a sneer. Elsa called out from behind it, "His name is Marshmallow."

With that, arctic spikes erupted out of the titan's head and down its back as it unleashed an earth-quaking roar that pushed the redhead back a few inches. He tossed up his hands in an attempt to pacify. "Woah there, big guy. Can we talk?"

In answer, the abominable snowman swept out one tremendous arm, swatting him like a gnat and catapulting him into the bricked wall of the nearest building. He let out a pained grunt as he crashed and slid to the ground.

"Take that as a no," he coughed and chuckled, struggling to pull himself back onto his feet. Then he snerked, locking eyes with Marshmallow. "Works for me. I did always love roasting s'mores."

His hand snapped up and from his palm, a roaring gout of flames blasted out. It smashed into the chest of the frozen colossus, punching clean through and out its back. It staggered, bellowing out. When the fire died down, a huge gaping hole had been left right in the middle of Marshmallow.

The creature scowled down at the hollow, emitting a low growl. The snow at the cavity's edges began to sparkle before expanding, closing up the wound entirely.

"Well now, that just ain't fair, Frosty," the man huffed.

Fair or not, Marshmallow didn't seem to care as it brought its fist down hard towards him. The redhead just barely jumped back in time, the giant's knuckles slamming into the spot he had just vacated, leaving a jagged crater in the cobblestones.

With one of his weapons still in hand, he stretched the other hand out to one side. The wheel still laying frozen at Elsa's feet burst out into flames before vanishing, leaving nothing but ash in the soggy snow. It reappeared in his awaiting grasp as he took off running towards Marshmallow. Both his weapons began to spin against his palms, fire engulfing them once more as they became burning discs with white hot cores.

The leviathan extended its chilly claws and squatted low to the ground, taking another swipe at him. He ducked out of the way and continued full speed ahead. Charging between Marshmallow's legs, his weapons were blazing blurs as he sliced chunks out of its ankles and shanks. Cuts already healing, the snowman snarled and raised one foot, trying to stomp down on the pest. But he was too fast, darting out from under it. Then he leapt, ripping holes out of the creature's spine and shoulders as he ran up its back, using the ice spikes as footholds as he leapt from one to the next.

Elsa observed silently from out of harm's way, waiting for the perfect opportunity to show herself. Marshmallow was strong to be sure and had survived the fiery onslaught so far, but she doubted he would continue to hold out for long. But he was doing what was needed: wearing out her enemy and keeping him distracted. Soon the villain would slip up and give her a chance to knock him out. Then she could restrain him and have him start answering her questions and demands.

And how, one might wonder, was she going to restrain him? Good question, given that every attempt so far had resulted in him just melting the ice that bound him or teleporting away. So that particular part of the plan was still being figured out. But once he was unconscious and she was freed from the heat of battle, once she had a real moment to herself to think, she was sure she'd be able to work out the rest. She just-

Her thoughts came to a screeching halt as she squinted at the scene before her. There was Marshmallow, alone, head turning to and fro, searching.

Wait, where was-

"Nighty nighty, Snowflake," that now all too familiar voice said quietly behind her.

Before she could so much as react, there was a sudden sharp pain in the back of her neck. Numbness rippled out from that spot and consumed her entire body, her knees giving out beneath her as black ate away at her vision. The last thing she saw was the snow blanketed ground fast approaching before everything went dark.

Yuffie and Leon stood at the outskirts of the blizzard. Though, to be fair, it really couldn't be called that anymore. The snow still thickly carpeted that section of the city, but the storm had let up. Now only a few delicate snowflakes would gently waft to the ground from time to time. The border of the cold white expanse had stopped spreading. Some of the snow at the edge was even beginning to melt, leaving a damp line along the cobblestones.

"Looks like Axel was successful," Yuffie chirped, kneeling down and using a finger to trace crude doodles in the snow.

"Looks like," Leon echoed flatly, not sounding convinced.

"Think it's safe to go inside yet?"

He didn't respond right away, frowning out at the frozen wasteland. "...give it another minute."

She shrugged, adding more details to her sketch. But then something caught the corner of her eye and she glanced up. Staring hard into the fog, it took a few more seconds, then she spotted it again and she shot up. "Someone's coming!"

Leon said nothing, just moved a hand to rest on the hilt of his gunblade.

A silhouette was faintly outlined in the mist, growing more distinct as it walked closer. Finally the cloudy veil parted and Axel emerged. But it wasn't just him. In his arms, he carried an unconscious woman, hair and skin both pale, clad in a blue gown with a soft sheen.

"Axel!" Yuffie called, running towards him, leaving deep footprints in the snow. Leon loosened his grip and followed behind more slowly. As she drew near, she continued, "You did it! What happened? Who's that? Did you rescue her from the monster?"

He shook his head, looking down at his charge.

"She… is the monster."

AN: This chapter was so fun to write! Hopefully it was just as much fun to read! I've always thought it would be pretty epic if you got to play Axel in a KH game in a boss battle against Elsa - could be some interesting game mechanics brought in for that xD Maybe we'll get it in a DLC! I'm not holding my breath, but a girl can dream, can't she? Until then, I must live vicariously through my fanfiction!

MUCH praise and MUCH worship to the awesome and magnificent Daughter of Kyne and ScarletEmperor for being superb betas for this chapter! Also, special thanks to Spiderfan626, ScarletEmperor, Daughter of Kyne, and Rina for being so generous as to take some time to leave their reviews! Your support really means the world to me, seriously guys, my tears, they flow! You're all so sweet, I'm not worthy!

Fun Fact: This chapter actually didn't require that many revisions from its original. Just had to add some thoughts on Sora mostly xD Back in the old chapter 2 when she met Sora (before revisions and I edited him out), all she saw him do was use some bizarro key weapon, no magic. So it was a lot weirder for her encountering Axel, the first real magic wielder besides her. But had to adjust that now that in KH3 she saw Sora use PLENTY of magic, haha. Even then, meeting Axel is a total trip for her, as you can see!

At any rate, 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 and peace out!