Chapter Sixty Nine

Last Night in Exon

ELSA

"No!" A wave of dream energy hit her and she staggered to a knee. Shaking her head to clear the cobwebs, Elsa tried to stand. Only, the ground beneath her feet seemed to be made of cotton, and she found herself sinking through it with every move she made.

She glanced round to find Peggy but she wasn't there. Instead, a camel stood in her place, snorting at her. A camel? In the middle of winter on top of a rooftop? The sky swirled with dark clouds, and the surroundings seemed to be blotted out and replaced by nothing but oblivion. The rooftop vanished too, and Elsa found herself sinking deeper into the soft cotton.

No, no, no. This isn't real. This is Dreambinder's doing. Desperately, Elsa shut her eyes and felt something kick her in the shoulder. She fell backwards and sank deeper into the cotton. Looking up, she saw her assailant, a dark figure with fangs bared and claws as long and sharp as an eagle's talons.

"No!" Elsa's heart thumped sporadically in her chest and she felt herself panicking. "You're not real! Get away!"

Inky tendrils wrapped around her body, anchoring her to the ground. She struggled against them as the dark figure leaned over her. It cackled loudly, the shrill sound echoing in her ears like an incessant bell with no end.

Gritting her teeth, she brought her knee up into her attacker's midsection and it - or he - staggered away with a grunt.

The visions faded all of a sudden, and the darkness gave way to familiar surroundings. There she was, back on the rooftop, with Peggy slugging a fallen Dreambinder to take him out of the equation.

Looking round, Elsa realised that the floor wasn't cotton, but it was indeed caving in. Mover stood a distance away, both hands tightening. The concrete beneath her cracked and groaned, threatening to give way. She struggled to move, but found the inky tendrils still holding her waist to the ground.

In a move of sheer will, her sorcery burst outwards, freezing everything around her immediate vicinity. Mover leapt backwards, balanced precariously at the edge of the rooftop. The tendrils froze into brittle threads and Elsa broke them, spinning to face an agitated Inque on his knees, both arms encased in ice and icicles protruding from his body.

She noticed that the musketry down below at street level had ceased, and by the cheers that rang out, she surmised that the Equalitar's militia had successfully routed or captured the Blitzguard. Turning back to Inque, she found him with a defeated look on his face as he was unable to muster the energy to break free from her ice.

"It's over," Elsa said.

"You really think so?" Inque gave her a nasty grin through his pain.

Someone grabbed her from behind, pinning her arms to her sides.

"Missed me?" A familiar whisper chilled her to the bone as his breath grazed the side of her ear.

"Hans," she hissed, instinctively letting her magic flow through her body and into Hans who was in contact with her. To her chagrin, it did nothing to repel him.

He laughed in amusement. "When will you finally learn? You can't hurt me," He tightened his grip, forcing the air out of her and staggering her to a knee. "But I can hurt you."

"Stop!"

Hans grunted, pitching forward into Elsa. He let go of her and spun round to face his attacker.

Elsa's heart sank as she saw Peggy staring down the emperor with two blades in hand and no trace of fear. "Peggy! Get away from him!"

Hans pulled the knives out of his back like they were mere thorns, and hurled them aside disdainfully. "Who's your new friend?" He asked Elsa over his shoulder.

"Leave her out of this!" Elsa snapped.

"A little too late for that," Hans said calmly, evading a roundhouse kick from the girl and sidestepping another fast jab.

Mover and Inque moved forward to assist their emperor but was stopped by a stern hand.

"No," Hans commanded. "You will not interfere. This girl is mine."

Peggy dropped into a low stance, fists raised in a steady guard, and circled the emperor who remained calm and upright, pacing as well to match her gait.

Elsa watched, heart beating fast. She was acutely aware that even though Jade and Dreambinder were down, Inque and Mover were still huge threats, not to mention now that Hans himself was here, their chances of making it out alive had dropped exponentially. Meanwhile, Janus and Tracy had vanished quite some time ago, disappearing together with the rest of the assassins and Lord Magnus. She fought down rising despair. Where the hell are they?

Peggy surged forward, her aggressive tactics gaining an early advantage against Hans who backpedaled a couple of steps, fending off her attacks as best as he could. He was a decently skilled combatant thanks to the formal training of a prince, but watching him fight against Peggy made it clear that she outclassed him.

She came at him with everything she had, throwing tactical punches and kicks that would've sent any normal man reeling, but all it did was slow Hans down. All the while, though absorbing many hits, he remained eerily calm, blocking, repelling, countering with a feint or a jab of his own, making it clear that he was humouring her. But soon the emperor was backed up to the edge of the roof, and the fun was over.

"Enough," Hans faded in a blur and grabbed her outstretched arm that she'd thrown in a bid to stun him. "I grow tired of these games." He jerked her towards the edge to throw her off the rooftop, but Peggy masterfully hooked on to his arm, used her weight to pull herself between the emperor's separated legs and stumbled him.

She drew her knife and slashed it across his throat with lightning speed. A spray of arterial blood stained the nearby snow, and the two indignant Mage Slayers sprung into action.

But before they could pounce on Peggy, Elsa shot her hands out towards their turned backs, freezing both in a ferocious volley of ice that encased them both entirely. The blocks of ice containing the two assassins fell on the rooftop heavily, rendering the Mage Slayers harmless.

"It's over," Peggy said, then immediately took a backhand slap so powerful that she was sent flying a few paces back.

Elsa caught her under the arms before she fell and turned her attention to Hans who was already levering himself to his feet. He clutched at his bloodied throat which had already begun to heal.

"I'm glad your little friend could see for herself first hand," Hans cleared his throat and removed a neatly folded handkerchief to wipe the blood off the his white coat collar. "You can't kill me."

"Peggy," Elsa warned, sensing an imminent attack. "Get behind me."

But Hans was quicker. He darted forward with speed Elsa hadn't credited him for, cracking Peggy across the temple and grabbing her by the collar. A hard tug and he sent her rolling through the snow in a daze.

"That was for the cut," Hans adjusted his shirt. "You stained one of my favourite shirts." He turned back to Elsa with a pleasant smile on his face. "Now, where were we?"

Elsa tensed, hands swirling with cold particles. Fury coursed through her veins, her sorcery dancing at her fingertips at the thought of him having hurt her descendant.

"What, you're going to try to stop me again? Haven't you already tried and failed, making yourself my prisoner in the process?" Hans laughed and drew himself tall. "But you are very welcome to try again."

Eyes narrowed in anger, Elsa lowered her hands and the cold particles faded from her fingertips. She knew as well as he did what the result would be. Her sorcery wasn't strong enough to stop his demon.

"I must admit, I am a little disappointed. I wanted to see how this would've played out this time." Hans smirked as he paced round her, hands clasped behind his back. "But this…this is all your sister's fault. You've only got her to blame after all."

"How so?" Elsa said through gritted teeth.

"I offered you and your friends a chance to kill me when you had me cornered in Korynes. Or have you forgotten?" Hans chuckled as he came to a stop in front of her. "But Anna wouldn't have it, and I'm sure neither did you. All of you could've stopped me then and there when I was vulnerable. A mere human. But no, your precious, antiquated sense of morality wouldn't allow that. You'd rather let me live than sully your hands in cold blood."

Without warning, she drove both hands forward. Ice rocketed out and slammed into Hans, but he raised a forearm to divert the stream and to bear the brunt of the onslaught. Grunting, Elsa channelled all her might and willpower to repel him, but he just kept inching closer to her in spite of her potent sorcery.

Reaching within range, he parted her hands viciously, gripping her wrists tightly. The ice stopped flowing and he twisted her arms quicker than she could respond, and before she knew it, he was on top of her, straddling her as one would do with a lover. Elsa squirmed, but he had a firm forearm across her chest, barring her from getting up.

"One thing I've always admired about you," Hans mused as he leaned in closer, his wolfish eyes gleaming. "You never give up, even though you know you can't win. It's stubborn, but remarkably brave. And I love you for it."

"I might not be able to stop you," Elsa hissed as he pinned her wrists against the snow-covered rooftop. "But someone will. Eventually you'll fall."

"My dear Elsa, don't you get it? I bear the demon that makes me an immortal. Nothing will stop me ever again. As I speak, I have a little surprise rendezvousing with the Imperial Horde in preparation to wipe out your precious Coalition once and for all. My dominion will expand to the four corners of this world and become larger than any empire has ever been before. But you?" He clicked his tongue in disappointment. "You won't live to see it."

"So you're finally going to kill me now?" Elsa stared up at him in defiance. "About time you stopped posturing."

"Believe me, I don't want to kill you. I'd much sooner make you my bride. In time you might have even fallen in love with me," He smiled in genuine sadness. "But sadly, things have changed. The demon has shown me what needs to be done."

"And that's killing me?"

"You, and all the rest of your Warriors." Hans said. "As much as I've grown fond of you, I can't risk you escaping and posing a threat to everything I've built."

"Fond of me?" Elsa felt anger flaring through her body as he placed both hands around her neck in a tender, almost loving manner. "You're sick."

"Believe me, I wish things could've been different. You would've made a lovely wife." He suddenly tightened his grip.

She choked, her windpipe constricting as the air was cut off from her lungs. In a desperate move, she grabbed his wrists and willed her sorcery to freeze his arms. Ice spread over his skin, turning it blue, but it didn't faze the emperor one bit.

"Goodbye, my love. I want you to know that in spite of all of this, I never stopped loving you."

Her vision began to blur slightly, and her senses grew dull. She could feel her hands falling away from Hans' wrists as they dropped into the snow by her side. Mind racing, she saw images flashing before her eyes as everything began to fade to black. Her parents. Janus. Anna. I'd never see them again.

Suddenly, there was a loud thump and Hans' grip on her throat vanished. Drawing in a great gulp of air, Elsa coughed violently, nursing her neck which felt like it was on fire. Catching her breath, she looked over to find out what'd happened.

Hans lay in a mess of his own tangled limbs, his body contorted in ways they shouldn't be. His eyes were unfocused, steam rising from his clothes as the remnants of purple energy radiated off his fallen person.

"Merry Christmas," Tracy declared, one hand holding open a Crossing Point and another hand pulling a dazed Peggy to her feet.

Relief and elation surged through her body even though she felt like she was half dead. "Your powers!" Elsa tried to rasp, resulting in another fit of coughs.

Janus stooped down beside her, checking her bruised neck gently. "Are you alright?" His mechanical voice behind the mask was laced with concern.

Elsa nodded, clearing her throat painfully. "He almost killed me."

"And he paid for it dearly," Janus glanced at Hans' motionless body that lay a few feet away.

"That's not going to keep him down for long," Elsa said hoarsely as Janus helped her to her feet.

"Which is why I suggest we get the bloody hell out of here!" Tracy hissed.

"She's right," Peggy groaned, nursing her head. "We should move while we still have the advantage."

Elsa glanced round, looking for Jade. She'd vanished, along with the other Mage Slayers. Even Inque and Mover whom Elsa had just frozen not mere minutes ago were gone. She gritted her teeth. It looked like they would really have to leave Jade here.

"We'll come back for her," Janus promised, slinging her arm around his shoulder. "But only when we're sure we can bring her back. We need to go now."

To her horror, Hans was already beginning to stir, in spite of his broken limbs.

"Elsa! Janus! Get your asses in here, right now!" Tracy shouted frantically, already in the Crossing Point and waving at them madly.

They reached the Crossing Point and dove through the portal to join Tracy and Peggy in the Crossing Zone.

"Wow," Peggy said, her hand still favouring her bruised temple. "So this is what you meant by getting us out of here."

"Alright, I'm sorry, but what the hell are you doing here?" Janus stared at her.

"It's a long story," Peggy met his gaze. "But in short, I'm yours and Elsa's descendant."

"What?"

"Look, there'll be time to get to know each other later," Elsa said, glancing at Tracy. "Can you get us back to the Coalition, wherever they are?"

"Sure as hell I can. About time we saw our friends again," Tracy grinned from ear to ear as the Crossing Point collapsed upon itself. "Not bad for Christmas Eve, eh?"