Chapter XXXIII: The White Room

The early morning sun was shining bright in the sky above Kai, Anna, and Rapunzel. Kai sat on a large rock while his left hand was raised in front of him. Anna was kneeling down in front of him with a roll of bandages in her hands, ready to treat Kai's wounds. She still had some bandages left over from Oaken's shop. Rapunzel was leaning on a tree in the forest, watching Anna and Kai. The trees around them were all pretty spread out so they were able to see the North Mountain ahead of them.

They have been walking all night with not a minute of rest. Since time was short, rest was a luxury that they could not afford. In a few hours, Ander's deadline will end, and when night falls, Arendelle will either be reduced to rubble or forced to fight back against the Southern Isles. In the worst case scenario which is Ander firing upon the city, no one knew what Elsa would do. She tries her best to keep the peace between Arendelle and other countries, but when dealing with war, she was unexperienced at it. Her decisions would be unpredictable.

Kai was, at first, reluctant to have his hand bandaged. He kept telling the girls it would be a waste of time and him cauterizing the wound would be enough. But, when the blood wouldn't stop dripping onto the snow, it was obvious that he needed to get his hand patched up. Although the blood was not coming out as crazy as it originally was, it was still coming out slowly. The main source of the dripping blood was from the wound on his palm and back hand as he had not cauterized it yet. His finger stump was barely dripping blood. Anna first wrapped the bandages around his palm and back hand until most of it was covered and the wound was no longer visible. Anna then proceeded to to wrap the bandages around his stump finger. Hopefully, this would keep the blood from dripping out.

"All done." Anna said.

She stood up as Kai sat, inspecting his hand. Red already started to appear through the bandage on his wounds, but they weren't going to drip onto the ground. Kai then took out his dagger with his right hand and put it in his left hand. Although it felt a bit harder to grip, he reckoned he would be able to hold it just fine. Kai then sheathed his dagger and prepared to create a fireball in his hand. Then, he realized that he couldn't risk burning the bandages away so he decided against creating fire.

"Thanks." Kai said to Anna.

Rapunzel stopped leaning on the tree and walked over to the two. She looked down at Kai's hand quickly to examine it, then she quickly refocused herself on her two friends.

"How far are we from the North Mountain?" Rapunzel asked.

Kai and Anna looked up and found the mountain towering over them. Elsa's Ice Palace was not visible from the angle they were looking at the mountain, but if they traveled a few miles to another angle, they would be able to see it just fine. Still, they didn't know that the monarchs and others were being held prisoner in the ice castle. But, Anna had a feeling that that would be their destination. It seemed closer than ever, and it was. Their journey there was almost to an end.

"It's right in front of us so not very long." Kai said.

"Any idea where they're being held?" Rapunzel asked.

"I have some idea." Anna revealed.

The other two looked at Anna with faces that said they were interested in hearing what it was.

"Elsa created an Ice Palace here not too long ago." Anna said. "It would make sense that they are being held there. It's pretty large with a lot of room."

"It's not a very subtle place to hold some prisoners." Kai said. "I mean, how can anyone miss the castle?"

"It doesn't seem like anyone passes through here a lot." Anna said.

Kai was considering Anna's point. It made sense that Cade and Lilith would make residence in a place no one ever or at least rarely visits. Plus, they didn't have to worry about any construction and it was probably free as well. What other area in the North Mountain could they take residence? Elsa's Ice Palace was the most logical place to go to. Although Kai didn't know the way to it, Anna fortunately did. Now, it seemed as though she would be the guide.

"It's a good place to start." Rapunzel said.

"There's still an off chance that there's nothing there." Anna said.

"What then?" Rapunzel asked.

"Then..." Kai said. Suddenly, his vision became blurry. Everything became distorted in his eyes. His head started to hurt like crazy. He wanted to badly to bang on it to try to get the pain out of him. "Then..." Kai repeated.

Something strange was happens for sure.

"Kai?" Anna asked. "Are you alright?"

Then, his vision became a shade of green. Anna and Rapunzel's distorted faces also turned green as well. Everything in his line of sight became a sickly green color. He was showing his sickness to the girls through his eyes. His eyelids were almost closed, and he was also wobbling as he stood as if he had trouble standing up. The girls were completely oblivious to what was happening to him. Kai was in the unknown too.

The poison was taking effect.

"Kai?" Rapunzel asked.

Rapunzel's voice was muffled in Kai's ears. He couldn't hear anything very well. The green he saw in his eyes soon transitioned to purple. Everything in his sight became purple, and the purple in Anna's clothes became a darker shade of it. Then, everything he saw started to twist in a spiral. Now, he couldn't see straight. Everything was so confused. He couldn't focus on anything because he didn't know where anything was. The only thing that was clear was the spiral he saw.

"Something's not right." Anna said as if it wasn't obvious.

Then, the spiral Kai saw started to straighten itself. Things looked like the way they were originally but in a shade of purple. Then, the shade of purple also disappeared in Kai's eyes. Everything in his vision looked normal, but his mind still hurt him immensely.

"Kai?" Rapunzel asked.

Rapunzel's voice sounded so low pitched in Kai's ears. Sweat trickled down his forehead and onto his nose and cheeks. There was no explanation for the sweat, especially since he was immobile in winter. The girls noticed the abnormal condition Kai was in and still had no idea what was happening to Kai.

Then, behind Rapunzel and Anna, Kai saw someone standing among the trees in the distance. It was a familiar scarred face with an evil smirk on his mouth. Kai saw Deren standing near the trees where the forest thickened, and the open space between the trees grew significantly smaller. Although something was happening to Kai's mind and eyes, there was no mistaking that he was seeing Deren standing behind the girls about fifty meters away.

"Deren?" Kai asked, not looking at the girls.

Anna and Rapunzel both turned their shoulder to see what Kai was looking at. As they expected, there was no one there. Their theory of very few people showing up around the North Mountain was correct as there would be no reason for anyone to show up there.

"Kai, no ones there." Anna said.

Anna's voice also sounded low pitch in Kai's ears. It sounded just like Rapunzel's voice sounded. Of course, Anna and Rapunzel heard their own voices differently. Kai then took a step forward towards Deren and around the girls. Immediately, Deren started to run off into the woods. Kai, not willing to let Deren go, ran after his old friend. As Kai ran, he couldn't hear Anna or Rapunzel yell wait and slow down respectively. The girls had no idea what Kai was chasing after since they couldn't see what he was seeing.

When Kai got to Deren's old position, there was no sign of Deren in the woods at all. There weren't even any footprints signifying Deren was even there. Kai did not understand, and since his vision and judgment was being clouded by the poison, he would never understand. Right now, he didn't know right from wrong. When Kai turned back towards Anna and Rapunzel who were standing about ten meters away from him, what he saw shocked him. He immediately showed his horror in his face. Anna's head was now replaced by the head of a giant fly with hair waving around. When he looked at Rapunzel, her head was now replaced by that of a tarantula's with her fangs smacking together and liquid coming out of her mouth.

"Calm down, Kai." Rapunzel said.

Kai heard Rapunzel's voice as if it were raspy and villainous. Her fangs moved as she talked. Kai took a step back into the forest, horrified by what he was seeing. Rapunzel and Anna also took a step forward in hopes of comforting Kai.

"Stay away from me!" Kai demanded.

Kai shot a blast of fire from his hand and toward the ground in front of the girls. A large wall of fire then appeared in front of the girls, knocking both of them down to the ground and blocking Kai from their sights. Kai meant to have hit one of them directly, but since his vision was somewhat blurry and his body was tired, he accidentally missed. Good thing he missed for the better. Luckily, no trees caught on fire when Kai created his wall.

Kai immediately started running through the forest, wanting to get away from the monsters he saw Anna and Rapunzel as.

After the fire wall died, Anna and Rapunzel got up from the ground. Some of the snow around them had already melted due to the fire. Anna wiped the snow off of her body while Rapunzel looked into the forest. Kai was nowhere to be seen. It was as if he just vanished, but she knew that wasn't probable. When he stopped them with the fire wall, he got a large head start.

"What happened to him?" Anna asked.

"I have no idea." Rapunzel admitted. Then, she remembered something back at the pub. Something Kai consumed that must've caused his random strange behavior. "Back at the pub," Rapunzel said, "Kai drank the whiskey."

Anna nodded, getting what Rapunzel was saying. "There must've been something it it." Anna said. "But, we drank the water. Why isn't this happening to us?"

"Because they didn't want it to happen to us." Rapunzel said. "They needed us to sell to Cade."

Anna nodded again. To them, Kai was a liability. He was far better off dead to them than anything else. He was the biggest problem to their plan. It would've made sense to try to get him out of the picture as soon as possible.

"Well, we have to go after him." Anna said.

Rapunzel sighed and looked down at the ground. What she was about to tell Anna was something Anna wasn't going to like to hear. Rapunzel knew what they had to do and they knew the path they had to take. Even if Kai wasn't there to help them, they would be forced to continue going down that path.

"I don't think that's such a good idea." Rapunzel said.

"What?" Anna asked. "What are you talking about?"

"We're running out of time." Rapunzel said. "We only have a few more hours to finish our little quest. Who knows how much time we'll spend looking for Kai?"

"We can't just leave him out there like that!" Anna said. "You saw how he was acting."

"Yes, I did." Rapunzel said. "But, what choice do we have?"

"We can choose to get our friend and save those people together!" Anna answered.

"We have no idea where he is or where he's heading!" Rapunzel said. "And you want to waste time looking for a guy who's out of his mind while my parents suffer under Cade and Lilith!"

Then, Anna knew exactly why Rapunzel was thinking that way. Rapunzel loved her family more than anything in the world. It made sense that Rapunzel put their well being in front of Kai's, despite their good friendship. Anna couldn't blame Rapunzel. She didn't think anybody can blame Rapunzel. Anna would do anything for family. She would even go as far as sacrificing herself like she did many months before. Anna had always failed to see Rapunzel's point of view on the matter.

"Okay..." Anna said. "We can leave him for now. But, Elsa is going to be angry if we come home without him."

"I'm kind of scared of making her angry." Rapunzel joked. "I'm sure he'll be alright. Kai is a tough guy. Probably the toughest guy I know. When whatever is happening to him passes, he'll find his way home."

"Assuming whatever is happening to him does pass." Anna said.

Now on their own, together, the two girls continued to walk toward the North Mountain, heading towards Elsa's Ice Palace.

Kai ran through the forest, trying to escape the monsters he saw earlier. But, even when running, he couldn't escape from nightmares. All around him, he saw flashes of horrifying images that could haunt him for the rest of his days. He tried to close his eyes as much as he could when he ran, and even that wasn't enough for him to stop seeing the monsters. He had no idea what those things were or why they were after them, but he had no time to think about it. He had no idea that this was all an illusion.

"Make it stop! Make it stop! Make it stop!" Kai repeated quickly as he ran.

Soon, Kai found himself in the middle of a small clear patch of land surrounded by trees and snow. He spun his body around and found the horrible creatures surrounding him. Giant monsters made out of fire, humanoid wolves, people with bug heads, and other horrifying sights closed in on him. Kai shot blasts of fire at them, but the fire just went through their bodies and they were completely unfazed. There was no way he was going to defeat them.

Then, one by one the monsters disappeared and vanished into thin air. As they disappeared, Kai's vision began to blur and his heart began to slow. His head hurt more than ever. He felt weak, barely even able to move his body. His breathing slowed as his lungs seemed to slowly stop working.

Am I dying, Kai thought to himself.

"Make... it... stop..." Kai finally said before blacking out.

Kai's body fell limp and lifeless onto the snowy ground.

When Kai opened his eyes, he found himself in a white room. He was laying in a large white bed, a white door was to the left of his bed, a white chair was about a few feet in front of the door, diagonally placed near the white bed. More white furniture were around the room like a nightstand to the right of the bed Kai was on. There were no windows in the room at all. There was no ceiling as there was nothing but blank white space above Kai.

The only thing that wasn't white in the room was Kai himself who was wearing his normal outfit; a raggedy, cheap, unsophisticated, grey and black tailcoat with blue linings at the end of his "tail" on his tailcoat and pants that matched. He did not fit in with the white at all. He looked at his left hand and found that there was no bandages on it and his ring finger was still attached. Surprised, Kai took his hand and put it over his head, examining it.

"What the..." Kai said. No one could tell Kai had been through some rough times. "Where am I?" The last thing he could remember was being surrounded by a large group of monsters before blacking out.

Kai sat up and got his body off on the right side bed. He looked over at the door and walked towards it. He put his hand on the handle and twisted. It wouldn't budge. He tried just pulling the handle without twisting it, and yet again, it wouldn't budge. Kai wasn't ready to be stuck in wherever he was. Kai kicked the door as hard as he could, and yet it did not move. The door didn't even vibrate because of his kick. It was as if it were glued to the wall. Kai kicked it once again, and he got the same result. Finally, Kai shot a blast of fire at the door. The fire dispersed immediately after making contact with it.

"You're not going to open it using force." Said a female voice behind him.

Kai recognized that voice. He recognized it well. How could it be possible, though? There was no way it could be her. Kai turned around and found his mother standing about five feet away from him. She looked like she did the last time Kai saw her. She still looked just as pretty in Kai's eyes.

"What?" Kai said in disbelief. "How? But..."

Kai's mother smiled. "Hello sweetheart." She said.

Kai's eyes began to water. He then ran towards her with his arms extended for a hug, but instead of hugging her, his body went through her's, passing through it seamlessly as if she was one with the air. Kai then turned around about four feet behind her, looking back confused.

"What was that?" Kai asked.

"I'm so sorry, sweetheart." She said. "I'm afraid I have a lot of explaining to do."

"Yeah, you do." Kai said. "What is this place? Where is this place? And how are you alive?"

Kai's mother took a deep breath and breathed it out. She closed her eyes and turned her head towards the ground for a few seconds, ready to break down the news to Kai. She didn't know if Kai was going to understand any of what she was about to say. He was always naive as a child, and she wasn't there to see him mature to the man he is.

"We are in a deep part of your mind." Kai's mother said. "A part that all shall unlock in the future."

"All shall unlock?" Kai asked. "Do you mean d-"

"Death." Kai's mother said. "All shall unlock it before death."

"Before death?" Kai said. "So, you mean I'm going to die?"

"Technically, you have already died, sweetheart." Kai's mother said. "The mind is still functioning even after death for a short while. This is why you're here."

"I can't die!" Kai said. "My time is not over!" The thought of him leaving his friends was so bizarre. He couldn't die now. Not after everything he had fought for. There were still things he needed to fight for.

"Kai..." Kai's mother said, sympathetically.

"Then why are you here?" Kai asked. "Are you my guardian angel or something?"

"I wish." Kai's mother said. "I'm only a figment of your imagination. Your mind created me to comfort you when passing."

"That explains why you look like you did when I last saw you." Kai said. He looked over his mother's shoulder and focused on the door behind her. "So, what's behind that door?"

"That depends." His mother said.

"What do you mean "it depends"?" Kai asked. "You said I'm dead, meaning there's only one place I'm going."

"That is true for most." Kai's mother said.

"Here we go again with the cryptic messages." Kai said.

"Young man!" Kai's mother said. "Be respectful when talking to me!"

Kai straightened himself. "Yes ma'am!" Kai said.

Kai didn't know why he was still acting like a child to a mother whose presence was not real. It honestly didn't matter how he talked to his mother, yet he was still acting like it did matter. But, after all those years of being away from her, he missed her giving him orders. It felt a bit like home. Kai missed home so much.

Her scold faded away and her nice, gentle demeanor returned to her. "I never foresaw the day when my son would start drinking." She said. "The whiskey you drank earlier was filled with a poison that would kill most people."

"That explains why I'm here." Kai said.

"But, you are strong willed." She said. "You're stronger than the average person. Very few, such as yourself, could survive it."

"If I can survive it, why am I dead?" Kai asked.

"It's because you are scared." Kai's mother said.

"Scared of what?" Kai asked. Very few things scared him. Sure, there were things that horrified him and would scar him for life, but he wasn't necessarily scared of those things. He didn't dread those silly things. Then, when he thought about it, he wasn't truly scared of anything.

"Death." She said.

"I'm not scared of death." Kai said. "I welcome it since I have so many close encounters with it."

"Are you sure about that?" His mother asked. "See, I'm the part of your mind that knows better. I know for a fact that you fear death. Why else do you freeze whenever a pistol is pointed at you. Death comes with it, and you're paralyzed by the thought of death."

"I'll bite." Kai said. "I'm the type of guy who always throws himself in death's way. So, why am I afraid of death?" He was still somewhat confused, but he always listened to his mother.

"I believe you can answer it yourself." Kai's mother said. "I'll give you a hint. It's not death itself that haunts you."

Kai thought long and hard about. He didn't understand why his mother couldn't just tell him the reason to simplify things. Then, he realized that life can't be filled with things being handed to you. He wasn't raised that way neither did he grow up that way. Then the answer popped up in his mind. He now knew exactly why.

"I'm scared of not being able to protect my friends." Kai said.

Kai's mother smiled. "Correct." She said. "You must understand that they are able to take care of themselves."

"I know that but-"

"But you don't truly believe it." Kai's mother said, filling in the blanks for Kai. "When you come to peace with the fact that your loved ones can take care of themselves, then you won't have to worry about protecting them. Therefore, death will no longer be your enemy."

Kai sighed, understanding what his ghost mom was telling him. He realized that she was right. He always had to act like the protector to his friends, not believing they could fight like he did. Not believing they could be fine without him. That was why he was so scared of death. If he died, who would be there to protect his friends. His fear was solely his own fault for not putting enough faith in those he cared about. What a friend he was. Thinking they couldn't do anything on their own.

In reality, they could take care of themselves just fine without Kai. Anna and Rapunzel defeated a pack of wolves and held their own in the Bandit base. Kristoff and the others saved the guards from captivity and sent them on their way. Elsa beat Lilith in a fight singlehandedly. Of course, Kai didn't know most of these actions done.

"You're right, mom." Kai said.

"Well, what can I say? Mother knows best." Kai's mom said.

"So, if where that door leads depends in some things... And if I'm stronger than most individuals... That means there's still a chance I can live." Kai said.

His mother nodded, happy that he finally got the message. She hoped that he would've understood that earlier, but better late than never. "There is another option." She said. "You can just give up now. There is no shame in it. If you choose, that door will open and you will finally be at peace like I am."

"So I can choose to just die and pass on?" Kai said.

His mother nodded. "You don't owe these people anymore. You've given them everything."

"Not everything." Kai said. "Not yet."

"You're talking about sacrificing yourself for these people. Why do you do this for them?" Kai's mother asked.

"Because some people are worth fighting and dying for!" Kai said, determined to come back to the land of the living and return to his friends. "If I die protecting my friends, then so be it. But I won't die now. Not here."

"Then it is obvious what your choice is." Kai's mother said.

The white door slammed open, and a blinding white light came out of it. It was impossible to see where the door truly led, but Kai trusted his mom's word. He walked past his mom and stood a few feet away from the door. He turned around to face his beloved mother one more time. She put her hand on his cheek although he couldn't feel it.

"I never thought I would see the day when you would be all grown up." She said. "I always wanted for you to stay small and cute forever even if you did have fire shooting out of your hands. I love you."

"Will I ever see you again?" Kai asked.

"Maybe when you grow old and die naturally. Your mind might create me to greet you when you wake up in this room many years later. Only after you have fun and give me grandchildren of course." Kai's mother answered. "That girl, Elsa, is a cute one."

"You died before you knew about her." Kai said. "How do you know about her now?"

"Your mind created me, Kai." Kai's mother said. "I saw what you saw. I know what you know."

Kai nodded, understanding what she meant and turned around, walking to the door. He stood in front of the unknown light, ready to jump through and return to his body. But, one word haunted his head in the moment.

"Grandchildren? I'm not so sure about that." Kai said, looking back. But, his mother had already disappeared. He was the only person in the room.

"Good to see you again, mom." Kai said.

With that, he jumped through the door and into the white light where he hoped he was going to return to the land of the living.

Kai's eyes shot open immediately. He quickly sat up, breathing heavily. He looked around him and found himself in the middle of an open patch of land with snow covering the ground. He looked at his left hand and found that his finger was still gone and his hand was bandaged. Having the finger was nice while it lasted.

Kai stood up, trying to decide whether that entire experience was fake or real. It must've been real. There was no way he imagined it. It just seemed so real to him. His mind seemed fine. He was no longer having horrible visions and he was without a headache.

Kai looked up at the North Mountain and found just what they were looking for. A large, beautiful, blue palace was standing on the side of the mountain. It was none other than Elsa's Ice Palace. He had a mission ahead of him, and he had a score to settle.

"Don't get too comfortable up there, Cade." Kai said. "I'm coming for you. It's judgment day for both of us."

To be continued in Chapter XXXIV: Judgment Day Part I

Author's Note: This is the beginning of the end... for this story. I bet you guys are happy that Kai didn't die to the poison. This is the first time I used a to be continued. Also, I wanted to remind you guys that an important character will die. I never said a main character will die. Only an important character. Main characters do count as important characters though.

Please comment/review on what you thought about this chapter.

I used a quote from the Dark Knight Rises in this chapter.

Also, I wasn't necessarily implying people go to a heaven in my story. If you want to believe they go to an afterlife after the white room, then believe it. But, if you do not believe in an afterlife and do not want to believe they go to an afterlife after the white room, then by all means, believe in that. I won't be biased towards those things.

This is a quote A Sky of Shadows is related to. "Everyone suffers at least one bad betrayal in their lifetime. It's what unites us. The trick is not to let it destroy your trust in others when that happens. Don't let them take that from you." Sherrilyn Kenyon, Invincible

I only have two questions for you guys.

1. How do you feel knowing the story is coming to an end?

2. What are you expecting in the next chapters?

Ciao.