Author's Note: Sorry if this chapter has a few mistakes and is a little short. I was sick when I wrote it, and I had a horrible headache. But, I really wanted to deliver you guys a new chapter A.S.A.P. so here it is.
Chapter XXX: The Rescue
Eugene jumped out of the bush and started to run into battle. The two men who they could thank for blowing their cover were both about ten feet away from the bush where they were attacked. Luckily, they were both too busy calling for assistance to notice Eugene coming at them from behind. He raised his fist in the air and readied to punch. He struck the back of one of the mens' head, knocking him down into the snowy ground.
Unfortunately for Eugene, the man's partner was immediately aware of his presence. The man kneed Eugene's stomach, forcing him to wheeze and bend over, putting his hands over his stomach. The man then raised his sword, ready to show Eugene the true meaning of pain. But, before the man could swing his sword down, large hands covered in snow gloves grabbed the head of Eugene's adversary. It was Kristoff of course. Kristoff pulled the man back and then pushed him onto the ground, forcing him to let go of his sword. Kristoff then stomped on the man's back once, making sure he would stay down.
Kristoff then went over to Eugene to make sure he was okay. Eugene stood up straight and made himself look like nothing had ever happened.
"Are you okay?" Kristoff asked Eugene.
"I've had worst things done to me." Eugene answered. "Like the time that I died."
"What?" Kristoff asked.
Before Eugene could explain himself, the guys found five swords pointed at their heads. In front of them, five armed men stood, not ready to let the guys go anywhere. Since the swords were only a jab distance away from their heads, any sudden movement from the guys could result in a sword to the face. Running wasn't an option. Also, by the look of the bad guys, it didn't seem that they would be willing to lose in a chase. Kristoff and Eugene did the only thing they could do. Together, the raised their hands in the air.
"We can talk about this." Eugene said.
"Like gentlemen." Kristoff continued for Eugene.
The men looked at each other with confused faces. Mostly, they were thinking about how crazy Eugene and Kristoff must be if they thought they were going to negotiate. Not a single one of them took their blades away, liking them where they were.
"Do we look like we're in the mood to talk?" One of their adversaries said.
"Well, you just did, so-" Eugene was interrupted.
"Shut up!" One of the men demanded. "We'll teach you not to mess with the Bandits."
Impossible, Kristoff thought. How could this be possible? To his understanding, the Bandits were disbanded a few months ago right before the eternal winter in Teranhall. There was no way these people could be who they claimed to be. But, if they were truly Bandits, that meant bad things will follow. He knew firsthand what they could and would do. He'd witnessed them kidnapping Anna, back when she was still his fiancé. These guys meant bad news, that was for sure. Plus, he knew there had to be someone in charge. The Bandits were sheep who needed a Shepard. The question was... Who is the Shepard?
Kristoff knew that the last thing he wanted was to be taken prisoner by the Bandits. He had know idea what they would do to him and Eugene. Of course, Eugene wasn't familiar with the Bandits like Kristoff was. Eugene didn't know the difference between a bandit and a Bandit. To Eugene, these guys were nothing more than a group of thugs. How wrong he was...
"We don't want any trouble." Eugene said.
"You attacked us first!" One of the Bandits said. "Trouble is inevitable!"
"We deeply regret hurting your feelings." Eugene said. None of the Bandits responded to that statement. "So..." Eugene took a small step back. "We'll be on our way. No harm done?"
As Eugene took another step back, the Bandits took a step closer. They weren't even going to consider letting Eugene and Kristoff now that they've seen their little base of operations. Eugene and Kristoff were better dead than alive to them. There was no point in letting Kristoff and Eugene live as they were unpredictable. Being unpredictable was a liability to the Bandits.
"We'd rather we die than become slaves to you." Kristoff said.
"That can be arranged." One of the Bandits said.
"I'd rather not we die." Eugene said, not approving of Kristoff's plan. Eugene died once already, and he knows firsthand that it isn't fun. He'd rather not experience dying again in his young years, becuase if he did die, there was no way to bring him back. He got lucky the first time.
Then, before the Bandits could do anything bad on Kristoff and Eugene, a white flash appeared to the right of the group of Bandits. The white front body of a horse slammed into the Bandit on the far right side, forcing him to fall onto the person to his left, and the process repeated on the rest of the Bandits until the Bandit on the far left had nothing to fall on but the ground. All five Bandits were taken down like dominos. The finger that pushed the dominos was none other than Maximus who was standing proudly.
"Max!" Eugene said, hugging the neck of Maximus. The horse was obviously not enjoying himself and one could tell because of the unamused expression on the horse's face.
"Thanks." Kristoff told Maximus to which the horse nodded, acknowledging him.
Sven then showed himself by walking up next to Kristoff and licking his cheek. Olaf was riding on the reindeer's back. Kristoff ran his hand around the back of Sven's neck to greet him, and then looked around the clearing to see what they were up against. They should've spent more time fighting bad guys then greeting their friends as it seemed. The Bandits all around the clearing were ready to battle as their weapons were raised and their sights were all set on Kristoff and Eugene. About twenty to thirty hostile people were in the area, all mad. Now, it was just a matter of who was going to make the first move.
"What was this improvise plan of yours?" Kristoff asked.
"We free the guards." Eugene answered.
"That's the same plan we already had." Kristoff said.
"Yes it is." Eugene said.
"So how do you expect we do that?" Kristoff asked.
"We make it up as we go, hence we improvise." Eugene answered.
"That's not much of a plan." Kristoff said.
"Whatever." Eugene said. Eugene grabbed the sword of one of the knocked down Bandits and studied the blade. It wasn't as clean or well crafted like a castle guard's sword, but it looked like it could cut rope easily. He was more used to using frying pans in battle rather than any other weapons but a sword would have to do for now. Eugene then jumped onto Maximus with the sword in his right hand. Maximus then turned toward the rest of the clearing, facing the many still Bandits. Still, the Bandits were waiting for Eugene and Kristoff to make their first offensive move. It would be easier for the. Bandits to counter them if they allowed Eugene and Kristoff to attack first.
Kristoff picked up a sword of his own and hopped onto Sven's back. He felt like he was part of a cavalry or something like that. Still, the Bandits had not responded to their movements. In the Bandits point of view, the Bandits were being smart by waiting and biding their time. But, in reality, the Bandits were being stupid giving Kristoff and Eugene time to prepare. Their stupidity may be their downfall. Stupidity was the downfall of so many people throughout history and in literature Eugene did not read.
Maximus bent down and picked up the handle of a sword in his mouth. Then, he pointed the sword at the Bandits, ready for battle. Eugene, Kristoff, and Maximus all mentally agreed on one rule: no killing. They could maim and slice as much as they wanted but as long as their victim would still be breathing.
Let the game begin, Eugene thought.
Eugene raised his sword in the air and gave his best battle cry. Immediately, Maximus launched forward toward the other Bandits, ready for battle. Kristoff then followed Eugene's example and gave a battle cry of his own. Olaf, who was sitting behind Kristoff, then gave a battle cry only a snowman would make. Sven then launched forward as well, following behind Maximus. Seeing as though Eugene was heading right towards the captured guards, Kristoff knew he wasn't needed in helping cut them out. He would serve a better role by keeping the Bandits off of Eugene. Luckily for Kristoff, there weren't that many Bandits.
The guards were apprximately two hundred meters away from a sprinting Maximus. A horse would get there in no time at all due to it's speed and swiftness. Maximus did all the work knocking down the Bandits that were in their way. The horse left almost no one for Eugene to hit.
Maximus hled the sword in his mouth so that the flat sides of it faced to the right and left. That way, he wouldn't accidently seriously injure any Bandits. Bandits stood in Maximus' way, their swords raised and in a battle stance. They weren't going to let Maximus reach theor prisoners, and they were willing to throw their own bodies in the way to prevent that. What the Bandits failed to see was that Maximus wasn't a normal horse. He possessed so many human qualities including determination. It was a mistake for the Bandits to get in the way that's for sure. Maximus wasn't going to stop running, and he wasn't afraid to run them over.
Maximus knocked a Bandit who was standing in his way to the side with the flat side of the sword in his mouth. After that, he kept running towards the prisoners. There was another man standing still, ready for Maximus to get close to him. When close enough, Maximus once again knocked him to the side with the flat side of his sword. Maximus thought that these guys would've learned by now. Now, a third man was standing in the way ahead of Maximus and Eugene. This third man had his sword in a jabbing position, ready to stab Maximus' throat when close enough. Maximus had a feeling that this man learned from his associates' mistakes. But, Maximus was a smart horse; he knew what to do.
Before Maximus got directly in front of him, the horse jumped. Maximus and Eugene spared over the man's body who was staring up at them in awe. While in midair, Maximus kicked his back legs back at the head of the Bandit, knocking him out and leaving a horseshoe shaped bruise on the back of his head.
"That's what I'm talking about!" Eugene exclaimed as they landed.
They were almost to the guards. Only about one hundred meters stood in between them and their goal. Two more people were in Maximus' way. They wondered where everyone else was. Eugene turned his head to see what Kristoff was up to. Sven, Kristoff, and Olaf were in the middle of a circle formed by the Bandits. The Bandits each took turns running at Sven and the others in hopes of defeating them. The Bandits might as well have been taking turns being knocked out.
Kristoff had his sword raised, being cautious to only use the flat side of it. For some reason, these idiots were taking turns running towards Sven and Kristoff instead of rushing at the same time. Taking turns was the most illogical thing a group of people should do when fighting a small group. But, bad guys tend to do that often... up to the point where you question their intelligence.
A Bandit approached Sven from ahead to which Sven kicked his upper body upward with his back legs still on the ground. Sven then hit the Bandit's chest with his front legs, making him fall back and into another Bandit. Kristoff and Olaf had to hold on tight in order to just stay on Sven. Then, Sven turned his head to see a Bandit appraching from behind him. Knowing Olaf could do nothing about that, when the Bandit got close enough, Sven kicked his back legs at the man's face, keeping his hooves together. They hooves met the man's face. When Sven put his back legs back on the ground, two red hoof marks were on the face of the Bandit. He then smiled, his teeth falling out one by one as a result. He then finally fell unconscious to the ground.
For those people approaching Sven from the side, Kristoff took care of them. One by one the Bandits fell by Kristoff smacking their faces with the flat side of his sword. Since their bodies all piled on the ground, Sven was forced to kick some of them away. Red marks appeared on the faces of those Kristoff hurt. Who says you can't use a sword without killing? Kristoff assumed that this was how Kai fought. He had no idea that Kai knocks people unconscious any other way than the way Kristoff used.
Olaf was treating the entire thing that it was one fun ride. He looked over at Maximus to see what fun Maximus was having.
The two people who were in Maximus' way were the last people protecting the prisoners from Maximus and Eugene. Both had their swords held in front of them, a foot away from their heads. They were shivering as Maximus approached them. Maximus and Eugene were able to see the fear in the Bandits' bodies. It showed on their face and their shivering bodies. This would be easier than they thought. Maximus dropped the sword from his mouth and smiled at the two Bandits in front of them. They both took a step back in fear of not wanting to get hurt. Maximus took up his right leg and quickly jabbed one of the Bandits in the face, knocking him out immediately. The other whimpered as he saw that. Then, Maximus looked over at the other Bandit, still smiling. Maximus raised his right hoof. The Bandit immediately dropped his sword and punched himself in the face, knocking himself out.
Too easy, Maximus thought.
Eugene got off Maximus and walked over to the kneeling guards. All of them were gagged by a piece of cloth tied around their mouth and the back of their head. Eugene looked at the guard closest to him and looked at his bindings. The guard held out his hands for Eugene. Eugene then kneeled down next to him and put his sword through the open space in between the arms of the man. Eugene then pulled the sword back towards his chest, cutting the rope of the man. He immediately un-gagged himself.
"It's about time." The man said.
"Better late than never." Eugene said.
Eugene then went behind the man and cut the part of the rope that tied the man's ankles together. He then cut the part of the long rope that connected the man to the one next to him. Now, the man was free. He then stood up and stretched. It felt so good to be able to move again. Though his legs felt rather strange because of kneeling in the cold snow, he would be able to just walk it off.
Unfortunately for them, the Bandits have already spotted Eugene freeing the men. Some focused their attention off of Kristoff and Sven and on Eugene who had just freed another guard. Bandits ran toward the guards, intent on keeping them as prisoners. Unfortunately for the Bandits, Maximus was standing guard and was ready to protect Eugene while he freed the others. Maximus had no problem taking a few more men out on his own.
The first man Eugene freed had already picked up a sword from an unconscious Bandit, and started to help Eugene free the others. Together, they cut the ropes that were making the guards immobile. One by one, each guard was cut free. The first thing most of the guards did when they stood up was stretch their limbs. It felt so good to be able to move again. While Eugene freed the men, Maximus was doing his best as a guard, knocking down hostile men one by one until none dared to even approach the white horse. Soon, all of Arendelle's guards were free.
It was obvious that the good guys now outnumbered the bad guys. Only about ten Bandits were left standing, all were focusing on Sven and Kristoff. Kristoff looked over at Eugene and the guards for a split second, seeing Eugene's accomplishment. He smiled, and pointed Sven towards them. Immediately, Sven jumped over one of the Bandits, kicking his head while in midair, and ran towards the others. The Bandits followed Sven as he ran, believing he had retreated. Then, the Bandits all stopped about fifty meters away from Sven, Kristoff, Maximus, Eugene, Olaf, and all of the guards who were all now together.
The ten Bandits gulped as the guards cracked their knuckles.
Not a single Bandit was left standing under the moon that night. All were unconscious with their faces in the snow. They weren't getting up anytime soon. The guards were all getting ready for another journey, making sure they each had a weapon. Some went inside the food area of the clearing to see if they could bring back something for the others to eat. Luckily, they were able to bring back many loaves of bread from a large bowl. Though the bread was hard and cold, it was still edible. It didn't take long for all of the bread to be devoured.
"Go back to Arendelle!" Kristoff said, with all of the guards listening. "Get some rest! Eat more food! I understand that most of you are starving due to being refused food by the Bandits. Arendelle has all the comforts you need."
"What about the Bandits?" One guard asked.
"We can't just leave them alone." Another guard added.
"The Bandits are currently not a threat." Kristoff said. "Unfortunately, we can't do anything about them."
"So what?" One guard asked. "Are we just going to let them cause more harm on others."
"What do you think we should do with them?" Eugene asked the man, standing next to Kristoff. "We can't tie them up. We won't kill them. Don't even bother trying to drag them back to Arendelle."
"Besides." Kristoff said. "They'll be smart to not mess with us again."
Kristoff and Eugene had a point. The best option was to just leave them in the snow, where they could hopefully get a frostbite somewhere. There was no rope that could be used to tie them all up. The rope used on the guards was now all cut into small pieces. Despite all of that, no way would any of these men go seek revenge after what happened that night. It wouldn't be good for their health.
The guards all left in a large group together, heading back towards Arendelle. Kristoff and Eugene had already explained to them that they would not join them when going home. They still had work to do. They hoped that the guards go home safely as they have all been through enough. Luckily, there were no deaths.
Now, Kristoff, Eugene, Sven, Maximus, and Olaf stood in the center of the clearing surrounded by the unconscious bodies of Bandits.
"I don't think Anna and Rapunzel were here." Kristoff said.
"No sign of them." Eugene added.
"Great." Kristoff said. "Now where do we look?"
"Nowhere..." Groaned a voice. They looked down to see a half awake Bandit on the floor, looking very hurt. He was still conscious, but he was in no condition to move.
"Shut up." Kristoff told the man.
"Wait until Cade and Lilith step out of their place in the North Mountain." The man said. "Then, you'll be sorry." With that, he closed his eyes and returned to his sleep like state.
"Step out of their place in the North Mountain..."'Olaf said. "What does that mean?"
"It means they're at the North Mountain." Kristoff said. "I'll bet the monarchs are there as well."
"Assuming they're alive." Eugene said.
"If Cade and Lilith were going to kill the monarchs, they'd have done it at the castle." Kristoff said.
"So if Anna and Rapunzel were planning on saving the monarchs..." Eugene said.
"They'd probably be heading towards the North Mountain." Kristoff said. "It explains why we didn't run into them."
"I think we know our next move." Eugene said. Olaf nodded in agreement. "You know where this place is, right?"
"Yeah, but it's not close." Kristoff said.
"Then we better get going now." Sven said using Kristoff's voice.
Eugene hopped on Maximus while Kristoff and Olaf hopped on Sven. They had a new destination to go to: The North Mountain. Together, Maximus and Sven raced off with Sven in the lead.
Author's Note: Argh! I hate writing important chapters while sick. I truly felt horrible while writing this, and I know I should've postponed writing it until I was better, but I didn't want to keep you guys waiting for another chapter. Sorry if the ending was a bit rushed. I wanted to finish it as quick as I could so I could get a little rest. Once again, I apologized if this chapter was a little bad.
For those of you who do not know, I have a little character profile on Kai on my actual profile page. It'll tell you guys a lot about Kai, and things you may not know about him. I'll give you some info about him right now. He is currently 23 years old. He sounds like Delsin Rowe from inFamous: Second Son. There you go!
I'll go back to being miserable because of my sickness again. Argh!
Now, we're going to focus on Elsa in the next few chapters. Ciao.