A/N:Once again, had one or two schedule hiccups due to work and such, but here it is. The longest chapter yet in my work. Once again, reviews are awesome and they really push me to get these out faster (especially with Fallout 4 round the corner).

Thanks again to my beta reader for working out the kinks. I do hope you enjoy, once again.

Chapter 5: Sacrificial Protection

A first glance, Warehouse 373 gave Elsa not a great deal of information she was already aware of. It had the same dull shade of grey painted walls that were slightly peeling away, the same large sliding front doors, and the same attached office area by the back like any other warehouse around it. Upon closer inspection, she already deduced one crucial flaw.

It was too empty.

According to the information from what she gathered back at the office, there had been a lease on Warehouse for the past twenty-two months. Normally, a time span like would have been used by someone to start a business or store some large equipment inside (given the size and scope of this warehouse). But a cursory glance through the dirty windows showed an empty room bathed in darkness. Which brings her to another flaw.

The lights.

Many of the lights around the warehouse were operational, but there was no light coming from the inside. Assuming that a business would have been here, normal operating hours would mean that the lights would have been turned on. Even if the employees weren't carrying out their normal operations, there would have been at least a supervisor keeping an eye on the place. But there was no business or equipment stored in here. Just an empty warehouse. Factoring in the trail Red left, and this left Elsa with one only possibility:

This warehouse is where White Hand resides…

The simplicity of it all was perhaps its greatest strength: the apparent vacancy was what they wanted any passersby to believe. That there was nothing of note or value contained within.

Nothing to steal from.

But Elsa knew better. She felt suspicious about this place from the moment she entered in the warehouse district. If there's one thing she could trust after years of private detective work, it was her gut. However, that was still it all was. A gut feeling. As of yet, she had no hard evidence to confirm her suspicions, and by extension, no way she could get a warrant to search the place legally, much less in the time frame she needed. Elsa gulped. There really was no way forward within the bounds of the law. She had to stop the chief's words repeating in her head at this point.

Don't do anything rash? Sorry chief. Looks like I'm gonna have to disappoint you…

Elsa felt her heart pound with each step she took as she circled the warehouse, inspecting every minute detail of it. All the doors were secured though, and she knew there was no practical way to force entry. She lacked the equipment to pick the lock, and anything less technical would almost certainly be far too loud enough to remain discreet. Elsa was just about to give up when she her golden opportunity.

One of the escape ladders appeared to be stuck open. Elsa gripped one of the rungs and gave it a good tug. Reassuringly, it refused to budge. Nevertheless, it hardly made the option less risky. There was no guarantee that it would support her weight. A broken bone would just as easily end her investigation. She took a breath, and took the rungs one limb at a time. It seemed to hold. Still, she erred on the side of caution.

One small step at a time, they always said. Left, right…

Nothing shifted out of place.

Left, right.

There wasn't so much as a single creak.

Left, right.

Her heart soon begin going to overdrive, physically and mentally stressing her out.

Left, right.

A small creak erupted from the ladder, freezing her in place. She waited for her falling death. After what seemed like eternity, she continued upward.

Left, right, left, right, left, right...

Eventually, she climbed up to the area above. A series of glass ceiling panels greeted her, with a smattering of small glass shards lining the area. Bending down to scoop a piece of glass shard, Elsa realized that upon closer inspection they turned out to be safety glass.

A thought came to mind, inspiring some hope.

By breaking these glass panels, she could gain entry in the warehouse. Looking to her right, she could see a semi-broken glass panel that was begging to be fully shattered. Not to mention that the shards of safety glass would greatly reduce the risk of cutting herself. And by rolling, she could greatly spread the force of impact all over her body, preventing any major shock damage. The calculations were in place. Now she only had her remaining doubts to deal with.

At this point on, there would be no doubt that she was definitely trespassing. If she was wrong and she was caught, she could face a criminal record. If the criminals really were here and she got caught by them, then it wouldn't be the law she had to be afraid of. With all this in mind, Elsa tugged on her gloves, grabbed the edges of the window and vaulted downward.

The truth awaited.

That was all that mattered.

Elsa landed in a smooth roll, back arched in perfect sync with her legs to survive a 20 foot drop. Dusting soot of her trench-coat, Elsa look at her surroundings. She was in room that appeared to be some sort of administration. Or at least, intended to be. There was little more than a few old wooden desks covered in dust and cobwebs to serve as adequate furniture. The door towards her left appeared to have a push bar system, meaning she could leave without having to climb out.

Now, it the search could begin in earnest.

Pulling out a small light, Elsa left the room through another wooden door, this one offering no resistance. There was a metal staircase, this one leading straight to the floor below. Once at the bottom, she scanned the area. Nothing. No goods, no machinery, no equipment. Only dust and cobwebs welcomed her. Was this place simply abandoned? If her hypothesis was true, they wouldn't need this space at all. She found her way to the nearest doorway.

A hallway greeted her. Noticing a switch, she flicked it on and waited. Not so much for the lights, but for any possible reaction to them. After a few minutes, nothing. With another breath, she pressed on.

Time and again, the dusty rooms she entered appeared to show no signs of recent use. On closer inspection, there were clean, spotless marks on the layer of dust that coated most of the surfaces. Some of them were even in clear, geometric shapes.

So someone was here. Recently.

Heart pounding a million beats per second, Elsa pulled out her peacemaker and removed the safety. This was enough of a risk already. Suddenly, as if to reward her for her diligence, a shout on the side of the building screamed human presence.

"This isn't funny any more!" Elsa cocked her head, raising her gun.

That voice!

One of the last, final pieces of her memory slid back into place. Like an old rusted key inserting itself into a lock, the memories soon began turning and unlocking. That fateful night came back in force. That woman. The one who had slipped through her grasp and then mocked her. Elsa's blood pressure went up a notch. The banging continued briefly, allowing Elsa to track it to its source. She slowly approached the door, gun raised. No chances this time for mistakes. The door was for the most part similar to the others, only this one had a large metal bar keeping it secure. With ever so slightly unsteady breaths, she forced the bar aside, and pushed the door open. A blur of red and black was coming.

SMACK!

Elsa had instinctively made the butt of her gun into a makeshift club. Without so much as a thought to the consequences, she brought it down full force, scoring a clean hit on Red's forehead. As she clutched her head from the impact, Elsa seized up all of a sudden, guilt clawing at her torsos. This woman had cause her a fair amount of pain and misery for sure, but hitting her just didn't feel right. Most peculiar was that she couldn't figure out why.

She'll probably press charges. That must be it.

Elsa resolved to be more careful. And not a moment too soon.

"You hit me!" Red was no longer distracted by the surprise attack, and launched a hook. Elsa simply rolled her eyes. A skilled thief she may be, but an experienced combatant she was not. Elsa raised her arm. The attack stopped cold. She latched on with her other hand, before turning her around. She had done it, twisting her arm around and gripping her from the back.

"You're under arrest." Elsa's voice was cold; almost empty. There would be no tricks this time. Elsa would make her regret it.

"Stop, you're hurting me!" Red gasped, trying to squirm away.

Against her instinct, and perhaps her better judgement, Elsa loosened her grip. She felt herself edging closer and closer into the morally questionable territory. This wasn't why she had pursued this path so far. Was it? "Let's go, nice and easy. No sudden moves." She pressed the pair of them forwards.

"How? How did you find me?" Red managed to force out, still wincing.

"Let's just say I'm very good at what I do." Elsa would never admit to the sheer amount of luck that had gotten her this far, and a more technical explanation would probably go right over this girl's head. "One thing you should know about Arendelle: if you make a single mistake, we'll find it."

"So what, you're going to arrest me for real this time? Well hah! I'm not going to tell you a thing. Especially who it is I'm working for." Red gave a slight smile, though Elsa couldn't see.

That being said, Elsa has far from phased by this assertion. "We have very real charges we can press against you. That has not changed. I recommend that you put a great deal of thought into what you say. Unless that is, you have no information worth sharing. If they really believed you have any worthwhile information, they wouldn't have abandoned you."

"No, you're wrong! they wouldn't do that. They wouldn't" Red snapped, unsure which of them she was trying to convince.

Elsa sighed. "I hate to break it to you, but they're long gone. Everything and everyone is already gone. They're not-" Something caught her ear. Footsteps. Not too far away.

Who's there?

Suddenly, a number of black uniformed men came into view, as though out of the woodwork. None of them bore any acronyms or insignias she was aware of. That could only mean one thing.

Oh gods.

Several of them lined up in the narrow space, a variety of guns arrayed against her. There were here for her, and not for a polite conversation. Elsa swallowed.

I need more time.

Instincts kicked in. She pointed her revolver into the air and fired a single warning shot. Enough to give them pause at least. Ears ringing and nose filled with the acrid smell of gunsmoke, she retreated into the room she had been in not moments ago.

They knew. They bloody knew. You're better than this, damnit!

No. Self-pity would only get her killed faster. She had maybe a minute before they decided it was safe to advance. She still had her revolver. Five shots left. Enough to give them pause at least. And she still had her phone. Help could arrive long before any drawn out plan of theirs would work, and there was only one point of entry. Elsa tapped the buttons on her phone with all due haste. All she needed to do was stand her ground.

Maybe two minutes later, back to the wall, Elsa narrowed her eyes as the door came open. Three figures emerged, the same men from before advanced into the room, all wielding automatic weapons. While Elsa had kept her revolver trained on the mid-point between them, none of them had raised their weapons. Yet.

"Please, let's not do anything you might regret." The person in the center stepped aside, revealing a young man. Polished light brown hair, proper posture, around the same height. Not nearly as good as concealing a smug look as he thought.

Must be the one in charge. Just what does he intend?

Elsa didn't falter. She didn't intend to be the one with anything to regret.

"The police are on their way. Tread carefully." The man's expression didn't change. Did that revelation not bother him, or did he refuse to show it? Elsa got the impression that his face was going to give nothing up voluntarily.

"The police are beneath us," the man scoffed. "Even here in Arendelle, we could be right under their noses and they would be none the wiser." He cracked a smile, revealing perfect, clean white teeth that made Elsa shiver just a bit. "But I don't need to tell you that, do I?" Elsa grimaced.

He knows.

That only left one question for the moment. "So if you're not afraid of being caught, what are you waiting for?"

"A good question. You see, in spite of your rather rash decision to break in here alone, we believe that you are, for a lack of a better word, exceptional. And that's not a word I use lightly. To make so much progress on the Albernon heists? Very Impressive. To trace it back here? Even more impressive. Clearly, you're someone who gets things done." The man turned around, And Elsa narrowed her eyes. Was he really not afraid of a bullet to a vital? "Unfortunately, that now means that you're a problem. One that I have to deal with."

Elsa was all too aware that he could have done so already. Five bullets. 3 armed known hostiles in front of her. Unknown number of hostiles probably lurking in the shadows. No cover. He could take her down at any time, but instead he decides to lecture her. Elsa bit her lip. This was his plan all along. From the moment she entered in the warehouse alone, he knew he had the advantage.

Time. She needed more time. No matter what he asserted, there was no way he could weasel his way out once the police arrived in force.

"So what now?"

The man turned back to Elsa. "It's simple, really. While it would be all too easy to dispose of you with no one any the wiser, I do detest wasted potential. So I'm going to give you this offer once, and once only."

"And that would be?"

The man raised his arms, as if gesturing Elsa to join his fold. "Work with us. Achieve your true potential."

Elsa blinked. True potential? It didn't matter what kind of technology or skills they had, Elsa knew her true potential would never be on the wrong side of the law. "And what, I get my life in return?"

The man frowned first. Then, a smile appeared. Then, a soft laugh. "Oh, please. People like you and me? We're never truly satisfied with just living. To ask you to abandon your principles so cheaply is laughable. No, what I offer you is the truth. And that's just for starters."

The truth? She could figure that out on her own, thank you very much. She's a private detective, for goodness sake! Current predicament being an exception, She would have to lead him along. "So, what is it you think I'd be so interested in?"

He reached into his pocket and pulled something out. The Scarlet Star! That was an admission of guilt if ever Elsa saw one. She steeled herself. He must have been particularly confident to pull that out. "The treasures of Albernon. Some of the rarest and most valuable stones of their kind. But surely you already know that."

"It's common knowledge at this point, isn't it?" retorted Elsa.

"The stones were- are impossible to replicate. That's what makes them so rare." Did he have something more to say on the matter? Elsa's curiosity was surprisingly piqued, criminal organisation or not. The man's smile grew. "Good. Even if you don't understand just yet, deep down you know there's more to these than meets the eye." He paused. Did he want that last line to sink in? "The world is about to change. I'm giving you one chance to be on the right side when it does. Choose. and choose wisely."

This was madness. This man was ostensibly offering a way into the very group that she had been chasing all this time. Did he honestly think that she would simply jump into his open arms? That she would not suspect treachery from them? Else decided. If there was any partnership in the future, there was no way it would ever be mutually beneficial. She was clearly out of time. "My answer is no."

"Huh." The men gathered raised their guns at Elsa. "Pity." Elsa knew she had only seconds before it was over. She leveled her gun at the man who she had spoken with. She wouldn't shoot to kill, but she'd given him something to remember her by. A nice trail of blood would give forensics plenty to work with regardless of how little he thought of them. She pulled the hammer, squeezed the trigger…

Nothing happened.

It wasn't as though her gun was unable to fire. That was perfectly clear. It was as if her trigger finger had frozen in place: refusing to listen obey orders. There was no reason that she wouldn't want to fire, given her situation. What the hell was going on?

FWIP

In her moment of introspection, Elsa had been shot again. This time, instead of a malignant narcotic entering her system, it was ten thousand volts. Her body briefly burned and stung at the same time, and she quickly sank to the floor, unable to move. She could only barely make out what was being said.

"Boss, is everything alright?"

"Better than alright. In fact, we can accelerate our plans. Get the men to take our little interloper to the shrine."

"And what of our intrepid little thief?"

"Once you've dealt with her, of course."

"Thought you'd never ask." The last thing Elsa heard was a short laugh and a smacking sound, followed by a grunt and something falling on to the hardwood dusty floor of Warehouse 373.

Not again.

As Elsa's mind slowly pulled itself back into the world of the living, her memories began to resurface. This time however, they were in perfect clarity: she remembered the final moments before losing consciousness, which was something she now would preferred to have forgotten.

Not that it would have made the reality of her present situation any less harrowing.

The first thing to come to her attention was a low rumble, most likely emanating from a moving vehicle. As she strained to open her eyes, a low crimson light greeted her. She was in some kind of narrow room, accompanied by at least three others. Soon, she became acutely aware of a body-wide soreness. The worst of her discomfort was in her wrists, which she noticed were tied together by what felt like plastic binding. Her trench-coat was gone, and she could no longer feel any of her personal effects in her pockets.

"Oh, you're awake."

Elsa turned to the source of the deep voice, her vision now intact. One side of the room played host to a nexus of advanced electronics even she couldn't decipher from her current position, while the other seemed to have a cot which folded out of the wall. Two of the other occupants wore the same outfits as the men that had ambushed her, although it was impossible to tell if they were the same ones. In between them was -

Phantom Red?

Upon closer inspection, it appeared she was on the same position as Elsa herself: bound and unable to move. Only difference was that she was unconscious. For however long they had left, they were now sisters in binds.

"Where- where am I?" Elsa asked, struggling to break free but to no avail. Even if she were to break free from her confinement, she'd be up against 2 armed men. Words were the only weapon she had left at this point, even though she knew full well that the man wouldn't offer any useful information, if he allowed the conversation to continue at all.

"You don't need to know that just yet," the man said. "All you need to know is that you should have accepted the boss's offer. You could have been well rewarded" he gestured towards Red. "We had something very special in mind for her, but now it seems that you're going first."

Something...didn't add up. A glaring chink in his line of logic.

"And this is Phantom Red's reward, is it? It looks like she did everything you wanted, and now she's little more than a loose end."

"Shut up!" he snapped. "Red here botched her last little job, and soon she'll pay the price. Even at the highest level, failure isn't tolerated."

Elsa closed her eyes. She could tell that even the man himself barely bought into that story. He's most likely another thug for hire, simply parroting what the boss tells him to do. "So even though she returned the jewel she set out to steal, leaving you more than enough time for a clean getaway, she still has to be punished with death? Don't tell me you're honestly naive-"

"ENOUGH! The boss's orders are absolute. End of story." Elsa notice the prominent veins on his neck and forehead. The man seemed ready jump up at a moment's notice. If it weren't for the gravity of the situation and the fact it would probably earn her a smack to the face, Elsa would have laughed.

"I'm just wondering when your boss will order you to sign your own death - "

The man pulled out a pistol. "I said, enough." He moved closer to her, pushing his covered face into her's. "Our orders only said that you need to be alive when we reach our destination. One more word out of you and I'll show you just how much the human body can endure."

She wasn't stupid enough to call him out. Soon, the man returned to his seat and holstered his gun. As the minutes turned to hours and the soreness finally started to fade, Elsa tried to gather as much information as she could about her surroundings. The collection of machines was still indecipherable and it wasn't like the men would allow her to make a closer inspection.

There was a metal door at the other end of the room, which hadn't opened since she had awoken. They were probably in a boat of a van of some kind, but Elsa had no way of being sure. The only sound came from Red herself, occasionally stirring from what seemed to be a very fitful sleep, if not unconsciousness.

At this point, it was almost certain that they had left Arendelle - a considerable risk with the borders on the lookout. Her dread told her that trying to further understand her situation would only worsen things further, but her inherent curiosity got the better of her anyhow. The White Hand have decided that she was a problem. Since the attempt to drug her fell through, they had now chosen to silence her permanently. However, they could have easily do so long before she had awoken. This left two possibilities:

Either these people still have some unfathomable use for me...or they want to sate some kind of sadism…

The worst part of it all was that these two possibilities weren't mutually exclusive.

The noise from the engine stopped completely. Elsa swallowed.

End of the line.

The door on the other side finally opened, though nobody came through. Right on cue, the men got up and dragged Elsa to her feet.

"Time to go. No sudden moves." The man had his gun out, and the irony was not lost on Elsa. How long ago had it been that she had held Red at gunpoint? She forced herself forwards, edged on by the barrel of the gun. As she passed the doorway, Elsa saw the dashboard and realized they had traveled by road. She was quickly forced outside before she could make any further observations.

Once outside, she felt the air almost being sucked out of her lungs. It was the dead of night, with no moon to provide any lighting source. Not only was it pitch black, but positively frigid as well. Without her coat, she would probably suffer hypothermia within a few short hours.

Before her eyes could adjust, a floodlight came to life behind her, illuminating the area. It was quite the sight to behold. They were in some kind of small enclosure within the mountains, and judging from the stone formation that have been cut, smoothed, and covered in ruins, they weren't the first people to set foot here. In front of them was a large clearing with a stone pedestal in the center. Etched on its surface was some kind of inscriptions Elsa couldn't comprehend. A squared arch towered over it.

"Move!"

Elsa felt a jab from the gun of her captor, and walked forward straight towards the stone arch. Upon closer inspection, Elsa could also make out the lines of dirt running up the stone, suggesting that until recently it had been covered in foliage. As Elsa marched between the stone pillars, a pair of men approached her from both sides, chains and manacles in men kept a tight hold on her as they cut the bindings, replacing them with shackles and denying her any fleeting chance she may have had to flee. The shackles brought a fresh burst of freezing agony, eliminating any previous acclimation she had towards the cold. Any hope of escaping quickly dissipated.

Elsa looked around. 10 men surrounded were, each clad in the same pitch black outfit that revealed nothing about themselves. None of them were focusing on her, but she didn't care at this point. Whatever strength she had managed to gather had been utterly drained from her by the harsh cold. And as antiquated as the arch was, the chains holding her were brand new, reflecting the light from the distance. Even if there was something on her person that could help her, she couldn't possibly reach it at this point.

The light from the truck lowered until it was barely visible, leaving everyone blind again until their eyes adapted. Elsa could barely make out one of them returning from the vehicle and pulling out a small wooden box. With a pair of synchronized clicks, the box sprang open, revealing at least 5 gems. One by one, they were placed onto the pedestal.

Are those...are those the treasures of Albernon?

A terrifying epiphany struck her: they were going to use Elsa as a sacrifice in some kind of ritual. In spite of how ludicrous it all seemed, there was nothing she could do to stop it. These men had already decided that her death was necessary for them to continue their operations unimpeded. Trying to reason with them had almost gotten her beaten and bloodied. There was no way she could come close to the physical strength required to break the chains, even if she had hours. The group formed a circle around the pedestal, and began chanting some kind of mantra. Elsa could tell they were repeating the same words, but understanding them was all but impossible.

So how are they going to take until they finish me? And with what? A dagger to the heart? Or a bullet in between my eyes? Perhaps it would be done with my revolver. Irony certainly is a bitch, even at death's door…

She couldn't do anything to help herself or stop this madness. And no one was coming to save her. She was probably hundreds of miles away from anyone who cared. The only one close enough was the thief she herself had tried to take prisoner, but why would she save her captor to begin with? After all, she was the one who botched up her robbery in the first place. Assuming she woke up, she would simply use this opportunity to slip into the night.

Some of the men dropped to their knees, and the chant became a crescendo, becoming louder with each iteration. Still none of them came to finish her off, but it was only a matter of time. Perhaps she was hallucinating from stress or terror, but Elsa was sure the gems were starting to glow.

Wait...why is the world suddenly getting blurry?

As Elsa felt her eyes moisten, she realised: she wasn't ready to die. For all the risks bordering on absurd she had taken, she had a clear goal in mind. If she brought the White Hand to justice, she could put her past behind her and move on with her they caught her in the end. If only she knew how deep the rabbit hole went, she maybe she wouldn't have made that leap of faith. And yet, she dived anyway.

Even when she hit rock bottom, she still refused their offer to join their group. And the worst part of it all?

No one would care whether I died right now…

Her little office would close down, people would move on and all that awaited her memory was a death in absentia.

She was well and truly alone.

And she always would be.

The ritual intensified, and Elsa soon realized that she wasn't hallucinating: one of the gemstones was glowing and levitating above the pedestal. The mantra was a shout now, difficult to hear. It wouldn't be long before it could go no louder. It was a blue, much lighter than the Tear of the Goddess. As the light grew ever brighter, the smooth, crescent shape became clear. Elsa recognized it as the Shard of Selenial Ice, stolen from the Museum of Natural History in London.

Within seconds, the light emanating from the Shard was far brighter than the floodlight had ever been, bathing the entire area in a suffocating white light. The wind suddenly began to pick up, giving in intense howl that had completely drowned out the mantra. In fact, the Shard had begun exerting its own force, blasting the air away. As it begun to pick up, the group had allowed the mantra to fade into silence. The intense light had faded somewhat, and was now a glowing orb of almost pure white, floating within the air. The other treasures of Albernon descended back onto the pedestal. The Shard of Selenial Ice was gone, presumably acting as a source of the light.

If Elsa believed in such things, she would have called the light otherworldly. Something no man could possibly create. In that way, not too different from the gemstones themselves. Still, this had to be some kind of hoax. Whenever she had encountered supposed cases of things going bump in the night, it was usually someone overly superstitious getting jumpy. Or trying to cover up their own wrongdoing. Here was something that defied everything Elsa believed she understood. And apparently it would continue, with or without her permission. One of the men stepped forward, calling out to the source of the light. Still Elsa could not understand a word.

"Speak in your own tongue, fool." Elsa jumped. The light had spoken. And this time, she could tell what it was saying with ease. The voice was deep, but undoubtedly feminine, and completely indistinguishable from a human's.

"You- you understand us?" The man asked. Normally an entirely redundant question, but these circumstances were anything but normal.

"Though you have not pierced our veil for thousands of your lifetimes, we have watched. And we have waited. For we are always." This man was conversing with a light.

This is bordering madness! This has to be some sort of elaborate set up! Maybe this is all a dream! Maybe -

The man who stepped forward continued. "Then, my queen, your wait is at an end. We have prepared to receive your blessing, down to the letter. Our ritual has brought you here before us, and we have even prepared our tribute to you."

So this was their plan all along. She would be offered to whatever this voice was, and they would receive the 'blessing' in exchange. She realized she had only seconds left. All she could do was close her eyes, and wait for the end.

"So be it. I am ready to bestow my blessings, as I have always been. Are you ready, mortals?" spoke the light.

"Of course, my queen. Begin right away!"

So this was how it ends...used as a pawn by the very people she was hunting. I'm supposed to be better than this, dammit! Why not-

Her thoughts were quickly cut short. The light had stopped blasting air out, suspending dust particles and debris in the air. Moments later, and the reverse is taking place, with light inhaling all the nearby air like a vacuum.

Given the tight hold the chains had on her, this didn't seem like very efficient way to do her in. Or perhaps it wasn't intended to be. The force steadily mounted, and yet the chains still held fast. Did this Eldritch being want the satisfaction of her succumbing to despair? Well, she wasn't going to get it. Whatever dignity still remained was all she had, and she would be damned if she was going to give it up! Elsa opened her eyes as far as she could. Strands of black were obscuring her vision as her hair had now come loose, yet she remained stationary. Some of the group had turned to face her, presumably curious as to her incoming fate. Some remained fixed on the light. Then, one of the last things Elsa would have expected happened.

The man closest to the light (who had conversed with the otherworldly being) was lifted from his feet. A couple of seconds later, he was pulled straight into the light and consumed, never to return. If their actions, or lack thereof were any indication, the others there were just as surprised by this development as Elsa was. Many of them looked to each other, unsure of what course of action to take. There was no deliberation however, as the intense winds picked up the second of them and pulled them into the pure white vortex.

The silence of those who remained quickly turned to sheer terror. They all now dispersed from the light source, attempting to avoid the same fate. Some of them cried out, while others clung on to whatever piece of rock they could. One even cried out for help, giving Elsa a small amount of grim satisfaction. What would they do to trade places with her at this point. One by one, they all suffered the same apparent end, as the rocks offered them no purchase against the winds. One of the men made it was far as the vehicle, and scrambled to open the door. What was done could not be undone. Almost instinctively, the light unleashed a tendril, grasping the man and sealing his doom. The man cried out futilely, but to no avail.

Of the eleven people who had set foot in the courtyard that night, only Elsa now remained. There was no time to ponder the meaning of it all, as the mass of white light was starting to pick up energy. Wisps of light started to orbit them main light, growing faster with each passing second. Finally, the light exploded, sending out a massive shockwave. A blast of pure white spread out from its center, stopping just short of the mountains.

Elsa felt it pass straight through her, and yet it felt like it had clung onto her very soul. She thought she had acclimatised to the cold. Or at least she had stopped noticing it. Now,she felt like death itself.

World blurring before her, Elsa could feel her strength slipped away. The last thing she heard was the sound of metal splintering.

This time, Elsa awoke from her slumber with a jolt. Springing upright, she remembered every little detail that took place beforehand. Patting her body down, Elsa checked for any fatal injuries. She barely noticed the fragments of metal lying on the ground, which had chained her to the stone.

Gods. I'm alive…

A wave of elation passed over Elsa. Here she was, very much alive. But how? The ritual had failed, there was no doubt about that. Had that man offended the being on the other side? Or was there some other reason that they had all been pulled to their doom? It hardly mattered in the end. They had messed with powers beyond their comprehension, and paid the ultimate price.

For the first time in forever, Elsa had absolutely no interest in investigating the scene. This place would always be one of dread and forces beyond her understanding. Once her eyes had adjusted, Elsa scooped up the gems from the pedestal and made her way back to the van that had brought her here. In a stroke of luck, the door wasn't locked. It would have been a rather sick twist of fate for her to survive only to be stranded out here.

For the first time in forever, Elsa felt like the luckiest woman in the world. Not only had she found the keys to start the vehicle on the dashboard, but her personal effects were there too, including her revolver and her phone. The latter part proved to be a mixed blessing as her phone was without signal and only had enough battery left for a few minutes. With calling for help not an option, Elsa turned to the back of the van where she had awaited her end maybe an hour ago. Red was still there, not stirring.

For the first time in forever, Elsa looked at the young woman, a brazen, unashamed criminal, and felt no contempt. For all she had done, Elsa had never felt even the slightest bit of malice or cruelty from the woman. Had the ritual gone as those men had planned, she would have suffered the same fate as Elsa. Unlike herself, this woman had entrusted the White Hand. And this was to be her reward. Elsa steeled herself, and made her way to the driver's seat.

For the first time ever, Elsa would take a criminal out of incarceration.