A/N: Contains references to a scene in r9kElsa Is Suffering by AnonElsa (Leave a review if you know which one!)

"No!" Anna cries, her shrill voice echoing through the ward. The wires streaming from her helmet let out a rattle as she grasps Elsa's shoulders.

"I have to-" Elsa gasps, alarmed at Anna's sheer strength dragging her down.

"You can't," Anna continues pleading, over and over again until her voice gives way. She bunches her fingers around Elsa's dress as though she's leaving her right there and then. Anna's attempt to sit upright in bed are met with a clunk when the helmet knocks Elsa in the forehead.

For some reason, the simple blunder sends a wave of rage rippling through Elsa's skin like fire.

"I meant for us to have a life together!" Elsa snarls, attracting a few stares from the patients around her.

"We still can-"

"Not like this!" Elsa shrieks, running her fingers down Anna's arms with such urgency that it leaves trails of frost on her skin. The cuffs around her wrists clatter as Elsa yanks at them, "Not when you're chained to a bed because Hans might invade your head any moment!"

"I-I d-don't want to lose you, please, not like this," Anna begs.

The sight of tears trickling down her sister's cheek clenches at Elsa's heart; she leans in and holds her close, ignoring the cold steel helmet rubbing against her temple. Sucking in a deep breath, Elsa tries not to let the emotions overwhelm her, but as the scent of Anna's neck fills her lungs, all she can think about is just how afraid she is of losing her sister.

"I-I've already lost you, more times than I can remember," Elsa chokes, the lump forming in her throat making the words impossible to pronounce, "and I've had enough!"

"Please, please, I'm begging you, don't go," Anna pleads, "don't leave me here wondering if you'll ever come back or if you're still alive. I can't live through that again-"

Anna's words grate against Elsa's heart; afterall, she had felt that way merely weeks ago, languishing in a prison cell and wondering if the only reason for living on was dead. As Anna's hands curl around her wrists, the dilemma forms in Elsa's mind.

She'd have to let her go.

The words plummet from Elsa's lips like lead.

"I'm going now."

Anna's lips part in disbelief as Elsa lets go of her hands. Deep down in her heart, she can't rid herself of the thought that she's responsible for this. Elsa's leaving her because she strangled her. Elsa has to risk her life because she's a brainwashed maniac. As the blonde turns away from her and leaves, Anna's feels a pang of hurt strike her cold in the chest. Gripping the sheets, it takes all of the courage within herself to whimper her final plea.

"Let me come with you."

Without looking back, Elsa pushes between the crowd of soldiers and nurses, oblivious to her sister's last few words still floating about in the antiseptic-laced air.

"It'd be better if you approached from the North," Oaken mutters, drawing a line through a map of Arendelle, "not a good idea for Hans to spot you coming in on an ice dragon or something crazy."

"And I'm just supposed to walk in?" Elsa asks, furrowing her brows, "I know it hasn't been long, but I remember every inch of Arendelle's perimeter crawling with sentries."

"Their numbers have been severely depleted by the war. Hans has barely enough divisions to deploy facing us, let alone man the border."

"Even then, it's a bit of a long shot to expect to walk in unseen."

"You don't have to, we have someone willing to drive you in hidden on a truck. He's a defected soldier, with papers and all."

"Great," Elsa mutters, gritting her teeth, "when can we get this show on the road?"

"You're in a bit of a hurry for once," Oaken quips, chucking a cigar into the grass, "I think I'm starting to like you after all."

"No, seriously," Elsa snarls, rubbing her hands together "when?"

"We'll let you know," Oaken answers, "your attack has to coincide with the bigger picture at hand, and I'm keeping it under wraps for now."

Elsa stares at her feet, rooted into the ground amidst tendrils of ice. Even from this distance, she can feel the deadly aura within her being emanating with a desire to kill Hans and be rid of him for good. Clenching and unclenching her fists, she allows the vengeance to drift from her mind for a second, and sanity to return.

"What bigger picture?" Elsa asks, turning to Oaken, only to see him walking away with hands in his pockets.

With her blonde braids fluttering about in the wind, Elsa grimaces as she watches her ice-golems pouring truckloads of asphalt. Once a rubble-strewn field over-grown with weeds, Elsa's beasts work tirelessly as her plans for an airport begin coming to fruition. Despite her concentration, the thought of Anna still chained to a hospital bed puts beads of perspiration on her forehead. She thought working day and night to restore Grimfold would've distracted her somewhat from the fate Anna had resigned herself to - but if anything, it only served to remind her how much she couldn't wait to get rid of Hans once and for all.

Tilting her gaze to the end of her half-completed runway, Elsa gazes upon the skyscrapers of Arendelle, merely foggy outlines littering the horizon. The thought of Hans languishing somewhere within the Capital and tormenting Anna from afar, boils her blood to no end. Seething with hatred, she doesn't notice an army jeep pulling up behind her.

"Nice work, sport," Kristoff spouts, only to be met with a gust of icy wind when Elsa whirls around, "woah-"

"Oh, you. Well, how's Anna?"

"Anna's doing fine. Oaken allowed her to walk around the hospital unsupervised," Kristoff says, before adding with a sigh, "she went straight to the laundry and started folding linen."

The thought of Anna being well enough to work recedes the ice around her, but frost still crackles around Kristoff's boots.

"That's the way she is-"

Kristoff looks at the ground, shuffling a foot around in the ice. He purses his lips, before mumbling, "She's been asking for you nearly every waking moment."

A pang of guilt strikes Elsa cold. All at once, she knows why. The pain of seeing her sister with a fucking helmet on her head was too much for her to bear, and she hated herself for not being there for Anna when she needed it the most.

"I can't…" Elsa mumbles, shaking her head and trying to think of an excuse, "it's dangerous and I...I just can't."

"Oaken told me you want a shot at killing Hans," Kristoff says, "you'd really do all that, just for her?"

"There's no one else who can do it, and no one else I'd do it for," Elsa replies without a hitch.

Kristoff pauses, pondering the intensity of Elsa's words. His whole life, people had told him that Arendellians were selfish, evil, greedy and corrupt - but here was a woman who could lay waste to the world as she saw fit, and she was willing to lay down her life for Anna. Deep down inside, he wonders if he'd ever be capable of such love.

"It's time to go," Kristoff mumbles, pointing at a truck behind him, "Oaken wanted your insertion to coincide with an attack on Arendelle's border. He figured you'd stand a better chance of entering undetected."

Elsa's chest swells with anticipation, "What, now?" she asks, before starting towards the truck.

Without question, Kristoff thinks, watching the foggy train of Elsa's gown disappear between crates and boxes of military supplies. His chest clenches as the truck rumbles off, and the shards of ice around his feet fading into the spring breeze.

"Good luck," Kristoff mumbles, unsure of whether she needs it, or whether he'd even see her again.

With nothing but the rumble of the truck and wisps of light filtering through the canvas to guide her, Elsa sits on a crate and waits. Despite her calm demeanor, Elsa's brain buzzes with anticipation of the job that's laid before her. Her fists clench into little white balls as she recalls how long she had put off revenge for her parents; all the while shrouded in the thick haze of servitude Hans had laid on her head. Now that she had freed herself from the clutches of Hans's power, Elsa thought as clearly as the spring sky. All that's left is to free her sister's mind once and for all.

"Ma'am?" the earpiece Kristoff gave her crackles with static, "we're approaching the border. Best to keep still. We only have one shot at this."

She can tell from the shaking in his voice that the driver is genuinely scared. Afterall, Hans used to feed deserters and traitors to Merida's beasts.

"It'd help if you lowered your body temperature, some of these checkpoints have thermal scanning equipment."

"Roger," Elsa answers, before a sheen of ice frosts over her skin. The throbbing in her chest intensifies as the truck screeches to a halt, and faint voices of Arendellian soldiers talking to the driver from behind the canvas.

"Are these the rest of the supplies from Gold base?"

"Aye, twelve crates, papers are-"

"No need, move along now."

Elsa resists the urge to gasp as the truck continues rumbling down the road. They didn't even check his papers. Having lived her entire life in fear and suspicion, the nagging doubt that something isn't quite right burns into her brain to no end. Her lips part as she contemplates asking the driver, but his silence forces her to reconsider. Besides, they're in Arendelle now, where somebody's always watching, and listening. Clutching her gown, she presses her ear to the canvas and listens for clues about where the truck is heading. Elsa concentrates so intensely on each turn the truck makes that she fails to notice a hand creeping up her ankle. Numb with cold, the feeling of fingernails scratching against her leg fails to rouse her, but a muffled whimper does.

"Elsa?"

Elsa recoils from the sight of red hair peeking from behind a crate. A girl's head swivels into view from the shadows, and frost crackles through the steel truck bed when she recognizes those eyes.

"Anna?" Elsa gasps, "What the hell-"

Anna stares back at Elsa with bloodshot eyes. She shakes her head, reddish hair beneath her helmet sashaying in the damp confines of the truck.

"What on earth are you doing here?" Elsa repeats herself.

"I don't- I don't know," Anna mutters, rubbing her eyes, "where is this-"

Grabbing her sister by the shoulders, Elsa pulls Anna upright as her mind searches for an explanation.

"Did, did, someone put you here?"

"I was in physio, then Oaken made me some tea, and now I'm here," Anna laments, rubbing her temples, "I'm woozy-"

"Oaken?" Elsa growls, shaking her sister by the shoulder, "Oaken put you here?"

"Where is here?" Anna mumbles, scratching at the frozen crates around her, "What is this...place?"

"It's a truck to Arendelle," Elsa answers, voice breaking with each word, "b-but why, Anna? Why?"

Anna pauses and thinks, before asking, "You're going to kill him, aren't you?"

"Not with you around!" Elsa shrieks.

"Um, could you keep it down back there?" the driver's voice crackles through the earpiece, "We're nearing the Presidential Palace."

"Did you know Anna was back here?" Elsa barks at him.

"Aye, ma'am. Oaken had her loaded in unconscious, but I'm not in a position to question his orders. Please remain silent, we're almost there now"

"Jesus, fuck," Elsa curses, grabbing at her hair, "I didn't...I didn't plan for this. Not like this."

"Are we in Arendelle now?" Anna slurs, shielding her eyes from the snow brewing around her.

"Yes, yes," Elsa mutters, holding her hands out towards Anna, "you have to stay here, don't move an inch. J-just wait for me to do what I came here to do and I'll be back in awhile...or not at all."

Anna's mood turns from drowsy to defensive in an instant. "No, Elsa, please! I'm not letting you go and risk your life for me again!"

"I'm not having an argument with you now!" Elsa barks, pushing her sister back into a crate when she attempts to stand upright.

The truck rumbles to a halt, and the driver announces, "Ma'am, we're fifty yards from the rear of the palace, this is as far as I can go."

Anna clings onto Elsa's elbows, "Let me come with you! Oaken must've knew you didn't stand a chance alone!"

"No! This has nothing to do with him!" Elsa snarls. Try as she might, Elsa's unable to shed her sister's insurmountable strength.

"I'm not letting you go alone!" Anna begs.

Heat flashes through every inch of Elsa's skin, "I said, let go of me!"

"No!" Anna shrieks, maintaining her vice-grip on Elsa.

Elsa's mind snaps, and she yells, "Anna Felgard! I am ordering you, as your older sister! To LET. GO. OF. ME!"

At once, Anna drops her hands from Elsa and stares back at her with lips parted.

"What did you say?" Anna whispers.

"I'm...I'm...I'm sorry," Elsa mutters, blue eyes betraying the utter horror coursing through her every vein, "I have to go now."

Sitting in a pile of ice and snow with her mouth ajar, Anna watches as her sister ducks between crates and disappears out the back of the truck.

A flurry of snow follows Elsa as she disembarks the truck. Crouching behind a tree, Elsa gives a quick glance at the sun hanging low in the sky, and shadows starting to form behind the street lights.

"Focus, focus," Elsa mutters, trying in vain to forget the truth she's just revealed to Anna. A warm breeze picks up, sending rays of golden light refracting through the translucent train of her gown. She takes a few confident strides towards the Palace fence, looking over her shoulder to see if Anna's following.

No, she wouldn't. She's too busy hating me for what I just told her.

Without so much as a thought, the security cameras lining the fence freeze over in unison, before popping from their mounts and shattering against the concrete. The gate crackles in the sheer cold and falls off its hinges. Elsa strolls past the two frozen soldiers in the guardhouse, hands still poised on their rifles, ready to fire at her. The absence of the usual palace guard marching around the perimeter startles her somewhat, but Elsa knows they lost several battalions fighting Oaken, and whatever men they could spare had been sent to the border.

Still, no alarms, no tripwire, no dogs streaking across the square looking to tear her apart. A rumble catches her attention; Elsa turns to see the truck moving off, and no sign of Anna. Gritting her teeth, Elsa marches right up to the main entrance and throws the massive mahogany double-doors open, sending a gust of freezing wind into the hall. At once, her mind crumbles as no less than a hundred life-sized portraits of President Hans stare back at her. Right in the middle of the enormous main hall, a twenty-foot tall statue of Hans forms the focal point of splendor - every gilded piece of furniture and oak-framed painting buzzed with a hidden psychic energy emanating from that iron sculpture in the center.

Elsa's hands go numb. Her eyes roll back in her head and she staggers beneath the aura of Han's unseen presence. He's here. Looking up at the ceiling, the dozens of glittering chandeliers pierce her brain with a brightness more intense than the sun. Gripping her pants, tendrils of ice erupt from her feet into the marble flooring as she marches forward like moving through syrup. The many mirrors hanging around the wall cast back reflections of Elsa's face turning sleet white under the mental strain. She takes two steps, before crumbling to her knees once more. Her head begins to spin violently, each revolution threatening to tear her brains apart.

"I can't, I can't," Elsa chokes, realizing she got more than she bargained for. A low growl in the distance sends her bolting upright. Perched on the enormous stairs, upon swathes of purple velvet carpets, stood Hades. Gasping at his presence, Elsa's heart is crushed when she realizes that he knew she was coming. The man stares into Elsa's eyes, alleviating her strain somewhat, but worse still is the realization of what she had done to his wife.

"You killed Merida," Hades's voice wafts echoes through the hall. A dark energy buzzes beneath his voice, electrifying every piece of furniture in the hall.

"No, no, Hades, it's not like that. Hans tried to kill me with her and I c-couldn't-"

Elsa tries to make out the emotion in Hades's lifeless eyes, but even at this distance, it's not necessary. His entire being trembled with rage.

"Did you...did you rape her corpse amongst the littered remains of her dead animals?"

Elsa gasps, "Is that what Hans told you? How is that even possible? Merida was my friend! It pained me as much to watch her die!"

At her words, the gilded mirrors around the hall begin to vibrate under his powers. The ominous noise rattles Elsa's bones, before every mirror shatters simultaneously around her in a deafening crescendo.

"Murderer," Hades growls, his voice echoing endlessly amidst the noise of breaking glass. Gasping at the million shards of glass falling around her, Elsa's breath catches in her throat when she notices them vibrating on the ground. It takes a split-second to freeze her entire being solid, before every shard flies into her like a pin-cushion.

With a scream, Elsa unleashes a wave of virulent cold, coating every square inch of the hall in ice. The frost fades from Elsa's skin, revealing dozens of scratch marks, each one marking a spot where the shattered glass would've sliced into her.

"You will die today," Hades growls, sending the room's chandeliers clattering beneath the raw energy his voice projected. The lights go off, plunging the hall into a dark sunset glow, right before each chandelier descends towards the ground in a torrent of crystal.

Elsa shields her ears from the deafening roar of crystal smashing into the wood. A maelstrom of ice and crystal brews around them, transparent shards clinking amidst the violent wind. Staggering amidst the chaos, Elsa shrieks as a stray crystal shard cuts into her cheek. She buckles over and screams as another slices into her shin.

"Can you feel it?" Hades's voice fills her head, dark and ominous like the night, "This was nothing compared to what you put me through."

Elsa looks up to see the man towering over her, unscathed by the shrapnel billowing around him.

"I didn't mean to kill her," Elsa gasps, straining against the wind to pronounce each syllable. Frost spreads across the shattered flooring, but it flakes into the air around Hades's feet, as if he's protected by a sphere of his own powers.

Without warning, Elsa feels her feet lifting off the ground. Shrieking at the sensation of weightlessness taking over her, she opens her eyes to see her own body hovering in front of Hades. Try as she might, she's unable to move.

"I will tear you limb from limb like you did to her."

"No, I didn't!" Elsa screams, before unleashing a concentrated blast of ice into Hades. To her horror, the magic sweeps around him in a circle, shrouding the man in fog and frost, but leaving him unscathed. The assault sends her flying backwards into the millions of crystal shards. Crunch. Pain explodes across Elsa's back as she slams into the door. Buckling over, Elsa coughs out blood, eyes widening when the red droplets float into the air along with her broken body.

"Stop," Elsa chokes, as her hands are pinned spread-eagled to the door, and an unseen force clutches at her neck, "Hans was lying to you!"

"You were like a daughter to us," Hades growls, stretching Elsa's limbs further and further apart.

"P-please," Elsa pleads, as her joints begin to creak under the strain. Beneath the destructive force of his power, all she can muster are snowflakes, but even they too get swept into the storm of ice and crystal billowing around her. Pain stabs through every bone in Elsa's skeleton; even her ribs feel like they're being yanked apart. Looking down, Elsa expects to find red glowing eyes and a scowl of hatred, but all she sees are the gaunt features of a man who's lost everything in his life.

"I loved her," Hades growls, as the skin around Elsa's joints begin to split from overwhelming force, "Merida was everything to me."

Elsa opens her mouth to argue, but finds herself unwilling to progress beyond taking shallow breaths. The blood seeping into her gown stains it a vibrant pink hue. Before long, Elsa feels her breath slipping away into the air. Her lungs refuse to budge under the strain, and her arms threaten to pop from their sockets.

"It's over," Elsa thinks, as she wishes she hadn't parted with Anna on such bad terms. Shutting her eyes, she surrenders herself to Hades's powers, and the death he rightfully owed her. The sensation of falling overwhelms her senses. Crumpling in a heap on the ground, Elsa clutches at the fiery pain ripping through her chest when she inhales deeply. She pushes herself against the door and gasps at the sight of Hades through watery eyes.

Slumped forward before Elsa, Hades lets out a pain-filled breath, before going still. His corpse collapses on the ground like a stack of bricks, and in his place stood Anna, wielding a six-foot iron spear.

"Anna," Elsa gasps, shuddering in horror as her sister plunges the spear once more into Hades's skull. With a grunt, Anna flings the bloodied weapon at the wall, sending it clattering next to a mangled suit of armor.

"I told you to stay in the truck," Elsa mutters.

Anna wipes his blood from her chin. Beneath the look of fury written on her face, Elsa could make out Anna's reddened eyes. A flurry of words fly between them.

"How long did you know we're sisters?"

"Since I rescued you-"

"How did you find out?"

"Military records-"

"Why didn't you tell me?"

Elsa turns to look at Anna, with gritted teeth and her left hand gripping the side of her pants so tight that the fabric begins to tear. The frost around Elsa fades for a second, before returning as an icy gale.

"I didn't want to hurt you, Anna, please," Elsa pleads, pouring every ounce of sincerity she had into the words, "I d-didn't want to lose what we had together."

Elsa takes a step forward, only to have her heart crushed when Anna flinches away from her.

"Oh god, we're related. My whole life was a lie," Anna mutters, raking a hand through her hair, "and...and...all those times we did it-"

"Look, I didn't want to, but you were so broken it seemed like you needed it," Elsa explains, "I was just as confused as you were."

"Oh, were you?" Anna scowls, shuddering as Elsa reaches towards her, "don't...just don't touch me right now, okay?"

With trembling lips, Elsa withdraws her hand. Snow flakes from her face like teardrops.

"I'm sorry-" Anna continues, looking at the shattered glass and ice around her, "I-I just need some time to take it all in."

Elsa stares into her sister's eyes. A solitary tear brims on her eyelids, before freezing over and clattering on the ground. Clutching at her ice-gown, Elsa tries to think of something to say; anything that would bring the love of her life back, but it's useless. Her selfishness had cost her Anna.

"Alright," Elsa says, trying not to let the hurt show in her voice, "take as much time as you need."

The sisters whirl to the noise of ringing bells from the ceiling, bringing with it a deluge of water descending from the ceiling.

"Sprinklers," Elsa says over the noise of hissing water. She wades through the artificial rain and spots a dozen humvees roaring through the front gates.

"They're onto us, let's go!" Anna screams, as panic floods her mind like the water seeping into her boots.

Grabbing her sister's hand, Elsa races towards the nearest door she can find. Shoving open another pair of double-mahogany doors, they stumble into a long, dry hallway lined with artworks. Elsa turns and freezes the doors shut, before sprinting between gilded paintings of Hans and marble statues of his likeness. Images of war flash past their eyes as they dash towards the end of hall, but the doors creak open without warning.

"What-" Elsa gasps, staring at the blonde girl standing between the doors.

Anna recognizes her face, despite being bruised and bloodied. She was on television all the time - the savior of Arendelle who eradicated sickness and injury for the rich and powerful. Despite her powers, blood trickled from her cut lip.

"Rapunzel," Elsa gasps, staring at her thin frame trembling in a doctor's coat. At this distance, she could make out her eyes flashing between dull red and emerald green.

"I'm s-sorry, I tried to resist him b-but I c-couldn't-" Rapunzel stutters, not bothering to wipe the blood trickling down her cheek.

"Is she going to-?" Anna gasps, eyes fluttering left and right.

"No, she can't hurt us, it's alright," Elsa says, daring to take two steps towards Rapunzel.

"Fool," Rapunzel's voice echoes through the hall, dark and low like death herself was standing right before them, "do you not know what I'm capable of?"

At her words, Elsa and Anna freeze in their places, expecting some demon to emerge from her mouth.

"I have the power to give life," Rapunzel screeches, before her eyes glow red like fire, "and to take it away!"

A pane of ice erupts between them, right before a wave of tangible darkness ripples from Rapunzel's being and slams into Elsa, sending her crumpling to the ground.

"No!" Anna screams, throwing herself over Elsa's body. Anna presses a ear to her sister's chest, expecting to hear the steady throb of her heart through the helmet.

Instead, she finds nothing but silence.