Chapter 14 - The Battle Of Ground Zero Part I
A familiar sight raced across the frozen wastes not far from Ground Zero. It was a tank, stolen from Snomar and at its wheel, was Kristoff, clutching the controls and staring at a navigation device on the console in front of him.
Sitting behind him was his passenger, Snowflake, wearing a thick, purple parka. She had been feeling guilty about leaving her beloved Elsa a few days earlier, but she knew that this all was for the best.
Soon, she and Kristoff would have arrived at the coordinates her mysterious messenger had written on the letter she found at her apartment, and hopefully, she would learn the truth about herself.
"We should be there soon, Snowflake," Kristoff told her. "Hard to believe this bucket of bolts is still working after all this time."
"Yeah, I figured Hans and his boys would have stripped it for parts," Snowflake remarked. "How did you get the impound guy to let you have it?"
"Well... I snuck a bottle of vintage brandy to him," Kristoff admitted. "And he agreed to look the other way."
Snowflake giggled. "Kristoff, you sneaky bastard."
Kristoff looked at the navigation device, having punched in the coordinates before they left Ground Zero. "Are you sure these coordinates were accurate?" He inquired. "I mean... there's nothing but snow and ice here."
"I wouldn't have taken you out here if I didn't think this place was really, Kristoff," Snowflake reminded him. There was a thick storm blowing around them, making things hard to see out of the tank's front window.
"Well, if you ask me, I feel like this whole thing is starting to turn into a wild goose chase," her friend replied.
Snowflake sat back in her chair, looking out at the storm. The whole scenario was feeling very deja vu... and not because she was with Kristoff again.
As they drove across the wastes towards the coordinates in question, Snowflake started to feel like she'd been this way before... perhaps this was the place where the mysterious people who infected here had been hiding out and this was all a trap?
That was a possibility. A trap would be very well placed in a storm like this, but Snowflake had to know about her past. She had been waiting for so long.
Suddenly, Kristoff heard a beep from his navigation screen, informing him of their arrival at the destination.
"Snowflake!" He called back. "We're here!"
Snowflake walked to the cockpit again, seeing that the tank had stopped in what appeared to be an abandoned settlement. There were half-torn down buildings with smashed windows, corpses littering the streets and the distinct lack of any life.
The sight sent a shiver down Snowflake's spine. "Where are we?"
"I don't know," Kristoff admitted. "But this place gives me the creeps."
Snowflake sighed. "Come on, let's take a look around."
"We should be careful," Kristoff said, picking up an assault rifle. "This area is a magnet for raider attacks."
"We will be," Snowflake assured him. "We don't find anything here, we're high-tailing it right back to Ground Zero."
"Fine by me," Kristoff agreed. "The sooner we're out of here, the better."
The hatch on the rear of the tank opened and Snowflake and Kristoff walked out, Snowflake with her hood over her head. The storm was blowing fiercely around them, yet they were still able to see.
Snowflake stepped through the heavy snow at her feet, in fear of the abandoned town in front of her.
She wondered who might have lived here, who raised a family, who played in the streets and who was brutally cut down by whoever had attacked this place.
Eventually, she saw a small sign by the tank, covered in snow. Snowflake knelt beside it, rubbing off the snow to reveal what the small town was called.
"Arendelle."
Snowflake's eyes widened. "Kristoff... look."
Kristoff sat by Snowflake, his eyes fixed on the sign. "Hey... didn't Elsa say she came from a place called Arendelle?"
Snowflake nodded, standing up and looking around. It all made sense now. This place was Elsa's home, and the bodies that were lying on the street, preserved almost perfectly in the cold... these were of her family and neighbours, dead for so many years.
"This is Elsa's town," Snowflake said. "But why on earth were we led here?"
"The hell if I know," Kristoff replied. "But we should get out of here... I don't like the looks of this place."
"No, let me take a look around," Snowflake stated.
Before either of them could react, they head the sound of something being fired from behind them and flying through the air. Suddenly, a thick black net dropped from the sky, landing on top of Kristoff.
"Hey!" Kristoff grunted, collapsed to the ground in the net, the rope coiled around his body. "What's going on!?"
"Kristoff!" Snowflake exclaimed.
She then turned around, seeing a group of wheeled tanks pull up around the town, a group of silver, armoured soldiers running towards them, holding the telltale laser rifles of the group that Snowflake was familiar with.
"It's a trap!" She shouted.
"Snowflake, run!" Kristoff ordered. "Leave me!"
"No!" Snowflake argued. "I'm not leaving you!"
One of the soldiers stepped forward from the squad, holding a small cannon in his arms. He took aim at Snowflake, firing a net from the cannon.
Snowflake tried to run away, but the net caught her in that moment, pinning her to the ground.
She tried to struggle, trying to kick her way out from the mesh, but it was no good. She was trapped and with no escape in sight.
As the soldiers surrounded them both, a man walked between them, wearing a white coat and some sort of breathing gear on his head that covered his face, the only thing Snowflake could see was a vague pair of eyes behind a set of red goggles in his mask.
The man chuckled. "Hello, Snowflake... we've been expecting you."
Snowflake's eyes widened. "No... it's you... the man in the white coat."
The man took out a small gun-like object and pressed it against Kristoff's arm, injecting him with a sedative.
"No..." Kristoff groaned before sleep was forced on him.
Snowflake grunted, trying to escape, but the man was soon at her side, pressing the device towards her.
"Don't struggle, child," he said, pressing the gun to her arm. "It's going to be all over soon."
"Elsa..." Snowflake wheezed as the serum ran through her body, putting her to sleep in an instant.
The man in the white coat looked at his troops, folding his gloved hands behind his back. "Bring them to the laboratory... and alert Director Westerguard that our forces are on their way to Ground Zero."
xXx
Meanwhile, Over in the city, Elsa was sat by the window in Ariel's apartment, cradling a sleeping baby in her arms. She looked down at little Rosalinn, stroking her tiny nose. She smiled. "Do you think she'll come back today, little one?" she asked the infant.
The little baby made a little cooing noise as she slept, curling up in Elsa's arms.
Elsa smiled. "You think so?" She inquired, continuing her little narrative about Snowflake.
Snowflake had been gone for nearly three days now, but Elsa had gotten over her pain of being without her. Now, all she wanted to do was wish that she was safely home.
Ariel then came into the apartment, holding Melody's hand. "We're home!"
Elsa looked over her shoulder, smiling at her friend walking into the apartment. "Oh hey, Ari," she greeted her. "How was Melody's first day of school?"
"I made a lot of new friends!" Melody cheered. "There was this one boy named Olaf who was giving people lots of hugs!"
Ariel chuckled. "She had a lot of fun." She looked over at Elsa. "Thanks for coming over and looking after Rosie for me."
"Hey, it beats standing by that damned barricade all day," Elsa remarked, walking over to Ariel and passing little Rosalinn over to her. "I've fed her, changed her diaper and now she's having a nap."
"You're a natural, Elsa," Ariel remarked. "Have you ever considered being a mother yourself?"
"No... but I might be," she sighed. "If only Snowflake was here."
Ariel looked at her with a forlorn gaze, putting a hand on her shoulder. "You still miss her?"
Elsa nodded.
The redhead hugged Elsa, giving a reassuring embrace along with her child. "I'm sure you'll see her soon, Elsa. I doubt Snowflake will be gone for much longer."
"I hope so," Elsa said, looking out at the window. "I miss her so much."
Melody hugged Elsa's leg. "Don't feel bad, Miss Elsa. You'll see your princess again. You are her true love."
Elsa chuckled. "I know, Melody, thank you."
Elsa knew that her friends were right. Snowflake would return to her safe and sound and with her, the knowledge of who she truly was. Perhaps Elsa would know what Snowflake's real name was, then she'd probably have to start calling her by that.
But the name Snowflake had stuck so well to her by this point, so would there be any point for Snowflake to change her name?
Before Elsa could think any longer, she and Ariel then heard a loud, deep rumbling sound, like a small earthquake had just shaken the building.
"What the fuck?!" Ariel exclaimed.
Melody screamed, hugging Elsa's leg. "Ahhhhh!"
Elsa shushed the little girl, holding her. "Shhh, it's gonna be okay, Melody. It was probably just a tremor or something."
"That didn't feel like an earthquake," Ariel said, concerned. "It sounded like a bomb going off."
"I'll go and check it out," Elsa told her, reaching for her backpack. As she took it out she heard a crackling from the radio in her sack, Eric's voice coming out of it.
"Elsa... you... something's up... come to the main gate... pronto..." his voice cracked.
"Eric?" Elsa tried to get him to respond, but all she heard was static. "Damn it."
"Who was it?" Ariel inquired.
"Eric," Elsa told her. "Something's up at the front gate... and it doesn't sound good. You stay here with Melody, don't go anywhere until you hear anything from me."
"Be careful, Elsa," Ariel said with caution. "I'd rather I didn't lose two friends this week."
"I'll be safe," Elsa promised, before heading out into the street and hopping onto her motorbike, starting up the engine and revving away at high speed.
It didn't take long for Elsa to arrive at the front gates to Ground Zero, massive in size and scope, as tall as the immense walls of the city itself. There was a group of Militia Snowcats parked in front and a group of soldiers manning a barricade.
Elsa noticed Eric behind one of the Snowcats, talking with Commander Maui.
She braked on her bike and climbed off, running up to him. "Eric!"
Eric turned around, smiling at her. "Elsa, good to see you."
"What's going on?" Elsa inquired. "I heard this giant boom from Ariel's apartment and you crackling over the radio."
"Just take a look out there," Eric responded, pointing towards the gate.
Elsa looked out through the gate, her mouth opening in shock. "Holy mother of fuck..."
Coming up over the horizon, its engine rumbling like a thunderstorm, was an enormous carrier vehicle-it looked like what would happen if the APC that Elsa and the others had ridden in did a ton of steroids. It was, for lack of a better description, a battleship on wheels.
"What the fuck is that?!" she exclaimed.
"Whatever it is, it sure isn't friendly," Maui remarked. "I've called half the force over here just to hold the damn thing off."
Elsa frowned, picking up a rifle. "Permission to take an advance party forward to investigate sir?" she requested. "It might be best to know what we're dealing with."
"Negative, you better stay here and hold the line," Maui instructed. "We need all the firepower we have if that thing starts shooting at us."
"I doubt it will be the one shooting at us," Eric remarked. "But they might!"
Suddenly, the massive vehicle came to a stop, halting on its many wheels. From the front of the vehicle, a large hatch opened with a mechanical whine, lowering onto the snow. From the inside of its structure, a large squadron of wheeled tanks drove out, accompanied by hundreds of grey, armoured soldiers.
Elsa gasped. "They're coming right for us!"
"All hands, battlestations!" Maui ordered.
The wheeled tanks took aim at the open gates of the city, opening fire on Elsa and the troops at the front of the city.
Elsa and eric ducked for cover as two of the snowcats drove out to engage the enemy forces, massive explosions rocking around them.
"It's those bastards from Snomar!" Elsa growled. "Why are they here?!"
"Who cares, we gotta hold them off!" Eric shouted.
"No, we need to evacuate the city," Elsa stated. "There are still hundreds of civilians here, we can't let them be caught in the crossfire!"
The Snowcat attack party was then assaulted by two of the tanks, the massive advanced cannons tearing the patched together wrecks apart without even breaking a sweat.
Eric sighed. "Go to Hans. Tell him to order the people to evacuate to the shelters at the Tower."
Elsa nodded. "I will... and Eric, stay safe out here, okay?"
As Elsa rushed onto her cycle, taking off for the Tower, Eric and Commander Maui hopped into one of the Snowcats, hoping to hold off the enemy tanks as best they could.
"You think you'll be alright manning that gun, sir?" Eric asked him.
"Son, I was firing guns like this before you were even inside your mother's womb," Maui remarked. "Just drive and let me do all the shooting."
"Aye, aye," Eric replied, starting up the engine of the Cat.
The cat drove off into the battle, Eric driving around as best he could with Maui blasting out from the large turret on the vehicles back.
The shots fired out from the barrel, but they seemed to bounce off the armour of the tanks, not even making a dent.
"We aren't even denting them!" Eric shouted.
"They must have a shield or something," Maui remarked, continuing to blast away.
Eric then saw a large power core on the rear of the tanks, smirking slightly. "Sir, can you shoot them in the back?!"
"Wait what?!" Maui wondered. "What are you talking about?"
"I think I just found their weak spot," Eric replied. "Just trust me."
Maui then took aim, closing one eye as he pulled the trigger of the tank's cannon. "Boo yah!"
The cannon fired, hitting the enemy power core dead in the centre, causing the wheeled vehicle to explode from the overload.
"Hahahah!" Eric cheered. "Nice one sir!"
"Now," Maui remarked. "We may have a chance at finishing this fight."
xXx
Meanwhile, Elsa had made it to the Tower, thankful that the order for all civilians to remain indoors was still in effect. She knew that all she needed to do would be to get Hans to order everyone to evacuate the city, so that the Militia could handle the enemy attack without any fear of casualties.
As she made her way towards the elevator, she was met with a rather unexpected sight.
When the elevator door opened, two grey armoured soldiers were they, armed with the very laser rifles Elsa had confiscated during her raid.
"What the hell?!" Elsa exclaimed.
The two soldiers then pointed the rifles at Elsa, getting into a stance. "Freeze! Hands where we can see them!"
Elsa held up her hands in response, smirking. "This good for you?"
One of the soldiers walked up to her, ready to restrain her. "Keep still!"
"Oh gladly," Elsa replied. She suddenly sprung into action, kicking the soldier in the stomach and stealing his rifle. She then pulled the rifle on the two soldiers, opening fire on them, riddling them with laser shots.
"Huh, forgot what this felt like," she quipped before heading into the elevator, after dealing with the two bodies.
As the lift began to rise, Elsa wondered how the soldiers had gotten into the city. She knew they had taken the weapons from the shipment she had stolen... but then it hit her. They had clearly snuck into the city at some point and Hans had been the one to cover it all up.
She scowled. She needed to deal with Hans, here and now.
The elevator arrived at the top floor, Elsa seeing several troopers surrounding her between there and the office. She pulled out the rifle, pointing the gun at them.
"Okay, here's how this works," Elsa stated. "I'm walking to that office and I'm having a nice little chat with Hans, and there's nothing you can do to stop me."
The soldiers merely kept their rifles pointed at her.
"So that's how it's gonna be, huh?" Elsa said. She then gripped her rifle and charged forward, tackling one of the troopers.
The soldiers started to open fire, trying to shoot Elsa, but the blonde then pushed the corpse of the soldier she had tackled over two of her attackers, before shooting all three of them.
The last soldier kept his rifle pointed at Elsa, firing a shot at her.
Elsa grunted in pain, feeling the laser sting her sleeve. She turned around, pointing the gun at the soldier, firing a volley of shots into his stomach, bringing him down, dead.
She sighed, clutching her wound. "That did it," she stated.
She stumbled towards the office, pushing the door open. Hans was there, sitting by the window, smiling calmly.
"Hans!" Elsa shouted. "What's going on here?! Why did those soldiers just attack the city?!"
Hans chuckled. "It's a beautiful day out there," he said calmly. "A beautiful day to start the world over again."
Elsa ran up to Hans, grabbing him by the shirt. "Don't play coy with me, mister. I've had enough of this bullcrap from you!"
Hans sighed. "Okay... I suppose you've earned a little explanation." He then pushed her away and gestured to the window, at the large, deep crater on the other side of the city. "See that crater over there? The one so vast and deep. You wanna know what made it?"
"A comet," Elsa said. "It came from the sky over 200 years ago... and when it hit the earth, the sky was covered in dust and that's when everything became cold... the Big Freeze."
Hans smiled. "That comet was so much more though... a few years ago, a small group of individuals came into possession of part of the comet and started to worship it."
"The Church of the Ice Bringer," Elsa assumed. "But I figured those guys were just some nutjobs."
"They are, but what they didn't know was the comet did, in fact, bring more than just the ice and snow to this world." He went to his desk and took out a small vial of liquid. "This... was found inside it. A liquid substance that my colleagues were able to recreate it... they called it Rime."
"Colleagues," Elsa realised. "Wait... you work for them?!"
"Precisely," Hans agreed. "We call ourselves Jotun, after the Norse Frost giants. We've held onto the various technologies of the old world, advancing it, improving it, and soon, we want to improve the human race itself, to help us survive this eternal winter stronger and better than ever before. But of course... we need test subjects."
"Snowflake..." Elsa realised. "She was infected with that stuff wasn't she?!"
"Precisely, and when I infected this city, she was the perfect scapegoat." He chuckled. "I would have preferred to just secretly administer it to the populace via a flu shot or something, but she provided the perfect opportunity."
Elsa growled. "So... you destroyed the cure didn't you?!"
"Yes," Hans answered. "Can't exactly have an antidote running around, can we?"
Elsa growled, pointing her rifle at him. "Where's Snowflake!"
"She's probably with Jotun now," Hans stated. "Go ahead, kill me. You know you can't win against the odds you have. You'll never see her again."
"Maybe I won't, maybe I will," Elsa sternly told him. "But I need those people evacuated now!"
"I'm afraid I can't let you do that," Hans said, pulling out a gun on Elsa. "These people are going to become the next generation of humanity. I cannot let you jeopardise the project."
"Out of the way, Hans!" Elsa warned him. "I'll shoot you!"
"Go ahead," Hans growled. "Do you worst."
Elsa snarled, jumping at Hans and hitting him with the butt of her rifle.
Hans staggered back, dropping the gun from his hand as Elsa punched him square in the jaw. He felt blood drip from his mouth he stumbled towards the window.
Elsa picked up the rifle and glared at him. "I did warn you."
Hans's final expression was one of utter shock and fear as Elsa riddled him with laser shots, forcing him through the window as he fell to his death on the streets below.
Elsa looked down, coldly gazing at Hans's corpse on the ground. She walked to his desk and held up her radio, calling her friends on the front lines. "Eric, are you there?"
"Elsa! Glad to hear your voice!" He called back, slightly cracked. "We've got problems down here! Those tanks are forcing us into the city. We found their weak spots, but they just keep coming and we're running out of big guns!"
"Well, turns out Hans was in league with those fuckers," Elsa remarked. "And they've had some agents in the city for a while."
"Fuck... we're screwed aren't we."
Elsa shook her head. "No, we aren't." She looked out at the quarantine zone. "Because I think I've got a crazy idea."
xXx
Author's note: With Elsa about to enact a daring plan to save the city, will she be able to get out there and save Snowflake in time? I guess you'll have to find out... oh... well holy shit, you can find out right now! Because I posted this in a double bill! See ya then!