Disclaimer: Frozen and all recognizable characters are owned by Disney. (Though I'm pretty sure you all knew that, already. ^_^ )
Summary: Rather than talking to paintings, after Elsa shut her out, Anna took to playing with her invisible friend, Mara. Only, as she grew up, Mara didn't go away.
Author's Note: Seeing as how most wraiths in fiction (as far as I know) don't seem to have actual combat tactics - and they don't seem to even exist in Disney (wraiths, I mean, not combat tactics) - I've had to look outside any Disney-related media. In this case, the video game Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor. You can find all manner of clips and Let's Plays on YouTube, in case you want or need a visual aid regarding some of the tricks Mara's about to learn.
Time seemed to slow down.
Even as the aufhocker's leapt at them, Mara was estimating its likely trajectory, trying to recall every hint of a weakness she'd ever heard about theriomorphs in general and aufhockers in particular, futilely wishing for a split second that it was a werewolf so that they could just kill it with silver, realizing there was no point to that thought since they didn't have any silver, and trying to think of anything in their environment they might use to their advantage.
Were Anna's thoughts able to be properly articulated, they might best be summed up as: 'Waaahhhhh!'
Before anything else, Mara decided, she needed to get Anna out of the way. She focused on a point past the aufhocker, and... moved. Anna wasn't quite sure what had happened. One second, she was looking death in the eye, then in a flash, Mara had somehow bypassed the creature, dragging Anna along with her. "What the-?"
No time to explain, Mara told her tersely. We have to keep moving.
Anna couldn't argue with that, though she did think they'd be able to move more effectively if she knew how they'd done... whatever that had been. The aufhocker was already rebounding from its second failed attack, having only gotten angrier. Whatever reason it had paused before, it wasn't doing so now. "Um, you said you knew how to fight?"
Yes, but to fight a more physical threat like this-
"Mara!" She threw herself to the side, kicking out as she did, knocking the aufhocker away more due to luck than any kind of skill. She wasn't going to be able to keep doing this on her own, though.
Okay, okay! Mara sounded somewhat flustered, reminding Anna that she had no prior experience with this kind of joint combat, either. I think I can... Just don't resist me, okay? If we aren't united on this, I don't think it'll work.
That would so not be a problem. Tactics weren't really something that had ever been covered in her lessons, nevermind actual, physical combat. If Mara knew how to fight, she was the only one of them who did, and Anna wasn't suicidal enough to stop her.
This is going to be very strange, Mara warned, then the world... shifted.
One minute, she'd been seeing a darkened forest, lit up by illusory moonlight created in her mind by Mara to give form to what the wraith's senses were taking in. The next, the landscape became darker - though, since it was night, it likely was actually lighter than her surroundings had actually been before - and harder to see the farther away something was. There was an ever-so-faint shimmering haze in the air, being constantly blown past by a wind that tingled against her skin.
Or rather, against Mara's skin.
Her surprise very nearly threw them out of synch. Here, in this bizarre shadow world, their usual state seemed to be reversed, with her being inside Mara's body. Rather than a dress, this ghostly version of Mara - her skin was even more pale than Elsa's, while her hair and eyes were so dark they seemed to swallow light - was clad in black leather armor with side lacing and buckles. Matching black body armour and attached shoulder plates provided additional protection - she had no idea what kind of metal they were made from, but she somehow knew it wasn't steel. The oddest thing about the clothing, to Anna, was that she was wearing pants, something she'd never seen Mara (or any woman, for that matter) do before. The boots were almost normal, by comparison. The outfit even had a matching set of vambraces.
Where had this come from? Anna didn't know much about combat herself, but she had read everything there was in the castle library, which included a fair amount of military history, as well as many a romance novel that frequently came with a knight in shining - or slightly tarnished - armor. Joan of Arc being one of her favorite historical figures (and, in some ways, a kind of role model) had inspired her to learn as much as she could about the woman. No one, in any of the books she'd read, had ever worn an outfit quite like this.
Mara lifted her hands, which Anna could feel distantly, but had no control over. If that sort of thing was what Mara put up with every day... Anna's respect for what she had to endure went up a bit. To her surprise, Mara conjured up a sword from precisely nowhere, the weapon appearing from a ghostly blue-white light. She had to wonder what the aufhocker was seeing. Could it see Mara? Or was it just seeing Anna, abruptly moving like she knew what she was doing?
Actually... How smart was this thing? It could apparently change into whatever it needed to - even human form - to 'fulfill whatever duty it sees fit.' Why was it taking orders from a minor demon who could only assume one alternate form?
Presumably because it was either ordered to, or the demon implanted a suggestion to make it want to, Mara told her. And yes, I believe it can see me. So we can't let it get away.
Given that it was jumping at them again, an expression of maddened rage on its face, it randomly deciding to leave didn't seem like a huge danger. Unfortunately.
Mara whirled gracefully out of the aufhocker's path, lashing out with a fist and catching it in the back of the head, making it stagger. It seemed like there was more of that odd ghostly light playing about its head after the blow, leaving it unable to shake off the stun. Mara didn't let up, striking at it in a flurry of sword swipes that culminated in driving her blade through its back, then pulling it out and whirling into a slash that drove the creature to the ground.
Had she been able to, Anna would have blinked in astonishment, then stared, disbelieving. And Mara claimed wraiths weren't very high up there on the ass-kicking scale of things?
Thank you, but before you get too impressed, keep in mind I didn't even knock it out with that.
Sure enough, the aufhocker was hauling itself back to its feet, only seeming angrier. Knowing she had to keep on the offense, Mara stunned it again, then hit it with another flurry of rapidfire strikes with her sword. When it recovered, she flipped over its head, kicking it in the back of the skull, then slicing it up further. Then she did it again.
And again.
And again.
As she did, Anna was noticing something. Either the creature healed almost faster than it could be damaged, or the ghostly sword wasn't leaving physical injuries.
Both, I think.
Well, that was less than helpful. How were they supposed to stop this thing?
Remember when I said it can't be killed?
Could it be knocked unconscious or something, then? Maybe they could restrain it after that, until they could figure out what to do with it?
Mara twisted to one side, then another, as she dodged swipes of the aufhocker's deadly claws. (Whether or not it could hurt her, a blow would almost certainly hurt Anna, which was not acceptable.) I don't know, she admitted. I've never heard of that happening, but this is a somewhat... unique situation. She tagged it with another stunner blow, then pulled back, her sword glowing and shifting into a phantom bow. She reached over her shoulder and pulled an equally ghostly arrow from seemingly nowhere, notched it, and shot the aufhocker in the leg. The bow was shifting back into the more solid-looking sword even as the creature howled, its leg glowing with the same ethereal blueish-white as the arrow had been, and seemingly pinned in place. She managed to land another string of solid hits before the effect wore off, and it staggered backward.
There had to be a limit to how much punishment this thing could take, Anna thought. They would have overrun Europe by now, otherwise, fear of sunlight and church bells or not.
Perhaps. Though, by that same token, there is also a limit to how much I can give it.
She didn't want to think about that.
Neither do I, but not thinking about it won't make it stop being true. She jumped over its head again, giving it a stun kick even as she did. It must have been a rather slow learner, given that it kept letting her do so.
Neither she nor Anna were about to complain.
What would happen, Anna wondered, if they hit it with a lightning blast?
I have no idea. Perhaps you should try.
Perhaps... Wait, what?
The conversation was derailed when a backhanded blow from the aufhocker caught Mara in the side, knocking her into a tree... and momentarily knocking them out of synch, leaving Anna facing the slavering beast. "Ack!" she yelped as she dodged the follow-up blow, which she thought was fairly articulate given her circumstances. "Okay, the sword isn't working!" she decided, keeping the tree between her and the creature as best as she could. "Do you have anything else in your arsenal?"
Um... It sounded almost like she was stalling, though Anna was pretty sure she was actually frantically searching through her bag of tricks for something - anything - else that might be suitable.
Then the aufhocker was run over by a reindeer.
Both of them stopped for a moment to stare at that. Mara felt justified in doing so; even by the quasi-immortal standards of the creatures of the night such as herself, that was an exceedingly unlikely occurrence. She'd certainly never seen such a thing happen before.
"Sven!" an unfamiliar man's voice shouted from nearby.
The reindeer - Sven, presumably - wheeled and stabbed the aufhocker with its antlers, then bounded away before it could retaliate. It seemed to forget about its previous target, launching itself after the reindeer, clearly intending to tear it apart.
And that, Anna decided, was not acceptable. "Hey!" she shouted at it. "You're not done with me, yet!"
You know, I think a reindeer is probably fast enough to keep its distance for long enough to give us a chance to come up with an actual plan, at the very least, Mara pointed out even as the aufhocker stopped and snarled at them.
"We can't just let that thing eat him!" Anna protested. If they'd gotten too far away while she and Mara were thinking...
I know that, but-
"Sven! This way!" There was that voice again. Closer, now. Someone was moving quickly through the underbrush, and Sven quickly altered course to intercept him. The aufhocker roared again-
Which was promptly cut off as Mara's sword slashed at its throat.
They danced quickly away from the retaliatory strike. It almost seemed larger, somehow, in the wraith world, as if they were seeing its true self. Its spirit, perhaps.
Mara, catching that thought, hesitated, then let her sword discorporate... and summoned forth a different one.
Very, very different.
The sword she'd been using until now had been, as best Anna could tell, an Espée Bastarde or "bastard sword," specifically a cavalry sabre (though she hadn't recognized the design of the pommel). This new one, however...
It could have been a rapier. Assuming rapiers emitted a steady, silver-white light from their blades. Or throbbed with a steady, deep strength, as quiet and unshakable as the earth itself. Or produced a constant, steady chiming sound in the air.
The aufhocker had stopped dead in its tracks, and was now staring at the sword with something that might have been shock. Unfortunately, that quickly gave way to something else, which looked suspiciously like hatred. "Uh, Mara...?"
Not now, Anna.
It charged.
Mara spun out of the way, ducked under its swipe, and slashed at it again. Unlike her previous hits, however, this one produced a new result: a high-pitched scream full of pain.
Anna's metaphorical eyebrows shot up. Why hadn't they used this thing in the first place?
Seriously. Later.
Mara's combat style altered subtly, almost instantly adapting to the difference in the style of the new sword. More thrusts, fewer hacking slashes, spinning about the battlefield like it was a dance floor. If only the Duke of Weasel Town could see them now, Anna mused.
He would likely either have a heart attack or condemn you for sorcery, Mara told her.
That was true, she conceded. Still, she had to wonder what he was doing, just then, if he was still keeping an eye on Hans, despite... Well, everything.
If he is, let's hope Hans and his 'friend' don't notice.
Anna winced at that. There hadn't been anyone else for her to turn to, and she still didn't like him very much, but that didn't mean she wanted anything to happen to the old man. Especially because of something she'd gotten him involved in.
He's a grown man, Anna. He can make his own decisions. Given how easily we tumbled across what Hans is doing, he might well have noticed all on his own, given time. And you told him quite clearly how dangerous the situation was. If he does something foolish, it will be his choice to do so. Now, please focus on our problem. We can't let the creature get away.
Get away? Anna (mentally) blinked, refocused on the outside world, and found to her surprise that they seemed to be winning.
Sort of.
Unlike her first conjured sword, this one was leaving actual, lasting injuries on the aufhocker. Nothing fatal, or even that slowed it down by any appreciable degree, but it was clearly becoming wary of them. Of the blade. It was prowling around them, growling and snarling, but not coming any closer. It even tried dodging Mara's next attack. Really, that seemed like a good thing, to her...
We can't let it get away! Mara repeated adamantly.
...but apparently, they couldn't let it get away. Or kill it. Or knock it unconscious. Which meant they were just going to have to do one of those anyway, regardless of how impossible it was. Well, nothing worth doing was easy, right?
This hasn't exactly been easy up until now, you know. Despite her words, though, Anna could sense Mara's determination, renewed by her words and (possibly foolish) optimism. She - they - held the glowing sword before them, blazing eyes locked on the aufhocker.
Astonishingly, its nerve broke first, and it whirled, charging off into the forest, in search of easier prey. It would likely need blood and flesh to heal itself, Mara felt, before reporting its failure... and what it had found. Almost certainly, it would now be after the valiant reindeer that had come to their - well, Anna's - aid, as well as the young man that had been calling for him.
They couldn't let that happen, Anna decided, and if Mara was perhaps somewhat more reluctant to place their lives at risk to help complete strangers, that hardly meant she wanted anything to happen to them. And the creature could not be permitted to escape.
United in purpose, they raced off in pursuit. Had anyone been present to observe this, our imaginary observer would have seen an odd melding of forms, the young princess of Arendelle sprinting through the woods, a radiant sword in her hand, with ghostly features belonging to someone else entirely flickering over her body.
They moved with inhuman quickness, intercepting the aufhocker in a clearing. They had a brief glimpse of the reindeer and someone who might have had blonde hair, then there was only the creature. They were a whirling dervish of violence, stabbing and slashing and dodging, always moving, refusing to allow it to get away and attack anyone else. It had to die, there and then, before anyone else was hurt. Before it could tell anyone about Mara.
Or what she had.
But it had been a long fight already, and Anna, unaccustomed to such things, was getting tired. She couldn't let Mara do this by herself - if only because she didn't think Mara could do it by herself; interacting with the physical world was so difficult for her, even something as comparatively easy as slamming Elsa into a mirror had all but exhausted her - but they couldn't keep this pace up forever. Eventually, they'd slip up, the aufhocker would get away, and someone would die.
Unacceptable.
Completely unacceptable.
It wasn't a conscious decision, not really. Certainly, they both remembered Anna's previous suggestion about hitting it with a lightning bolt, but with their combined consciousnesses focused entirely on the aufhocker and the fight, there wasn't any specific, coherent thought about it. What happened next was pure instinct, subconscious knowledge bypassing the conscious mind and acting.
Mara stunned it, making it stagger back a step or two.
Anna raised a hand, palm out.
A bolt of blinding light - oddly emerald in color - leapt from it to slam into the aufhocker, faster than thought. A punishingly deafening crack of thunder split the air, the shockwave sending Anna flying several feet backward to crash painfully to the ground.
She lost a minute or so, trying to pull herself back together. Even with all the accidents an active child such as herself had had over the years, she'd never gotten her bells rung like that before. She managed to sit up, but even the thought of standing made her head spin. Or possibly that was from a concussion. Or both. Her ears were ringing so badly a marching band could have been wandering past, and she never would have known.
Okay, she decided. Next time, they would get farther away before doing something like that again.
To say the least, Mara said, sounding almost as out of it as Anna felt.
A few of the younger, frailer trees had actually been knocked down, and while Anna's vision was swimming a bit, she couldn't see what had happened to Sven or... whatever his name was. Hopefully, they'd gotten clear while she and Mara had kept the aufhocker busy.
The aufhocker that was laying on the ground, utterly motionless, singed and smoking and, from what Mara could tell, lifeless.
"Well, how about that?" Anna said, dazed. Or she thought she did, anyway; her lips moved, her throat was vibrating like it did when she spoke, but she couldn't hear it. That would go away soon, she hoped - Mara's presence meant she tended to heal faster than anyone else she knew (something else she'd discovered due to her restless nature, growing up) - but still... She'd also been able to see the painfully bright light even through her closed eyelids. Given the exceedingly intense flash and bang, she realized with a slight burst of depression that they'd just declared their position to everyone looking for them, and she doubted she'd be ready for another fight anytime soon.
True, Mara agreed. Though I have to admit, your suggestion on how to deal with it proved much more effective than I'd have dared dream. Certainly more so than anything I managed to do to it. The glowing sword was gone, likely having vanished the moment the shockwave had knocked them out of synch. You're the first person I know of to have managed to kill an aufhocker - and with only one strike, no less.
She was pretty sure that wouldn't have worked without Mara's strenuous efforts in fighting it beforehand...
Perhaps, perhaps not. Ultimately, I suppose it doesn't matter, does it?
...but that was the second time Mara had referred to the lightning bolts like she'd had nothing to do with them.
Anna... Mara was speaking slowly, as if confused. The power of the storm is not mine to command. It never has been.