A/N: Sorry for the long wait loyal followers. Unfortunately, my old computer had moved on to a better place, and went where all good computers go. Needless to say, I took it hard and found it difficult to move on. However, one night she came to me in my dreams and told me to move on, and that I had people depending on me to finish my works. So, with a renewed vigor, I went out searching for a computer that could be as good as the one that had just moved on. After countless days of nothing and despair digging at my poor lonely soul; I had finally found her. Now, after a motivating PM form Eragonfan33, I'm back with a quick mind and even quicker fingers, so without further ado here's a long overdue chapter with more to come shortly.
Chapter 6—The Hidden Self
Castle
24MAY24—1200 HRS.
Kristoff POV
We were wrapping up our little gathering in the music room. Lunch was almost over and most of us wanted to catch it before it was too late. It was the anniversary of Fishlegs death, and just like every year the team gathered to reminisce about the good times. We washed down our sorrows with Miller Lite, which just happened to be his choice of beer. Hiccup, as usual, kept to himself today. Sure he would gather with us, but he never told any of his stories or really even paid us any mind. We can all tell he feels guilty for his friends death even if it wasn't his fault, no matter how many time we tell him otherwise. I notice the other guys get up to leave and I follow. I take one last glance to Hiccup and ask him if he'd like to join us, but he just shakes his head and continues looking at the ground. As I shut the door I bump into none other than Elsa.
Elsa POV
I was literally knocked out of my thoughts when I bumped into someone. I looked up a little to see Kristoff coming out of the music room. He quickly apologized to me and went to continue on his way when I stopped him. "Kristoff?" He turned to face me "yes Elsa?" "Might I ask what you were doing in the music room? Do you play an instrument?" He laughed a little "no, the team was just having a gathering." I smiled "oh, might I inquire as to why?" His face dropped "we were honoring Fishlegs' memory." I instantly dropped my smile and could only reply with "oh."
"Yea, it always brings Hiccup down. I hate leaving him to his thoughts like this, but he never opens up to us; at least about Fishlegs." Then his face light up like a firework. "I have a great idea, why don't you try to talk to him?" I look at him shocked "me? Why me?" He continued to smile at me "well he's opened up to you before, maybe he will again." My mind can't seem to form a coherent thought, but I try to reply anyway. "B-but, I don't even know how to start. I can't just walk in there and be like 'hey Hiccup, wanna talk about your dead friend?'" He thought for a second then smiled once more. "Well why not bring him some lunch? He's obviously not going to eat with us, and I'm sure he's going to get hungry." He left me without a thing to say. With a smirk he just turned and walked away throwing a wave over his shoulder.
It was about 30 minutes later when I came back to the music room and opened the door. As soon as I did I heard the faint sound of a violin playing. I rounded the corner and saw Hiccup sitting with his back to me and said violin on his shoulder. I was so entranced that I could only stop and listen. As I listened I heard him begin to sing.
We went out for beer and a couple laughs.
Knowing full well that every last joke that Jimmy told,
Might be his last.
So we laughed like the world wasn't at war,
Said things to him we'd never said before.
And he teared up as he held up his glass;
He said, boys, if I don't make it back
Have a beer for me, don't waste no tears on me.
On Friday night sit on the visitors side,
And cheer for the home team.
Drive my Camaro, 90 miles an hour down Red Rock Road;
With born to run blastin' on the radio.
And find someone good enough for Amy,
Who will love her like I would have;
If I don't make it back.
We said, hey, man that ain't gonna happen,
Don't even think like that;
If we know you, you'll pull through without a scratch.
He pulled me aside in the parking lot;
Said, Amy and me are gonna tie the knot
You're my best man, just wanted you to know that
Just in case, I don't make it back
Have a beer for me, don't waste no tears on me.
On Friday night sit on the visitors side,
And cheer for the home team.
Drive my Camaro, 90 miles an hour down Red Rock Road;
With born to run blastin' on the radio.
And find someone good enough for Amy,
Who will love her like I would have;
If I don't make it back.
If the good Lord calls me home
I'd like to think my friends
Will think about me when I'm gone.
He stopped singing and just continued to play the violin, while he prepared his next verse. I didn't need to see his face to know that he was shedding tears, since I myself was about to begin weeping like a child. I took this moment to slip into the room and grab a chair not far from him. I could hear the song take a melancholy turn as I sat down, and once I did Hiccup began once again.
Well, Miller Lite ain't my brand
But I drink one every now and then, in his honor
And we ain't missed a home game yet
Had that Camero at 110 on Red Rock Road,
When the speakers blowed.
And I introduced Amy to a friend of mine from Monroe,
He's a good ol' boy
But you know…she just ain't ready.
I just sat there at the end of his song, my voice all but lost to me, as I listened to his muffled sniffle. After a minute or so of not being able to put my thoughts into words, I simply decided the best course of action was to embrace him. As soon as I made contact with his back I felt him stiffen and freeze. "That was beautiful" I say with some tears still running down my face. I heard him speak "y-you heard that?" I simply just nod while still hugging him. I let him go and he turned to face me. "I'm sorry for using your music room without permission, I'll take my leave." Before he could get even two steps I stopped him and grabbed his wrist "…wait…" He stopped but didn't turn around again or even lift his gaze from the floor. I decided to continue on "please Hiccup, open up to me. I know that you're a 'tough as nails' SEAL, but you're also only human. If you keep bottling everything up you're going to end up a mental wreck, then you might be the one someone is singing about."
I let go of his wrist, and he just stood there staring at the floor for a good amount of time. Finally he spoke up, almost as if he was whispering "Elsa…aside from the guys on the team…there is no one left to sing about me. That honor was killed with the bullet that took Fishleg's life." I was stunned, 'so this is the side of himself that he hides from the world.' Then next words I spoke seemed to just fly out of my mouth as if they had a mind of their own. "I would sing for you." As soon as I spoke those words my hands flew to my mouth and my gaze to the floor. He went silent for a moment, which gave me time to my thoughts. The more I thought about what I said I noticed that I did mean what I said, but I didn't have much time to ponder on it. I noticed his feet shuffle at the top of my vision, letting me know he turned around.
Hiccup POV
"W-what?" was the only thing I could utter. I could see her steel her resolve as she stared into my eyes. "That's right! I would sing for you and shed so many tears it could fill a river!" As I stared into her eyes I began to feel the hope I had so long ago when things were happier. I had to ask though, to make sure that my hope, and feelings, weren't misplaced. "But why?" She seemed hesitant to answer, but the next words she spoke made me wish I hadn't even asked. "Because you're my friend silly." Ouch, I just got friendzoned by the only other girl I've even looked at since Astrid. I did my best to hide the pain I was feeling, and I seemed to be successful in that endeavor.
I was about to excuse myself when Toothless came bursting in "Hiccup, we might have a problem." Instantly Toothless had my undivided attention "What's going on?" He took no time to fill me in "a van has passed by a few times carrying roughly seven men. A guard noticed the van stop not far from the gate for a few minutes then continue on. This has been going on for about 15 minutes. I've sent Kristoff and Sven to the gate to provide assistance if need be, but I suggest we put the castle on alert, sir." I look to Elsa then back to Toothless "you're absolutely right. You have your radio on you?" "Of course." I extend my hand out and he quickly responds by placing the radio in it. "Iceman, you with doc?" "Yea Reaper, I got him. What's up?" "Keep sight of that van, and keep your heads low. I'm taking Devil to OP Bravo, while Terminator takes the family to Sanctuary." "Roger Reaper" I hand the radio back to Toothless then turn back to Elsa. I heard Toothless call Meathead over the radio to round up Anna and meet up with us in the ballroom. "Elsa we need to move, we're going to regroup with Meathead and Anna in the ballroom. From there you will be escorted somewhere safe till this blows over." "Okay." With that we make our way to the ballroom.
Roughly 10 minutes later I'm sitting on the roof with Toothless beside me as we scan the area around the gate. I was just about to radio down to the other two when Toothless spoke up "I got em. 200 yards from the gate on the right side of the street, blue van, I count seven inside, passenger appears to be armed." "Got it Toothless." I speak into my throat mic "got that down there you two?" "Lima Charlie, we pulled the gate guard back. He'd only get in the way with that little nine mil of his." I heard him chuckle over the radio, and suppress a laugh myself before I got serious again. "Alright boys, hunker down, looks like we have some counter surveillance to do here." I hear a couple of 'Alrights' then cut radio communication. It's going to be a long night.
Finally a few hours later around sunset the van did something out of its usual routine. I hear Kristoff come over the radio "you seeing this Reaper?" "I see it, continue to monitor the situation, and be ready in case things get hairy." The van this time stopped in the middle of a now desolate street that led to the gate. I heard Toothless speak up while looking through his spotter scope "Hic' I don't like this. It don't feel right." "I hear you Too…" before I could finish the van began to accelerate toward the gate. Instantly I aimed down my scope in an attempt to predict the vans track. After about 2 or 3 seconds I had it figured, and lined my sights up to the spot where the driver was going to be for the bullet to make contact. A second later I squeezed the trigger, and quickly rechambered a new round to prepare for the next shot. As soon as the bullet made contact with the driver the van took a sharp turn into the wall alongside the gate.
Without hesitation several armed men stepped out with Ak-47s and baklavas covering their faces. I immediately heard the sounds of gunfire coming from both sides of the gate, which told me that Kristoff and Doc had engaged. I took no time in lining up my next shot and dropping one more. It was at this time the OPFOR figured out I was sniping at them and took cover from my view behind the wrecked van. Seeing that sniping was no longer an option, I grabbed my M416 and Toothless and began rappelling down the wall to go assist Kristoff and Sven.
As we neared the gate the sounds of gunfire got louder, and now voices were distinguishable. I decided on the fly that Toothless and I were going to attempt to flank the OPFOR. I radioed to Kristoff to let him know "Iceman, Reaper and Devil moving in for a flank at your 9." "Roger Reaper, were still….." a high pitched wiz was heard through his mic along with a impact sound "…FUCK, I'm hit." Having forgot to shut his mic off I could hear the commotion in the background. "Doc, get cover. Fucking hell this hurts, ah…." I tune out the rest as we take out position along the fence line with sight on the last two remaining tangos. "Toothless let's wrap this shit up, we need to check on Kristoff." "Got ya Hiccup." "And where the fuck is the Arendellian police or even the castle's response team?!"
From the fence line Toothless managed to drop one of the tangos, and instantly the other, know his position was compromised, pulled a device from his pocket. Toothless, having a better view, called out one of the last things we wanted to hear. "DETONATOR!" Fearing the worst, I lined up a shot through the back window of the van on the tango's head. Without hesitation I pulled the trigger and watched the body fall lifeless to the concrete.
After the last tango was dropped, I left Toothless on station while I moved to the gate entrance. Upon my arrival there I could see Doc helping Kristoff up off the ground. It was at this time that the reaction force had arrived and began securing the area. "Too little, too late now." I heard Doc mumble next to me. "It seems that some training evolutions are needed for these guys. We will have to discuss that with the queen." I speak into my radio "Area secured by Arendellian reaction force members. All team members regroup on me in Queen Elsa's office for a debrief. And Meathead, escort both sister there as well." A chorus of "roger" rang out over the headsets.
Roughly thirty minutes later, after all our gear was restowed, we met in Elsa's office to discuss security protocols and inform the two sisters what happened. Upon our initial entry both the queen and princess were in there along with Meathead and some Arendellian guards. Anna was quick to notice Kristoff's condition and voice her concern. "OH MY GOD! Kristoff are you alright?" She ran up close to him but didn't touch him in fear of causing him pain. He replied "not really, they ruined my favorite under armor shirt." We could all see the humor there, but it was obvious Anna was not amused. "I'm kidding, I'm fine. Really." He offered a thumbs up a along with a smile, but she was still upset with him for his "joke."
Once the "love birds" were done I cleared my throat to get the conversation back on topic. "Queen Elsa, from the information I've gathered, these men appeared to be ISIS supporters. All of them appeared to be of different backgrounds as well. I did a little more digging and came across some disturbing news…"
Elsa POV
"…there's a price on your head. Not just yours but your sisters also, and they appear to be separate from each other." W-What? Why is there a price on my head, unless….but I don't see what that has to do with Anna. He seems to have more to say, depending on what he says I may just have to reveal my greatest secret. "It seems that word had gotten to extremist supporters in your country, however, I feel that the price may have been set on the two of you by someone outside their ranks." "What makes you say that?" He continued on "I was able to track the originating locations of the contracts, but I was unable to narrow it down to any specific individual. The two that did this obviously know what they're doing." I halt him for a second "wait, did you say two?"
He simply nodded then continued on "I was able to track the first contract to a small island chain off the coast of Italy by the name of Sud Isole, which when translated means Southern Isles." I gasped and looked to Anna fearfully. She was looking right back in astonishment and slight fear, only one person from there would do something like this. "Prince Hans" I blurted out without thinking. Hiccup just looked at me strangely and said "come again?" I proceeded to fill him in with a quick story of the prince who tried to marry my sister then have me killed off so that he could rule as a king.
I looked at me thoughtfully "very well, that would give him a motive and a means. Now all I have to do is locate the man who picked up the contract and eliminate him first. Till then we will have to be on high alert." He looked to my sister then turned to Kristoff "Kristoff since your shoulder is in a sling, you will be the princess's personal security detail. I'm sure you know what this entail, as well as the rules of engagement should her life be threatened." He nodded his head once with a look made of stone on his face. I piped in slightly confused "wait, not to be rude, but isn't he injured? Shouldn't somebody who's not hurt be with her?" He just smiled an laughed a little "no need to worry, Kristoff is the best ambidextrous shooter on the team. He can draw a nine as fast with his left hand as he can with his right."
His face turned serious once more "I also managed to track a location for the other contract, but with no motive of suspect to base off of there's nothing we can do except beef up security and attempt to track down this person to put an end to these contracts once and for all." I attempted to cut in and ask him the location of my contract, but he didn't notice my attempted intrusion. "Till then I will be pairing Toothless with you as your security detail. He will be with you day and night, and the same ROE apply." Toothless solemly nodded his head and looked to me, but I just stared back looking confused. Wouldn't the guy who supposedly had feelings for me pair me with himself? As if knowing what I was thinking Toothless shot me a look saying 'we'll talk about it later.'
I missed some of Hiccup's speech while in my musings, so when he brought the floor down for questions I took no time to ask mine. "Hiccup, where exactly did you track my contract to?" He wore a look that said 'oh right, almost forgot.' "I managed to locate a city not far from here actually. The place was called…" But I wasn't prepared for what he said next.
"Wesselton and is located in the northern part of Sweden." Instantly my face scowled while anger boiled in my blood. He caught the reaction and posed a question. "Someone you know there?" I took a minute to cool myself off before I answered that question. "Yes, an old trade partner who we severed ties with when we found a few of his men spying on the royal palace during a visit. What really set me off though, is when I confronted him he attempted to blackmail me by using my secret to try and get his way. In return I threatened to have him executed for treason against Arendelle, and that I would slander his name to my allies if he tried to tell anyone anything." I saw his face become curious and, if by instinct, I knew what he was going to ask next. "I know what you're going to ask, so I'll beat you to it. The only reason I didn't tell you sooner is because I didn't know how you'd react but…"
"…I kind of…have…ice powers."