Chapter 9 - It's Always Sunny In Ground Zero
One Month Later…
Sunlight streaked through the cracked apartment window, the sound of a crying baby resonating through the air. Lying on a bed, her eyes fluttering awake, Snowflake sighed. "To think I was looking forward to Ariel's baby." She sat up, rubbing her eyes.
She had been in the city of Ground Zero for just over a month, living in this rather ratty looking apartment. But most of the buildings in the city were like this, so it wasn't that much of a bother.
Her ears rang with the noise of the baby girl next door, only a few weeks old at this point. She then heard a groan from behind her, looking over at her bed as her roommate, Elsa sat up.
"Remind me never to have kids," she remarked, chuckling.
Snowflake smiled, chuckling as the baby's cry soothed. "It's alright... I guess we needed an early wake up anyway."
Elsa looked at the clock on the wall, seeing it had just gone 8 am. She was due for her work in a few hours. She and Eric had both joined up with the local Militia, her old courier job being pretty much useless with the supply convoys that would regularly make trips out of the city.
It was paying quite well, with the strange metal coins that seemed to be the currency around this city.
Staying here, with Snowflake at her side, she wondered if this is what her life would have been like, if the Big Freeze had never happened.
But being with Snowflake was also being quite hard on her. For the past few weeks, she had never been able to properly figure out how to tell Snowflake of her feelings for her, how she had become very much in love with her at this point.
They had this apartment, a life, both of them had jobs, a relationship for either of them would be the next step, but Elsa just couldn't bring herself to say it.
She then looked over at Snowflake, seeing her cheeks turning very much more blue by the day. She wondered how long it would be before the medicine packets ran out. They were only on their last two packets by now, but Snowflake hadn't suffered from any coughing fits of late.
Elsa sighed, standing up and walking to her window.
The city itself was a marvellous sight to see, even by her standards. From what she had learned, this city was built on the sight of where the Big Freeze began. The large crater on the side of the city, that was from the remains of a large comet that had crashed into the planet over two hundred years ago, triggering the eternal winter that blanketed the world.
But now, with the sun rising, and nothing more than a soft breeze in sight, it sort of felt like paradise.
"Did you get any sleep?" Snowflake then asked her, walking over to the nearby refrigerator that she had insisted on buying, taking out a small piece of beef jerky for her breakfast. "I mean... I heard you tossing and turning around a lot last night."
"I'm fine," Elsa said, but in reality, she was not. Her old nightmares, the ones of her sister being taken from her, had started to haunt her again, costing her precious hours of sleep.
"You don't look fine," Snowflake admitted, walking over to wardrobe to get changed. "I mean... you never look fine."
"I'm a cold ass bitch, Snowflake," Elsa reminded her. "I think you should know that by now."
"Really? You've been very warm and fuzzy lately," she teased with a giggle. "Anyway, you better get going to work. I'd rather Hans not chew both you and Eric out for being late."
"Don't worry, Snowflake," Elsa promised. "I haven't been late yet, and I don't intend to start today." She walked to the corner of the room, picking up a small backpack and putting on her jacket.
Snowflake smiled at her. "Have a nice day."
"You too," Elsa bid her farewell, before exiting the apartment. She then took a deep breath, realising how hopeless she was with her emotions.
She turned to her left, seeing Eric walk out of his room wearing his own, issued jacket, both of their jackets sharing the insignia of the local Militia on their arm.
He smiled at her, waving in greeting. "Morning, Elsa."
"Good morning," Elsa replied, yawning. "How's being a dad for the second time taking you?"
"Well, little Rosie was crying again, you probably heard."
"Yeah, that woke Snowflake and me up," Elsa stated, sheepishly rubbing the back of her head.
"Well, I'm sorry about that," Eric apologised. "I guess these first few weeks are always the difficult ones." His second child, Rosalinn, had been born a few days after they had all arrived in Ground Zero. At first glance, Rosalinn seemed to be a beautiful baby girl, sharing her mother's red hair, but from the stories Eric had told, she seemed to be a nightmare.
"For the parents and the neighbours," Elsa agreed as they walked out of the apartment block.
Eric sighed, following Elsa down the steps. "You know, I'd never think I'd be getting back into the military again. I thought after I left that bunker, all would be peaceful."
"I never wanted this either," Elsa added. "But we have to make a living... plus, if it keeps Snowflake safe, I'm willing to do anything."
Eric raised an eyebrow. "Ariel is right... there is something going on with you two."
"I don't know what you're talking about, Eric," Elsa denied, continuing to walk downstairs. "Come on, let's go make Ground Zero a better place."
xXx
After taking a short bus journey across the city, Elsa and Eric arrived at their place of employment, the large structure that everyone simply called "The Tower." This was where Hans, director and de facto leader of the city, conducted his business, ensuring the prosperity of the great city that he had founded, or so he would lead everyone to believe.
Hans kept to himself a lot, often staying up here in his office, but would always be around to direct his military to whatever duty he required of them.
The Militia seemed to do more than just guard Ground Zero's borders. They acted as a police force as well, preventing whatever crime had sprung up in the city.
That was the part of the job Elsa found most enjoyable, being able to keep the city safe. In a way, she felt she was doing a duty to Snowflake.
As she and Eric walked into the large building, stepping into the open elevator that would take them to the main floors of the building, Elsa looked out, seeing how... normal everyone looked. People walking through the streets on their own business, children playing without a care in the world. It was perfect... maybe too perfect.
"So... what do you suspect we'll be up to today, partner?" Eric wondered as the elevator started to rise up.
"I bet we're put on patrol again," Elsa stated. "Nothing much has happened since we got here."
"True," Eric admitted. "But I would like to do some actual good for once. I feel like we're just Hans's errand boys, doing whatever little dirty job he can't do himself."
Eventually, the two arrived at the main floor, walking out to see various other soldiers preparing for their duties, albeit there seemed to be a hurried atmosphere about the scene.
"Looks we got here just in time," Eric mused.
At that moment, a large, Polynesian man with dreadlocks walked over to them, wearing the usual cold weather gear of the Militia. "Barnes, Walker, good to see you," he greeted them in a deep voice.
Elsa and Eric saluted the man.
"Commander Maui, sir," Eric responded. "We're reporting for duty."
"Glad to hear it," Maui said, walking away with Elsa and Eric following him. "We're about to conduct a major raid and we could use all the help we can get."
"A raid?" Elsa's eyes widened. "On what?"
"Some arms smuggling that's been going on over in the far side of the city," Maui informed them. "Hans has been asking people not to look into it for whatever reason, but I can't sit by while people on the streets might be in danger from some gun crazed nutjobs."
"So Hans doesn't know about this?" Eric wondered.
"Nope, but he doesn't need to. He'll know we're only doing our jobs," Maui stated. "Get yourselves armed up and ready to roll out in five minutes."
As the large man left them, Eric put his hands on his hips. "Well, Elsa. You said you wanted some real action. Now it seems your getting it."
Elsa nodded. "Guess I must have a genie in a bottle somewhere."
Within a few minutes, Elsa and Eric were fully dressed in their bulletproof jackets and vests, armed with assault rifles. Elsa had taken some time getting used to shooting bullets again rather than the laser rifle she used while she and Kristoff were driving together in their stolen tank.
The tank itself had apparently been confiscated by the Militia, to possibly be used in upgrading various systems throughout Ground Zero. Elsa knew she wouldn't miss it. After all the trouble it had caused her, she was glad to be finally rid of it.
Walking down to a large hanger at the bottom of the tower, Eric pulled on his furry gloves, ready for whatever cold would brace them that day.
"You up for this, Eric?" Elsa asked, as they made the way towards one of the APC's of the Militia, that was about to set off for the location they were about to raid.
"Me? Oh, I was born ready," Eric remarked.
The two then climbed into the back of one of the large, armoured trucks as a small convoy of vehicles drove out of the hangar and out onto the open road.
Elsa hung onto a handrail, seeing that she and Eric had ended up in an APC with Commander Maui, as he began to direct them on the plan of attack.
"Okay boys and girls, listen up!" He shouted to everyone to get their attention. "I'm only gonna say this once, so pay attention. We are about to breach a warehouse owned by a group of smugglers! They are in possession of advanced weaponry, so be prepared. Also, note that we are not taking prisoners, so shoot to kill is advised!"
Elsa breathed softly, preparing herself for the combat scenario she would probably find herself in.
"Walker," Maui then said, looking at Elsa. "You and Barnes will lead a team into the building. Scout ahead and neutralise any threats you find. Once you have located the arms, radio us and we'll storm in guns blazing."
Elsa nodded. "You can count on us, sir."
Sir. It felt weird to say that, yet Elsa knew she was doing this for Snowflake.
The large truck eventually arrived outside of a large group of abandoned buildings in the corner of the city, Elsa and Eric soon leaving via the backdoor with a group of other soldiers in toe.
Elsa didn't know their names or faces, but she assumed they would follow her orders to the letter. "Okay, let's get moving," she stated.
The squad then ran up to the back of one of the buildings, standing outside of the building. Elsa counted to three with her fingers, before pointing to a nearby door.
One of her comrades then walked up to the door, before kicking it open and pointing his rifle inside. "All clear, Ma'am!"
Elsa followed inside, holding up her rifle, ready for combat. "So far so good. Keep moving." She then sprinted around the corner, leading her team through the dilapidated and rather rotten building.
Eventually, they were in a corridor, seeing a group of men in a large room before them, moving various crates and items around. The crates were marked with a familiar insignia, the insignia of the soldiers that attacked at Snomar!
"Well... that's just prime," Elsa mused.
"What is it?" Eric wondered, joining her behind the wall as Elsa peaked around the corner.
"Those weapons... they're from the organisation that attacked Snowflake and me in Snomar, the ones we stole the tank from."
"How did their guns get here?" Eric asked.
"Don't know, and don't care, but everyone be careful," Elsa advised. "These guns are nasty. They're some kind of high powered lasers, one shot to the chest would likely kill you instantly."
Most of her team felt nervous, feeling rather outclassed with their rifles and army jackets.
Elsa took a deep breath, telling herself that she could do this. "Okay, team, on my signal." She held up her finger. "GO! GO! GO!"
The squad stormed forward into the room, opening fire with their rifles. The bullets flew across the room, but the smugglers, one of them wearing a grey hoodie, managed to grab ahold of one of the lasers, firing on Elsa's squad.
The laser shot raced across the room, striking Eric in the shoulder.
"Gah!" He grunted in pain. "Fuck, I'm hit!"
"Eric!" Elsa exclaimed before the bullets flew past her head. She ducked behind covered, pulling up with two of her fellow soldiers, and opening fire on two of the goons.
The smuggler with the laser turned his sights on Elsa, opening fire and trying to blast her to kingdom come.
Elsa ducked down, her heart racing. She pulled out her radio, speaking into it. "Commander, we're pinned down here! Requesting backup!"
"Sit tight, Walker!" Maui's voice called back. "We're on our way!"
Eric crawled behind her, still clutching the wound on his shoulder. "That's it," he joked. "I'm calling it quits now."
"Bullshit," Elsa told him. "We're partners, you're sticking with me, like it or not." Elsa pulled out her radio again. "Maui, Eric's been hit! Hurry now!"
"No..." Eric sighed. "I can make it." He crawled beside her. "Gonna take more than some star wars blaster to put me down."
Elsa rolled her eyes. "You're a stubborn bastard, Eric... and here I preferred Kristoff." She then stood up, firing her rifle at two of the goons, shooting them both dead.
The goon with the laser started to run away, clearly knowing he was outnumbered. As he ran towards the front of the warehouse, the door raised up in front of him, and Maui and the rest of the strike team ran into the room, quickly arresting the remaining criminals.
Maui watched as the laser was confiscated from the goon, his hood lowered to reveal he had a long mullet.
"Who sent you kid?" Maui asked. "Who put you up to this?"
"Fuck you," the thug spat, before the Militia took him away.
Elsa helped Eric to his feet, the man resting his arm on her as she helped him to walk. "Easy there, Eric," Elsa told him. "You're gonna be fine."
"I hope this doesn't become a trend," Eric joked. "I'd hate for Ariel to panic over me coming home with bruises every night."
Maui looked at the two officers, smiling at them. "You two did fine work today. I'm glad Hans managed to get you onto my team."
"Thanks for coming in the nick of time, sir," Elsa said gratefully.
"You're welcome," Maui simply replied.
"Hey, you deserve praise too, Blondie" Eric stated. "You saved our asses big time."
"Save your praise," Elsa told him. "We should report this to Hans now, let him know about this."
xXx
Hans admired the long laser rifle, looking over every detail of it. The weapon was silver, with various blue highlights over it. It was an impressive piece of equipment if he had ever seen one. He smiled, looking at Elsa and Maui in his office at the top of "The Tower."
"So... this is what you found in the warehouse," He stated. "Marvelous weapon. Quite deadly in the wrong hands."
Elsa cleared her throat. "I saw these weapons being used by a military group that attacked myself and Snowflake in Snomar a few weeks back."
"So you told me," Hans mused. "This organization must be very dangerous, especially if they possess technology like this."
"What will you do with it, sir?" Maui asked.
"I'm gonna send it down to my RnD people. Perhaps they can cobble together something to counter this." He placed the rifle on his desk. "Good work today you two. You're dismissed."
As Maui left the room, Elsa still faced Hans, frowning. "Hans... I need to know something. Maui mentioned that you didn't want him investigating this... and yet you seem pretty fine now that the operation was busted."
"I didn't have enough proof at the time to warrant an investigation," Hans told her. "Rest assured, now that the crisis has been dealt with, I'll put all my efforts to the safety of this city."
Elsa scowled. "Hans, do you realise that if we hadn't gone there and busted that up, those guns could be on the streets and people could be dead?!"
"I'm well aware, Elsa," Hans simply replied. "You're excused."
Elsa sighed. "Just be clear that I still don't fully trust you. You still had your troops shoot at me the first day I arrived here."
As Elsa walked out of the room, Hans made sure he was alone, knowing that he needed to make a private communication.
He pulled his hand over the desk, finding a small button, pressing it. A voice crackled out of a hidden speaker, deep and with a British accent. "This is Jotun."
Hans smiled. "Hello, Claude. I've just received your weapons shipment. Marvellous technology you people developed."
"I trust there was no difficulty in you acquiring the weapons?" The voice wondered.
"No, my little tip to Commander Maui paid off. He raided the warehouse just like you predicted."
"Good... and what of the other matter we discussed."
Hans smirked. "The Rime is already within the city's supply as we speak. Rest assured, no one can link it to us, not with Elsa Walker's companion still around."
"We will need to deal with her at some point," the voice stated. "She is very valuable to us."
"All in due time my friend," Hans said. "I shall call when I have more information." He then pressed the button again and smiling. He was king of his own private kingdom, and soon, his borders would expand over the frozen wastes, spreading his goodwill to all in his way.
xXx
Author's note: TIMESKIP!
If you're wondering where the name of Ariel's baby comes from, it's the OC daughter of Elsa and Ariel that Matty's been knocking around with for the past few years now :3 oh and some of you were thinking that the leader of the evil organisation was mr Duke of Weaseltown. WRONG! It's not him! It's someone else :3 But... captain mustache will be homaged later in the fic in a few chapters.
See ya later!