Call Me, Beep Me

by Texan Red Rose

She's your basic, average girl, and she's here to save the world. You can't stop her 'cause she's Anna Andersen. [Frozen/Kim Possible fusion, Elsanna, no incest]

10. The Games We Play

Disclaimer: All characters are from their respective works. Also, Happy Holidays to everyone! Alright, some German and some Spanish this time around, but much less than previously. Danke schön - Thank you very much. Bitte schön - You're welcome. A veces, quiero matarlo - Sometimes, I want to kill him. Pinche guey - Fucking idiot. Su madre era un hámster - Your mother was a hamster. Y su padre olía de bayas - And your father smelled of berries. Because I have no idea what an elderberry actually is and therefore have no idea how to say it in Spanish, bayas is close enough. What? I can't make Monty Python jokes? Oh! A 'butter bar' is a 2nd Lieutenant in the American Armed Forces; it's referring to the single bar colored gold that represents their rank, the same way 'Railroad Tracks' and 'Full Bird' refer to Captain and Colonel respectively. And 'terp is just a shortened form of the word interpreter.

---

Elsa sat on the couch in the Oven, a small smile on her lips as she watched Hans continue his pacing and muttering. According to Olaf, this little display would last for a few hours, two or three times a day, and it started after they got back from Mexico. Had she not been so distracted, she probably would've noticed his erratic behavior herself. As it was, the blonde allowed herself a few days to bask in the afterglow of...whatever it was she'd shared with Anna.

Besides, he would eventually break down and ask for her opinion or assistance. For now, she was entirely content to let him wear a hole in the floor.

The longer he remained distracted by whatever was eating at him, the better, as far as she was concerned; it meant it would take that much longer for him to come up with the next ill-fated plan for... whatever it was they were trying to accomplish.

She wasn't even sure anymore.

There was a lot she wasn't sure about anymore, now that she thought about it. Since they returned, she'd replayed every moment of the all-too-brief interactions inside her head dozens of times, starting- of course- with meeting the redhead on the side of the volcano.

Anna.

How was it this girl could so easily turn her world upside down with nothing more than a few comments?

"Elsa."

Her gaze snapped to meet Hans', her smile never faltering despite the slight detour her attention took. "Yes?"

"I need your help." He strode over to the couch and sat down heavily next to her. While she angled her body to face him- pushing her thoughts of Anna to the back of her mind for the time being- he dragged a hand down his face, scrunching his nose in concentration. "Something the boy said in Mexico doesn't make sense. I can't tell if he was being honest or if he somehow figured out our plan and is trying to throw us off."

"Our plan?" Elsa raised a brow.

"You know, the love letters."

"Right. That plan," she replied in a flat tone.

Hans didn't seem to register the delivery of her words, instead scratching at his chin. "I asked him if he dropped the dead weight, referring of course to the girl. I figured insulting her would prompt a protective response, something that would coerce him into defending her."

"And here I thought you were trying to split them up. With a comment like that, it sounds like you're trying to strengthen their relationship." Elsa drawled, cradling her head in one hand and leaning back against the arm of the couch.

"See, that's the thing." Hans furrowed his brows, staring off into the distance, eyes darting to and fro as though he were reading an invisible document in front of him. "According to my research-"

"You mean my romance novels?" Elsa raised a brow.

"Of course. They have truly proved invaluable assets," Hans replied, pressing on without glancing her way. "Anyway, my research says a normal male in a relationship would, of course, defend his girlfriend- which is what I wanted while instilling the idea that Anna might not be good enough for him."

Elsa opened her mouth to say something but stopped short as a familiar, wooden appendage gently tapped her arm. Directing her gaze over the back of the couch, she caught Olaf's concerned gaze as it flicked between her hand- her nails were dug in nearly to the point of tearing the fabric- and the walls of the room- which were slowly developing frost. With her attention off Hans' words, she could feel the force of her glare in the sudden soreness of her muscles and schooled her expression, relaxing her hand and discreetly waving away the encroaching frost.

She really needed to be more careful; Hans' obliviousness was bound to run out if she kept allowing her emotions to run amok.

"What I wasn't expecting- what I can't figure out- is why he would defend her while denying they're together. I mean, some of my research material has indicated that males will downplay the severity of a relationship depending on a multitude of causes but I never factored that as part of the plan; it doesn't seem to fit his character, if what we've seen over the past few years is any indication." Hans turned to look at Elsa, lips drawn in a thin line. "Elsa, did it really work? Was that first letter all they needed to break up?" His shoulders slumped slightly. "Was it really that easy all along? Did one of our plans finally work? Because honestly..." He shook his head and sighed. "It feels so... anti-climactic."

"Hans," she said softly, reaching out and putting a hand on his shoulder reassuringly. "I know you really want this to work, especially because of all the setbacks you've encountered." She tried to keep her voice encouraging despite her words. "But maybe you're looking at this the wrong way, trying to see a victory where there isn't one."

Hans tilted his head slightly, eyes unfocused as his mind raced. "Because that's exactly what he wants me to think." The redhead shot up, a smile on his face as he thrust both fists in the air. "Ha! That's it! What better way to protect his girlfriend than by denying the strength of their bond!" Hans started pacing again. "Oh, that was a clever little trick; he was banking on my low opinion of him to slip this past me!" He stopped in front of Elsa and grabbed her shoulders, shaking her slightly. "Elsa, you're brilliant!"

"Glad I could be of assistance," she replied, forcing a smile as he released her to continue pacing.

"Still, there has to be some significance to his insistence they're friends." Hans scratched at the back of his neck.

Elsa chuckled. "Of course he would say they're friends, Hans. He can't exactly pretend they're strangers. They grew up together."

As he stopped and turned, looking at her with wide eyes, Elsa wondered if she should've kept that last comment to herself.

"That's it!" He dashed over to her, kneeling before her. "Elsa, give me a pretty girl's name."

She blinked rapidly a few times as her brain struggled to process his words. True, Hans rarely had what could be termed 'normal' requests in most any situation aside from hers but this one... well. "What?"

"I need to introduce the theoretical vixen who's trying to enchant the boy in my next letter." Hans shot up, searching for paper and a pencil to start scratching out the ideas racing through his head. "It's like you said, about them being friends. Their relationship goes much deeper than that of boyfriend and girlfriend because of their long history; I can't very well lure him away with a nameless idea of a woman, now can I?"

"I... suppose not." Elsa shook her head to recover her senses, focusing on his question. Her immediate thought was to reply with 'Anna'- there was only one pretty girl in her life at the moment, after all- but she refrained and instead chose the first to pop into her mind. "How about Jessica?"

"Are Jessicas pretty?" Hans ducked a light swat from Elsa as soon as the words left his mouth. "Elsa!"

"Hans, that was a really stupid question." She crossed her arms over her chest. "A person's name doesn't have any bearing on their physical appearance."

Getting to his feet, Hans started to pace but quickly came to a stop. "Wait, I've got it!"

"Really?" Elsa raised a skeptical eyebrow.

"Yes." Hans turned, dramatically opening his arms wide. "If I was a gorgeous young woman instead of a handsome young man, I would definitely be a Vivian."

"Vivian. That's the name you're going with." Elsa blinked. To her surprise, the question on the tip of her tongue remained there but was voiced by someone else instead.

"Why?" Olaf slid from his seat and walked around the couch, tilting his head in curiosity.

Hans blinked at the snowman. "Becuase, that's a pretty girl's name."

Olaf tilted his head the other way. "Why?"

"Because it has a 'v' in it."

"Hans!" Elsa got off the couch and glared at him.

"What? I know I've read somewhere in one of your books that 'v's are sexy." Hans tapped a finger to his chin. "Sexy and pretty are more or less synonymous, right? And it has two 'v's, which makes it double sexy. That's how that works, right?"

Elsa made a few frustrated, choked noises and turned on her heel, leaving the room without sparing either Hans or Olaf a glance. The moment she was gone, the two shared a confused look.

Hans sighed. "What did I do this time?"

Olaf shrugged. "I think Elsa has a pretty name. Maybe you should've told her that."

The redhead blinked. "Huh. I didn't think about that."

"Don't worry!" Olaf hurried back to the other side of the couch, reclaiming the computer chair. "I've been working on a surprise! I'm sure it'll cheer her up!"

Hans laughed, heading towards his lab while the ideas were still fresh in his mind. "I'm sure she'll love it, Olaf." He stopped at the threshold. "Uh, could you-"

"I'll let you know when it's safe to come out." Olaf giggled, shaking his head at Hans' request. Elsa wasn't angry, per se, but Olaf had a better sense of her moods than Hans ever would, especially given how very... dense he was regarding the blonde.

Besides, his surprise was really good!

---

Anna slung her backpack over one shoulder, descending the stairs two at a time as she headed out for school. Her knee was feeling much better after an almost disturbingly quiet weekend. The redhead chalked it up to a lucky break, which she desperately needed after the breakneck pace of the past month. The downside was how much time she had to think and get excited, annoying her friends with silly questions when she decided she might need a second opinion.

She literally couldn't wait until the next Ice Queen mission. She was fired up, ready to go, totally not going to choke this time, nope. She-

"Oh, sweetheart, glad I caught you!" Anna stopped with one hand on the doorknob, waiting for her mother to emerge from the living room. When she appeared, she was holding two large manila folders, the type that were sealed with a length of string wrapped around a button. "Could you do me a favor?"

"Of course, mom!" Anna smiled, taking a step towards her mother. "What's up?"

"Could you give Officer Brooks these on your way into school?"

Anna accepted the folders, quirking a brow. "Sure, I guess. Is this why you and dad had to work late the other night?"

After an off hand comment during dinner one night, Anna learned a bit more about her parents' respective jobs, though she got the odd feeling like there was something they weren't fully explaining. Her dad said he was a lawyer and that the building he worked in, he actually owned and operated; apparently, he was the go-to legal adviser in the county. Her mom, on the other hand, was a registered nurse practitioner at the hospital and specialized in... alternative and abnormal health studies, or something like that. The way it was explained, it sounded like she was pretty much the expert on all things weird, but also had a background in sports medicine.

Her mother nodded, eyes twinkling. "She asked us for a favor, that's all dear."

Shrugging, the redhead started for the door again. "Alright, no problem!"

"Thanks. Have a great day at school and beyond, sweetheart!"

"Bye mom!" Anna left her house, the folders in one hand, and started for the school after taking a quick look around. She couldn't see Kristoff on the street, which meant he either overslept again- being a Monday, she was banking on it- or decided to head to school early. That was fine, really; they tried to walk to and from school together as often as possible but, sometimes, it just wasn't going to happen.

"Anna! Hey, wait up!"

Anna smiled, stopping and turning to watch as Kristoff and Sven came speeding up the road. While the reindeer was obviously enjoying himself, the blond looked distinctly panicked, which meant that yes, he overslept.

"Morning, Kris!" Anna laughed as he hurriedly dismounted, falling into step as they walked down the street. "Running late?"

"I swear, someone is changing my alarm clock when I'm not looking," Kristoff replied, groaning as he ran a hand across Sven's shoulder. "Thanks for the save, buddy. What's with the folders?"

"They're from my parents, for Officer Brooks." Anna shrugged. "They did her a favor, apparently."

"Huh, weird."

"People do favors for each other all the time here, Kris. We're, like, the King and Queen of doing favors."

"Point taken, but-" Kristoff held up a hand. "-it makes sense for us to work together. Your parents don't even work in the same general field."

"I dunno, I mean, dad's a lawyer, mom's a nurse. There could be overlap." Anna paused, her mind running a mile a minute until it came to a single thought that stopped her dead in her tracks. "You don't think something's... wrong, do you?"

"What?" Kristoff furrowed his brows and frowned. "Something wro- oh, no, slow down; no matter what's in those things, it's none of our business, Anna."

"But what if Officer Brooks is, like..." She trailed off, looking at the folders in her hands. Anna almost jumped at the hand on her shoulder.

"You're jumping the gun." Kristoff gave her a light shove to spur her back into walking, stepping with her as they continued towards school. "Officer Brooks doesn't miss work for anything, remember? I hardly think she could keep a better attendance record than us while secretly wasting away from some mystery disease."

"Kris! That's so insensitive!" Anna worried her bottom lip with her teeth. "We should ask her if she's okay."

"Anna, seriously, slow down." Kristoff steered her around the corner with one hand firmly on her shoulder. "I know you're convinced you can save the world one poor, unfortunate soul at a time, but you can't just make assumptions about someone's personal life like that."

"But-"

"No, Anna, I'm serious." He pulled his most stern expression as they neared the school's parking lot. "Not one more word about this."

The redhead sighed but nodded, walking with her head down as Kristoff bid farewell to Sven. The reindeer was a bit more reluctant than usual but eventually turned to go... wherever he went during the school day. Probably back to Kristoff's place; she honestly had no idea. Before she could really register it, the teens were at the school's entrance, pulling open the doors. Come to think of it, she wasn't sure how to find the security officer; not being much of a trouble maker, Anna had never had an ill run-in with Officer Brooks. She just saw her around the school grounds every now and again, patrolling the halls or keeping an eye out during passing period.

"Kris, does Officer Brooks have an office?"

"No; I usually just hide in unswept corners like a spider when no one's looking." Anna and Kristoff jumped at the voice, whirling to their left as the woman in question exited an unmarked door across the hall from the Principal's Office. She was wearing her usual black suit and tie, shades firmly in place, though a bit higher on her face due to the slight scowl marring her features. "Why are you looking for my office, Anderson?"

"I- uh, I'm sorry," Anna said, holding out the folders. "My parents asked me to give you these."

Officer Brooks accepted the items in question, giving them a quick glance before her expression smoothed out. "I'm a bit crabby in the morning without my coffee."

"She's not kidding." Coach Calhoun shouldered her way into the building, carrying two cups of coffee and a small brown bag in addition to her purse and athletic tote. "She nearly bit some poor butter bar's head off once while we were-"

"Hey, trips down memory lane later; please give me my salvation before I thrash you in front of your students." Officer Brooks held out her hand, accepting the cup Coach Calhoun gave her with nothing more than a twitch of her lips to indicate a grateful smile. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," Coach Calhoun replied, turning her attention to the teens. "Now, aside from being accosted by a cranky security guard, don't you two have somewhere to be?"

"Right, Coach, we were just leaving." Kristoff tapped Anna's shoulder. "Let's go grab our books."

As he turned, Anna made to follow suit but paused, turning back to the two women. "Uh, Officer Brooks? Is everything okay? Ya know, with you?"

Kristoff smacked a hand to his forehead while Coach Calhoun and Officer Brooks exchanged curious glances.

"Now that I have my coffee, yes, everything's fine." Officer Brooks took another sip. "What brought this on, Anderson?"

Anna made a vague motion towards the folders the woman was holding. "Well, I just got worried, 'cause I... well..."

"She jumped to a conclusion she shouldn't have." Kristoff supplied, stepping beside the redhead and shooting her a severe frown. "Given her parents' line of work-"

"A lawyer and a nur- Oh!" Officer Brooks nodded, coughing out a laugh before reining in her reaction and offering the two teens a small grin. "Yes, I'm fine. I have a... member of my extended family, shall we say, who may be coming to Arendelle. I asked your parents for their expertise due to some concerns I have about her living here, that's all. Nothing to worry about."

Anna let out a sigh of relief, accepting Kristoff's 'I told you so' stare with a small smile. "Sorry, Officer Brooks. I was just worried."

The woman waved off her apology. "You're young and entitled to your curiosity." She paused, lowering her shades enough to look at the teen properly. "But, you should keep in mind that there are times to stay in your lane." She moved them back into place and straightened her tie. "Besides, this place isn't getting rid of me that easily. Sorry to disappoint."

"Now that we've cleared that up, get to class, you two, before you're late," Coach Calhoun said, waiting until the teens were out of earshot before addressing her friend. "They mean well."

"Not holding it against them. They're good kids." Half of her cup was already drained, her other hand opening the outside section of Calhoun's tote to grab the thermos in preparation for the imminent refilling.

"So... you were going to 'thrash' me, huh? Way to show your age there, Chief."

"Oh, bite me, Gunny." Officer Brooks grumbled, turning around to open the door she'd exited a few minutes before, keeping it open for the other woman to follow her into the small office allocated for the school's security officer. "You're entirely too chipper this morning. Something hold you up?"

"Not what you're thinking, that's for sure." Calhoun sighed, leaning against the small desk Brooks sat behind as the other woman instantly set about opening the folders Anna had given her. "Ralph's still having trouble adjusting and Van's not making things any easier. Felix and I are doing the best we can to help out but... you know how it goes."

"Ah, domestic bliss." Brooks gave her a small smile, raising her coffee cup in a toast. "Here's to living the dream."

"And being thankful it's not a nightmare." Calhoun automatically replied, lifting her own cup before taking a drink. There was a moment of silence before her curiosity got the better of her. "Are those what I think they are?"

"Yes. Now that I have approval, the ball's in my court. Can't drag my feet on this," Brooks replied absentmindedly, pulling a half-inch pile of paper from one of the folders and thumbing through the pages with raised eyebrows. "Huh."

"So, she's not undocumented."

"Not at all. These charts are old but surprisingly thorough." Brooks started to take another sip of her coffee before catching sight of something on the top sheet of paper, dropping the stack as she choked on the hot liquid and started coughing.

"Chief?" Calhoun stood up, redirecting her gaze as Brooks pointed to something on the page before her. As the blonde leaned down to take a closer look, her eyes zeroed in on the indicated line and she drew back in surprise. "Well... that changes things."

Brooks sent her a withering look as she recovered her breathing, picking up the stack of papers once more. "I'm starting to get a clearer idea of what's going on here, Gunny, and I don't like it." She sighed, rubbing at her temple. "This just got a helluva lot harder."

"That's why you get paid the big bucks," Calhoun said with a slight smirk, setting a hand on her friend's shoulder. "On the upside, you've got most of the town on your side. We'll make this work. We always do."

Brooks pursed her lips, drumming her fingers on her desk a moment. "I'll need to put a call in to King. Update Mode... Smollet... the Mayor..." She groaned. "I hate paperwork."

Switching gears slightly, Calhoun took another sip of her coffee. "What about Colonel Weselton? Any news on that front?"

Brooks frowned but nodded, tapping the laptop on the corner of her desk. "I have a buddy over in Military Intelligence who agreed to feed the Colonel carefully timed intel to keep him as far from Arendelle as physically possible."

"Wasting government funds on a wild goose chase?" Calhoun raised a brow, chuckling slightly. "I can't believe his command is clearing this bullroar."

Brooks shook her head. "I had to do something and this is safer than letting him stew a stone's throw from our doorstep. For whatever reason, he has something of a following in the officer circles and they were beginning to listen to his ridiculous claims. I'm using their paranoia to our advantage, that's all." The bell rang out, dulled slightly by the closed office door, and Brooks averted her attention from the papers before her to throw Calhoun a curious look. "I know you don't have a class right now but did you have something else you wanted to talk about?"

Calhoun took a steadying sip of her coffee. "There is something I've been meaning to talk to you about, actually."

Brooks raised a brow, waiting for the other woman to continue. When there was no forthcoming reply, her face fell. "Gunny, I swear, if you're about to open your mouth and-"

Calhoun held her hand up in surrender, the other covertly moving the coffee cup to obscure her grin. "You know we have a school field trip coming up, right? To a museum?"

"Damn it, Gunny!"

---

Olaf waddled ahead, a wide smile on his face as he urged Elsa to follow him up to the Oven. The blonde was smiling softly, having spent the last few days pointedly avoiding Hans. She wasn't angry with him, just frustrated at his narrow-minded manner of thinking. If it wasn't for the fact she was actively trying to neither help nor hinder his attempts, she would've corrected him about his complete devotion to really annoying stereotypes a long time ago.

"Come on, Elsa!" Olaf rounded the corner at the top of the stairs, all but running as she followed with smooth, long strides.

"Calm down, Olaf, I'm right behind you." She chuckled, stepping into the room and closing the door behind her while Olaf jumped into the computer chair, spinning around to face the screen. Elsa stood behind him, watching as he loaded one of his games. "So, what is it I'm supposed to be looking at, exactly?"

"I'll show you, I promise, it just needs to load." Olaf squirmed in his seat, giggling to himself as the loading screen progressed from a slowly rotating giant to a dragon, text appearing in the corner of the screen.

Not really interested in reading it, Elsa waited patiently for the game to load while allowing her mind to wander, ever so slightly. Hans was bound to come looking for her soon so she could take his letter to town which, as always, was bittersweet. It brought a smile to her face every time she sat down to write, the faint thrill of Anna actually holding the letter in her hand and reading it sparking a flutter in her chest. Then, of course, she was forced to concede that the redhead probably didn't actually read every letter mailed to her, that the letter was anonymous besides, and that there was zero chance of her actually getting a response... but at least, due to recent events, the tiny sliver of hope was growing rather than fading into smoking ash.

"Here we go!" Olaf's excited cry brought her back to the present, leaning closer to the screen to get a better look. "Okay, let me switch it to first person real quick."

As the camera changed, Elsa's brows climbed. Whatever she'd been expecting, this wasn't it; on the screen was a computerized version of herself, from her ridiculously light skin to her braid hanging down the center of her back. The computer version of herself was wearing some sort of robe in her favorite shade of blue. Once the shock died down, she had to admit it was pretty cool. A little creepy, too, but cool nonetheless.

"Did you program that yourself, Olaf?"

"Yup! Now, watch this!" He hit two keys on the keyboard and the computerized Elsa flexed both her hands as white light engulfed them. Aiming at a spot on the ground, Olaf released the spells, moving the cursor around as ice spikes cropped up, following the lazy path he drew, accompanied by the sounds of ice crystallizing.

Elsa's hands flew to her mouth as she gasped, watching the digital version of herself run around, leaving a trail of frost and ice in her wake. "That's... wow, Olaf, you did all that?"

"Not all of it. Frost spells are part of the Destruction school but I did everything else," the snowman replied, turning to look at her. "You like it?"

"Yes, Olaf, that's very sweet of you." Elsa gently patted his shoulder, surprised as he looked back to the screen.

"Yay! But wait, I haven't shown you the best part!" He opened a menu, clicking around so fast Elsa could barely follow his movements. "I have to fast travel real quick but I promise you'll love it."

The blonde smiled as the loading screen appeared once more, regarding the excited snowman. When he told her about learning to use the computer, she hadn't imagined he took things this far! A slight frown tugged at her lips as she acknowledged how often she and Hans would run off on these mad quests of his, leaving her snowmen alone with nothing better to do. While Marshmallow mirrored her own proclivity for solitude, the isolation was probably harder for Olaf.

Maybe, one day, she could take him with her to meet Mumble. Olaf would certainly enjoy meeting someone new and she felt as though Mumble probably wouldn't turn against her. The boy seemed too friendly to become vicious, even if confronted with a talking snowman.

Then again, she wasn't exactly the best judge of 'normal' reactions to... just about anything. Still, it was something to think about.

"Okay, here we go!" Elsa returned her attention to the screen, watching Olaf maneuver the digital Elsa around a house. "She's usually sitting at the- yep, there she is!"

Elsa's jaw popped open.

There on the screen, sitting at a table laden with food, was a digital doppelganger of Anna- red hair, freckles, and all. Even her smile looked like Anna's, though there was a certain... artificiality to it. But for a computer rendering, it was pretty damn good, and she was even wearing the outfit from the rodeo picture Olaf printed out for her.

"Olaf..." She blinked a few times, watching as Olaf clicked through some dialogue options- though there was no voice to accompany the words on the screen- and the digital Anna got up from the table. A thousand questions flitted through her mind before she finally settled on one and voiced it. "Why?"

The snowman turned to look at her, a sad little smile on his face. "You forget sometimes that it works both ways, huh?"

Elsa blinked, taken aback slightly by her own forgetfulness.

Olaf reached out, patting her hand with his twig one. "I always know when you and Hans will be home soon. Whenever I feel you happy, I know they've shown up, and when it starts to fade, that means you're on the way home. You can't hide anything from me, Elsa."

"You'd think after all these years, I would know that by now." The blonde chuckled, wrapping her arms around the snowman. "I'm sorry, Olaf."

He giggled, hugging her back. "Oh, you don't have to apologize! Here, I have one more thing to show you."

Olaf spun back to the computer, maneuvering the digital Elsa outside with the digital Anna following close. After a short wait, the two were outside of the house, moving away from whatever settlement they were at and towards a field by a lake. Elsa waited patiently until Olaf found a good place, switching some of the options in the menu before resuming the game.

"Ready?" At Elsa's nod, Olaf hit the keys from before, except instead of throwing ice around the computer landscape, Elsa's digital doppelganger threw a ball of blue and white at the ground before her, spawning a towering replica of Marshmallow. Olaf cast a second ball, spawning a miniature version of himself within the game beside the other snowman. "There! Now we can go adventuring!"

Elsa couldn't help but laugh as the virtual quartet set out, Olaf switching to the first person view and running backwards so Elsa could see the digital copies of her snowmen running alongside Anna better. Olaf's digital model looked a bit different from the others, covering the same amount of ground at a noticeably shorter height, but aside from that, the visual was amazing. It tugged at that shard of hope in her heart that maybe, maybe that could happen. Anna and Olaf would hit things off straight away and she would eventually warm up to Marshmallow. They could all hang out... maybe.

Without there being an explosion involved, anyway... but that might be too much to ask for, especially with Hans, Kristoff, and Sven in the mix. She doubted the men would ever see eye-to-eye. She had a better chance of getting along with the reindeer anyway.

"Hans is in here too," Olaf said, switching back to third person and running forward once more, his attention mostly on the screen. "But I haven't messed with the part of the code that prevents you from having more than one follower. I feel like that would make the remaining quests way too easy."

"I'm certainly glad you're enjoying yourself, Olaf." She pulled him into another hug. "And thank you for the surprise."

"I'm glad you liked it!" He giggled again, clapping his hands together. "You know, if you ever want to play, I can show you how to load this save file." He glanced back at the screen. "Most of the main quests are completed, but the game's engine generates new quests. I can teach you how to play so you can go on your own adventures!"

Elsa laughed, nodding slightly."I may take you up on that, though I wouldn't want to take over your game." She motioned towards the TV. "Do you want to play another game for a while?"

"Yeah! Just let me save real quick."

"I'll set it up. Any preference?" Elsa walked around the couch, crouching in front of the gaming consoles they collectively owned. They weren't much- especially by modern standards- but Hans didn't have the time to devote to his former hobby and obtaining newer equipment would mean more trips into town. Memphis was kind enough to order the odd item for her every now and again but she didn't want to push her luck. Given who she was asking, though, she could pretty much guess his response and reached for the Super Nintendo.

"Ooh! Can we play Donkey Kong Country 2? Please?"

"Of course." The blonde chuckled to herself, the cartridge already loaded into the system. "Co-operative or competitive?"

"Co-op, silly!" Olaf slid around the couch and jumped up onto it, settling in as Elsa unravelled the controllers.

"I was just checking." She sat beside the snowman and turned on the TV, a wide smile claiming her lips as the logos began appearing on the screen. "Maybe one of these days, you'll want to change things up."

Olaf giggled, shaking his head as Elsa started up the game. Despite having beaten it several times over, the two started over, playing from the first stage onward. Time stopped being a thing that could be measured as they breezed through the first several stages. As the game became more challenging, Olaf started to squirm with his character's movements while Elsa felt her tongue poke through her lips as she concentrated. They occasionally gave quick warnings to each other or groaned as one or the other character was killed.

Elsa huffed as her character- Dixie Kong, the blonde primate- faded out after being hit, flexing each hand in turn as she waited for Olaf to bring her back into the game.

"Rough break."

The blonde jumped slightly, whipping around to see Hans watching the game over the top of the couch. "Hans. How long have you been there?"

"A couple minutes." He gave her a slight grin. "I can be sneaky when I want to be."

Elsa stared at him for a few moments, waiting for him to continue speaking. When he didn't, she prompted him. "And you came in here because...?"

"Well, I wanted to run an idea past you. I value your opinion and I want to know if this course of action is... acceptable."

"You're back in, Elsa!"

Returning her gaze to the TV, she sighed. "Go ahead."

"Right, well, I've been thinking-"

"Oh goodie."

"Hush, I'm being serious." Hans cleared his throat. "I was thinking that you're right; I was a bit... overeager to accept a victory due to the constant stymieing the kids have presented us. So, just to break the streak, I was thinking we could accomplish something a bit less... adventurous than our previous endeavors."

"Hans, please," Elsa said while keeping her attention on her character's movements. "I agreed to help you take over the world, I'll admit to that. But if you're asking me to break the law just so you can say you succeeded at something, I have to draw the line."

"Elsa, I really think I need this though." He walked around the couch, careful not to enter her direct field of vision, and plead his case. "Is there any way I could get your support on this?"

The blonde bit her lip, pretending to focus all her attention on the game. Unfortunately, they reached the end of the level, and Olaf politely refrained from pressing her on to the next stage.

Out of distractions, Elsa turned her attention to Hans. "What do you have planned?"

"It's very simple, a quick job." Hans got down on one knee beside the couch, excitement shining plainly in his eyes. "There's a very popular piece of art being displayed next week. We run in, steal it, and run out. No dallying, no military, and no flashy entrances. We can even wear disguises."

Elsa raised a brow. "Disguises? As in, you actually own clothing besides labcoats and your 'royal' attire?" She laughed at his affronted expression and cut him off before he could reply. "Why this particular piece of art?"

"High visibility," he replied. "This way, I know the kids will hear it was stolen, and all it will take is a few blasts of your ice to confirm to them it was us!"

"So, you're just in it for the victory and the recognition, that's it? No waiting around for the kids to show, no threatening bystanders, none of that?"

He shrugged. "More or less. I mean, I can't account for every variable, but I imagine it should be fairly straightforward."

She nodded, rubbing at her temple with one hand. "Look, I'll go along with this but only if we return it after a week."

Hans mulled it over. "I suppose that's fine."

"Good. Just let me know when you want to leave."

Getting up, Hans turned as if to leave but stopped short. "Oh, and I'm almost done with my next letter. How is yours coming?"

The blonde quickly started the next level in the game, watching the screen impassively. "Finished it last night. Just let me know when you want me to drop them off."

"Excellent!" The redhead turned, heading back to his lab, mumbling to himself about details regarding his latest ridiculous ploy.

Elsa and Olaf played the game in silence for a time, until the snowman finally broke the silence.

"Will it really be that easy?"

"Given that Hans is involved? Certainly not." The blonde sighed, trying to lose herself in the video game.

As far as Hans' schemes went, this one was relatively harmless. It also bothered her a little bit that the biggest apparent downside to it seemed to be the lack of a certain redhead. Either she had her priorities confused or what little morality she still had flown straight out the window.

At least one thing hadn't changed: she would never be 'normal'.

---

Sunday mid-morning saw Anna and Kristoff sitting on her bed, though there was a wide space between them. It wasn't that they were upset with each other or to prevent any awkward feelings; the neutral zone was a necessity whenever they played together. Mainly because-

"Home run bat!"

"WHAT?"

-because of that.

Kristoff's eyes widened as his character- Solid Snake- landed just in time to be hit by the bat, sending him flying off screen. As that was his last life, the round was over. With a groan, he let his arms flail out to his sides, controller gripped tightly in his hands. Anna just watched, trying hard not to laugh at her friend's frustration.

"Fine, best five out of nine." He grumbled once he recovered from his loss, elbows on his knees as he focused intently on the screen.

"That means you would have to win five in a row and, sorry buddy, but that's not going to happen." Anna chuckled, starting the next round and letting him pick the stage. "You just can't beat me when I use Samus. She's obviously the best character in Brawl."

"No, no, Solid Snake is the best character and I'm going to prove it to you!" The blond grumbled as he chose the Moses Island stage, hoping the home field advantage would be of some benefit to him. "He's the ultimate soldier; that automatically makes him the best fighter."

"Oh come on! Samus is the universal bounty hunter! She's got bird DNA and a cannon for an arm!" Anna laughed as the next round started, instantly moving her character once the countdown ended. "There's no way he can compete."

"He's the master of stealth and hand-to-hand combat!"

"He hides in a box and you can never get close enough."

"Oh, I am so going to use the mini-gun this time."

"Good luck with that."

They played in silence for a while, Kristoff cheering whenever he managed to knock Anna down a life and groaning when the redhead paid him back. "You're taking it easy on me."

"What? Me?" Anna laughed, charging Samus' cannon to full and waiting for the right moment. They were both on their last life and Kristoff had a higher damage percentage, which meant if she timed it right, the cannon's blast would send him flying. "Are you accusing me of lulling you into a false sense of security by purposely playing poorly?"

"Nice alliteration and yes." Kristoff kept jumping, trying to keep something between Snake and Samus. "I assume this means you finished the English homework that isn't due until, what, next Friday?"

"We have to keep ahead, Kris. Homecoming's in a few weeks, plus I've got softball and the football games and the rodeo-"

"Right, right, I know. Still, that's way ahead." Kristoff broke out in a wide smile as he smashed the super power-up. "MINIGUN!"

"Oh, shoot." Anna started jumping around, both in the game and on the bed, wincing as her damage counter started to tick into the red percentage.

"That's right! Shoot shoot shoot!" The blond laughed. "Come on, come on! Dang it!" His power-up ended, returning Snake to the main area of the stage. But one good hit should do it. Dropping down until he was even with Anna's character, he charged over, ready to deliver the fatal blow and win the round.

Then he noticed the blinking light on Samus' arm.

"Oh no!"

"Oh yes!" Anna beamed, releasing the fully charged cannon blast, affecting a very poor Cuban accent. "Say hello to mah lil friend!"

"DANG IT!" Kristoff groaned as the blast sent Snake flying off screen, the game's announcer proclaiming Samus the winner. After his mini-tantrum, Anna raised a brow.

"So... best six out of eleven?"

He huffed and grumbled a bit under his breath. "Yes."

Just as Anna was about to start the next round, her communication device started going off, and the redhead practically teleported to her dresser to answer it while Kristoff grinned, slightly grateful for the break. While his pride wouldn't let him quit without getting at least one win, it didn't look like he was going to manage that today. They were having way too much downtime if Anna was able to get so far ahead in her school work and brush up on her brawl skills.

"Hey, Mr. Oaken!"

"Yoo hoo!" The burly man smiled. "Ve have new mission, ya."

"Is Ice Queen involved?" Anna's eyes widened slightly. "Or, uh, The Prince. Either one of them?"

Mr. Oaken smiled wider though he shook his head. "Sorry, Anna, but I don't think so. Request come from Milo."

"Milo? As in Milo Thatch?" Recovering from her disappointment, the redhead raised her brows in surprise. Ever since he graduated a few years ago, she hadn't heard much about the former science whiz.

"One and only." Mr. Oaken laughed. "He ask for help in Brazil, protect local tribe. I have ride arranged."

"Awesome. Can you have them meet us at Kris' house?"

"Is no problem."

"Well, here we go, off to some far away land to rescue people." Kristoff shut off the console and TV while Anna grabbed her mission bag and ducked into the bathroom adjoining her room. "Great way to spend a Sunday."

---

Bartlett took a deep drag on her cigarette, leaning against a fence as she smoked outside the Mayor's house in some German town she couldn't pronounce. Generally speaking, she hated plain clothes details; undercover was never one of her strong points. Not that she couldn't blend in, especially given how many people had tried speaking to her already- to which she merely responded in what limited German she'd managed to memorize on the flight over- but she had a distinct dislike for presenting herself in a way that wasn't entirely honest. No one passing by could tell she was an American soldier in her faded jeans and light winter jacket, pulling perimeter security for the Colonel within.

She scanned the her surroundings with a critical eye while firmly ignoring the little voice in the back of her head. They were in the middle of the picturesque German countryside and, aside from an abundance of construction equipment to repair the damages caused by the flood, there wasn't anything worthy of rousing her suspicions. Everyone was friendly as they passed and didn't bother giving her much more than a polite greeting before moving on with their lives.

Easily one of the most lax protective detail missions she'd ever been assigned, even if it was also the most aggravating.

"I thought you quit." Bartlett turned to see Hughes stepping out of the Mayor's house with one of the Germans in tow, pulling the door shut behind them. Unlike Bartlett, Hughes went with a slightly less practical light brown dress with matching boots and a brown leather jacket.

At least, the outfit wouldn't have been practical for Bartlett. Hughes was from Montana and always felt more comfortable in boots than sneakers and the two agreed they'd appear less conspicuous if one of them was wearing a dress.

"Then we got bopped by the Good Idea Fairy." She shook her head. "Speaking of-"

Hughes waved off the coming comment. "He's getting chewed out by the Mayor; I trust his cowardice to keep him from getting into too much trouble."

"Yay officers." Bartlett rolled her eyes, offering the German her lighter as he started patting his pockets, a cigarette hanging from his lips.

"Danke schön."

"Bitte schön."

The German smiled, lighting up his own smoke, returning the device to Bartlett, and taking a drag before shaking his head. "Your Colonel is... a bit crazy, ja?"

"He's a chihuahua with a chew toy; good luck getting it away from him." Bartlett rolled her eyes again, receiving a shove from Hughes.

"Watch it. We're already on thin ice with the Battalion Commander." Hughes frowned, reaching up to adjust her bun. "And I know you're still in 'no fucks given' mode, but we've made it this far without getting busted down and I'd like to finish strong, ya know?"

"The BC can bite me; she put us on this damn detail. I don't know why she's playing along with this stupid conspiracy theory." Bartlett threw her finished cigarette to the ground and pulled out another one. "I mean, yeah, I'd like to finish with a clean record too, but come on. It'd be cool to go out breaking an officer's nose."

"Certainly a big enough target." Hughes snorted.

"You two are not... fond of him." The German laughed at the matching looks adorning the Americans' faces. "He's been talking since he got here, but I can't understand what he's trying to ask." He frowned severely. "Only what he's implying."

"That's because he suffers from yapping dog syndrome." Bartlett muttered, lighting up her second cigarette while Hughes pulled a serious face.

"Not too long ago, one of our facilities was attacked by an individual with supernatural powers over ice and snow. Colonel Weselton believes that this individual is part of a larger group of eco-terrorists who have command over the natural elements and that the flood here was caused by such an individual." Hughes nodded back towards the house. "The Colonel is gathering intelligence to determine if these eco-terrorists warrant a full task force."

The German nearly dropped his cigarette. "And you two? You believe this?"

"Oh fuck no!" Bartlett coughed, pounding on her chest a few times as Hughes sympathetically rubbed her shoulder.

"Can't chain smoke like you used to, huh?"

"These things'll be the death of me." Bartlett spat on the ground. "Dude, what's your name?"

"Max."

"Alright, Max, I'm Bartlett, nice to meet you, anyway, I'm gonna make this real simple for you." Bartlett took a long drag, let it out, then shook her hand at Max, prompting a snort from Hughes.

"You're really gonna knife hand the guy?"

"Shut up; it's for dramatic importance." Bartlett shot a minute glare at her companion before focusing on Max again. "Do I believe there is a chick out there with ice powers? Oh hell yes, chick froze me, I know she's out there, no question. Do I believe there are other people out there with crazy powers? Shit, sure, I guess I'll buy that. Do I believe they're part of some sort of eco-terrorist group bent on bringing the world to its knees? No, because that drives past Stupid City, takes a right on Paranoid Street, comes to a brief stop somewhere in The-End-Is-Nigh-ville to pick up some baggage, and then continues on to Unrealistic Town for its final stop." She spread her arms wide. "If there's some global conspiracy where super powered guys and gals are running around, and we're only figuring it out now, I think they're doing a pretty bang up job at keeping quiet!" Her arms dropped and she took another drag from her cig. "This is a fuckin' witch hunt, pure and simple."

"Little literal on that last part. I didn't tell you why the Mayor is chewing him out, did I?" Hughes chuckled as Max grumbled something in German, prompting a raised brow from the other American.

"Oh, this should be good." Bartlett waved her hand in a few circles. "Well, come on, don't leave me hangin'."

Hughes waited for Max to calm down a bit before continuing. "He asked if it was possible that the flood started after the kids showed up."

"Oh for the love of all things near and dear to my heart, you are fuckin' shitting me right now, son of a bitch!" Bartlett knelt down to the ground. "Jesus, Buddha, Vishnu- someone, deliver me from this bullshit, I beg of you, whoever's listening, I promise I'll drink my milk-"

Hughes laughed, shaking her head at Max's confused expression. "Don't mind her; she's just being dramatic."

"But she's right!" Max scowled, crushing his cigarette under his shoe. "I was here; I met them! How can he suggest this thing? They risked their lives to save my family!" He drew himself to his full height, glaring at the house. "It's insulting!"

Hughes' brows raised, a small grin coming to her lips. "I thought I recognized your name. You're the soldier who jumped in with the kids, aren't you?"

"Ja," Max said, nodding emphatically. "Feldwebel Max Schnell. I was invited because we thought they were coming back. I was not very, how you say... articulate when they were here. I wanted to thank them properly; you understand."

"Yeah, we get it." Bartlett chuckled, getting to her feet. "Did the same thing myself, honestly."

"We'll be sure to pass along the message." Hughes sighed, shaking her head slowly at Bartlett's incredulous look. "He wants to go back."

"And I want a million dollars; too fucking bad, shit happens! We can't go back there and mess with those kids." Bartlett waited a beat. "But if we do, I call fighting off the Sheriff and the RO."

"Oh, what, and leave me with the damn Deputy? You're too kind."

"Hey, I'm taking on two of 'em; I think that's a fair trade."

Hughes scratched at the back of her neck. "I dunno; I really wouldn't want to mess with the RO. She gave me a weird vibe."

"RO?" Max raised a brow, receiving shrugs in response.

"Sorry, it's an acronym. We're military; it's hardwired into us to use them." Bartlett offered.

"Our schools sometimes have police officers who act in... I dunno, some sort of physical security capacity. They're called School Resource Officers, but we just call them RO's for short." Hughes explained with a small smile. "But the one we're talking about wears a suit as opposed to the standard uniform."

"A nice suit."

"Which goes into my 'weird vibe' comment. Who wears a suit like that on duty?"

"Says the woman wearing a dress on a protection detail."

"Just because I love these boots doesn't mean I won't break my heel off in your temple, Bartlett." Hughes warned, crossing her arms over her chest. "Try me."

Bartlett just grinned, completely unfazed by the death threat. "Look, I think the suit looks professional as fuck."

"And that's why you're going to crash and burn in the civilian world." Hughes sighed. "The word 'fuck' is not as widely acceptable as you tend to use it."

"'Fuck' is the perfect fucking word; it's a noun, a verb, an adverb, and an adjective!" Bartlett took her last drag and blew the smoke out, looking up contemplatively. "I just need to find a good way to use it as a conjunction and it could conceivably replace every other word in the English language."

"As if English isn't confusing enough," Max said, laughing with the Americans as they agreed.

"See, this is proof." Bartlett tapped Hughes shoulder. "Don't matter the country; soldiers just get soldiers."

"I'll drink to that!" Max laughed, relishing the twin looks of exasperation on the women's faces. "I still think that's funny."

"Obviously." Hughes drawled, turning her head at the explosion of sound that accompanied the opening of the door. Colonel Weselton ducked out shortly after, red in the face and muttering to himself as he stormed out of the house. Hughes instantly straightened while Bartlett scooped up her cigarette butts and stuffed them in her pocket. Max stepped away from the duo, seeking to avoid the man's notice.

"Come on you two; we're leaving." Colonel Weselton- of course, wearing his dress uniform yet again- barked out, pushing past them and towards the borrowed Mercedes Benz van parked just down the street. Bartlett turned, pulling the key fob from her pocket while Hughes waved farewell to Max.

"What? Why? We were getting so close." Bartlett drawled, sliding into the driver's seat as the Colonel got into the back.

"They're in on whatever's going on, I just know it," the Colonel replied, Bartlett's tone completely lost on him as he huddled into himself, muttering vague complaints that went largely ignored by the other two soldiers.

From the passenger's seat, Hughes shot her counterpart a look that clearly encouraged her to remain silent and took over the conversation while the other drove.

"Sir, are we heading back to Ramstein?"

"Yes. We'll need to stop over at Carson to restock our supplies, obviously, but don't get comfortable!" The Colonel pulled his phone from his pocket. "I've just received word that there was a sighting of all these miscreants in Mexico City a week ago."

Bartlett bit her lip, her grip on the steering wheel turning her knuckles white.

"Sir, I don't think that would yield any results," Hughes said cautiously. "If Anna and Kristoff showed up, we're likely to meet the same resistance we encountered here and in Washington."

"This one's different." Weselton leaned forward, pouring over his phone. "According to the report, the kids didn't show up until after most of the damage was done; we should be able to receive excellent intelligence on the witch and her accomplice."

The two soldiers sitting in the front of the vehicle rolled their eyes simultaneously, Bartlett going so far as to mutter under her breath: "A veces, quiero matarlo."

"What was that, Specialist Bartlett?"

As the woman opened her mouth to reply, she caught the severe look on Hughes' face and chose her words carefully. "I was practicing my Spanish, Sir, just in case you need a 'terp."

"I wasn't aware you were fluent in another language." The Colonel's mustache twitched nervously. "You look distinctly... well, not Mexican."

Bartlett's death grip on the wheel tightened even more as she fought to retain her composure. "I'm from California, Sir; I took Spanish as an elective in high school and college because it seemed prudent."

Colonel Weselton nodded, sitting back in his seat. "That's rather... fortuitous. We wouldn't want too many people knowing our true purpose; we must keep this investigation tight and I believe speaking in the native language may encourage them to be more... compliant. Keep practicing."

"Pinche guey."

"Yes, that. Keep doing that." Weselton thought a moment. "You know, I'm glad you two have fixed your attitudes; I'll consider dropping the Article Fifteens pending against you both if you keep applying yourselves in such a helpful manner."

"Su madre era un hámster."

"Yes, good. I have a good feeling about our next destination."

"Y su padre olía de bayas."

Hughes discreetly planted her face in both hands and groaned quietly to herself. She wasn't sure which was more exasperating: keeping Bartlett in check and her continued efforts to rebel or the Colonel's complete lack of sense, common or otherwise.

---

Anna hopped down the stairs wheeled up next to the plane, waving at the pilots in the cockpit, while Kristoff shakily took the steps one at a time, Sven following close behind. "Kristoff, come on!

"That thing is way too fast!" He shuddered, sinking to the ground as soon as he could, mumbling praises under his breath.

Sven and Anna shared a look of amusement before the redhead turned at the sound of her name.

"Anna! Oh, thank goodness you guys were able to come!" A young man ran up to them, a woman following closely behind.

"Milo! It's good to see you again!" She hugged the young man, taking in his appearance quickly. He hadn't changed much since leaving Arendelle- reddish orange hair falling into his eyes, glasses slightly askew, thin as a rod, and dressed in overly formal clothing. She couldn't imagine a long sleeved shirt, bow tie, and suspenders were comfortable given how warm it was, regardless if the sleeves were rolled up.

"You have no idea now great it is to see you three," Milo replied, releasing Anna to help Kristoff up and pull him into a hug. "We could really use your help."

"So we hear." Anna looked at the young woman, noticing the light blue markings painted on her tanned skin and pure white hair. Instantly, the color reminded her of Elsa's signature shade, but she brushed the thought away quickly and offered her hand. "I-I'm sorry, I don't think we've, uh, met. My name's Anna."

"Kidagakash Nedakh." The woman shook her hand as Anna tried to replicate her pronunciation. "You can call me Kida."

"Trust me, it's easier," Milo said with a laugh, scratching between Sven's horns. "She's a friend of mine I met while I was traveling."

"You left home to travel the world, huh?" Kristoff shook off the last of his nerves regarding the flight over, following Milo and Kida as they walked towards a beaten up jeep parked on the tarmac. The airstrip they'd landed on was a stand alone complex, mainly used for ferrying supplies to a nearby village.

"This is actually part of my study abroad, actually." Milo hopped into the driver's seat and started it up. "I'm majoring in linguistics, so I'm traveling to locations all over the world, studying dialects and mapping their evolution over time."

"Uh." Kristoff and Anna exchanged a look as they jumped into the back of the jeep. "That's cool?"

"It's a truly fascinating line of work." Milo pushed his glasses up his nose, throwing the jeep into drive as Kida buckled into the passenger seat. Sven ran along behind them at a leisurely pace but far back enough he wasn't constantly getting hit by dirt and rocks. "But, we can catch up later. Right now, we've got problems in the Amazon."

"Right. So, what's going on?" Anna leaned closer to hear him over the rumble of the jeep down the dirt road.

"We're heading to talk to the Kayapo tribe that lives in this area." Milo focused on the road while he spoke. "When I got here, they told me about men building something deep in the rainforest. Due to some recent, uh..." He glanced at Kida. "We'll just say they've had some disagreements with the local authorities."

"So, they're not exactly up to helping the Kayapo out, huh?" Kristoff grimaced.

Kida turned to look at them both. "Regardless, these people are posing a threat to the Kayapo way of life."

"Not to mention this area is protected by law." Milo added.

"Great, so we've got a bunch of people trying to build something in a remote location." Kristoff nodded in contemplation. "Probably a secret evil base."

"We shouldn't jump to conclusions." Anna shrugged. "Maybe it's just an honest mix up."

"The Kayapo chief can probably tell you more. Kida and I can act as your translators."

"Oh, so you're a linguistic student, too?" Kristoff raised a brow.

Kida glanced at Milo and shrugged. "Something like that."

---

Hans took a deep breath and released it, glancing down at Olaf. "Are you sure she's not still mad at me?"

The snowman nodded emphatically with a wide smile.

With another deep breath, Hans raised his fist and knocked on the blonde's bedroom door, waiting for her to open it.

She did so while scrubbing at her eyes, apparently roused from a mid-afternoon nap. "Hans?" Elsa blinked a few times, then held out her hand. "The letter, I take it?"

"Part of it." He handed his completed letter, sealed in the envelope, over to his friend. "The other part is at your leisure, just when you get a chance."

Her interest piqued, the blonde leaned against her door and tilted her head slightly for him to continue.

"I've been looking over the plans for wooing the kids and I think we should consider starting the next phase soon- at some point in the next few months, at any rate."

Elsa closed her eyes and rubbed at one of her temples. "Are we still writing the letters?"

"Yes. The next phase is to, ah, coincide with our letters, hopefully." He glanced at Olaf, making sure he hadn't said anything wrong yet. It was weird, feeling like he was walking on eggshells with his only human friend, but he was certain this was temporary. The past month had really pushed the blonde's comfort zone and she was probably just stressed out from that. Hans was trying his hardest to be more mindful about her feelings. "Since you're pretty much... okay, so you are in charge of the finances, I figured I should talk to you about it."

"Finances?" The blonde furrowed her brows in confusion. "Just what are you planning on doing, Hans?"

"Well, since we know where they go to school, I figured having candy delivered to them during class would really drive home how their mysterious admirers are pursuing them." Hans smiled, crossing his arms over his chest. "It's also the perfect way to spark jealousy between them, seeing as they might be able to hide receiving the letters but everyone will talk about how they are getting candy in class."

"Everyone?"

Hans nodded. "It's like a cardinal rule in high school to talk about every little thing that happens." He paused a moment. "I forget sometimes you never went to high school. Trust me, it's miserable."

"Noted."

"Anyway, I think it would be easier to coordinate using a local courier rather than a service from town." He blinked. "Do they even have something like that in town?"

"I sincerely doubt it." Elsa sighed but nodded. "I'll look into it. But later. We have time, right?"

Hans nodded, smiling. "Just let me know when you get around to it, so I can add it into my letter."

Elsa paused, then rolled her eyes and held up the letter he'd handed her. "I'm pretty sure I can add a personalized note to a delivery. Did you actually name yourself Vivian?"

"Yes."

"Got it. I'll let you know." Directing her gaze to the snowman, Elsa opened the door a little wider. Olaf scampered into the room and Hans said his goodbye, heading back to his lab.

That went better than he expected but he still had a lot to do. Aside from planning his coveted victory, he still had much bigger fish to fry, as the saying went. The world would be his.

---

Despite being there under less than ideal circumstances, the Amazon rainforest was absolutely breathtaking! The plants were so vibrant in their colors and the animals too, though the redhead was wise enough not to try touching any of them. Still, getting to see some of the most endangered and dangerous species in the world was incredible, regardless of the sweat beginning to form along her skin.

"Ya know, here's a question: why can't we ever get called to, I don't know, a beach or something? Like, it always has to be a place where, if people aren't trying to kill us, Mother Nature is definitely considering it." Kristoff grumbled, more to himself than anything. After spending the better part of two hours following fox trails through the underbrush- while avoiding anything that might look pretty to touch- he was quite ready for this mission to be over with. It wasn't so much that he hated the heat; he was just naturally a cooler person. "Hey, how about, like, a beauty pageant? Can our next mission be to a beauty pageant? Because I would be okay with that."

Anna laughed, using a borrowed machete to hack into a tree as they passed, marking the way. They were trying to disrupt the local ecosystem as little as possible but, given they'd grown up nowhere near a rainforest- or even a dense forest, for that matter- navigation was proving a bit tricky without the sun overhead to act as their compass. "Kris, why do you always have to be a sourpuss about this? We're in Brazil, in the Amazon rainforest! Can't you enjoy the experience?"

"I can enjoy it just fine from my couch on the Discovery channel," the blond replied, glancing over his shoulder. "And I'm not the only one! Sven's not exactly loving this weather either!"

His statement was accurate enough. Officer Brooks had allowed them to keep the water cans for future missions, explaining that they were more souvenirs than things she actually used on a day-to-day basis, but nothing could adequately prepare a reindeer for the harsh humidity and heat of the rainforest.

The redhead was about to fire back a retort when a low, dull roaring sound caught her attention, prompting all three to freeze in their tracks. Although it sounded pretty far away, it definitely held a mechanical undertone to it, the dull whine of an engine unmistakable even from far away. Breaking away from the trail, Anna, Kristoff, and Sven carefully scrambled up a slight hill, expecting to run a much longer distance in order to get even a glimpse of the construction site.

They were mistaken.

Once the trio reached the top, they had to duck down at the last minute as they realized the treeline they'd just broken through was the edge of a large, man-made clearing. A concrete wall, about fifty meters away from them, stretched around the... well, compound, encircling what had to be miles of former rainforest. In the center was a domed building, apparently finished, and ringed by several other buildings in varying stages of completion. All in all, what they were looking at had to be the size- at least- of Arendelle, to include the farm lands surrounding the town proper, with various construction vehicles dotting the spaces between the buildings. On the very far side of the compound, a crane was moving a bundle of steel beams towards one of the unfinished buildings, which accounted for the noise they'd heard.

Kristoff could feel his heart hammering in his chest. He could see, easily, a hundred people in matching uniforms walking around and carrying things, though the vast majority seemed to be on some sort of coffee break.

Anna, meanwhile, was tracing the wall's path, looking for the nearest entrance. Unfortunately, there only seemed to be one, at least three hundred meters from where they were.

"Looks like that's our way in," she said, pointing towards the break in the wall.

"Anna, you can't be serious." The blond waved a hand towards the compound. "Look at that! Do you see how many guys are down there?"

"It's not like we're going to walk in swinging, Kris." Anna chuckled, starting to pick her way down the incline. "We'll just ask to talk to the person in charge and explain the situation. I'm sure this is all just some misunderstanding."

Kristoff groaned and rolled his eyes, hurrying after the redhead. "I sincerely doubt that. They're wearing uniforms, Anna. Uniforms! That's, like, hint number one that this is definitely not going to be easy."

The redhead waved him off. "It'll be fine! What's the worst that can happen?"

"Why did you just say that?" He turned to look at Sven. "Why did she just say that?"

"Stop panicking and come on!" With a smile on her face, Anna started towards the entrance, already rehearsing what she would say in her head. However, as the realization of actually having to say it dawned on her, she slowed her pace, allowing Kristoff to catch up. "Uh, would you mind-"

"Got it, I'm the one doing the talking, what's new." Kristoff puffed out a breath, trying to get a handle on the mounting suspicion that this was not going to end well. "Just walk up, ask to speak to the head honcho or whatever, and kindly ask them to move their evil base somewhere else."

"We don't know if it's an evil base, Kris."

"Everything about this place screams 'secret evil base', Anna. I mean, seriously, they're wearing matching uniforms!"

"Yeah, and you said Ice Queen was evil, and she's totally not, so I don't trust your evil-dar." At the blond's confused look, she explained. "Ya know, it's like gay-dar, but for evil."

"Sometimes, I worry about you." He lightly shoved her shoulder but grinned. At the very least, he could take comfort in her perpetual optimism.

As they drew closer to the entrance, they could make out two men standing guard outside of the entrance, both wearing grey coveralls, boots, and helmets with wide black visors. As well as body armor and guns, which Kristoff was quick to point out as they drew closer. Apparently hearing the comment, one of the men turned, nudging his counterpart so both were watching the teens and reindeer as they approached.

Summoning his courage- because those sure looked like semi-automatics if the magazine size was any indication- Kristoff started off in his most non-threatening tone. "Hi, we were wondering if we could talk to the, uh, person in charge of all this construction."

"Who are you kids supposed to be?" One of the guards asked, his voice stern and slightly intimidating. At least they weren't aiming the weapons at them... yet.

"Right; I'm Kristoff, this is Anna, and that's Sven. We were asked to-"

"Beat it, kids." The other guard jerked his head. "This ain't no place for you."

"Look, we're just trying to-"

"We said scram." The first guard tightened his grip on his rifle. "What part of that don't you understand?"

Kristoff took a deep breath, noting the fierce look Anna was giving both men. "This area is protected by national law and you can't build here. Either you let us talk to your boss or we come back with an army."

The men exchanged a look and shrugged. The second one spoke. "Or you don't leave here alive."

Kristoff's eyes widen in shock as both men started raising their weapons. Luckily, Anna was much quicker, closing the distance and sending her fists into their sides with force. The spasms the strike induced in both men had them flinching away, allowing the redhead to sweep the feet from under one and sending a strong cross into the other's jaw. The punch was enough to cause him to loosen his hold on his weapon, which Kristoff promptly kicked away before pile-driving into his gut. Between the hit his jaw took and the sudden oxygen deprivation, the man lost consciousness, while Anna wrenched the other man's weapon away from him and kicked him in the back of the head. With both men on the ground and unconscious, Anna and Kristoff threw the weapons as far as they could into the surrounding brush.

"Geez, that was intense." Kristoff took a deep, calming breath and released it, turning in time to see Anna marching purposefully into the compound. "Hey, whoa, where are you going?"

"To talk to their boss!" She snapped over her shoulder, fuming in anger. "What kind of people try to kill someone for asking a simple question?"

"Evil people."

The redhead stopped in her tracks as more of the uniformed men suddenly noticed her, surprise registering on their faces before shouts of alarm went up. "Oh. Right. Fine, you're one for two."

Kristoff dropped into a defensive stance as Anna ran back towards the entrance, hoping to bottleneck the growing throng of opponents heading their way. The wall's entrance was large enough for a truck to drive through, so it wasn't much of a funnel, but it at least was too tall to be scaled easily which eliminated the need to constantly watch overhead, something fighting among the unfinished buildings would not allow them to do.

Drawing up beside her friend, Anna turned in time to take a quick guess at how many men were responding to the calls; at least three dozen were running towards them but four were considerably closer than their comrades. If they didn't start knocking heads, they would be vastly outnumbered too quickly to do much of anything about it.

Just as Anna and Kristoff were preparing to move forward, Sven charged between them, head down to allow his antlers to lead the way.

"Sven, wait!" The blond immediately started running after his friend, not wanting to leave him to fend off the bad guys alone. Anna was two steps behind him, abandoning their previous plan and trying to come up with something on the run even as the reindeer barreled through the first wave. The men jumped clear of the charging reindeer but their distraction cost them; as Kristoff and Anna passed, both teens delivered powerful blows to their heads and stomachs, effectively encouraging them to stay on the ground, before hurrying after Sven.

All too soon they were in the thick of the uniformed men, all of whom had done the same thing and moved out of Sven's way but kept their distance as Anna and Kristoff approached. Sven's charge stopped and he whirled around, ready to bear down on the first person to come too close. When the reindeer stopped, Kristoff slowed his own pace, realizing they'd put themselves in a pretty bad position as the uniformed men started edging closer, isolating the teens from their four-legged friend.

As a ring formed around them, Anna and Kristoff stood back-to-back, arms up and ready to swing at the first person to enter their range. Sven, meanwhile, had his own circle of enemies, the men eyeing his horns warily as he snorted at them.

"Well." Kristoff scanned the men in front of him. "I think this qualifies as 'worst' for us, Anna."

The redhead flitted her gaze over her half of the circle and grinned. "You know what Coach says: there's always room for improvement."

"Of course there is." Kristoff mumbled, priming himself for motion once the redhead gave the signal. "You ready, Feisty Pants?"

"I was born ready!"

Suddenly, the two teens were blurs of motion to their opponents, clearly taken off guard by the offensive. Both played to their strengths, Kristoff relying on his farm boy strength while Anna used her agility.

The blond closed the distance between himself and his least attentive opponent, delivering a cheap jab to the man's gut to distract him. As he hunched over in surprise, Kristoff grabbed hold of his uniform with one hand and pulled, using his other to grab the man's leg. From there, all Kristoff had to do was bend into a squat and explode upward, effectively tossing the man into a group of his fellows as they tried to come to his aid. Really, it was no different than slinging an over-sized hay bale into the bed of his father's truck, but it was enough to give the rest of the men pause as they tried to tackle him. The uncertainty in their movements worked to his advantage; while they were concerned with restraining and capturing him, Kristoff's only concern was keeping them stumbling around. They were doing more damage to each other by focusing solely on him, mistiming their punches and kicks or tripping over each other as those felled groaned on the ground.

Similarly, Anna was letting her opponents indirectly fight each other. Lacking the physical strength to toss anyone around, Anna relied on using her opponents' weight and strength against them, primarily by getting close enough to provoke an attack and slipping away before it could connect. The moment she'd given the signal, she sprinted at the furthest man from her. He tried to meet her halfway, one arm drawn back to deliver what would likely be a vicious punch, but she dropped into a slide and raised her leg, allowing what remained of her momentum and his own to force the air from his lungs. Her other leg dug into the ground, propelling her into a backwards roll as the man dropped to his knees. Hearing the dull tromping of boots behind her, Anna waited until the last moment to jump over the struggling man, allowing her pursuers to run into him instead.

Compared to the teens, Sven had a much easier time. After the first man got close enough, the reindeer managed to twist his head and pick the man up in his antlers. Another good twist sent him hurling through the air, landing on two of his fellows to cushion his fall. Rearing up on his hind legs, Sven brayed loudly and lashed out with his hooves. When he set them on the ground once more, not one of the uniformed men made a move to approach him, though they did a good job of keeping their arms up and pretending like they were corralling the large animal, thus preventing Sven from reaching his friends.

Truth be told, the reindeer was more concerned for the men trying to fight the teens than the other way around.

As Kristoff swung around and landed his fist on yet another man's jaw, his full strength and weight put into the punch, he took a few steps back to breathe and observe the damage he'd done. More men were running towards them from the farther reaches of the compound but very few were daring to entire the circle created by moaning and groaning bodies. Since he'd kept his attacks as close to the original boundary of the circle as possible, the center was free of tripping hazards, meaning his opponents would need to put themselves at a disadvantage before they could even get to him. A few were trying to drag their co-workers away from the scene but the vast majority were waiting for some signal or opening.

Not that he was going to give them one.

Rushing towards his opponents once more, Kristoff appeared to target one of the men pulling the injured away from the fray, prompting yet another to try and tackle him from the side. Anticipating this, Kristoff stopped on a dime and set his feet in a stable position, balling one hand into a fist and covering it with his other hand. This turned his arms into, essentially, a battering ram with his elbow as the driving point, which he promptly shoved into the man's gut as he haphazardly jumped over one of his groaning comrades on the ground. Striking him just below the rib cage, the man dropped to the ground and wheezed, desperately trying to breathe while Kristoff focused on his next target.

Anna could barely keep the grin from her face as she slid behind a man whom she'd punched square in the nose, not hard enough to break it but enough to disorient him for the moment. This was not her ideal way of handling situations like this but, as she'd found many times during her missions, sometimes brute force was necessary to communicate a point. Her enjoyment came more from the physical exertion itself than from the actions she took.

As yet another fool charged towards her, Anna nudged the man behind her with her elbow, eliciting a growl of frustration from him. He instantly turned, ready to give her a wicked haymaker, which certainly would've knocked her out had it connected with her jaw. Seeing as she'd already ducked low, the punch actually landed on her would-be attacker, sending the man sprawling while the one who'd delivered the punch stared in shock a moment. Anna took the opportunity to rocket up, giving him an uppercut of her own that sent him stumbling to the ground. She didn't have a chance to reevaluate the situation, though, as two men came at her from opposite sides. The redhead watched their body language and moved in time, ducking one's punch while lifting her leg to dodge the other's sweeping kick, and lashing out at both of them with a punch and kick of her own once their attacks cleared.

Taking a few steps back, Anna panted heavily and wiped at her brow, nearly starting at the presence behind her before recognizing Kristoff's huff of frustration. Sure, they'd heavily discouraged about twenty men from joining the fight again, but there was an ever growing mass of uniformed men surrounding them.

"So... is this an improvement to you?" Kristoff took a few deep breaths, squinting against the sweat rolling into his eyes.

Anna chuckled. "Hey, at least we're getting our exercise in, right?"

Shaking his head, the blond looked out across the heads of their opponents to see Sven's antlers, which finished launching another man through the air to bowl over a few at the fringes of the ever growing circle. "This is ridiculous."

"We're fine, Kris." She turned her head slightly, speaking over her shoulder. "Just think of this as practice for senior prom. All the girls in school will ask you to dance. This is just, ya know, endurance training."

He rolled his eyes, fighting the grin that threatened to erupt on his lips. Was there anything that gave Anna even the slightest pause? "I'll keep that in mind. Ready for round two?"

Anna faced forward again, scanning the men on her side of the circle. "Yeah. Let's boogie."

Kristoff ignored the urge to facepalm- and tell Anna to lay off those corny action movies- and instead shifted his weight to the balls of his feet, ready to charge forward the moment he felt Anna do the same. The redhead, meanwhile, was zeroing in on her next target and running through how to best incapacitate him. Then, she moved, as did Kristoff, but they were brought to a startled halt as a voice called out above the din.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Let's simmer down now!" The teens directed their gazes up as a shadow crossed over them, not allowing their stances to drop quite yet.

There, hovering above them, was a man in... what appeared to be a black and white super hero costume, complete with a black mask around his eyes. He was wearing a wide grin, staring down at them with his arms crossed over his chest and red-orange hair sticking straight up like a candle's flame.

"Now, who do we have here, huh?" He slowly lowered to the ground, the cape at his back billowing slightly. "I mean, I'm all for letting this impressive display continue, but I just gotta know who I'm dealing with here!"

Exchanging a brief glance, the teens stayed primed to move at a moment's notice, not entirely certain what was going on or what to expect from the newcomer. "My name's Kristoff, this is Anna, and that over there is Sven."

"Sven?" The man's gaze drifted over until he caught sight of the quadruped, eyebrows raising in surprise. "Well, look at that! A reindeer in the Amazon! You kids sure aren't from around here."

"No, we're not," Kristoff said, shifting his weight slightly as the man hovered just a few inches from the ground. "Are you the person in charge around here?"

"That would indeed be me." The man inclined his head slightly. "Syndrome! At your service."

The teens exchanged a slightly confused glance. Anna shrugged. "Right... Well, we were asked to come here because you're constructing this... whatever this place is on land that is reserved for preserving the rainforest and the Kayapo tribe. It's disrupting their way of life."

"Oh, we're inconveniencing someone. I see." The man unfolded his arms, hitting a button on one of the white bands engulfing his wrists. With the whir of a powering down electronic device, he lightly landed on the ground, revealing the large, stylized 'S' on his chest.

"Are you some kind of super hero or something?" Anna couldn't help but voice the question, given the man's state of dress.

For a brief moment, a darkness flashed across his face, lips drawing down into a frown before he laughed and shook his head. "Or something. Super heroes aren't real, kid." He motioned to his suit. "What you see here are creations of mine. I'm an inventor by trade, you see, and these are just some... personal toys I like to break out every now and again." He tilted his head to the side. "Now, if I have this straight, you kids came all the way down to the Amazon rainforest to help out a tribe of locals? How much are you kids getting paid for this?" He motioned to the uniformed men behind him with a chuckle. "'Cause, I certainly hope you're getting extra for hazard pay!"

"We don't get paid." Kristoff growled out, unease rising in his chest with every word the man said.

Anna, on the other hand, offered her usual beaming smile. "Yeah, we just like to help people, however we can."

"Is that so? Huh." Syndrome scratched at his chin. "So, how do you plan on helping these... Kayapo, or whatever."

"By getting you to stop your construction in this area and leaving the Kayapo and the rainforest alone." Kristoff set his face into a hard scowl. He was more than a little fed up with this particular mission and wanted it over with, as soon as possible. "Or else."

Syndrome nodded, lifting one arm to point it at one of the unfinished buildings. With his other hand, he activated a button, sending a red laser shooting from the wristband. In the blink of an eye, all that remained was a formless heap of melted concrete and metal. Turning back to the kids with his arms at his sides, Syndrome smirked. "I think I'll take the 'or else' option."

Kristoff swallowed hard, fear beginning to worm its way into every muscle in his body. So, wrong person to try and intimidate. He always picked the worst people to try and intimidate. They were in way over their head this time. Of course, before he could lose himself to his fight or flight reflex completely, Anna was gently pushing her elbow into his side and forcing him to move. With only a hint of reluctance, he stepped around, keeping Anna at his back as she turned to face Syndrome.

"You're really going to push this?" Syndrome raised a brow.

Anna was completely unfazed, nodding in reply. "We said we would help the Kayapo, and that's what we're going to do."

"Well, that settles it, then." Syndrome turned his head, calling out over his shoulder to the men assembled around him. "You heard the little lady! Get this stuff packed up! I want everything cleaned up by tomorrow's sundown, so move!"

"Yes, Sir!" Several men chorused before the entire group exploded into motion, men rushing to gather up equipment while others tended to the still disoriented injured. All the while, Kristoff and Anna blinked owlishly at the sudden flurry of activity, confusion written plainly on their faces.

"Wait, what?" Anna turned to look at Kristoff, who met her gaze with a mirrored expression. "What just happened?"

"I have no clue."

Syndrome laughed, activating his boots to jump closer to them. "Dude, I gotta be honest, I'm so totally blown away right now!" He put his fingers to his temple, smiling and laughing. "I'm, like, totally geeking out over this! Here I am, thinkin' no one's going to come bothering me all the way in Brazil, and then some kids show up and beat the ever loving stuffing out of my men? I mean, that right there was awesome!" He turned, motioning to the teens, excitement still fueling his words and motions. "Then I come out here, turning a bunch of concrete and metal into nothing more than slag, and what do you do? Step up, ready to go toe-to-toe with me! Gah, that's so awesome!"

Kristoff and Anna slightly relaxed their postures, wondering if they'd passed some sort of secret test, if it really was as easy as Anna made it out to be originally.

"Wow, I'm just- I can't even wrap my mind around this." Syndrome looked up, staring straight at Anna. "Are you sure you aren't the super hero here?"

At that, Anna actually chuckled. "Nope, sorry, just your basic, average, all American teens over here."

"Geez, I mean, I'm all for sticking up for the little guy, but this?" Syndrome shook his head and laughed. "It takes a crazy amount of courage to stare down a guy with a laser like that, kid."

"I just don't give up on things easily, I guess."

"Ever." Kristoff interjected, allowing his posture to relax further. "She means ever."

"Hey, stubbornness can be a blessing in the right situations." Syndrome waved his arms around. "I mean, it got me to where I am and it sure worked for you here! I'm seriously impressed by your guts, kid! That's what heroes are made of!"

Anna blushed slightly, waving off the compliment as best she could. "S-so, you're really just going to pack everything up and leave?"

"Of course! I was only going to use this place to test some of my larger inventions but I'm sure I can find somewhere else to do that." Syndrome shrugged, clasping his hands behind his back. "But, now that you mention it, I should get to overseeing the clean-up process and work out all the details. I'd really hate to provoke someone so dead set on getting it done!"

"Thank you, Syndrome. I'm sure the Kayapo will appreciate your understanding." Kristoff offered a weak smile, trying to shunt his uneasiness off to the side. It was probably just a side effect of that laser display but he really didn't trust the masked man.

"And we're sorry about hurting your, uh, workers." Anna frowned as a few of the men limped or were carried away.

"Pff, don't worry about it. I'll ensure they're properly compensated." Syndrome turned and started walking towards the domed building. "Well, I better get to it. Do you kids need a ride home?"

"No, we're set, thanks." Kristoff tapped Anna's shoulder, lowering his voice. "I still don't trust him."

"We'll warn the chief before we leave, just in case," she replied softly, despite not sharing her friend's misgivings. Personally, she was just glad everything was resolved peacefully. The two turned to leave the compound and were met with an energetic reindeer who eagerly started snuffing every inch of them to be sure they were okay.

From the entrance to the domed building, Syndrome watched the trio, hands still clasped behind his back and a smile on his lips. While it was something of a set back to abandon the prospective compound, the entire ordeal wasn't a complete loss, at least not yet.

"Mirage," he said, eyes still trained on the disappearing trio. Off to his right, after deactivating her cloaking device, a woman appeared, stepping closer and nodding her acknowledgment to his summons. "I'm going back to Headquaters. Oversee the process and make sure the communications relay is the last thing broken down; I want preliminary reports on those two ready for review by the time I land. Their names are Anna and Kristoff. Understand?"

"Of course, Sir." Mirage swept her gaze over the compound, her lilac eyes her only visible feature in the metallic gray, full body suit.

"I think she's the one, Mirage. Exactly the type of person I've been looking for." Syndrome turned to enter the building, calling out over his shoulder. "Oh, and be sure to double check the clean-up. The last thing I need is Global Justice breathing down our necks because of this."

---

Anna opened the door to her house, stifling a yawn. The trips down south to warmer climates really took it out of her and she was ready to take a shower and crawl into bed. At the sound of the TV on in the living room, she called out to her parents while heading towards the stairs. "Mom! Dad! I'm home!"

"Oh, hold on, something came for you in the mail," her father said, grunting as he got off the couch and picked up a letter from the coffee table.

Anna furrowed her brows. "But it's Sunday."

"It came yesterday, after you left for the rodeo." He explained and handed her the letter, smiling a bit too wide. "I... forgot to give it to you this morning."

She was instantly suspicious until she checked the paper in her hand, a blush coming to her cheeks. "You mean, you didn't give it to me so Kristoff wouldn't be able to tease me mercilessly before I could even read it."

"That too," her father replied, accepting her hug with a chuckle.

"You're the best, Dad."

"You too, Sweetheart." He hugged her tightly before releasing her, fixing her with a slightly serious look. "Now, don't be waving these letters around in front of your enemies. I don't want to find out my daughter was frozen solid because her arch enemy crush got jealous over a secret admirer."

Anna rolled her eyes. "Okay, so, correction: you didn't want to give Kris the opportunity to tease me mercilessly before you could."

Her father shrugged, still smiling. "That's what fathers do."

"Yeah, sure." Anna turned to head up the stairs. "Love you, Dad."

"Love you too."

In the safety of her room, Anna threw her mission bag in a corner and used her house key to open the envelope after scanning the front again. Yep, same Canadian address written in the same beautiful cursive and the same blocky writing for the return address; this was definitely from her admirer. Pulling the letter free, Anna sat on her bed and read through it, a small smile on her face.

She read it once. Twice. Three times. After the fourth, she sent the paper beside her, now frowning slightly.

She felt a little sad after the first letter but this one intensified that sensation. The way the letter read- despite being just as flattering as the first- reminded her all too much of the sinking feeling she'd experienced on the volcano, when she thought she'd shoved her foot into her mouth beyond redemption. It was as if whoever wrote the letter not only recognized they had no chance but resigned themselves to the point that each letter written was like cutting off a piece of their heart and tossing it away to lessen the pain.

That was a really horrible feeling for someone to endure.

Anna got up from her bed and pulled out a spiral notebook and pen, setting both on her desk. She'd take her shower- because geez did she need one after running around in the rainforest for a couple hours- and think about what to say, but she was definitely replying. It would be difficult, of course; she'd have to be honest without being mean, compassionate without getting carried away, but she couldn't just ignore whoever this was.

They were probably a really good person and deserved to be acknowledged, even if she couldn't return their affection.

---

Stepping from his personal aircraft, Syndrome rubbed at his upper lip and sniffed, breathing in the warm tropical air. His headquarters was situated on a private island along the equator, which meant a pleasant- if a bit warm- year 'round temperature. While it was good to be back, he still had a considerable amount of work to plow through before he could consider himself remotely caught up to his present timeline.

Still, he was calling the day a win.

Activating the device built into his left wristband, he waited for Mirage's face to fill the screen before speaking. "So, those reports."

"Hard copies are waiting on your desk, an electronic copy has been send to your e-mail, and I have the highlights in front of me," she replied in her slight accent, a grin curling her lips.

"Good. Hit me with the highlights and I'll look over the rest later." He stepped into the main building, turning to grab the elevator up to his office.

"Anna Andersen and Kristoff Bjorgman, both were born in Arendelle, Colorado and have lived there all their lives. Friends since childhood, both are only children, active participants in several of their school's extracurricular activities, and well known in their hometown for providing assistance to any who need it."

"So she wasn't kidding." Syndrome smirked.

"They also advertise their services on a website operated by a member of their community, a Mr. Oaken. Their portfolio of completed missions is... quite extensive." Mirage shook her head slightly. "They've been on every continent and in most countries around the world. They've even been granted special recognition by many governments to allow them to complete their missions uninhibited by traditional laws. They pretty much have a pass to come and go from whatever country they please and their support network spans the globe." She paused. "They have quite the following, Sir."

Syndrome threw his head back and laughed, punching the air in victory. "Excellent! I had a feeling; this is just too good!"

"Sir, I feel I must caution you; they seem to adhere pretty rigorously to a certain set of morals and practices." Mirage paused, unsure how to word her warning. "I... don't believe they will be entirely complicit given our methods."

"Mirage, my dear, if there is one thing this business has taught me, it's that any given person can be persuaded to abandon their beliefs, provided there is ample reason." He stepped out of the elevator into a room where one wall, from side-to-side and floor-to-ceiling, was an active lava flow. "Money, fame, power- every person has a price." He stopped at the center of the room, hitting a button on his wristband to split the lava flow and admit him to his office. "I just have to figure out what hers is."

"Another thing, Sir; they do seem quite inseparable."

"Then I'll buy him, too." Syndrome strode forward, directing his attention back to the screen. "Thank you, Mirage. Report back once the clean-up is finished. I'll need your help overcoming this slight setback. We still have a schedule to keep."

Mirage nodded just before Syndrome cut the communication, his gaze sweeping up as the last of the lava split away, revealing his work space as lights flickered to life. On the large screen before him was the Omnidroid schematic, his crowning achievement, and it still needed a few more tweaks before it was perfect.

---

Author's Note: I feel like, if this fic was the bonus round to a CinemaSins video, I'd break the counter with the amount of random references I make. Can't help it; I'm a dork. Anyway, I know this is late and I'm really sorry. Long story short- the past week or so has been pretty friggin' horrible and I'm cranky as shit, you can read me complain about it on my profile. I feel really bad I wasn't able to get this out on time. Typing most of this and operating a mouse with my off hand is an interesting experience that I really kinda hate, to be honest. But, I'm not officially putting the fic on hiatus right now because I will be trying to work on the next chapter. There's no way I can have it out on my regular schedule though, so I don't know when it will be posted. I also have another fic that badly needs an update, so... priorities.

HOWEVER, despite how shitty the week's been, I really appreciate your faves, follows, reads, reviews, and well wishes; they have seriously been the bright spots of an otherwise miserable week. A special thank you to only-looking for being an all around awesome beta and to lauraknatt for being my inspiration. Again, I am sorry about the turn of events, but I do appreciate the support. Hopefully, you enjoyed this chapter, even though there wasn't a bunch of Elsanna fun. If it's any consolation, after next chapter, we'll be into the full swing of things, so there should be at least a little Elsanna every chapter from then on. Again, Happy Holidays to everyone!