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Metal doors that led to the trauma wing of the hospital flung open as Marie and Elsa burst through. Elsa could barely keep up with Marie, who was nearly running down the hallway. She grabbed Marie's hand when a few of the staff members gave them suspicious glances. "Marie," Elsa said in a hushed, urgent tone. "Slow down!" Marie turned her face towards Elsa, and Elsa could tell she was on the verge of breaking down. Elsa stroked her hand. "We need a plan. We can't just burst in." Marie scoffed but listened. "Follow my lead," Elsa said. She cleared her throat and stood up straight, summoning a calm yet concerned demeanor as she approached a nurse.
The morning after she and Marie had fought the magical mass, an article came out announcing that a teenager was in critical condition from the attack in town, along with around a dozen who sustained minor injuries. A sixteen-year-old girl named Beverly West was comatose in the town hospital with little hope of waking. Despite knowing the dozen people would have been released already, Marie and Elsa rushed to the hospital as soon as they heard.
"Excuse me," Elsa said politely to a nurse. "Could you tell me where Beverly West's room is?" She motioned at herself and Marie. "We're from her church and would like to pray for her."
The nurse smiled and nodded. "Go down the hall and take a left. She's in room 205."
Elsa dipped her head. "Thank you."
Marie followed closely as they made their way down the bleak hallway. "Nice," she muttered behind Elsa. "But what if her family is there?"
"Then we say we are new," Elsa said quietly.
Marie let out a huff. "Lying about being from a church to secretly perform magic. Ironic." Elsa appreciated the dry humor. Not even an hour before, Elsa had to talk Marie down from flying out of her apartment to hunt down Amos. Elsa clenched her fist as they rounded the corner. It was hard not to go after him, but they needed to see if the reason Beverly was in a coma was because of magic. They could potentially heal the teenager if so.
Another nurse exited room 205 and stopped them. Elsa repeated the situation to the new nurse and said they were directed to the room by a nurse down the hall. The new nurse nodded and asked, "Her family recently stepped out to get some coffee. Would you like to wait until they return?"
"Unfortunately, we have to get back to work as soon as we can," Elsa said pleasantly. She gave the nurse a small smile. "You know how managers can be."
The nurse sighed. "No kidding. Let me know if you can't find your way out." Elsa and Marie nodded before making their way inside the room. Beverly lay motionless in a hospital bed as several pieces of medical equipment surrounded the girl. Elsa and Marie rounded the bed, their demeanors dropping to states of somberness.
Marie lightly touched Beverly's arm. "I'm so sorry, Beverly," Marie whispered. "We should have been there. We should have stopped it."
Elsa reached over and rested her hand on Marie's. "We can't save everyone," she said gently.
Marie scoffed. "My father did this," she hissed. "If I had defeated him by now, then no one would have gotten hurt." She gritted her teeth. "If I was stronger-"
"This isn't your fault, Marie," Elsa said firmly but softly. "Don't let him get to you. It's what he wants."
Marie pulled away. "Of course, it had to be a kid. The sick bastard." She watched as Elsa placed a hand over Beverly's right arm. "Can you sense magic?"
Elsa took a moment to assess as she placed her hand over Beverly's heart. She withdrew and clenched her hand as a shooting pain traveled up her arm. "Yes." She looked at Marie. "It's similar to when I accidentally shot Anna in the chest with my magic, except that Beverly isn't a conduit like Anna is." Elsa grew quiet as a doctor walked by the room. After they passed, she resumed. "That's probably why Beverly's in a coma. Her body can't handle the magic."
"If that's the case, then how can magic even be inside of her? Remember when I threw a dark ball at Kristoff, and it just bounced off him? Why didn't that happen with Beverly?" Marie asked. Her face fell at the expression Elsa was giving her. "Unless…"
"Beverly was attacked," Elsa finished. "She was targeted."
Marie whipped around, her entire body shaking in anger. "I'm going to kill that son of a bitch," she hissed. She turned around and took a deep breath. "Tell me what to do before I hunt him down and finish the job myself."
Elsa ran her hands a few inches above Beverly's body, starting at her feet. She closed her eyes to focus. "It's congregated in her chest," Elsa said. She made a pulling motion and flinched when a machine near them started beeping rapidly.
"That's a heart monitor," Marie explained. "Her heart rate is going up."
"Together, then," Elsa said. Marie nodded and joined her. They both made a pulling motion above Beverly's chest. The heart monitor's beeping increased, and Beverly started breathing heavily.
Marie furrowed her eyebrows. "I can feel it," she said shakily.
Elsa nodded in acknowledgement. As they began to pull the light magic out of Beverly, she could feel it, too: this magic was evil, so much so that Elsa and Marie had to hold back the bile in their throats. Elsa shook her head. "She's strong to even survive this," Elsa said. She looked at Marie to see how she was handling it, and she gasped at the expression that covered Marie's face. She was calm and determined, her eyes focused completely on the teenager before them.
"Come on," Marie said to Beverly. "You're not alone. We feel it, too." Elsa felt sweat on her forehead from an onslaught of nausea that rocked her body, but she persisted as her chest swarmed with warmth. Marie's bravery was contagious. Marie covered her hands in darkness. "Come on, Beverly. You can do it."
Elsa gritted her teeth as the magic began to leave the teenager's body. "Leave it to us," she joined. "We can handle it." Marie smiled at Elsa. With nods, they pulled one last time.
Suddenly, Beverly gasped loudly, her eyes flinging open. Marie condensed the light magic into a small ball and dissipated it once enough darkness balanced it out. Elsa leaned over Beverly's bed as the teen took in the presence of the two women. "It's okay," Elsa soothed her with a soft smile. "It's over."
Beverly's gaze jumped between them. "You…You were in my dream," she said with a rasp.
Marie leaned over the bed as well. "Can you move?" she asked.
The teen attempted but failed. "No, but I'll be able to soon."
"Beverly?!" Elsa and Marie whipped around as a woman's panicked voice filled the room. They moved aside as Beverly's parents swarmed to their daughter's side. "You're okay! Y-you're alright!"
Her father turned towards Marie and Elsa. "Who are you?" he asked angrily. "Why are you in our daughter's room? Why didn't you get help when she woke up?"
"Dad, it's okay," Beverly said weakly as her mother hugged her from the side. "They were praying for me, and I woke up." She looked at them. "I guess it worked."
"The doctor said the chances of you waking were-" Her mother stopped to cover her sobs. "It's a miracle." Her parents hugged her, and Elsa and Marie exchanged relieved glances.
Beverly looked at the two women once more. "Stop him," was all she said.
The door to Marie's apartment shut as Marie and Elsa returned from the hospital. Elsa had noticed Marie's pensive expression the whole way back, and Elsa's own thoughts were swarming as well. Marie turned to her after greeting her parakeets. "Beverly must have heard us talking in the hallway. She said she dreamed about us," Marie said as she crossed her arms. "Do you think my father's magic caused that?"
"I think so," Elsa answered as she took off her long purple coat and hung it up on a hook on the back of the door. "It could have been Amos's intention or Beverly's way of coping with the magic inside of her." She turned to the side as she pondered saying what was on her mind. Whenever Amos was brought up, Elsa did not even have to try and sense the mountain of discomfort and anger that flooded off Marie. She grunted when Marie took a step toward her as though Marie could tell Elsa was holding something back. Elsa sighed and looked at her. "I can't help but feel as though he has a plan," she said slowly.
Marie nodded, immediately growing tense. "Him targeting a kid was no mistake." She clenched her hands into fists. "He's a predator."
"I know," Elsa responded as she filled an empty glass with water. She stared at the liquid inside of it. "What that plan is, I don't know." She swirled the water around. "It's hard to get into the mind of someone like him…"
Marie leaned against the counter right next to Elsa. She stared at the floor for a few seconds before speaking. "For years, I tried to figure out why he did all the things he did, but one day I realized that I could never understand because I'm not like him. I can't understand, and that's a good thing."
Elsa sighed again. "We might not have another choice."
Marie gripped her crossed arms tightly. "I know."
Elsa took a drink. "Do you have to go anywhere today?"
Marie walked away to straighten the blankets on the couch. "I've got a couple errands to run, yeah. Did you need to go somewhere?"
"I'd like to go to the library again," Elsa said as she wiped her face with a napkin. "I want to keep browsing. There's so many different types of books and media in your world."
"I can drop you off while I run errands," Marie replied as she finished up. A concerned look came across her face. "Just be careful." Elsa nodded.
The library only had a few people visiting when Elsa arrived. She brought her old books to the drop off counter and greeted the employee working behind it. She looked around. Small Falls's community library was medium sized with two stories, but it was still big to Elsa's standards. Each genre had its own sections with several shelves full of content. Elsa began to browse the manga section and found some of the series that Marie had mentioned back in Arendelle. She picked up a volume of Fruits Basket.
Marie really likes this one, Elsa thought as she flipped through the pages. After spending a few minutes flipping through several manga, she made her way up the stairs to the children's section in search of Frozen content. She found it entertaining to read about the different adventures authors of Marie's world came up with. Her personal favorite was about a fire magic user named Marisol that Elsa and Anna met in Spain. Some of the stories had elements of truth to them, and some did not. It was the same in Within; only certain things were true in Marie's life.
She took a deep breath as she climbed the staircase. It was nice to have a moment of peace within the chaos of it all. Marie had not been sleeping well lately, and neither was Elsa. "Excuse me," she said to a man with snowy white hair when they met in the archway of the second floor. He nodded in acknowledgement before stepping aside. She rounded the corner and entered the children's section. Even though the time spent with Marie was wonderful, Elsa's dreams were full of nightmares of Marie's father. Her eyes browsed all the Frozen media without really taking it in. If he was truly attacking people now, what was his endgame? She looked up when a child's excited voice rang throughout the second floor. The mother gently reminded the child about their volume as they kept playing. Elsa smiled as she welcomed the distraction.
Her eyes scanned the rest of the floor. The same man she met on the staircase was lingering nearby. Elsa returned her gaze to the books before her. She froze and looked back up. The man peered at her as the corner of his lips curved into an unsettling smile. He motioned with his head for her to come to him as he put his hands in his jean pockets and began watching the child and their mother. A powerful flood of anger consumed her, and she started for him, her hands automatically forming ice on her palms.
"Ah, ah, ah," he scolded in a tone that immediately set all of Elsa's internal warnings off. "You wouldn't want to make a scene with everyone watching, would you?"
Elsa entered the row of books he was standing in. "Amos."
His eyes ran over her with no subtlety, stopping at her icy hands. "Just what I thought. A witch has been spending time with my little girl."
"She's not your little girl," Elsa spat, her entire body shaking with anger. This man was not the kind that she could reason with. Marie had told her that her father was diagnosed as mentally insane by a psychiatrist: reason was out of the question. She forced herself to grow calm. Even if she could not reason with him, she did not want to give him the satisfaction of being angry. "Still following us, I see," Elsa said in a low tone. "Too scared to approach Marie? Afraid she might call the police for you violating the harassment order?"
Amos narrowed his eyes. Elsa felt the hairs on her skin stand up. His blue eyes, how he squared his shoulders, even parts of his smile; it was evident that this was Marie's father. He watched the parent and child who were playing with dolls with an intensity that immediately made Elsa stand in front of his line of sight. "She used to be that little," he said. "She was so innocent back then…I miss that innocence."
It was all Elsa could do to not take him down right there at that moment. Even though Marie barely spoke about what had happened to her, Elsa knew that Marie's childhood was taken from her by her own father. The way he spoke about Marie made Elsa's stomach twist in knots. At first, Elsa thought Amos was purposely trying to anger her, but the lightness of his tone betrayed his own sick perversion. He truly believed what he was saying, and that made Elsa even angrier. "Enough," she said firmly. "What do you want?"
He simply looked at her as though she was dirt underneath his feet. He ran a finger over a children's book before plucking it from the shelf and looking through it. "I want to use this gift God gave Marie and I for His divine purpose." His gaze kept returning to Elsa. "We were chosen for something greater, and I want nothing more than to share that with my daughter."
Elsa nearly rolled her eyes. Marie had mentioned his religious narcissism. "And what purpose is that?"
He chuckled. "Why would I tell a spawn of Satan?"
Elsa could not help but laugh. "Wow. You really are insane."
Amos slammed the book shut. "You. You and the rest of them are to blame for all of this." He pointed at her. "Her mother and siblings have poisoned her against me, and now a whore like you is teaching her ways of the devil, teaching her perverse ways to use this gift she's been given, calling it magic." He took a step towards her. "It's time you and her "family" learn a lesson. Now, give me my little Marie, or I'll-"
Elsa did not hesitate. Without moving, she summoned an icicle right in front of his throat. He froze as it pressed into his skin, a trickle of blood running down his throat. "What you believe in is not God," she hissed. She lifted a hand and pressed the icicle deeper into his skin. "You're nothing but a predator deserving of the loneliness you've created." Elsa closed her fist as the icicle turned. "Marie will never be yours."
Suddenly Amos turned his palms upward and let off a bright light. Elsa groaned in pain as it blinded and burned her eyes. "Two weeks. In the place where it all started," she heard Amos say. His voice neared her. "I'll give her the time to grow stronger. Be there with my little girl or you and her family will receive divine punishment." He spoke in her ear, "And I shall relish in it." As quickly as he had appeared, he disappeared.
Elsa felt for the support of a wall. She covered her eyes, hoping that the light that was blinding her would relinquish but it did not. Even when her eyes were closed, light seared onto her eyes, completely blinding her. She slammed her fists against the wall. The sound of shuffling neared her. "Are you alright, ma'am?" came the voice of the young employee that worked downstairs.
Elsa gritted her teeth in pain and rage. "I can't see," she said. She tried to calm herself. "I need assistance getting to the phone."
A gentle arm linked with hers. "Should I call an ambulance?" the librarian asked.
"No," Elsa said. "I have someone that can come get me, but that man who was with me is dangerous. Is he still here?"
"No, he just left the building and drove away," the nervous employee said. They made their way down the stairs. "He left after that bright light came." She felt the employee's grip tighten. "What was that light?"
What Marie had said about not catching any unnecessary attention ran through her mind. "He just shone something really bright in my eyes," Elsa explained. She gripped her head when her eyes continued to burn. "But if he comes back, call the police."
A few minutes passed, and Marie burst through the front door. Elsa leaned into her as Marie took Elsa in her arms. "Is he still here?" Marie asked urgently. Elsa could feel her shake.
"No," Elsa said, covering her eyes. "He got away."
"He left a few minutes ago," the librarian said.
Marie growled and squeezed Elsa's arms. "That bastard." She stroked Elsa's face. "Let's go to the hospital."
"No," Elsa replied. She leaned in close to Marie and whispered, "It's magic."
"Should I call the police?" the librarian asked.
"No," Marie said after a beat. She linked Elsa's arms with her own. "Not unless he comes back. Thank you for all your help." Marie led Elsa out the door and to her car.
Marie brought them back to her apartment, and Elsa did not need to see to know that Marie's hypervigilance was in overdrive. "He's not going to be here," Elsa reassured her when she felt Marie shake. "I scared him off."
Elsa felt for the kitchen counter as the apartment door shut. "I don't believe that two weeks bullshit!" Marie exclaimed. Elsa heard Marie pace her apartment. She had told Marie what had happened on the way home, and Elsa was trying her best to remain calm for both their sakes. She covered her injured eyes and groaned in pain as the light still blinded her. Marie neared her and gently guided Elsa to the pull-out bed. "I don't trust him to keep his word," Marie said.
"I know," Elsa said, trying to hide her eyes, but Marie led Elsa's hand away from her face. "But it's the best we've got right now." She cracked a small smile. "You should have seen his face."
Marie did not laugh. "Let me look at your eyes," she said. Elsa opened them but it made little difference: it was pure, blinding light with her eyes open or closed. She felt Marie shake even more. "Okay, I'm going to try to get it out." Elsa nodded as she gripped the bed below her. She felt Marie's hand close to her face, and she groaned as Marie began extracting the light from Elsa's eyes.
Elsa pulled away and covered her eyes again. "S-sorry," she said quietly. "It just hurts."
Marie cupped Elsa's face. "I know, but this is the only way. You're right. We can't go to the hospital. Your eyes are pure light. Not even the blue is present." Elsa heard her take a deep breath. "Ready to try again?" Elsa grimaced but nodded. Marie tried again. Elsa gripped the bed tightly and bit her lip to force herself to keep her eyes open. It felt as though Marie was taking a light layer of skin off her eyes. Elsa felt tears begin to fall down her face, but she and Marie persisted. "Almost done," Marie assured her. Slowly, Elsa's sight began to come back. As the darkness seeped into her eyes, shapes and colors soon followed. Elsa's grip lessened as the pain began to subside. After a couple of minutes, Amos's magic was completely gone from her vision. Marie placed her thumbs on the outside of Elsa's eyes as a small tendril of darkness glided over Elsa's eyes. "There. That should protect you from any future attacks," Marie said as she lowered her hands. "Is it all gone? Can you see?"
Elsa blinked rapidly as she took in the apartment. "Yes." She eventually looked at Marie. "You're powerful, Marie," she said with awe. Suddenly Marie shot up from the computer chair and headed towards the door. Elsa stood, her newly recovered senses still making her a little wobbly as Marie grabbed her coat. "Where are you going?"
"I'm going after him," Marie stated with such certainty that Elsa knew she would not be able to talk her down. "First, Beverly and all those people, then he threatens my family, and then he hurt you." Marie's eyes seemed to glow with pure rage. "I'm taking him down."
Elsa gasped slightly as darkness began to slither around Marie's body. "Marie, we need to think about this." Marie ignored her and left the apartment, slamming the door behind her. Elsa immediately followed her. The darkness clung to Marie's body like a virus, and it made Elsa's hairs on her own body stand on end. "Marie, slow down! Let's talk about this."
Marie did not stop or hesitate whatsoever. She flew out of the apartment building as her dark magic kept emitting and circling her. Elsa followed her across the downtown street and through the town plaza as she scanned the square for any people. A small group was sitting at a picnic table, and they stared at Marie and pointed at her. This is bad, Elsa thought. She managed to grab Marie's arm and began pulling her towards the frozen river ahead of them.
"Stop!" Marie yelled out, her voice sounding gravelly. "Let me go!"
Elsa covered her own arm in ice as the darkness began to seep onto her. She looked at Marie. The darkness was nearly covering Marie's entire body, and her eyes glinted a furious shade of white. Elsa pulled her underneath the bridge and quickly scanned for anyone who might be down there. When she saw no one, Elsa let Marie go. "You're not ready to face him," she said firmly. Her heart ached for Marie as the darkness finished covering Marie's body. Marie had taken a similar form before. It was both armor and a weapon that she donned quite frequently, but this time, it was different. Elsa took a step back as Marie's back twisted into an unnatural position and her arms extended from her sides and her hands took the shape of claws. Fighting back tears, Elsa took a deep breath and covered her entire body with ice. Ice crackled on top of every surface within a ten-foot radius of Elsa as her feet gently rose from the ground as she hovered. It was the same ethereal form she had taken to fight Dominic, and now she was using it against Marie. Elsa formed a wall around them, completely closing them off from the rest of the world underneath the bridge.
Waves of darkness pulsed off Marie as she let out an animalistic growl. Her body twisted forward as she clawed the ground below her. Elsa floated a foot closer to her, her ice gently flowing over Marie's body. It simply shattered off Marie as more darkness flowed from within her. Marie growled like a rabid wolf as she kept clawing the frozen ground. Elsa floated closer. "Marie, listen to me," she said, her ghostly voice echoing against the ice walls. "Your magic is out of control. It's taking over you." Marie growled, her consciousness slipping further and further away with each passing moment. Elsa floated in front of her and stopped. "You must regain it. Take your magic back."
Elsa's heart lurched in her chest as Marie let out another snarl of pure rage. "I'll kill him!" she growled, her teeth baring like an animal as her body twisted unnaturally. She clenched her hands into fists as her feet left the ground. "I'll KILL him!" Suddenly, she slammed herself into the ice walls with such force that Elsa flinched. Marie growled loudly and clawed at the ice that blocked her. Elsa covered her eyes as a strong wave of darkness shot from Marie, knocking Elsa back against the ice wall. Marie struck the wall with dark claws that extended several inches from her fingertips. She flung her arm to the side and formed a dark blade. As Elsa found her footing, Marie stabbed the ice wall with her sword, plunging it deeply within. Marie struggled to pull it out and began striking it with her claws again. "Kill!" she yelled in pure rage. "Kill!"
Elsa floated towards her, the subzero temperature of her presence instantly freezing the giant rocks that lay on the shore of the river. Most of them let out sickening cracks as they froze and broke into pieces. Marie froze solid for an instant before more darkness burst from within her and broke her free. Elsa lifted her arms and slowly brought them closer together as she began to freeze the darkness closer and closer to Marie. "And then what?" Elsa asked. "You live with that weight for the rest of your life? Will that be worth it?" Marie clutched her head in pain. For a second, the darkness lessened. "We'll train, get stronger, and face him together," Elsa stated as she touched her feet to the ground. "But you have to gain control first." Marie let out another deep growl. Elsa approached her as she thawed her hand and touched Marie's shoulder. She gasped and nearly doubled over in response. The sheer amount of hatred, pain, and anger that Elsa felt from Marie's darkness almost made her sick. Slowly, ice began to creep up Marie's arm. "I understand, Marie," Elsa said quietly as she shook from the weight of Marie's emotions. "I almost killed someone before. I know what that's like." If Elsa was being honest, she nearly dropped her ice wall to pursue Amos herself purely by the way Marie was feeling. It was such a heavy amount of grief, frustration and rage that Elsa felt her chest starting to cave in. In that moment, as she felt what Marie was feeling, Elsa hated Amos more than she ever had before. "I want him dead, too," she admitted as she gritted her teeth. She gripped Marie's shoulder tightly. "I want him gone from your life forever." She shook her head and closed her eyes. "But you can't let him do this to you. You can't let him win. Take back control. This is yours and yours alone."
Marie stopped clawing the wall and took a step back. A wave of darkness rocked the enclosed area, and Elsa let out a shaky, relieved breath as Marie turned her purely light eyes to Elsa and looked at her with clarity. Elsa embraced her and gripped Marie tightly. "Elsa," Marie said.
Elsa closed her eyes. "I knew you could do it," she breathed. Suddenly, she pulled away when she realized that she was still in her ethereal form. "I didn't hurt you, did I?" Elsa asked nervously.
To her surprise, Marie stood unphased. She looked down at her hands coated in darkness. "I don't think we can hurt each other in these forms," Marie said. Suddenly, the darkness disappeared from her skin as Marie fell forward. Elsa dissipated her ethereal form and caught Marie. She guided them to the ground as Elsa held Marie. "I'm sorry," Marie muttered, sounding completely exhausted.
Elsa chuckled. "At least you didn't plunge your entire kingdom into an endless winter." Marie laughed quietly and nuzzled her face in Elsa's chest. Elsa stroked her head. "We should take the long way back to your place. There might have been a few people who saw you…"
"Oh." Marie groaned. "Shit."
Later that night, Elsa watched as Marie paced her apartment with her cellphone in hand. Elsa gripped her knees as she sat on the pullout couch. "It'll be okay," Elsa tried to reassure Marie. "I'm sure she'll want to talk to you. And you've already reached out to your nephew and he responded."
Marie's face twisted. "You don't know her like I do," she mumbled as she kept pacing. Elsa tilted her head to the side fondly. This side of Marie was kind of cute. Marie stopped and turned to Elsa. "It's for their protection," she stated. Elsa nodded. "I'm reaching out to protect them." Elsa nodded again. Marie lifted her phone to her face and took a deep breath. She made a cross on her chest before placing the phone against her ear.
After a few moments, Elsa heard a woman's voice on the other end say, "Hello?"
Marie froze. "Hi, Mom."
