Author's Note: Okay, guys, it turned out that it wasn't as violent as I expected it would be. Just as a disclaimer, THERE IS VIOLENCE IN THIS CHAPTER. Not too much, though.
For those of you who are staunch pacifists, I have included a short summary of the chapter at the bottom. I hope that everyone will still read the chapter (I don't think it's that bad) but it's there, just in case.
I hope you enjoy this chapter! Thanks!
Anna watched Elsa turn the corner and grimly nodded to herself. You aren't the only person who has learned how to lead people, Anna thought. A few months ago, Elsa had actually made her take a training course in leadership given to her by the three-star admiral in charge of homeland security.
She turned to the security guard. "Excuse me, sir, but what is your name?"
The guard stuttered. "Nathan…Nathan Black, ma'am."
"Okay Nathan, my name is Anna. We have some things that we need to get done. First of all, we need to get these people to a secure location. Any ideas?"
Nathan focused for a moment. "Well, we could take them to the Guard Armory."
Anna didn't know that there was a 'Guard Armory'. "Where is that?"
Nathan looked like he was an inch away from smacking his own forehead. "Sorry. I forgot you…" Anna glared at him. "Never mind. It is where the kitchens used to be."
Anna nodded. "Okay, I know where that is. Contact them and make sure that they know that we are on our way." Nathan nodded, and Anna turned to the tour group, still standing in the doorway to Elsa's office. They were staring at her, slack-jawed. "Okay, guys, we need to get out of here. Everyone into the hallway and follow Nathan and I. Any questions?"
A woman raised her hand. "What's going on?"
Anna cleared her throat. "The castle is under attack, therefore, we all need to get to a secure location. That location is the Guard Armory." The woman nodded and shut up. Also, I need to get to a secure location to protect myself. If Elsa is injured or killed, I am the only heir to the throne. Anna shuddered at the thought. "Any more questions?"
A man who appeared to be the previous woman's husband raised his hand. "What do we do with her?" He pointed at Amanda.
Anna groaned. Elsa, look at what being a drama queen does.
Elsa ran down the steps that led from the upstairs hallway to the front entrance hall. The hall was located next door to the ballroom, and had a door that opened up into the front hallway. She hit the bottom of the steps and took off through the door and into the hallway. On the other side, she saw the door that led to the kitchens open and a man stroll out. He was dressed in a guard uniform and was leisurely putting a belt with a pistol on.
"You!" Elsa called out. "Who are you?"
"Why do you care?" he called back lazily.
This irritated Elsa immensely. "Name and rank, NOW!" she shouted.
He replied with a relaxed voice, "Alton James, Corporal, Palace Honor Guard. Just out of curiosity, are you the person who is claiming to be Queen Elsa?"
Elsa had had enough of this guy's attitude. She froze the floor under his feet, and he fell right down onto his butt. She walked up to him and hissed in his face. "Get the Captain here now."
The corporal looked at her in fear and grabbed his radio. "Captain, this is James. You should really get to the main entrance hallway ASAP. The Queen is here, and she doesn't look happy."
Captain of the Guard Kaj Johan was standing in the Armory command room. Normally a subdued environment, it had turned into a room of pure chaos with the call seconds earlier from the so-called Queen Elsa. So far, he didn't buy it.
Then the radio call came in from Corporal James. That little immature… He grabbed his radio. "James, get off the radio! I don't need your jokes right now!"
The voice that responded was not that of Corporal James. Instead, a soft, melodic and very feminine voice sounded over the radio. It sounded like it was not at all amused. "You will listen to me Captain. My name is Queen Elsa, and I am ordering you to get to the entrance hall. Now you get up here now!"
The Captain shook his head and began jogging through the Guard Armory to get to the front hallway. I am going to yell at that woman so hard I will personally knock her back to the 19th century.
Elsa turned from the front door when the door to the Armory opened up. A man walked out and began to stride angrily toward her. Then his eyes widened and he stopped short. "Your Majesty?"
Elsa was still in a bad mood. "It's about time. Get your men up here now and prepare to repel an attack."
"But how…"
"I won't ask again, Captain," she quietly replied. Somehow, her speaking quietly was even more threatening than when she yelled.
The Captain braced to attention, snapped off a salute, and walked off to start yelling orders into his radio.
Across the city, at the Arendelle Federal Building, the Arendellian Defense Minister sat deep in thought behind his desk.
A couple of days ago, he had received a phone call from a doctor who was working at the Los Alamos National Laboratory. He had been heavy on details, but the general gist of the call was that a US Government experiment had detected that something was coming forward in time from the past. The doctor, who had lived in Arendelle until he had gone to college, remembered the stories about Elsa that they had told in kindergarten; that she and her sister had been sent to another time. The doctor had thought it relevant, so he had called the Minister. Soon after the call, the Minister had asked his secretary to monitor the castle guard's radio transmissions, but had not given her any details. He had just asked her to listen for anything unusual. It was just a hunch, he had told himself, but he hoped that hunch would pay off.
He was interrupted from his thoughts when there was a knock on his door. "Please come in," he called.
His secretary opened the door, walked in, and closed it behind her. She looked like she had just seen a ghost. "Sir, I just heard something on the radio…" She trailed off.
"What is it, Gloria?"
Gloria was shaking. "There have been a series of incidents at the Castle. First, it was radioed that two black Escalades had pulled up to the bridge. The guard calling it in asked if there were any VIPs coming in. However, around 20 seconds later, a woman came onto the radio issuing orders. She..."
The Minister was getting impatient. "Come on, Gloria, spit it out!"
She steeled herself. "Sir, the woman issuing orders claimed to be Queen Elsa. The Captain of the Guard challenged her over the radio, and within the next five seconds the temperature within the castle walls dropped over twenty-five degrees Celsius."
The Minister shook his head in awe, completely believing the story. "What orders did she give?"
Gloria looked down at a slip of paper in her hand. "She said, and I quote, 'Attention all Castle Guard units. This is Queen Elsa. On my order, the two vehicles by the bridge are hereby designated hostile. Close the gates and prepare to defend the castle against armed attack.'"
The minister jumped to his feet and began talking as he headed for the door. "Call in General Danielson at Army National Command. Have him rapid-deploy all ready and available units to the Castle in order to commence combat operations. Tell them to assist the Captain of the Guard in repelling attackers, which most likely entered using SUVs. Furthermore, defend the civilians inside at all costs."
Gloria called out, "Minister! Where are you going?"
He called back over his shoulder, "The vaults, Gloria!"
Elsa walked out into the courtyard. At least thirty people were walking around the courtyard, stunned and amazed by the sudden fluctuation in temperature. Luckily, the gates were already closed and secured.
Elsa stepped over the rope around the front portico and stopped. She cleared her throat and shouted, "Your attention, please!" All eyes turned to look at her. "I need everyone in the courtyard to get inside the castle right now!"
A father standing by the gate yelled back, "Who do you think you are?"
Elsa softly smiled. I love it when they ask that question. She twirled the fingers of her left hand. "My name is Her Royal Majesty Queen Elsa, the rightful and sovereign ruler of Arendelle. Everyone out here is in danger." Everyone in the courtyard gasped. A tower of ice had shot up from the ground behind her, an exact replica of what the fountains had looked like that one day after the Great Freeze. It was an awe-inspiring sight. Immediately, everyone began rushing into the castle. Elsa slowly paced forward towards the closed gates.
Suddenly, from ahead of them came a loud screech and a low roar. Then came a loud crash, and the gates shook from the impact.
She dropped to a knee and held her arms straight out in front of her. She watched and waited.
On the other side of the city, at Fort Olaf, a trio of Black Hawk helicopters that had been bought from the Americans lifted off. Inside each was a full team of Arendellian soldiers; 5 soldiers in the interior, with four more strapped in and sitting on the edge of the helicopter with their feet resting on the skids.
The flight of three turned toward the Castle and accelerated.
Downtown, at the Arendelle Federal Building, the Defense Minister ran into the basement and stopped in front of a solid steel door. Mounted on the wall to the left of the door was a camera and a fingerprint scanner. He pressed his index finger onto the scanner and stared wide-eyed into the camera. After a short pause, a voice came out of a speaker mounted over the door that said, "Access Granted, Defense Minister authorized."
The door clunked, and he heard bolts sliding back from the wall all around the door. Then it swung open. Inside was a small room with another door at the end of it. He walked through and closed the door behind him. He turned around to face the other door. A high-def camera pointing at him was mounted over it, and a microphone hung from the ceiling above the door. The computer droned, "Voiceprint identification required."
"Access code seven-niner-niner-echo-alpha-pi-five-zero, Defense Minister Authorization."
"Access code confirmed. Voiceprint confirmed. Facial recognition confirmed. Access granted, Defense Minister authorized."
The door in front of him opened like the last, and he stepped through. On the other side of it was a larger room with a huge blast door that had a single keyhole in the center. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a simple, ordinary-looking copper key and placed it in the lock. He turned it. As soon as it was turned, a RFID scanner inside the lock scanned the key and confirmed that it was authentic. As soon as it was confirmed, a massive thunk reverberated through the door. It swung open.
Sitting on a single metal table inside was an old wooden box. The minister walked to it and opened the lid.
Inside was a white crystal.
Anna ran down the steps into the Command Center followed by Nathan and the rest of the tour group. At the bottom of the steps, a young Arendellian Navy lieutenant was standing off to the side of the hallway on guard duty. Ten feet beyond the lieutenant, the hallway opened up into a large open room. The room had desks in the middle with flat screens displaying security camera footage mounted to the ceiling surrounding them. Along the far wall was a door through which Anna could see was full of racks of rifles and other weapons.
Anna reached the end of the steps and stepped down onto the floor. The lieutenant on guard duty noticed her and realized that she looked exactly the same as the portraits of Princess Anna. In an instant, he connected the dots between her and the calls over the radio from Elsa. He snapped to attention, saluted and yelled, "ATTENTION ON DECK! HER ROYAL HIGHNESS, PRINCESS ANNA, ARRIVING!"
In the main room, Anna saw everyone who wasn't actively doing something jump to their feet and snap to attention, their eyes focusing straight ahead and arms at their sides. It surprised her, to say the least.
She thought back to the day where she and Elsa had visited Army Command. Elsa had stepped into the high command council room and the General Marcos had yelled 'Attention'. What did Elsa say after she had walked to her seat?
After an instant, she remembered. She returned the salute, (another lesson from the admiral a few months earlier) then stated loud enough for everyone to hear, "As you were." She walked out into the room and turned to the nearest soldier. "Who is in command here?"
The soldier snapped to his feet. "Ma'am, Lieutenant Colonel Rutledge is currently in command of this center, ma'am."
"Could you tell me where he is…" She looked at the rank insignia on his shoulder, which had surprisingly not changed in 200 years. "…Ensign?" The man nodded to a person standing at the center of the room who was staring at her. The man was tall and dressed in an immaculate uniform.
She walked over to him, and saw that the tour group and an unconscious Amanda was being ushered into a conference room attached to the command center. He snapped another salute. What is it with these people and salutes? Anna wondered. "Your Highness, Lieutenant Colonel Frederick Rutledge, Arendellian Army." Anna snapped one back. "What do you need?"
Anna began, "Colonel, you need to get people to the courtyard pronto."
He nodded. "Yes, ma'am, Captain Johan has already radioed that in. Our rapid-response team is prepping now, and will be ready to go in under five minutes." He pointed towards the back room with the weapons, where Anna could see four soldiers in body armor prepping to fight. They had rifles in their hands, and were working the actions to make sure they wouldn't jam. They then rammed magazines home, and the team leader gave a thumbs up to the commander, who returned it. The team then raced out of their ready room and towards the courtyard.
Elsa still kneeled in the courtyard facing the gate. She could hear the SUV backing up beyond the gate, along with something metallic scraping against the ground. Then, the scraping noise went silent. Five seconds passed, and all Elsa could hear was the sounds of the city and her own breathing.
Then the roar and screeching came back. It kept getting louder and louder, until it finally crashed into the gate again. This time it kept coming. The gates were smashed to pieces, and the SUV raced in. It continued to accelerate, and the only thing in its path was Elsa.
The team leader of the strike team led his team out through the front doors onto the porch, his rifle traversing to the left until it settled on the SUV racing toward a woman in a shiny black dress. Knowing that everyone but one person had left the courtyard, he aimed his rifle at the right part of the windshield and fired three shots in quick succession. It turned red. The car swerved but kept accelerating toward the woman. The leader could only watch with dread as the vehicle closed in on her.
Elsa watched it close on her. She made a few mental calculations, then began twirling her fingers in front of her. Ice shot out and hit the ground in front of the SUV, gaining thickness as it grew closer to her. Then, with only ten feet to spare, she jerked her arms upwards, and a ramp of ice appeared in front of the SUV. It shot up the ramp, and soared over Elsa. Then she flicked her finger, and an icicle grew in front of the car.
The car hit the ice going 60 miles per hour. Even if its driver were still alive, the car didn't have a chance. The icicle hit the grill of the car dead center, but the car kept going. The ice plunged through the engine and shot into the cabin. After about four feet of the icicle had emerged from the rear of the car, it finally stopped, suspended inches off of the ground.
She barely had time to register the fact that the Castle security detachment had raced to surround the car before she heard another squeal coming from the direction of the gate. She created an ice wall between her and the crashed SUV in case the men inside were still alive and then turned, just in time to see the other SUV just a hundred and fifty feet away.
Elsa dove behind the ice ramp she had created just moments before.
The SUV's brakes squealed and it skidded sideways to a halt after shooting into the courtyard. They stopped the vehicle just off to the side of the main gate.
The other NSA team got out of the SUV on the side facing away from their target, still trying to comprehend what they had just seen. How did that ramp just appear there? the commander of the assault team wondered.
Guns drawn, they squatted behind the SUV, using it as cover between them and…whatever they now faced. The commander noticed a young Arendellian ceremonial guard reaching for a radio. He put the guard down with a double-tap, a round to the chest followed by a round to the forehead. The lifeless guard slumped backwards, a look of shock on what was left of his face.
The men peeked around the van. On the count of three, they all rose up into positions where they could see the woman they were there to capture. Alive was preferable, but not required.
They all sighted down their barrels, then one by one, began pulling their triggers.
As the SUV pulled up on one side of the courtyard, on the other side of Elsa and her ice wall, the four Arendellian guards surrounded the SUV, guns held at the ready. The team leader tried to hide his nervousness. He hated that he could not see through the blacked-out windows. It was impossible to tell whether or not the person inside might be aiming at…
The SUV's glass windows exploded at the same time as the soldier's heads. They collapsed down to the cobblestones as the doors opened, the NSA men emerging with the pistols held at the ready, searching for targets.
The sub-commander for this element noticed the ice wall between him and Elsa. "You have GOT to be kidding me!" he hissed. Then he got a new plan. "Dorian, what did that radio call that we heard right before we executed say?"
"Apparently someone claiming to be Princess Anna is heading to the Guard Armory in the basement of the castle."
The sub-commander thought for a split-second. "Good. That sounds like a good secondary target. Let's get to that command center."
The men sprinted into the castle and headed for the door to the Armory. They barely heard a heavy thumping getting louder every second.
Elsa ducked further down behind the ramp. If this barrage of bullets kept up, she knew that there would no longer be anything to hide behind.
Determination filled her eyes. She looked through the ice towards the SUV and shoved her hand towards it. A wall of ice surged from the stones and slammed into the Escalade. The force was so great that it flipped the SUV over, sending it flying up into the air. It left the men behind it defenseless.
She was just about to send an icicle through one attacker's heart when a hurricane erupted in the courtyard.
The Army helicopter flight surged across the water, scant feet above the whitecaps on the waves. Above them loomed the castle.
In the radio headsets the pilots wore, a call from the flight leader sounded: "Rotate." The noses of the choppers swiveled upwards, and they shot up into the sky, soaring over the wall as they slowed into a hover above the courtyard.
It was quite a sight. On one side, five men were sprawled across the courtyard, a twisted and smashed SUV laying on its side behind them. On the other side, a young woman crouched behind a shattered pile of ice, her arm outstretched. Behind her, another SUV was impaled on an icicle, the bodies of four guards lying on the pavement surrounding it.
The helicopters landed in the courtyard, quickly disgorging their passengers before rocketing back into the air and out of any possible danger. The soldiers surged toward both the NSA men and Elsa.
"Arendellian Army! Hands above your head! Drop the weapons!" The shout was repeated multiple times. Elsa immediately shoved her arms up into the air, while the NSA men were much more hesitant. Eventually, they raised their hands, the guns falling to the ground below. Soldiers rushed forwards to cuff them, while others watched them through the scopes of their rifles.
A smaller group rushed toward Elsa, where they cuffed her as well. They pulled her to her feet, rifles still pointed at her. "I would like to speak to your commander," she stated as calmly as she could.
A man walked up from the back of the group. "That would be me," he stated dispassionately. He nodded his head. "Colonel Mark DeBoer."
"Colonel, my name is Elsa."
He kept a straight face. "You don't happen to be related to the Queen, do you?"
Elsa chuckled. "Actually, I am the queen."
The other shoulders looked at her incredulously, while DeBoer looked around at all of the ice. "That actually doesn't surprise me," he stated. He gestured to the other soldiers to lower their weapons. Then a soldier sprinted up to DeBoer and whispered something into his ear. He nodded, and his expression grew even more solemn. He gestured for the soldier to continue on his way, then said to a soldier standing behind her, "Uncuff her."
Elsa was mildly worried now. "What is it? What's going on?" She rubbed her wrists where they had been briefly cuffed.
He sighed. "Your Majesty, we just received a call from inside the castle. It seems that the hostiles have somehow taken hostages in the Guard Armory." He hesitated. "They listed Princess Anna as one of the hostages."
He continued, but Elsa did not hear a word. She felt like she had immediately after her parent's death. Shocked. Scared. Alone.
She fell to her knees and sobbed.
Author's Note: Hehe. I bet I got you guys with that one! I decided to split this one up into two chapters, just to mess with you guys. I thank you for reading this chapter, and as always, favorite, follow, and review!
P.S.: For those of you that didn't read this chapter due to my warnings, but still want to read the story, here is the cliffnotes. Anna and the tour group go down to the security command center in the basement. Elsa goes into the courtyard and fights the NSA guys. With help from the Arendelle Army, some of the bad guys are taken into custody. However, the other bad guys go down into the basement and take everyone hostage in the command center.
Dramatic Music: Duh-duh-duh!