Omega [REDUX]

Chapter 5

"I'm actually going to have to enforce what I told you about previously."

It had been a week since Elsa had been discharged after the incident with the lecturer. Since then he'd been given a warning, and their team had been temporarily suspended from combat simulation exercises until they were sure Elsa had fully recovered.

Elsa nodded. There was no escaping this; if Hans gave an order, she'd actually have to follow it, because Hans rarely gave an order. When he did, he meant really serious business that probably couldn't be avoided. "I'm still scared," she admitted, somewhat quietly.

"Like I said, you'll be fine." They were standing in one of the more picturesque corridors, with the entire right face converted to a window, allowing them a view of the grassy plains that stretched out far and wide. She leaned on a metal handrail, gazing at the plains, Hans standing right beside her. It was Elsa's second place to come to whenever she needed to get away. "Just do whatever your heart tells you to do," Hans continued.

"We're talking about getting her to pass the tests that determine her future, Hans," Elsa replied, feeling her own heart chill as she uttered those words. "You just placed her 'life' into my hands."

"Is that necessarily wrong?"

"I certainly don't see how it's necessarily right."

"Hans," Elsa said, with a tinge of worry as she turned to look at him straight in the eye. To his credit, Hans didn't flinch. "I don't even know if I can take care of myself, let alone her," she continued. "How am I supposed to know if what I'm doing is right, or if I'm condemning my team leader to a potentially bleak future outside this academy? What if she gets screwed over because of me?"

"It'll be fine, Elsa."

"How would you know that?"

"It doesn't matter—"

Elsa turned on Hans with such a glare that the general actually took a single step back, her rage manifesting in the formation of a layer of frost that crackled as it spread across her hands. "Doesn't matter? Like how those thousands of innocent civilians didn't matter either? Like the lives I destroyed with the flick of my wrist?!" Her rage coalesced into crystals upon her open palms, and a chilly breeze whistled down the hallway.

But Hans stared Elsa back down in total silence until her rage cooled, and the crystals receded back into oblivion, the wind slowly dying out. And then he spoke: "You need to let that go."

"Let it go?" Elsa stared back incredulously, with tears in her eyes. "How could I possibly let that go? I KILLED those people. De-lifed them. Un-alived them. They are gone. GONE, Hans. Because of me."

"The actions of the past do not determine the outcome of the future, Elsa. Remember that."

The actions of… what? She felt a single tear drip down her cheek, but because it was so cold the tear froze and dropped straight to the floor. The sound of the ice shattering was audible throughout the silent corridor.

"Like I said, Elsa," Hans continued, in a tone less harsh than before, "you'll be fine. Just follow what you think is right."

Elsa barely managed a nod.

They stood there in silence, in another one of their moments as Elsa contemplated the events that had just transpired.

"You'll have to find a schedule to fit her in," Hans spoke up, in a rare moment of breaking the silence, adjusting the grip of his datapad in his hand that had become numb from cold. "But you'll have to arrange that yourself."

"Why was the enforcement necessary? I mean, if you'd pestered me enough I'd probably have gotten down to it anyway."

"…long story."

"I see." Just another cover up. I do suppose there are lots of things he can't tell me. But then again, I doubt knowing would do me any good.

The realization did nothing to soothe her anger. She was angry at a lot of things. Partially angry at herself, and she definitely had a lot of reasons for that where she could go on and on and on. But she'd had the past year to do that. Mainly, she realized, she was angry at the situation, for it was a clear injustice. Not an injustice towards herself, but an injustice to Anna, that she should have her fate placed in the hands of an insecure, volatile superweapon.

Last break before term exams.

Break? If anything, it was going to be a bore, with absolutely nothing to do. Anna sulked as she sat on her bed, leaning against the wall adorned with the blankness of nothingness, contemplating her options for the break ahead. It would be a week long, and the academy would mostly be empty, because the other recruits would be gladly out of there, going back to their warm, loving families that Anna did not have.

It had taken a while for Anna to get over that fact; even now as she thought about it she could feel tears pricking her eyes, but she forced herself to keep them under control. There was no good in thinking about the things they used to do as a family, except further compromise her mental state. Anna had enough to worry about right then and there: she had to maintain some form of physical discipline if she was going to keep up in the simulated exercises, and she had to pass quite a few tests, considering she had flunked the majority of them previously. So, with the resolve that had probably taken her an eternity to muster, she had willingly turned down Merida's invitation to spend the break with her family. She didn't want to burden them for yet another year, for yet another break.

Now though, she wasn't sure it was a good choice.

She snuggled up into the corner with her blanket, trying to get as comfortable as possible without having to lie down; she could barely sleep in that position. Her own mind trailed over the remaining memories of her parents still lingering in her neural storage, grasping at what was left of the warmth she would never experience again.

The next thing she knew she was lying in the same position on her bed, with her arm just a bit more numb than before, and the sounds of her teammates shuffling outside.

Wait, if they're shuffling outside, how late has is it—

In an almost frantic state Anna sprung from her bed and hit the "door open" button on the side of the wall. Panicking at her apparent lack of punctuality, Anna practically ducked under the door as it opened to scurry outside.

Only to find her teammates already packing up their last belongings. It was daylight, early morning; the day they were supposed to go back home.

Except that she had no home.

The thought gave her being a whole new low to feel as she watched, almost silently, as her teammates continued packing up. One by one they turned to her, with delayed reactions, upon realizing that she had woken up. For a short moment they all stood there, staring at each other.

"I'm sorry… we… decided that you would have wanted to sleep," Rapunzel spoke up, somewhat abashedly.

Merida walked up to Anna and enveloped her in a tight embrace. Anna hugged her back as she tried to hold back tears. "You sure you don't want to come? It's not too late now, you can still pack up in a hurry," she said softly into Anna's ear.

They broke apart, and Anna gave Merida's bow hand a squeeze. "I'll be fine," she replied, and flashed Merida a smile.

Similarly, she embraced both Belle and Rapunzel, and watched forlornly as they departed their team's living quarters, down into the main body of the academy, towards the comfort of a family they enjoyed. A comfort that Anna no longer had. She sighed and turned back towards her room as the sun's rays began to shine fully into their team's living quarters, the warmth of the sun doing nothing to alleviate the void she felt inside.

Something was nagging at the back of their head, something that she couldn't quite put her finger on. Her team seemed rather… incomplete. Like it was missing someone.

Wait. What about Elsa? Has she left too? Her eyes narrowed as she looked at Elsa's room. It doesn't seem to have opened… "Elsa?" she called out as she began to knock on the door. "Are you in there?"

No response.

She pouted; Anna had hoped to have some company during the break, and was hoping Elsa was staying. But she should be, considering she hasn't really left, and the door's indicator shows that the room is still being occupied…

She needed something that would catch Elsa's attention. Maybe Elsa just didn't want to come out for whatever reason; Anna certainly wouldn't know. But right now, she wanted to just see Elsa for herself in person, even if Elsa was going to leave, so at least she'd have a memory of Elsa before spending the rest of the break alone, all by herself. She didn't know why she was thinking about it that way, but right then she didn't care.

So with all the breath she had in her she yelled out, in an oddly loud voice, the most confounding phrase she could have ever conjured in her entire life: "ELSA! DO YOU WANT TO BUILD A SNOWMAN?"

"Snowman? It's summer, Anna."

Why is the voice coming from behind me—?

With the feeling of dread that can only come when one embarrasses herself, Anna turned around, to find Elsa having just entered their living quarters. She'd been mistaken. "But… but… the room indicator said occupied…" she stammered out in a mixture of confusion and embarrassment.

"Yes, it says that for as long as someone is using the room; it doesn't necessarily mean someone is physically present in the room, unlike the toilets in the academy." Elsa walked over to Anna with a completely expressionless face, clearly with the intention of entering her room, seemingly oblivious to the humiliation Anna had just heaped upon herself. "Why did you want to build a snowman though?" she continued, her face not betraying a single hint of emotion.

"Oh. Er…" Anna struggled to come up with a probable explanation. "I used to love building them in the winter. I guess I was… you know what, forget it, I was just being stupid." She pouted when she said that, noticing the ends of Elsa's lips curl up into a smile as she stopped next to the door. "Where were you this morning?"

"Settling our programme for this break." Elsa fumbled through her pockets for her room's keycard.

Anna cocked an eyebrow. "Our programme?"

Elsa suddenly froze entirely, her head drooping to look at the ground, her eyes shimmering just a little. Did I say something wrong? Anna thought. I hope I didn't, I really hope I didn't—

"Yes," Elsa said, all of a sudden. "Ours." She held out the file, the actual, tangible folder containing a few documents inside. Anna was genuinely surprised; tangible documents were saved only for the most official of documents, and for a moment everything didn't make sense.

Then Elsa dropped the bombshell. "I've been assigned to train you during this break."

There.

She'd said it. Now the rest was out of her control; Elsa could only see how Anna react. She wasn't expecting anything positive, because on the comparative, the negative was a lot more likely. Anna had absolutely no idea who Elsa was, where she'd come from, and moreover how in anyway was she qualified to teach her in any way. Elsa's own gaze looked back down to the ground once more, in fearful anticipation of the reaction that would come.

"Really? Oh my goodness that's great!"

Her brain took a little while to comprehend the words she'd just heard. Great? But… why in the world would anyone say that—

"I was so afraid that I'd be all alone during this break, but luckily enough we're both going to be doing things together," Anna went on, still dizzyingly happy from the announcement, as far as Elsa's own muddled-up brain could tell at the time. "Oh my god, what are we going to do together? Are you going to teach me how to do those awesome takedowns?" Anna started punching the air, imitating the way Elsa had fended of Ursula, uttering fighting-style exclamations as she did so.

Then abruptly she stopped. "I'm sorry," she said abashedly, now looking away somewhat. "I'm rambling and being an idiot again."

Elsa let out a small giggle; she hadn't even realized she'd been smiling and on the brink of laughter. She composed herself quickly, but couldn't wipe the smile off her face. "Yeah, and a bunch of other stuff too."

"Whoa! That's so cool!" Anna said, completely forgetting the control she had previously wanted to impose on herself. "When do we start?"

"You can start with a full run around the campus." Elsa didn't bother looking at Anna's widening eyes and dropping jaw as she finally got out her keycard, tapping it on the door indicator to allow it to slide open. "You were excited to start training, were you not?"

"Yeah, but—"

Elsa turned towards Anna with the most serious look she could possibly master. "If you're ever going to master those takedowns, you're going to have to train your stamina." She reached out a hand to take back the file from Anna and flipped it open. "Apparently I've scheduled us for physical training for today and tomorrow, before we move on to your aim." Casually she walked into her room and dropped the file on her desk, leaving Anna gawking outside as Elsa began to rummage through her drawer.

"What are you waiting for?" Elsa asked nonchalantly as she retrieved her training outfit. "You can't go running in that," she went on, jerking her head towards Anna's pyjamas.

Unfortunately, Anna's stamina had turned out much, much worse than expected; Elsa finished their pre-arranged two rounds around the campus perimeter way before Anna had completed the first one. At that rate, she realized she'd had a lot of time before Anna would eventually catch up.

Elsa had been fibbing about the schedule. In truth, she'd sent Anna on a run she knew it would be near impossible for her to complete in a short time, just so that Elsa could use the time spent waiting for Anna to brainstorm other ideas. Now she needed to come up with something to appear that everything was under control, and that Anna didn't have a terribly insecure and incompetent young adult woman training her to pass an exam that could determine her future. Still panting from her exertion, she exited the elevator and back into their team compound, her mind already racing through a series of possibilities.

But she found herself getting increasingly flustered and frustrated at her lack of ideas. Anna would finish the run in due time, and if she couldn't come up with something like that, then things would get ugly from there.

I still have no idea what to do!

In a momentary lapse of control she lashed forth with her hands, and from her open palms fired arcs of ice that whipped out at the opposing wall, freezing the surface with a loud crack.

"Let it go…" Hans words floated through her head as she dropped to knees in great shock, staring at her open palms as she desperately tried to conceal the frosty icing that coated her hands. That was the problem: it wouldn't melt, only fade away if she wasn't bothered about it. She stared helplessly at the ice across the compound; this would certainly not do, because she couldn't have Anna find out what she was, not just yet. She wasn't comfortable with it yet.

Why are you so stressed out? Relax; even if you don't have anything for her she won't think any less of you…

Her breathing finally evened out as she closed her eyes, leaning back against her room door. Everything became crystal clear; the fog that had once clouded her rational mind now dissolved away, and her eyes opened with a surprising clarity.

What could she possibly do to train Anna though? Think Elsa, how would you want Anna to look by the end of all this—

A mental image of Anna's fair skin and toned muscles flashed through her mind. The image was surprisingly vivid: Anna's back was towards her, completely topless, her freckles showing on her pure white shoulders, her toned arms and back in clear view of Elsa's lingering gaze that had begun to trail downwards, staring longingly at the back of her thighs, calves, and her wonderful behind—

Elsa shut her eyes abruptly and rubbed them, trying to get the image out of her head. No use; it was already burned into her head, and she wasn't erasing that image anytime soon. She felt… different, very much different on the inside, a feeling that she could not comprehend based on her current knowledge. Elsa wasn't surprised; being bred as a superweapon didn't allow her to develop in ways others would have, so there were emotions and sensations she would not be familiar with. She'd have to visit the library to conduct more research if she wanted to find out what she was feeling.

But she kind of liked it.

She enjoyed the idea; she did want to see Anna possess such a figure, because as much as it would get her fit and in shape, it would also give Elsa a goal to train Anna towards. But how? Such a physique would require intense physical training to build muscle and stamina.

Then she looked at the ice and had a brainwave.

Still, you haven't done this for a very long time. This could go wrong in a lot of ways.

How about trying it out first, then deciding what to do later?

Then how would you explain it if it went wrong?

That is something to decide if it actually does go wrong.

Between the two bickering inner voices Elsa made up her mind. She stretched out her hands again, palms wide open, in a more controlled motion. Then with a calm, collecting swing, Elsa conjured up a single, perfect slab of ice. She could see the mist emanating off from it, so she knew she'd made the right kind of ice, the one that could melt. Emboldened and encouraged, Elsa continued her work, conjuring even more blocks of ice. By the time her enhanced hearing picked up the sound of Anna stepping into the elevator, she'd already formed 15 separate blocks.

When Anna exited the lift her jaw dropped again. "What…? And… how…?"

"Oh, your next task is to carry all the blocks individually from one side of the compound to the other," Elsa said as she began to walk back to her room to retrieve clothes to change into, giving a small smile to Anna as she did. "Thrice."