Chapter 129

Up the Icy Mountain

Riku, Donald and Aqua trudged up the North Mountain after Elsa. A snowstorm had developed over the land, and whatever portion of the mountain was not already covered in snow on its own was already nearly a foot deep. They shivered, even with Donald's protective layer of feathers and Riku and Aqua having a tolerance to low temperatures due to the time they spent in the darkness. Aqua ended up having to pick Donald up when he started wading too deep in the snow.

"Her magic… I haven't seen anything like it," Donald remarked.

"If she was this afraid of losing control of her magic, it must have taken an incredible amount of willpower to keep it from breaking loose," Riku mused.

"She isn't leaving any footprints. I hope we don't lose her," Aqua said.

Donald pointed the staff he currently carried, which had a vegvisir mounted on the tip, using it to trace the source and center of the snowstorm. "Don't worry. We're not losing track," he assured her.

They continued on for some time, following the same path that Elsa had gone. Soon, their monotonous march was interrupted, however, as Heartless resembling blue and black reindeer calves with antlers made of ice hopped down from a higher ledge to confront them. Aqua put Donald down, then summoned her Keyblade to prepare to do battle. Riku summoned his Keyblade as well. The Heartless, which Donald elected to call Winterhorns, jumped around, aiming to strike them with their hooves. Riku and Aqua dodged easily, but Donald was once again waist-deep in the snow, so he was forced to use Reflect to bounce them back. Some of the Winterhorns leapt up and flipped upside-down to drop icicles from their antlers, hitting their marks a couple times. To prevent them from doing that again, and to thwart one Winterhorn in its attempt to charge at Aqua with its antlers, the Keybearers and the wizard cast Fire spells to destroy the ice antlers. Once that was taken care of, the Heartless were defeated easily.

"The Heartless are here, too," Riku noted. "We have to find Elsa. She might be in trouble."

"Uh, I think she won't be at much risk," Donald remarked, gesturing around to remind him of the snowstorm that had been conjured by her vast power.

"Fair point, but if they're preying on the darkness in her heart, they might still cause her torment," Aqua argued.

"True," Donald conceded. He raised his arms to allow Aqua to pick him back up, and they continued on their trek up the mountain.

This storm came about from Elsa's fear, fear which drove her to an impulsive decision to flee, Riku thought. I wonder what's going through her mind now…

Further up the mountain, Elsa walked on top of the snow, her powers subconsciously causing it to compact into a solid surface under her feet. She gave one more look back in the direction of Arendelle as she took the time to process what had just happened.

What did I just do? she asked herself. I left it all behind. I left them all behind. And now what? Here I am, in the middle of nowhere. Today was supposed to be my coronation, and I would fulfill my duty to everyone. Well, now, here was a kingdom of isolation, and it looks like I'm the queen.

"Don't let them in, don't let them see. Be the good girl you always have to be," she chastised herself. She had tried so hard to keep her powers under control for so long, not letting anyone find out about them. "Conceal, don't feel, don't let them know." She scoffed. "Well, now they know."

She stared down at her hands, one gloved to cover up her powers and the other bare, snowflakes twinkling off of her fingers, and she had an epiphany. I'm all alone up here. Everyone else is down in Arendelle, away from me. While I'm up here, they're all safe from my magic. I don't have to hide from them… I don't have to bottle myself up… I can't hurt anyone up here. Maybe, for the first time in practically forever, I can just… let it go…

She tugged on the fingers of her gloves, hesitated for a moment, then ripped it off and threw it to the wind. She flicked her wrist, and snow dust formed into magic swirls and snowflake shapes over her hand. She waved her other hand and watched her magic take a simple but lovely form. She smiled in delight as she watched the beauty of her powers for the first time in years. The fun and joy jogged a memory from her childhood, when she and Anna played together, back when the latter was still aware of her powers.

Do you wanna build a snowman?

With a swirl of her hand, she willed particles of snow to gather and take the form of a five-piece snowman. Sticks, twigs, and rocks were brought up from beneath the snow to accessorize the snowman with arms, hair, and buttons.

She sent larger flurries of magic dust into the air, let the snow fall around her, then waved her arms to let it simply drop to the ground. She threw flurries from side to side, watching the magic snow swirl up.

Let the storm rage on, she thought as she unclipped the brooch of her cape and let the wind blow it away. The cold never bothered me anyway.

"Do you hear something?" Riku asked. Donald cupped his hand over his ear as he and Aqua listened for the sounds that Riku had heard.

"Look!" Aqua pointed up above the snowy hill ahead of them, almost dropping Donald in the process. Elsa's cape flew through the air on the mountain breeze, carrying it over their heads.

"This way!" Riku called, beckoning them to keep going.

Elsa came upon a ravine, but with a blast of magic, she created a set of stairs that hovered partially over the gap. She noticed that it was unrefined and messy, covered in clumps of snow, but when she took her first step on it, a portion of it smoothed out into a shiny icy surface. She ran up the stairs, spreading her arms out to the rails, and let the ice smooth out as the stairway expanded to cross over to the other side of the ravine.

As she made her way across, Riku, Aqua and Donald came up to where she had been. They gaped in awe as she created her ice bridge.

Elsa took a few steps further, then stomped her foot down, causing a giant snowflake shape to form out of the snow beneath her. She glanced around to assess the lay of the landscape, then began to really work her magic. The snowflake shape expanded into an icy floor, which was elevated on pillars all around. Pillars and spires rose up around the platform, stretching and shaping to form walls and archways. She sent magic snow dust up the pillars, which then caused a ceiling and roof to form at the top. An opulent crystal chandelier formed at the center of the ceiling.

As the ice castle continued to form around her, Elsa remembered that she was still supposed to be Arendelle's queen. Was she really just throwing that all away? No… I'm never going back. The past is in the past. She removed her tiara, regarded it for a moment, then defiantly threw it aside. She undid her bun, letting her hair fall into a French braid, then brushed her bangs up and over the top of her head. Lastly, she generated thousands of tiny ice crystals, which knit over her body into a crystal-blue off-the-shoulder dress with a right knee-high slit, a crystallized bodice, and translucent powder blue sleeves. The weaving of the ice crystals caused her coronation gown to fall apart at the seams, not that she noticed. She also kicked her shoes off and conjured a pair of kitten heels. A headband and snowflake-shaped incrustations formed in her hair, and a long, transparent, floor-sweeping cape with snowflake designs generated from the back of her bodice.

She marched out onto her new balcony, her hips swaying with each step, spreading her arms out in ecstasy, and watched the sun rise over the mountaintops. After basking in her freedom for a moment, she spun back around and reentered her castle, willing the balcony doors to close with a flick of her wrist.

Riku, Aqua and Donald stared in absolute awe, their jaws agape. They had never seen anything like it. Elsa had just created a castle made of ice out of nowhere.

"Now that is ice magic," Aqua said in disbelief. "The most I ever made was a giant snowflake crystal in my Diamond Dust finisher."

"I haven't even seen Master Yen Sid or Merlin do much more than that," Donald commented. "And in my experience, Blizzard magic isn't something that is used for construction purposes. I've never seen anyone or anything make something like that."

"Well, let's go in and talk to her," Riku suggested.

Aqua and Donald nodded in agreement. Together, they climbed the stairs up to the towering front doors to the castle. Riku knocked, and the doors opened up of their own accord. They stepped inside, marveling at the smooth architecture and design. They ascended the stairs that wound around the back side of the entrance hall and climbed up to the second level of the castle. They saw Elsa march back in from the balcony and conjure a snow-cushioned sofa to lounge in.

"Nice pipes." Elsa yelped in fright and instinctively shot an icy blast in the direction of the voice. Riku leaned back to avoid the spell, waved his arms around as he started to lose balance, then leaned against the wall for support. "Sorry! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to scare you."

Elsa regarded the newcomers curiously. "What are you doing here?" she asked.

Riku composed himself after his embarrassing first impression. "We, uh, we saw you fleeing from Arendelle, and we were worried about you," he answered.

Elsa studied them, taking everything in about them. "Your clothes are unusual… You aren't from Arendelle, are you?" she surmised. "Did you come for the coronation?"

Donald prepared to say yes, but Riku interjected, electing to admit how little they actually understood of the situation. "We actually just got here last night, right before you ran out."

"Oh. I'm sorry if I frightened you with my magic," Elsa said nervously.

Riku shook his head and smiled reassuringly. "You didn't scare us. Magic… isn't all that strange to us," he said.

"What do you mean?" Elsa asked, confused.

"Follow me." Riku walked over to the balcony, opening the doors to step through. "Watch this." He summoned his Keyblade, much to Elsa's amazement. He pointed out toward the sky and cast Fire, making sure that it was relatively weak and generated far enough away that it did not affect the castle's ice structure. He turned back to face Elsa and saw her dumbfounded expression.

"You have magic too,"she said in disbelief.

"We all do," Aqua confirmed. Donald nodded as well.

"Were you… born with it? Or cursed?"

Riku, Aqua and Donald looked at each other, confused. "Um… Neither, I think," Riku replied.

"I don't really know how to describe it," Aqua admitted. "It's just something we… learned to do."

"You just… learned magic?"

"We awakened the potential in our hearts," Donald added.

"Awakened the potential?" Elsa shook her head. "I was born with this magic. I've been able to create snow and ice ever since I was a child."

"Have you always had trouble controlling it? Even when you were a little girl?" Aqua asked.

Elsa considered the question and reflected on her childhood. "Well, not always. When we were kids, my sister Anna and I used to play together. I made toys and sledding hills, and even made a snowman that we named Olaf." She chuckled at the memory.

"So, what happened?" Riku asked.

Elsa let out a sigh. "There was an accident. I hit Anna in the head with my ice magic. It knocked her out and began to freeze her. Mother and Father came and brought us to see the trolls in the mountain. Their elder healed Anna, but was forced to take away her memories of my magic. He then warned me that I would need to learn to control my growing powers, and that fear of the danger they pose will be my enemy. So my parents closed the gates and kept me safe away from everyone, even Anna. I locked myself in my room and worked tirelessly to keep my magic under control."

That all sounds awfully familiar, Riku mused, reflecting on not only his experiences but the events that Sora and Naminé had gone through in Castle Oblivion.

"It sounds more like it was the fear that made your magic something to fear," Aqua surmised. "The slightest mistake can cause horrifying consequences and break your resolve."

"Elsa, you shouldn't have to live in fear of who you are, or what you can do," Riku said empathetically. "Sure, your magic can cause pain if you let it, but it can also be amazing, and full of wonders."

Aqua nodded in agreement. "He's right. Just look at this palace. It's amazing." She looked Elsa's dress up and down. "And did you make that dress with your magic? It's beautiful."

Elsa looked her dress over and smiled softly. "Thank you." Donald glanced over to the side and chuckled as he saw the remains of the coronation dress.

"So, what are you going to do now?" Riku asked. "Are you planning to just… hide up here in the mountain? Forever?"

Elsa nodded sadly. "It's for the best. As long as I'm up here, away from everyone, I won't be able to hurt anyone."

Aqua shook her head. "That can't be the best solution," she protested. "No one should have to spend their life in total solitude."

Elsa shook her head. "But as long as I'm around, they'll all be in danger from my magic. I may have just abandoned the throne, but it's still my duty to keep them safe. Especially from me."

"But what about you?" Riku asked. "What about your well-being? What about the people who will miss you? Don't you think you're hurting the people who care about you by running away like this?"

Before Elsa could respond, they heard Donald's stomach growl. "Uh, maybe we should find something to eat," the duck suggested.

Elsa's face fell as she realized something that she had not considered when she fled into the mountains. Riku noticed her expression change and was quick to figure out what the issue was. "You didn't think about how you'd be able to eat up here, did you?" he asked.

Elsa turned her gaze away out of embarrassment. "No, I guess I didn't," she admitted.

Riku shrugged. "Well, I'm sure we can figure something out," he said in an easygoing manner, not wanting her to feel bothered by the issue. "You probably don't know how to hunt, but do you know anything about the local wildlife and plant life?"

"I did study up on regional ecology texts," Elsa replied.

Riku nodded. "Okay. We can work from that. I'm Riku, by the way."

"I'm Aqua."

"And I'm Donald Duck."

Elsa nodded. "Thank you," she said.

Through the morning, Anna rode her horse through the now-snow-covered woods, with Sora, Kairi, and Goofy walking alongside her. Anna was shouting for Elsa, hoping that she was nearby. "Elsa! Elsa! It's me, Anna, your sister who didn't mean to make you freeze the summer. I'm sorry! It's all my fault!" She then took a moment to grumble to herself about the situation before trailing off to an exasperated sigh.

"It's really pretty here," Kairi said in an attempt to make small talk, looking around at the snow-covered landscape and trees.

"Yup. Sure is," Goofy agreed.

A chilly breeze blew by, causing Sora, Kairi and Anna to shiver from the cold, while Goofy's teeth chattered. "Cold! Cold!" Sora blurted. "Aw, man, it's freezing!"

"A-hyuck! Guess you guys're too used to the beach," Goofy joked.

"Hello! Islander. Gimme a break," Sora complained. Kairi nodded in agreement.

"Look at that!" Anna exclaimed, pointing at Sora. He looked down to see that something was happening to his clothes. The zipper of his jacket locked itself in place and pulled itself closed. The sleeves extended to his wrists. His pantlegs stretched down to his ankles. A fur lining grew on the inside of his hood. His gloves wrapped up around his fingers and bulked up. His sneakers transformed into snow boots while retaining their color scheme. His crown necklace transformed into a balaclava with a crown design print, then pulled up over his mouth and nose. His jacket and pants bulked up until they looked like a winter coat and snow pants.

"Ah… Much better," Sora said in relief, his voice slightly muffled under the balaclava. He pulled his hood up over his head.

"Whaddya know? His clothes transformed themselves to suit the climate," Goofy pointed out.

Kairi stomped her foot and pouted. "No fair! Why do you get a winter coat while I'm left to freeze?" she complained.

Sora shrugged. "I guess it's because of my magic clothes."

"Then I want magic clothes!" Kairi whined.

"How about this: next time we see Master Yen Sid, you can ask for some," Sora suggested.

Goofy and Anna laughed at the exchange. Sora and Kairi, the latter in spite of the cold, found themselves laughing as well.

They continued on their way for several minutes. Realizing that there were no footprints to follow, they hoped that they were going the right way.

"So, you said that you and Elsa used to be close," Kairi said, broaching the topic to Anna. "Did something happen?"

Anna shook her head. "I don't know," she said. "When we were little, my sister and I were best friends. We played together all the time. But then, one day, for some reason, Elsa just shut me out. Thirteen years went by, and though I pleaded with her to come out and play, we barely ever saw each other. Then, three years ago, our parents died at sea. I tried to turn to Elsa so we could support each other, but she still kept herself locked in her room. She didn't even come to the funeral. It was really lonely. The only people I had to talk to were the staff and Kjekk一" she stroked her horse's mane to indicate that Kjekk was her steed "一and a lot of the time, I found myself talking to the pictures on the walls to keep myself from going crazy." She chuckled halfheartedly, acknowledging that the last part was odd. "Then the coronation came around. I was so excited. I thought we would finally get the chance to talk. But then, last night, at the party, I blew it. I did something that made her mad. We got into an argument, and I lost my temper." She held Elsa's glove up and stared at it regretfully. "And then, well, that's when she used her magic to push me away."

"I'm so sorry. That must've been awful," Kairi said sympathetically.

"Family shouldn't be separated from each other," Goofy lamented.

"I'm sure she knows how much you love her. And I think that's why she hid, and ran, because she loves you too. It sounds like she was afraid she would hurt you with her magic," Sora remarked. "That sounds a lot like Riku. Remember, Kairi? He was ashamed of the trouble he caused when he was aligned with the Heartless, and he thought the best thing to do to keep us safe from his own darkness was to stay away. Even after he got control of his darkness and helped us out, he kept his distance and didn't want us to find him."

"You're right," Kairi affirmed. "But that wasn't the right way to go about it. He shouldn't have had to leave us behind."

Sora nodded and smiled. "You're the one who talked him into coming back with us. After he saved you from Saïx, he wanted to leave again, but you convinced him to stick with us." He turned to Anna. "Maybe you'll be able to help Elsa the same way."

Anna smiled. "Thanks." She furrowed her brow as something he had said stuck in her mind. "But… what was that word you said before? 'Heartless'? What is that?"

Sora prepared to answer, but as if on cue, a horde of the creatures materialized. There were four Winterhorns, six Blue Rhapsodies, a blue-and-white frost-covered Creeper Plant, and four Icy Cubes. Anna gasped and Kjekk reared in fright.

"Those are!" Sora explained simply, getting the point across concisely. He and Kairi summoned their Keyblades while Goofy summoned his shield. Anna stared in wonder as the weapons materialized.

A Winterhorn jumped up, aiming to attack Anna and Kjekk, but Goofy threw his shield at it, knocking it into a tree. The impact caused a branch to break and fall in front of Kjekk. Thoroughly spooked, the horse bucked and threw Anna off, dropping her into the snow. Groaning, the princess pushed herself out of the snow and sat up, only to see her steed running away back the way they had come. Anna called after him, pleading for him to come back, but pretty soon, he was gone.

Kairi helped Anna to her feet, then put herself between her and the Heartless. "Stay back. We'll take care of these things," she said.

Anna nodded. "Okay." She ran to hide behind a nearby conifer.

Sora and Kairi cast Fire spells at the obviously-ice-based Heartless. Goofy blocked a Winterhorn's charge, holding its antlers back with his shield, then twisted his shield sharply to break the ice antlers. He blocked a Blizzard spell from the Blizzard Plant, then beat the disoriented reindeer Heartless down with his shield. Another Winterhorn leapt up to rain icicles down on them. In response, Sora cupped his hands together and gave Kairi a boost up into the air, where she performed a flaming spin attack which destroyed the antlers in the first strike then vanquished the Heartless in the second. At the same time, Sora threw his Keyblade in a Flame Raid, destroying the Icy Cubes and striking the Blizzard Plant. When he caught the flaming Keyblade, he slammed it down on a Winterhorn's head, destroying it instantly. Goofy defeated the last Winterhorn while Kairi eliminated the last of the Blue Rhapsodies with Fire spells. Sora cast Agua and wrapped a stream of water around the Blizzard Plant, tricking it into freezing the water surrounding it and trapping itself, then closed the distance and finished it off.

With the Heartless all slain, they went over to check on Anna, who had been watching the fight in awe. "Are you alright?" Sora asked.

Anna nodded. "Yeah. Just c-c-c-c-cold," she replied, shivering. "So, you have m-m-magic too?"

Sora nodded. "Yeah. Though, Donald said that it isn't anything on the scale of what your sister was able to do."

"So, magic really isn't anything to be afraid of?"

Kairi shook her head. "If you have the strength of will and strength of heart, it's perfectly safe as long as you wish it to be," she said.

Anna smiled, feeling reassured. "Good. Elsa's my sister. She can regain control of her powers and end this winter. I know she can. I just need to be there to help her," she said to herself. She started to shiver, remembering that she was knee-deep in snow. "Brrr… It's cold."

"Here. Let me try something." Kairi put her hand on Anna's shoulder and willed the warmth of a dusting of Fire magic to flow through her and herself. Both girls breathed sighs of relief. "That should keep you warm for a little while, I think."

Anna smiled. "Thanks."

Back in Arendelle, the palace guards were shoveling snow out of the street, having returned from a trip to the castle's winter supplies. Ice was forming over many of the houses and stables. Mickey lit fires with his magic so that the townspeople and dignitaries could huddle around them. Hans carried a stack of cloaks through the crowd. He had changed into a gray cloak that was better-suited to protecting him from the elements.

"Cloak. Does anyone need a cloak?" Hans called out.

"Arendelle is indebted to you, Your Highness," one of the castle servants said.

"The castle is open. There's soup and hot glögg in the Great Hall," Hans announced.

Mickey purchased Blazing Shards and Lucid Stones from the Moogle Shop and passed them out to the townspeople. "If the fire goes out, strike these together to spark it up again," he instructed.

After passing out all of the shards and stones, Mickey caught up with Hans. "You know, Arendelle's lucky to have someone like you here to help out," he said.

Hans smiled. "I am only fulfilling my promise to Princess Anna," he replied humbly. "What land are you from?"

"Disney Castle," Mickey answered. "I'm the king there."

"Oh. Well, then it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Your Majesty." Hans bowed.

Mickey chuckled. "Please, you can just call me Mickey. To be honest, I'm not really a fan of the formalities," he admitted.

"Fine by me. So, Mickey, I'm not very familiar with your 'Disney Castle'. Is everyone there an… ahem…"

"An anthropomorphic animal?" Mickey finished for him. Hans nodded. "Yup. Though there are some that are just regular animals. But whatever species we are, we've developed a society similar to many human worlds." It felt odd to speak so freely about his world while on another one. Yen Sid had warned him against announcing where he had come from unless it were for important business, which he always felt was an awkward subject to avoid when his duties as a Keyblade Master led him to worlds populated by humans, where it was clear he did not belong. He felt more comfortable when he was being honest with himself and others. Learning that he did not need to be secretive, at least among parties who were in the know, was partially a relief, but it was still unusual, especially as he had never discussed the nature of his own world with humans from another, aside from when he had met Ansem the Wise.

"You said you were from the Southern Isles, right? Where in the sea of worlds are they?" the mouse asked.

"My kingdom is actually on the southern tip of this world," Hans explained. "It's roughly a mile from the point where the sea transitions from water to a turbulent ocean of darkness. Oh, excuse me for a moment." He ran up to one of Arendelle's guards and handed the stack of cloaks to him. "Here. Pass these out," he said. The guard nodded and went into the crowd.

"I'd say the Southern Isles will be in good hands when you ascend to the throne," Mickey complimented.

Hans let out an amused laugh. "Hardly. I have twelve brothers ahead of me."

Before they could discuss things further, they noticed Rapunzel and Eugene walking toward them. Eugene wore a simple cloak over his dress uniform, while Rapunzel had been dressed in a heavy coat. Rapunzel was wobbling with each step, having difficulty in keeping her balance. When they drew near, Rapunzel tripped and fell, but Eugene and one of the castle servants caught her.

"Gosh, are you alright?" Mickey asked.

Rapunzel groaned. "How do people walk in these things?" she complained, tapping her new snow boots.

Hans looked at her with confusion, so Eugene offered to clear things up. "She's not used to footwear," he explained.

"Just take it easy, Rapunzel," Mickey advised. "Easy does it. You'll get used to it."

The Duke of Weselton, flanked by his bodyguards, stormed up to Hans, evidently displeased. "Prince Hans, are we expected to sit here and freeze while you give away all of Arendelle's tradable goods?" he complained.

Mickey, Rapunzel, and Eugene glared at the Duke, not amused by his obviously elevated interests in his economic prosperity over the well-being of his host nation's people. Hans remained calm and stalwart. "Princess Anna has given her orders, and一"

"And that's another thing," the Duke interrupted. "Has it dawned on you that your princess may be conspiring with a wicked sorceress to destroy us all?"

This time, Hans glared coldly at the Duke. "Do not question the Princess. She left me in charge, and I will not hesitate to protect Arendelle from treason."

The Duke faltered, taken aback and feeling unnerved by the threat. "T-Treason?" he stammered.

Before the argument could deflate or escalate, Shadow Heartless materialized out of the ground, causing townspeople to yelp in fright. The Duke gasped and hid himself behind his bodyguards. "Demons!" he cried out.

Mickey summoned his Keyblade. "Close enough. Get everyone to safety."

Hans turned to a group of guards and servants. "Bring me a sword," he ordered. They ran off to find something with which the prince could fight the monsters.

"And a frying pan, too, please!" Rapunzel called after them. Then, under her breath: "Assuming I can fight properly with these things on." Since she could not defend herself at that time, Eugene stepped in front of her defensively.

Mickey leapt into battle, defeating the Shadows in quick succession. Soldier Heartless appeared after them, followed by a Large Body. The Duke's bodyguards drew their crossbows, primed them, and fired. The first bolt cut through one of the Soldiers while the other one bounced harmlessly off of the Large Body's impregnable armor.

Mickey held the Heartless back on his own for the first few minutes before the Large Body managed to get a good hit on him, knocking him down. A Soldier threw itself at him, but Hans appeared, sword in hand, and cut it down mid-leap. Hans offered his hand and helped Mickey to his feet. Eugene yelled insults at the Large Body, goading it to face him. Rapunzel snuck around behind the Heartless and slammed a frying pan into its back, knocking it down. She hit it again, causing it to dissolve.

"Nice swing, Rapunzel!" Eugene commended. The princess grinned appreciatively before striking a Soldier with the frying pan.

As Hans sliced through another Soldier, four Shadows appeared around him. However, rather than try to attack him, they simply stood and cocked their heads in confusion. From what they could tell, there was no darkness emanating in his spiritual aura. They looked around to compare with others, and were able to sense some darkness in everyone else around them, even the mouse with the dark world's Keyblade and the girl with the frying pan. But there was nothing radiating off of the prince.

Before the Shadows could think of what to do with their curiosity, they were obliterated by two Pearl spells and a few slashes from Hans' sword.

At the top of the mountain, just outside the ice palace, Riku, Aqua, Donald, and Elsa sat around a fire that had been lit with Donald's magic, eating the venison dinner which Riku and Aqua had cooked from the elk that they had hunted that day. The meal was balanced with mushrooms and gooseberries that they had foraged over the course of the day, including when they had sought to sate their immediate hunger that morning. By dinnertime, night had fallen, and the sky was illuminated with the Misty Stream's nearby Aurora glow.

"Your magic… what forms does it take, aside from fire and creating weapons?" Elsa asked.

"Well, it isn't exactly 'creating weapons'," Aqua corrected. "When we aren't using them, our Keyblades and Donald's staff exist in a pocket dimension. We simply call them from that space into this world, and send them back when we're done."

"Other than that, we can do a lot with our magic," Riku said. "We can freeze things, like you, but Donald says that we aren't nearly on the same level of power. We can also rain bolts of lightning down around us, control wind, freeze or slow time around people or things, manipulate gravity, heal injuries, create barriers to protect against attacks, and generate streams of water."

"And that's just scratching the surface of one category of magic," Donald added. "Religion and scientific practices unlock a bunch of different ways to command the forces around us. Our range of spells is derived from the thaumaturgy of Black and White Magic."

Elsa blinked in surprise and worry. "Black Magic?"

"It's just an archaic term adopted into modern connotations," Aqua assured her. "White Magic allows one to redirect the omnipresent forces of nature, such as bending the winds, distorting time, and hardening air particles into a solid barrier. Black Magic converts your spiritual mana into powerful forces, such as generating fire, ice, lightning, and water out of nothing. I've studied the arts in equal measure with my Keyblade training."

"Huh. You said that you can create ice with your magic, correct? Could my ice magic be the same as that?" Elsa asked.

Donald tapped his foot against the log he was sitting on and thought deeply. "To be honest, your magic isn't like anything I've ever seen," he admitted. "From what I've seen, it's far more powerful than the full extent of my Blizzard magic." Elsa's face fell, as she worried that her powers were something that her new companions would not be able to help her with. Donald caught on to this and made an attempt to reassure her. "But I read about many other practices of magic, even learned some enchantments outside of my primary field, and the one consistency is that none of them are inherently destructive, although the nature of the spells and the physical effects they logically inflict can lend more toward certain outcomes, and it all depends on the caster's will and strength of heart." Riku, Aqua, and Elsa stared at him, amazed and surprised by his insight and vocabulary. Donald noticed how everyone was looking at him, and cleared his throat. "Another thing is, I think my brand of Blizzard magic is generally more 'offensive' than your magic. Blizzard just freezes things, and I've rarely used it outside of battle. Your magic can be constructive. You don't just make things cold or make sharp ice, but you make snow, build snowmen, and construct architecturally-sound castles. From what I've seen, you're very capable of using your magic in non-destructive ways."

"I guess so," Elsa conceded. "But I've always been more worried about losing control and setting the darker part of my magic loose."

Riku crossed his arms in contemplation. "We can try to help you through it, but ultimately, the answer will have to be up to you."

Suddenly, Heartless materialized around them. They jolted to their feet, getting in position for the fight. Elsa stared at one of the Soldiers in bewilderment and terror. She vaguely remembered a nightmare that she had a couple years ago where she looked out her window and saw similar monsters swarming the grounds around the castle. "What are these things?" she asked.

"Heartless," Donald answered. "They're monsters that go after people's hearts and are drawn to the darkness within them."

"Darkness…" Elsa muttered, wondering if the Heartless were drawn to her.

Riku slapped Donald upside the head for his flub. "Almost everyone has darkness in their hearts, and they go after everybody. Don't take it the wrong way," he assured her.

Riku, Aqua and Donald jumped into action, circling around the fire pit as they fought the Heartless. The Keyblade wielders used physical attacks against Soldiers and Large Bodies, and used corresponding magic to eliminate the Blue Nocturnes and Turquoise Marches in short order. A Large Body managed to knock Riku down, so Aqua used Cure to heal his wounds.

Elsa saw a Soldier creep up behind Riku to attack. She panicked and blurted "Look out!" At the same time, she instinctively stretched her arms out and shot an ice blast at the Heartless, destroying it instantly.

Riku glanced back and saw the Heartless' dissolving remains, then saw that Elsa was responsible. "Thanks," he said before jumping back into action.

Elsa smiled proudly, glad to be able to help. Looking around, she saw more Heartless that were not presently directly fighting the others. She fired ice blasts at them, freezing them solid or simply destroying them. She shot a blast at a Blue Nocturne, but noticed that it did not do any damage. The Heartless threw a spell of its own at her, but it dissipated harmlessly when it made contact. Determining that the cold did not bother it, she wondered if she could do anything to hurt it, then remembered that her powers were not limited to cold blasts that froze on contact. She created an icicle dagger and threw it at the Heartless, striking it and knocking it back. She threw a few more daggers until the Blue Nocturne was no more.

Four Heartless appeared, these creatures resembling puffins with blue capes. Elsa stared at them, her expression a mix of bemusement and disgust. "Now that is cold," she remarked. She then promptly destroyed them with ice blasts.

She looked around as the hearts that had been carried by the Heartless floated off into the aether. I can't hurt anyone up here, she reminded herself. I won't let the darkness touch me.

As they climbed over the next hill, Anna and Kairi were very uncomfortable from the cold. Though she shivered as she trudged through the snow, Anna perked up and picked up her pace when she saw smoke rising through the air beyond the hill. "Look! Fire!" she announced, running up and over the hill to see a wooden house at the bottom. In her excitement, she tripped and tumbled down the hill into a stream. Sora and Goofy ran down to help her up, while Kairi trudged down more cautiously. When they helped her to her feet, the wind chilled the already-cold water on her legs and dress, freezing the bottom hem solid.

"Are you okay?" Sora asked. Anna was only able to repeatedly stammer "Cold", which served to answer his question quite well. "We need to get her someplace warm," Sora decided. Goofy pointed to the house that had caught Anna's attention before, and they agreed that it would be a good place to take her. They looped their arms across her back, and she placed her arms over their shoulders, so that they could help her along. Kairi soon caught up to them, and the group trudged along to the house.

When they reached the porch, Anna tried to step up onto it, only for her frozen dress to bump against it, forcing her to lean backwards to step up. Looking up, they saw that the sign was completely covered in snow. Sora tapped it, causing the snow to fall off of the larger section. "'Wandering Oaken's Trading Post'," Anna read. Goofy tapped a smaller piece of wood that hung off of the larger sign, causing the snow to fall and reveal the rest of the establishment's name. "Ooh! 'And Sauna'!"

"That's convenient," Sora remarked.

"Let's go in. I'm freezing," Kairi said.

All in agreement, they entered. Inside the trading post, the shelves were lined with all sorts of knick-knacks, such as books, bottles, dresses, dishes, bouquets of roses, and cart wheels. There was also some fruit and some bread. It was a quaint shop for travelers to stop in the woods.

"Hoo hoo." They all turned to the main counter, where a broad-shouldered man dressed in a light sweater and matching hat, with a moustache and sideburns and a friendly smile, sat. "Big summer blowout! Half-off swimsuits, clogs, and sun balm of my own invention. Yah?" the man, who must have been the eponymous Oaken, pitched, speaking in a Swedish accent.

Anna smiled politely, not bothering to point out that such a sale would be unhelpful in the current conditions. "Oh. Great. For now, um, how about boots? Winter boots? And dresses?"

"That would be in our winter department," Oaken said, gesturing toward the back wall. Said "winter department" consisted of a pair of snowshoes, a looped length of rope, two winter dresses, two pairs of boots, and an ice pick. Otherwise, the wall was completely barren.

"Oh," Anna acknowledged the scene with mild disappointment. Kairi nodded in acceptance, understanding that they were lucky that he had that much prepared in the middle of summer. The girls made their way over to the back wall to check out the selection. "Um, I was just wondering; has another young woman, the Queen perhaps, I don't know, passed through here?" Anna asked. She and Kairi checked the winter outfits, silently decided which ones they wanted, and brought them to the counter.

"Only ones crazy enough to be out in this storm are you, dear," Oaken answered. Just then, the door opened, and a man stepped in. The man was dressed for winter weather, and he was covered head-to-toe in snow. He stomped snow out of his boots and brushed some off of his coat, although it made little difference. "You and this fellow," Oaken added. "Hoo hoo. Big summer blowout." Sora and Goofy stepped aside to let the man past. The man marched up to the counter, right in front of Anna. Anna leaned against the counter casually, trying to not show that she was nervous of the stranger's presence.

"Carrots," the man said, his voice muffled by his scarf.

"Huh?" Anna asked.

"Behind you," the man clarified.

Anna turned around and looked at a shelf in the counter to see some carrots. "Oh, right. Excuse me," she said as she stepped out of the way. The snow-covered man grabbed the carrots and put them on the counter, then went around to gather other supplies.

"A real howler in July, yes? Where ever could it be coming from?" Oaken asked, trying to make conversation with the stranger.

"The North Mountain," the man answered, grabbing the rope and ice pick off of the wall and bringing them over to the counter.

"The North Mountain…" Anna parroted under her breath.

"That'll be four hundred," Oaken said.

"Four hundred?! No, one hundred!" the man disputed.

Oaken realized to his dismay that business negotiations were going to be difficult. "Oh dear, this is no good. See, this is from our winter stock, where supply and demand have a big problem," he explained.

"You want to talk about a supply and demand problem? I sell ice for a living!" the man shot back. He nodded his head to gesture outside toward his sleigh, which carried several large blocks of ice. Kairi winced, figuring out the logistics pretty quickly.

"Ooh, that's a rough business to be in right now. I mean, that is really…" Anna joked, trying to ease the tension. The man shot her a look that indicated that he was not amused, causing her to stop immediately. "Ahem. That's unfortunate," she said sympathetically.

"Still four hundred. But I will throw in a visit to Oaken's sauna," the shopkeeper haggled. He waved to a group of people who were relaxing in the next room, visible through the slightly steamed-up glass window. "Hoo hoo. Hi, family." His family greeted him in the exact same manner. Anna, Kairi, Sora, and Goofy waved to them as well.

The snow-covered man pulled down his scarf, revealing a youthful but somewhat manly face with brown eyes, dirty blond hair, and freckles across his large nose. "A hundred's all I got. Help me out," he pleaded.

"Hold on a second. You need three hundred, right? What currency, exactly?" Sora asked.

"Munny," Oaken replied. "The shiny crystal kind." He took a piece out to illustrate what he meant.

Sora smiled, glad to be back on a world where he could use the familiar monetary system. He pulled out a handful of the yellow and blue crystals and showed them to the man. "This good?" he asked.

The man pulled out his own allowance and nodded. "Yeah. Thanks," he replied, still retaining his gruff tone.

They poured the Munny onto the counter. Oaken stuffed the carrots into a bag and let the man take it as well as the rope and ice pick. "Thank you for visiting. Have a nice night," he said cheerfully as the man left with his supplies. When the door closed, he turned back to his other customers. "Now then. Just the outfits and boots for you young ladies, yah?"

After Kairi paid for both sets of clothes and all four of them had spent some time relaxing and warming up in the sauna, the party stepped out of the shop, Kairi and Anna wearing their new winter attire. Anna wore a medium-length dark blue skirt, a black bodice with multicolored rose prints, a light blue long-sleeved blouse, black heeled leather boots with gold linings and magenta soles, a magenta bonnet with lavender fluff, a pair of blue mittens with navy blue palms, and a detachable magenta cape with a matching cap with a silver brooch consisting of a pair of hearts with gray prints attached to her cape. Kairi wore a similar bunad, although the blue was replaced with a deeper purple. Anna had undone her bun, letting her hair fall into twin braids. Kairi summoned her Keyblade and ran around, swinging it a few times to test her mobility in her new outfit.

"Well, it looks like we're all set for the winter weather," Sora said, "but it might be better if we knew the terrain so we didn't get lost."

"Hey, how about we ask that ice harvester guy for help?" Goofy suggested.

"Good idea, Goofy," Anna said. She looked around, but the man was nowhere to be found. "Where do you think he is?"

"His sleigh is still here," Kairi noted. She looked around and saw a stable barn, and pointed at it. "If I were him, I'd want to find a place to sleep for the night."

They entered the stable and saw the man, who had cleaned the snow off of his black winter clothes and his face, lying on a bed of hay next to an adult reindeer while concluding a song on his lute before settling down to go to sleep.

"Hi," Anna greeted.

The man sat up with a start, taken by surprise by the unexpected company, but he then sank back down when he realized that it was the people he met in the trading post. "Oh. It's just you. What do you want?"

"I want you to take me up the North Mountain," Anna answered.

The ice harvester shrugged, lying back down and closing his eyes. "I don't take people places."

Anna, Sora, and Kairi traded glances. "Let me rephrase," Anna said dryly. Sora filled a small pouch with 2000 Munny and handed it to Anna, who tossed it into the man's lap. When the man opened it up, he and his reindeer stared in awe at its contents. "Take me up to the North Mountain… Please."

The ice harvester considered the matter, looking back and forth from the Munny to Anna to the reindeer. He sighed in defeat. He laid back down and pulled his hat over his eyes. "We leave at dawn."

Anna looked to Sora and Kairi for help, as she did not want to have to wait that long. Kairi straightened her own posture, and Sora tapped the crown printed on his balaclava, silently indicating for her to stand tall and take charge. Anna straightened her posture and cleared her throat. "We leave now. Right now," she said authoritatively.

They stepped outside to wait. Anna took a deep breath. Sora and Kairi gave her thumbs up, letting her know she did great. The ice harvester sighed. He offered a carrot to his reindeer. The reindeer took a bite, then he took one of the same carrot. He stood up and led the reindeer out of the stable. "Okay. You win. Let's go," he said.

Sora grinned. "Great. I'm Sora, by the way."

"I'm Kairi."

"Name's Goofy."

"I'm Princess Anna of Arendelle," Anna said with a curtsy.

The ice harvester nodded. "I'm Kristoff. And the reindeer is Sven." Sven grinned at Kristoff's new charges. Kairi and Goofy grinned back. "I don't really have much room to sit. So, Anna can sit up front. You guys mind sitting on the back?"

Sora nodded. "Sure." With that, Kristoff tied Sven up to drive the sleigh, then untied and removed the blocks of ice with Sora and Goofy's assistance. With everything else put onto the sleigh, Kristoff and Anna climbed into the seat while Sora, Kairi and Goofy hopped into the cargo bed. Sven guided the sleigh to turn and, spurred by Kristoff snapping the reins, began to run up the mountain.

To be honest, I was about to let the Oaken's scene play out like it did in the movie in full, but then I realized it would be weird for Sora to just let Kristoff have trouble paying for his supplies without stepping in. And he has plenty of Munny, so why wouldn't he?

The puffin-like Heartless is an "if you know, you know" sort of reference. If you need a hint, watch Olaf's Frozen Adventure.