The Melting Warriors

by Cold 105

The TARDIS has taken Elsa, Anna, Olaf and Kristoff to another cold world, which this time is very unfamiliar to them. It is however quite familiar to the Doctor, and so is the threat they are going to face. Sequel to "Am I a good girl?"

6. Only human

Elsa extended her arm and waved her hand a few times. Nothing happened. Again.

"Maybe you should try again in an hour or so," Anna said in a small voice.

Elsa smiled wanly at her sister. She waved her hand one more time, with the same absence of result.

"Elsa," Anna said, grabbing her sister's hand. "It's going to be all right. Don't worry. Please?"

Elsa nodded. She was draped in her sister's cape, sitting on the slab where she had regained consciousness.

"Doctor?" Anna called. "You're really sure you don't know why she… you don't know what happened to Elsa?"

The Doctor had been working on one of the apparatuses in the room, his screwdriver whistling. He sighed theatrically as he turned toward them.

"You mean losing her powers? No idea. I don't know why she had them in the first place either, so at least I'm coherent," he added, as if this was something to be proud of.

"But was it something the Dalek did?"

"No, that Dalek did not do anything, apart from getting turned to ice. That will probably make them angrier, mind you."

"Doctor, you always say that you are clever, can't you, I don't know, guess? Was it something the Ice Warriors did? Or is it because we are on Mars?"

"I don't know, Freckles," the Doctor sighed. "I can imagine a lot of explanations if that's what you want, but I can't guarantee they will be right. Did you know how she had her powers in the first place?"

"She was born that way."

"Then maybe her powers' warranty has expired."

"Wait, what?

"Her powers are gone. She's back to being a standard, boring human, like you."

"Anna is not boring," Kristoff grumbled from his side of the slab.

"Or her abilities were powered through some connection to the Earth core," the Doctor went on, ignoring him, "or to an astronomical phenomenon that does not exist yet, and she's burned them out now that she's cut from her power source. Or she is not in the right mood to be able to use her powers. Or she has simply overtaxed herself when she froze that Dalek and she just needs some time to recover."

"I… I froze it," Elsa said, shivering. "I cursed it…"

"The Daleks will probably want to cut you up to know how you did it if they find you, by the way" the Doctor added conversationally. "They really don't like losing fights."

"But… they won't know what happened, will they? No other Dalek was there to see it! They don't have the, uh, sensor cameras to watch it, right?" Anna said.

"If what I'm seeing with this console is correct, the Daleks seem to have infiltrated most of the sensor network, including in the corridor where we were. And even if that was not enough, that Dalek probably had the time to transmit some information through the Pathweb to the others before Platinum froze it."

"What is a Pathweb?"

"A network linking all the Daleks together. Mostly it serves as a data bank but they can use it to exchange information at short range."

"But is Elsa going to be all right?"

"I told you, Freckles, she is. Tired, but all right. For a normal, boring human."

"Elsa is not boring!" Anna shouted, which only got a shrug from the Doctor in response. "What will happen to her now?"

"She will grow old, like you."

"But how can you be so, so, er, cold? She has lost her powers! That's… that's like losing a limb!"

"Anna," Elsa said feebly, pulling at her sister's sleeve. "It's not that serious."

"But Elsa, you look so… I mean, if I was… It's… You seem so sad!"

"Well it's… it's new for me, Anna. I've had these powers all my life. And there was a time where I wished I didn't have them. And now… Now I would need them to protect you and I just lost them…"

"But you already protected us, Elsa. You froze the Dalek."

"But didn't the Doctor say there were more of them?"

"Then now we will protect you from them!" Anna said faithfully.

"Do you think they would like to have a hug?" Olaf asked.

"That's an interesting point to consider," the Doctor said, looking up from his console. "Ice-Cream Brain is still around. You created him with your powers, right? So whatever happened to them, they are still maintaining him around… for now."

"But his flurry is gone!"

"Yes, but the Ice Warriors like to keep their bases cool, so he'll be OK as long as he remains here," the Doctor said. "But you're right, maybe it's simply that the smallest manifestations of her powers are the first to disappear."

"What? Are you saying that Olaf will… No!" Anna shouted.

"Don't worry, Anna," Elsa said wanly, grabbing Olaf's hand. "It would take more than losing my powers for Olaf to leave us."

"Now that everyone is reassured about Platinum's well-being, could we move on? There are no sealed doors between us and the Ice Warriors command centre, but I've not been able to contact them from here, and I would hate it if they decided to do something foolish or dangerous before we reach them."

"Can't you go while we wait for Elsa to recover further?"

"It's OK, Anna," Elsa said. "I can come with you."

"But, you should…" Anna began, but already Elsa was sliding from the slab and standing up.

"I'm fine, Anna. Really. I never needed my powers to walk."

"Err, OK," Anna said.

"Are we going? Can I open the door?" Olaf asked excitedly. "Can you open, mister door? Oh, wait, I have to get closer so that it can see me," he added with a giggle, sauntering toward the door which slid open noiselessly. "Thank you, mister door," he said, giggling again. "Now, can you stay open while Elsa and Anna and Kristoff and Thedoctor and me go through?"

Anna glanced at her sister. Elsa was smiling faintly as she looked at the little snowman, although calling her cheerful would have been a stretch. They all left the room, with Olaf trailing behind to thank the door as it slid close behind them.

Anna was ready to stay at her sister's side even if it meant letting the Doctor distance them, but it turned out Elsa was able to keep up with him with no trouble, though Anna wondered if the Time Lord was not walking more slowly than usual. It was a short time before they reached a door which took more whistling from the Doctor's sonic screwdriver than usual to open. It revealed a group of visibly agitated Ice Warriors who instantly pointed their weapons at them.

"Don't shoot!" the Doctor said. "If you shoot we will regret it a lot!"

"We are not Daleks!" Anna volunteered, slowly putting her hands up. "Er… by the Moons we honour thee all, a lot!"

The Ice Warriors seemed to relax marginally when they recognised the newcomers, but they kept their weapons trained on the group.

"This base is in lockdown," one of the Ice Warriors hissed. Anna thought she recognised Hamraak – at least, he had the same decorations on his helmet. "Where do you come from?"

"Oh, here and there," the Doctor said. "We managed to slip in before the doors closed."

"Are you sure no Dalekss followed you?"

"One did," Anna volunteered, "but my sister froze it."

The Ice Warrior turned toward her and hissed for a second before speaking.

"Are you ssaying that this human managed to kill a Dalek?" he said at last.

"Well, er, no, not really," Anna said quickly, "she simply turned it to ice. I don't know how she did it, but normally only an act of true love could turn it back, and I don't know if this Dalek had a true love so…"

"Daleks don't love, and I don't think that would help when the ice has been broken into icicles," the Doctor said dryly. "Freckles is telling the truth, just check your internal sensor records, if you can still access them. We were in corridor D12 when this happened."

The Ice Warriors began to hiss at one another and talk into their wrists. Anna turned to her sister, who was trembling.

"It's OK, Elsa," she said. "They will let us in, I'm sure."

"Doctor, what are these Daleks exactly?" Elsa said urgently. "Some kind of automaton?"

"A mutant creature inside a tank."

"So it's… it's alive? It's a living creature? I really used my powers to… to kill a…"

"You saved us, Elsa," Anna said firmly. "And you didn't actually kill it. It was only turned to ice, that's not the same thing at all. Look, I've been turned to ice and I thawed all right after a while. Not that the Dalek should because it would keep attacking us, but…"

"Please come with uss," Hamraak interrupted. It seemed to Anna that the Ice Warrior's tone had become nicer, possibly even respectful.

They were led through a couple of doors into a large room full of very busy Ice Warriors, grouped around various devices sporting lots of lights and strange knobs or adorned with windows on which images moved. Some of the Ice Warriors were shouting at the devices, and Anna thought she also heard disembodied voices with this metallic echo she had come to associate with the radio devices.

Ixadra, flanked by her guards, moved toward them as they advanced in the room.

"Queen Elsssa of Arendelle," she said, "your prowessss in battle honoursss you. There are few who can take on a Dalek by themselves and sssurvive."

"So the Doctor told me," Elsa said weakly.

"I sssee you did not hesitate to use your powersss for battle when the need arose."

"Yes," Elsa said, visibly uneasy. "But I can't do that any more. I have lost them now."

"How inconvenient. Would you like our doctorsss to examine you?"

"Could they help me? The Doctor said he does not know why I lost them."

"I offered many possibilities, though," said the Doctor, who had not been trying to hide his impatience while the two queens talked. "And I'm not sure how well your doctors know about human physiology, especially gifted ones'. Not to mention that they must be quite busy already."

"It would be a pity if you remained unable to use these amazing powersss of yoursss," Ixadra said. "They would be of great help in thisss battle."

"Maybe, but that would be her choice to make anyway," the Doctor said abruptly. "Now, I don't have ice powers, but I choose to help you. And I think your problems need more than cryokinesis to be solved."

"And what do you think our problemsss are, Doctor?"

"You've got Daleks," the Doctor said flatly. "From what I've seen, they have managed to infiltrate your whole sensor network to monitor what is going on in your base, and to block your sensors to the surface as a bonus."

"We are aware," Ixadra said, her mouth curling into an even more disgusted smirk than usual. "We are working on that."

"I don't think you will be able to do much. I've been trying to interfere with the feeds they are getting from here but I couldn't do anything, and I'm clever. Now, it seems that you succeeded in locking the Daleks out of your inner base, but I guess they hold a significant part of the rest, especially with the help of… their sleeper agents."

"Warriorsss who were robbed of the dignity of death," Ixadra spat. "Now, Doctor, what kind of help do you intend to offer exactly?"

"I'd need access to an exit from this base. I know you have one, Ice Warriors are too clever to design bases out of which you could not exit during a lockdown. And I guess it's not connected to the main sensor network as well, so the Daleks won't know if you use it."

"Are you trying to flee, Doctor?"

"Of course not! He's trying to help!" Anna said.

"And how do you think he will proceed?" Ixadra hissed, turning toward her.

"I… I have no idea. But the Doctor helps people. He doesn't flee. Look, we already helped you, right? We found the Dalek who was hiding in your base, even though you were sure it could not be there."

Ixadra hissed for a moment at Anna before answering.

"You are… right, Princessss Anna," she said eventually. "You have fulfilled your part. We'd have no reason to hold you if you wanted to leave now. Ssso, Doctor, why do you need an exit for if it isss not to flee?"

The Doctor hesitated for a second before answering.

"I want to find the Dalek base," he said at last.

"Do you know where it isss?" Ixadra asked eagerly.

"I… might."

"And what do you plan to do if you find it?"

"I will think of something. For starters, disrupting their interference on your sensor feed should be easier from there. I told you, I know how to fight Daleks. And I want to know what else they are planning. I don't want to insult you, but I'm fairly sure that invading your base was not their primary objective."

Ixadra hissed wordlessly for a few seconds.

"Then I want my warriorsss to be part of the assssault," she said eventually. "They can not be denied thisss chance of battle."

"Maybe I was not clear," the Doctor said. "The Dalek base will be heavily defended. This calls for subtlety, not brute strength, unless you want to be killed without having the time to do anything useful."

"Are you insssulting my warriorsss, Doctor?"

"I'm merely saying that a single person can be more discreet than a whole platoon, and that discretion is what we need for this."

"Would that work if you only sent some warriors with us?" Anna said suddenly. "That way we would still be stealthy, and they could still participate, if they want it so much."

"Thank you, Freckles, for helping Ixadra getting more of her troops killed."

"Why do you think my troopsss will be more killed than you, Doctor?"

"Because they're soldiers, and because I'm used to fighting Daleks. Seriously, how many times will I have to repeat this? What did you mean, 'with us'?" he added, turning toward Anna.

"I'm coming with you," Anna said simply. "And don't try to talk me out of it."

"I'll just ask what your reasons would be, then," the Doctor said mildly.

"Well, these Daleks are killing all those nice Ice Warriors, and maybe they also made Elsa lose her powers," Anna stated calmly. "So something must be done to stop them. And I don't want to let you do this alone."

"Anna!" Kristoff called urgently. "This will be very dangerous!"

"Yes, but it will be easier if there is someone to help the Doctor. Isn't it right, Doctor?"

"My Ice Warriorsss can do that, Princessss Anna," Ixadra said. "And… were you insssulting them by calling them… nice?"

"No, it was a compliment," Anna said, smiling. "You like fighting a bit too much, but in the end you are good people. Just like the Doctor likes to be rude to everyone but he also helps everybody he can."

"Really?" Ixadra said. "Ssso you sssay he thinksss he isss helping usss by wanting to go againssst the Daleksss alone?"

"Well… yes? So that your warriors can concentrate on defending your base against the Daleks."

"And why do you want to go with him?"

"Because it's the right thing to do. And the Doctor already helped us today to… well, I'm not sure I completely understand, but I think that, without him, we would not have existed like we are now. And he built snowmen with me when I was little, even if he was much nicer then."

"Yes, that was the really difficult part," the Doctor said between his teeth.

Ixadra stared for an uncomfortably long time at Anna, who did her best to return the gaze hidden behind the red glasses.

"Then you will go with the Doctor and sssome of my warriorsss. But hear me, Doctor. If you manage to find the Dalek base, we will come in force, whether we have ressstored order here or not. And when we recover our communicationsss I will sssumon dissstant hivesss to fight at our ssside if I have to."

"That will be a really good idea if you want more Ice Warriors to get killed," the Doctor said, "but it's your choice. Are you ready Freckles?"

"Anna!" Kristoff said urgently, pulling her aside. "You don't really want to go with this Doctor?"

"Yes I do, Kristoff. You know I never back away when I can help people."

"Yes, that's one of the reasons why I love you," Kristoff said. "OK, then I guess all that's left for me is coming with you," he added after some hesitation.

"Are you sure?"

"Well, you're sure, so I have to be too. And maybe I'll understand why you like this Doctor man so much, even though he keeps being rude to you."

"Thank you, Kristoff," Anna said softly, kissing him. "And you should know that people can seem gruff at first glance but still have a big heart."

"Well I… I don't… I mean, I used to not like people but I was never that rude," Kristoff said blushing. "Was I?"

"I'm coming with you too," Elsa said quietly.

"Wait, what?" Anna said. "But you… you can't!"

"Why?"

"Well it's… it's safer in the Ice Warrior base!"

"Then why don't you stay there? I want to help the Doctor, and you, and Kristoff, too."

"But you… you have not… I mean you… er… weren't you… a bit tired?" Anna said, walking to her sister.

"I'm fine now, Anna. And… I know I've lost my powers, but… you are ready to go out there too, and you don't have powers either. I won't stay locked again for my safety while you face whatever dangers the Doctor needs to battle."

"But you… I mean… er… I want you to… you can't…. if something happened…" Anna stammered, trying to sort her own emotions.

As far as she could remember, Elsa had always been there, older, wiser and overall better than her. Learning that she had ice powers had only added to her awesomeness. And since that day, these powers had become indissociable from Elsa, even if for Anna her sister was much more than that. A powerless Elsa felt vulnerable and Anna wanted to protect her, just like she had when she had caught that cold some weeks before. But she found herself unable to find a fair reason for stopping Elsa to accompany her. She herself lacked any powers, and she had welcomed Kristoff – who was also without powers – to come along. And she had to admit that Elsa had the exact same reasons for wanting to help the Doctor as she did, and denying her that would be cruel.

"Fine," Anna said eventually, giving in. "But… promise me you'll be careful, right?"

"As long as you are," Elsa said with a wink.

"Can I come too?" Olaf asked eagerly.

Both sisters looked at each other, and Anna saw in Elsa's eyes the same hesitation she had felt about her. She knew neither of them wanted to put their friend in harm's way… but on what grounds could they deny him the right to do the same as them? As far as Anna could understand, he was in no more danger than them from the Daleks – possibly even a bit less, since apparently the Daleks weapons needed a special adjustment for harming snowmen.

"OK, Olaf," Elsa said eventually. "But it'll be very dangerous. You have to listen to everything the Doctor says, and us too, and do whatever he says without asking why. Do you understand?"

"Of course," Olaf said. "But what do I do if Thedoctor asks me not to come?"

"For that you only have to listen to us," Elsa said with a smile.

"Oh, great, Ice-Cream Brain is coming along too?" the Doctor said. "It's lucky the reindeer could not board the TARDIS, or I guess you'd have insisted on bringing him along as well?"

"We all want to help you, Doctor," Anna said.

"Yes, I got that. And I suspect you won't believe me if I told you the best way to help me would be to stay out of my way?"

"I would," Kristoff said. "But I don't think Anna will accept that," he added loyally.

"You know what kind of dangers we will face," the Doctor said. "You have seen what the Daleks do. One of them could exterminate your entire kingdom in a couple of hours, and nobody on Earth would be able to do anything about it. The Ice Warriors could have a chance, but they would die by the dozens before killing one Dalek. And right now they have enough trouble with the Daleks already in their base. I've fought the Daleks a lot of times, sometimes it feels as if that's all I've been doing, but it never gets any easier. And they have taken a lot of people from me. People I cared about, people I had met for five minutes, or some idiots who tagged along but did not deserve to die like this. I want to avoid more unnecessary deaths. I don't know if I will succeed. I don't even know if I can. Do all of you understand that?"

"Yes," Anna said after swallowing.

"Yes," Elsa said after a few seconds. "If only I still had my powers, I could be more useful," she added sadly. "I'm sorry."

"Elsa, you don't have to be sorry for anything!" Anna said, taking her sister's hand in hers. "At least you managed to help us fight the Dalek! I don't know what would have happened if you had not managed to freeze it…"

"You'd have died," the Doctor said flatly. "And this is what will happen to you if the Daleks catch you now. And even if you still had your powers, Platinum, that would not make a difference. The Daleks can adapt. They would probably attack you in twos or threes, and I doubt you could freeze two at a time."

"Freezing one was hard enough," Elsa whispered, shivering visibly. "But I'm ready to… I mean, if I still could…"

"Are you cold, Elsa?" Anna asked. "I can give you my vest if you want…"

"No, that's OK, Anna. Your cape is warm enough. It's… I was thinking… I'm OK."

"Then let's go," the Doctor said.

They saluted Ixadra, who was busy ordering Ice Warriors around but acknowledged Anna and Elsa's salute, then left the room with a small squad of Ice Warriors led by Hamraak through another sets of door that the Ice Warriors opened cautiously and closed quickly behind them. They walked through narrower and darker corridors that seemed less used than usual, and Anna hoped this did not mean a Dalek was hiding there too.

"We will be using the equivalent of the back door," said the Doctor after she noted this out loud. "Away from the fight and hopefully not somewhere the Daleks are watching."

"This iss the emergency exit. It leadss away from the base, and can be only opened from insside," Hamraak commented.

They passed through a larger room with a strange object in the middle that looked like a larger version of the flying carriage Hamraak had used earlier.

"Probably Ixadra's personal shuttle," the Doctor commented. "To allow the leader to evacuate if things go really bad."

"Thiss iss not an evacuation ship, Doctor," Hamraak hissed reproachfully. "Queen Ixadra's ship is to be used for leading a final asssault. It iss also equipped with a transsmat if our Queen wants to be present on the battlefield."

"That would be useful. Except I guess we can't use it now with the Daleks messing with your sensors."

"What is a transmat, Doctor?"

"Another way to travel. I'm not fond of it but it has its uses."

Anna was about to ask more precisions when they entered a small room with a complicated door on one side. Hamraak went to a panel near it and moved some controls. There was a distant groan of machinery, and the door slid aside slowly, revealing a corridor going upward. Unlike the rest of the base, its walls were made of rough stone. Anna felt a gush of warm air on her face as she came nearer to the entrance.

"Is this outside?" she said, pointing to the corridor.

"No, there is a door at the other end leading to the surface. This corridor functions as an airlock."

"Air… lock?" Anna asked, but the Doctor ignored her and walked inside.

"Maybe that's a lock made of air?" Olaf offered.

The Ice Warriors were looking doubtfully at the entrance. Anna took a few steps inside the corridor and got the confirmation that it was definitely warmer there. The temperature inside and outside the base had been chilly so far, which was fine by Anna who was still wearing the clothes she had found in the TARDIS to withstand a magical winter, and felt warm enough even without the cape that was now wrapped around Elsa's shoulders. But the temperature in this corridor was definitely more pleasant, and kept increasing as she walked to the door on the other side. She stepped aside to let Hamraak access the panel, and noticed he was walking more slowly than before. An idea struck her and she looked at Olaf. She wondered if she did not see his shape wavering slightly.

"It's… are you all right, Olaf?"

"Well, it's a bit warm in here, but I can cope!" the little snowman said bravely.

The outer door slid open slowly with a hiss, letting another gush of warmer air inside the corridor. The Doctor walked outside without hesitation. Anna followed him for a couple of paces before stopping.

"It's hot!" she said.

The air was definitely warmer – as warm as an Arendelle summer, if not more. The snow had melted in most places, revealing glistening red rocks. The protection from her winter clothes suddenly felt more uncomfortable. She turned to see one of the Ice Warriors stepping outside, moving more slowly with each second, like an unwound automaton.

"Doctor, why is it so hot?" she called.

"I guess the Daleks decided to push their thermal expanders to the max to make sure the Ice Warriors would stay inside their base," he said, gazing in the distance.

Anna quickly walked back inside the corridor, where Elsa was accompanying Olaf back toward the first door, while the Ice Warriors were milling around uncertainly.

"You will melt if you go outside," Elsa was saying. "I'm sorry, Olaf… I can't create your flurry any more. And I don't know what will happen to you if you melt while I have lost my powers."

"Oh. Then I'll wait for you there, I guess," the little snowman said.

"He can't come with us?" Anna asked, out of the desperate hope that she had misunderstood.

"No… I'm sorry, Anna," Elsa said. "It's too warm for him, and I can't protect him. It's cold in the Ice Warrior base, but…"

"I don't want him to stay alone in there either," Anna said.

"You can go," Olaf said cheerfully. "I will simply wait here and explore this room."

Anna glanced back and saw that the Doctor had unexpectedly come back to join them.

"It's Olaf, Doctor. He can't come with us, or he'll melt!"

"Yes, I was wondering about that too," the Doctor said. "Glad you thought about it, it would have been embarrassing. And I guess you'll have a harder time coming with us," he said, turning to Hamraak.

"Thiss... wass… unexpected," the Ice Warrior said, his speech as slow as his movements. "The Dalekss' tampering… prevented... our ssenssorss… to detect… this… But… we will… come… with you… Doctor."

"Don't be stupid," the Doctor said. "This would be suicide. This is the perfect situation to let me do the work."

"Queen Ixadra… ordered uss… to come with you…"

"Yes, but now you will slow me down, especially if there is a need to run, which is likely. I may need your help later on anyway, there is no need for you to sacrifice yourself as stupidly as this. Just keep some company to Ice-Cream Brain here. Freckles, Platinum, are you staying with him?"

"Doctor," Elsa said quietly. "What are the risks if we fail?"

"The risks? Oh, you'll all die. In fact, some of us may still die if we succeed, too."

"But after that? What will these Daleks do? What will happen if we can't stop them?"

"Well, to be honest, I'm not sure what they're up to, but it's never too difficult to guess what a Dalek will be ultimately doing. They hate anything that is not a Dalek, you see. So they will concentrate on exterminating as many people as possible. For instance, all the Ice Warriors on Mars, if they can."

"But… they will be stopped, at some point, right?" Anna asked. "You said the Ice Warriors could stop them."

"With this heat?" the Doctor said, nodding to the outer door. "Not so sure any more. Especially if the Daleks can extend it over the whole planet, which I'm not ruling out."

"So they will kill… everyone on Mars?" Elsa said slowly, her eyes wide with horror.

"And after that," Anna said suddenly, "will they come for us? For Arendelle… for the Earth, I mean. Can they do that?"

"Oh, certainly," the Doctor said. "The Ice Warriors can, anyway, and the Daleks are good at salvaging technology."

"And… if they reach Earth…"

"They will slaughter everyone," the Doctor said cheerfully. "The whole military of Earth can't offer a challenge at this point to even a single Dalek."

"But, er, if all countries reform a Coalition like they did against the French Empire..." Anna said hesitantly.

"They still wouldn't stand a chance, and besides, they are not born yet. We are a few thousands years into your past, remember."

"Hold on, hold on," Elsa said. "If… if the Daleks kill everyone on Earth a thousand years before we are born… we won't be born?"

"Time is not fixed, Platinum," the Doctor said. "You should know that by now."

"And, Doctor… will it help you if we come?" Anna asked.

"It's a possibility, but most likely you'll just get in the way," the Doctor said briskly.

"Yes, but if the Daleks kill you, there will be nobody left to stop them anyway," Anna said forcefully, "and we will die anyway or have already been dead or something." She turned around and crouched to be on Olaf's level. "Olaf, I'm sorry, but you heard the Doctor. I want to help him. You'll be safe here… And I promise you that I will be back."

"I understand, Anna," Olaf said gravely. "Just, er, don't leave without me when you come back, all right?"

"Never," Anna said, hugging him tightly.

Elsa crouched to share the hug, and the three of them found themselves grabbed in Kristoff's big arms.

Then Elsa got up and walked to Hamraak who had slowly retreated with his warriors at the cooler end of the corridor.

"Excuse me, Marshall Hamraak?" she said, in the tone Anna called her 'queen voice'. "I would like to ask a favour of you… and of Queen Ixadra."

The Ice Warrior turned to look at her.

"What iss it?" he hissed, his speech still slurred.

"We need to leave our friend, Olaf here, inside the base. He can't come with us outside either, because he would suffer from the heat. Could you please take care of him while we are gone? That would mean a lot to my sister and me."

As the Ice Warrior seemed to hesitate, Elsa briefly turned to wink at Anna.

"If it can help, consider him as a… guarantee, should you still not trust us or the Doctor," Elsa went on.

"Oh, that's great, I've never been a guarantee before!" Olaf said excitedly. "I certainly feel very guaranteed."

"We will take care of your pet, Queen Elsa," Hamraak said eventually, nodding gravely. "Does it know how to fight?"

"He's our friend, not our pet," Elsa said. "And I don't think it would be a good idea to make him try to fight. Thanks a lot for taking care of him."

Anna and Elsa hugged Olaf again, then, exchanging waves, cheers, and promises to see each other soon, walked into the corridor while the little snowman retreated with the Ice Warriors into the coolness of the base.

"We should have left him a radio device," Anna said as the outer door slowly slid back into place behind them, "so that he could talk to us."

"That would not have worked, Freckles," the Doctor said. "The Daleks are blocking all communications to and from the base. That means the radio would not have worked," he added in response to Anna's blank stare. "And at worst it would have helped the Daleks to detect us."

"Don't they also have some sensor cameras of their own to detect us?"

"Of course. It will be difficult enough to sneak in undetected as it is."

The Doctor began walking cautiously across the wet red rocks. Anna wordlessly grabbed her sister's hand in hers, exchanged a smile with Kristoff, and followed him across the alien landscape.