Chapter 22: The rescue.

"You're out of your mind." Kristoff scolded her as she tried to sneak into Hans' office. Considering that it was around seven in the morning he was probably at his house, sleeping, so no one was inside. However, there was a guard standing guard at the entrance, and they needed a key to access.

First, they'd broken into the security room, knocked out the man in there and tied him up so he could not alert anyone to their presence. Then they'd checked the multiple cellars, labs, and even some of the empty clone rooms. However, her rifle was nowhere to be found. So she concluded Hans must had put it either in his office or in Weselton's. If it wasn't there… well, maybe she'd have to steal a weapon from one of the guards. But that was the last thing she wanted.

"Why is your rifle so special anyways?" Kristoff asked, but Elvira shushed him.

"Be quiet if you don't want to be discovered." She muttered, planning a strategy to get in there without alerting everyone of their presence. "Now… I think it's best if you approach from the other corridor." She said, pointing to it. "I'll distract him once you're positioned, and once he tries to capture me, you go and knock him out with those big muscles of yours." She grinned, pleased with her plan. However, Kristoff didn't look very convinced.

"That sounds awfully dangerous." He deadpanned.

"Do as I say." She hissed and pushed him towards the corridor behind them, which lead to the opposite side of the hall.

"Fine." He sighed. "But I'm blaming you if we die." And with that he got up and left, procuring not to make a sound (they'd taken off their shoes to ensure that).

Elvira practically held her breath as she waited, her heart pounding as the adrenaline raced through her blood, her muscles tensing in anticipation as her breaths coming out hard and fast. This wasn't the most dangerous thing she'd done, but certainly it'd be the first time she confronted an armed man without weapons, and in a mission where there were more lives at stake than her own. However, she took a deep breath and tried to calm down anyways. This should be easy enough, no need to get nervous.

She took a peek towards Hans' office from her hiding spot behind the corner, but Kristoff still wasn't there. What was taking him so long? He just needed to get to the other corridor, damn it.

She almost let out a sigh of relief when his head appeared, a few feet behind the guard, and he gave her a nod. She swallowed and got back to her hiding spot, but tried to summon all the courage she had, get up and try not to get killed.

Once she was up she shook her hands, trying to relax, before stepping out of the corner, and into the corridor where Hans' office was. Immediately, the guard turned his head around and looked directly at her, confusion evident on his face.

"Hi." She smirked, but before he could scream and alert everyone, Kristoff tackled him and hit his head against the ground, effectively knocking him out for a few minutes. "Good job." She smiled in approval, before going to the office and getting out a couple of clips she'd grabbed from one of the labs earlier. Thankfully, the lock wasn't incredibly difficult to open. She'd need less than a minute.

"You better hurry." Kristoff said, obviously nervous about the whole situation, more so than Elvira due to the fact he'd never done something like this. He looked around the corridor, hoping no one would just happen to come walking by.

"I'm doing what I can." She answered exasperated as she picked the lock. "Come on, just a little bit." She muttered to herself as she found the perfect position, before finally pushing the door open and fighting the urge to let out a triumphant cry. Instead, she contented with a sufficient smirk and walked inside, followed by Kristoff.

"Get him in here." She ordered, pointing at the guard still laying on the corridor. The blond man obeyed, though it was clear he was anything but comfortable with what they were doing. And Elvira didn't blame him; Hans was the nephew of the boss of the boss of his boss, or something like that, and so he could get in big trouble if they were caught… something that would most likely happen if he was so nervous all the time. Maybe she should tell him to wait outside?

She didn't have time to ponder that though, because when she looked (like, really looked at the office) she saw her rifle propped up against the far corner. She ran towards it, kneeled down, and practically hugged it. She was so glad to see it. It had gotten her out of more than a few tight spots, and she was almost sure this time wouldn't be different. Almost.

She checked it and sighed with relief when she found out it was still fully loaded. Not only that but her leather jacket, wallet and spare ammo cartridges were there as well. She grabbed the wallet and ammo and stuffed it into her pockets, then looked at her jacket for a few seconds. Coming to a decision she put the jacket down on Hans' desk before looking at the fallen guard.

"I think I'll take his bulletproof vest." She said, before starting to get him out of his clothing.

"Let me help you." Kristoff offered as he kneeled down and also tried to get the vest off. Once they managed to do it, he also helped Elvira put it on, even though she didn't need any help. "Do you really think you'll need it?" He gulped, as if just realizing how serious this was.

"Most likely yes." She answered with a grimace. "I'd be better if I also had a helmet, though."

"Okay." He said with a shaky voice, and Elvira sighed, finishing to put the vest on, and going for her jacket.

"Are you scared?" She asked in disbelief.

"Are you not?" He shot back. "These people have weapons, and know how to use them. And who knows how many guards there are!"

"You could go, you know?" She said in a serious tone. "You don't have to do this."

"Of course I have to! What kind of person would I be if I didn't help you?" he responded, almost offended that she'd suggested he'd leave her to save Elsa alone.

"But you don't know how to use a gun, or sneak into places." She countered, as she took one of the cuffs off her jeans (she'd taken them after Kristoff helped her escape) and used them to bind the guard's hands. Then, she took one of her socks and stuffed it into his mouth, so he couldn't ask for help in case he woke up.

"We could call the police." Kristoff suggested half-heartedly, since he knew what she'd answer.

"And tell them about the evil Clone Center abducting a clone, who has a fully-developed brain, to taste a new drug and turn her into a mindless being?" She raised an eyebrow skeptically. "We'd need proof to make an accusation like that."

"Okay, maybe you're right." He admitted, slumping his shoulders in defeat. Elvira just nodded, not knowing what to respond and went to grab her rifle. Just then Kristoff's attention focused in it, and his eyes widened in disbelief.

"Uh… Elvira. I mean, isn't your rifle a…?"

"It serves well enough." She interrupted him and shot him a hard glare. "Trust me, I know what I'm doing."

"Okay." He nodded. He didn't know much about rifles after all, so maybe it wasn't what he thought it was.

When Elvira returned to his side and looked at the unconscious guard's belt, an idea about how Kristoff could help her occurred to her. An idea that would keep them both relatively safe, since he didn't really want nor was able to take down people and fight his way to the secret lab.

"Kristoff, can you hear me? Over." Elvira spoke to the walkie talkie she'd stolen from the guard. A bit of static was heard before he finally responded.

"I hear you clear and loud. Over." He said.

"Great." Elvira sighed in relief, putting the walkie talkie safe in her pocket. "It works."

"Indeed." Kristoff smiled, eying at the radio that was at the security room. "This was a great idea."

After recovering Elvira's rifle and stealing the guard's walkie talkie, they'd gone straight to the security room, where she'd explained her plan to Kristoff; he'd stay there, watching the screens and warning her if someone was coming her way, all this thanks to the walkie talkie. Of course, they'd had to adjust the frequency first, so the other guards couldn't hear them, but that was quick and easy.

This plan was sounding less and less like a suicide mission now that she thought about it. With Kristoff's help, there was a big probability of her getting out of there alive and with Elsa.

"Very good." Elvira nodded in approval. "Now, remember, lock the door and don't come out under any circumstance."

"I will." He smiled, appearing much more comfortable with his current task than with breaking into other people's offices to steal things.

"Okay… here I go." She said as she took a deep breath, trying to calm her nerves and steady her slightly shaking hands; she'd need all the composure and courage she had when she faced the guards. Something she hoped could be avoided if necessary.

She stepped out to the corridor and closed the door behind her, waiting for a moment to try and hear if someone was coming her way. Fortunately, the clone center opened around nine in the morning, and was mostly devoid of people at nights except for some guards and the scientists that were doing experiments that required constant observation to make sure nothing went wrong. So she was able to make her way through it undetected, partially thanks to Kristoff's helpful warnings when she came close to being discovered.

Still, she remained on full alert and didn't let her focus slip for even a second, since she knew she might need to run or fight if she suddenly came face to face with someone. Like when she entered the lab she was about to get in. Unfortunately, there were only two poorly placed cameras inside it, which meant someone could be there without Kristoff knowing it, hiding in one of the blind spots. So she walked carefully and clutching tightly her rifle, fully conscious that just one mistake could cost her her life… and Elsa's.

She slowly snuck into the lab, doing her best to remain as quiet as possible, and searched in vain for a map, a secret door, or something that could give her a clue as to where Elsa was being kept. But no, there was nothing there. And fortunately, it was empty (well, aside from one scientist sleeping in a chair, loudly snoring to himself).

She checked another two labs without success, and without encountering anyone either, so she stopped to think for a moment. She needed to be smart if she wanted to get to Elsa in time. The secret lab was obviously inside the Clone Center, and was probably the most heavily guarded area. More so it was likely near the clones' chambers, if they regularly took Elsa there and didn't want her to escape. But it also had to be somewhere people didn't go very often. Which meant… it was probably beyond the "residential area". And it probably needed an access card to get in.

First things first then. She needed a card.

Remembering the scientist, she'd seen earlier sleeping in a lab, she went back to it. She was well aware though, that only the main scientists had access to any restricted areas, and that someone unfortunate enough to have to stay at night to babysit an experiment was either a student or a low-rank researcher at best. However, he could have an idea of where she could find an access card. Hopefully.

Entering as silently as she could, she walked to the place where she'd remembered seeing him earlier, but when he finally came into view… he was awake, apparently entering data into the computer. Elvira cursed inside her head. She was hoping to surprise him while he was asleep, but… what could she do? She'd have to threat him into telling her about the access cards.

So, Elvira steadied her breath and tightened her grip on her rifle, strengthening her resolve as she thought about Elsa, probably trapped in the lab, scared and about to be experimented on. Then she stepped out of the shadows and moved behind his back.

"Put your hands over your head." She demanded in the most threatening way she could. At this, the man practically jumped out of his skin and turned around, looking at her with wide eyes. He was clearly afraid, and appeared to be only slightly older than her, which probably would make it much easier to make him spill everything he knew.

"Please don't kill me." He practically begged. "You can take anything you want. I promise I won't tell anyone."

"I don't want to steal anything." She rolled her eyes. "I just need you to tell me something."

"Okay." He gulped, eying at her rifle.

"Do you have an access card to the secret lab?"

"How…?" He started asking, but Elvira interrupted him.

"It doesn't matter. Now answer the question." She practically growled, making the show of putting her finger on the trigger to get her message across.

"N-no." He admitted, looking to his left and right for an escape, but realizing that, being at the end of one corridor, his only escape route was being obstructed by Elvira.

"I thought so." She nodded. "Do you know where I can get one?"

"I-I…" He kept looking around frantically, but Elvira spoke before he could try to do something.

"If you try anything, I will pull the trigger." She threatened. "And don't worry, they'll never know it was you who told me. I don't even know your name, so I won't tell anyone." She added in a more friendly tone, but making sure to still sound strict.

"Alright." He sighed in defeat. "My boss keeps it on his office, over there." He pointed to a wooden door, a few paces away from where they were.

"Is that the truth?" She raised an eyebrow skeptically. "Because if you're lying, I'll come back here and slice your throat with a scalpel." At her words, he gulped and looked her up and down, probably realizing she did look like the kind of person who'd do something like that, what with the cuff marks on her wrists and all, so he frantically nodded.

"It's the truth. I swear." He answered, and Elvira could see in his eyes that he wasn't lying.

"Thank you." She smiled wickedly before pulling the trigger.

After getting the card (yes, it was where the scientist had told her), Elvira ran off to where she believed the secret lab was probably located. And as expected, she ran into more then a few guards on her way. Even with Kristoff's help she couldn't avoid them all, so she had to shoot a few of them. Thankfully though, no one had been alerted to her presence yet. At least, she thought so.

She kept exploring corridor after corridor, hoping she was getting closer to her destination, but she wasn't sure anymore. It was hard to tell where she was or where she was going, since everywhere looked practically the same. Once she was relatively sure she had explored that entire floor, she decided to descend the stairs she found, knowing that, at least, they'd take her to somewhere new. When she got to the base though, she heard voices, so she stopped to listen.

"Have you found her?" One of them asked.

"Not yet." Another voice answered. "She's probably out of the building already."

"Have you asked the security room?"

"He's not answering." Was his response. Then, a silence followed.

"Maybe we should investigate there." The other man said. "Meanwhile, you two go and report this to Mr. Westergard."

"Yes, sir." Two voices responded at the same time, before some hurried footsteps were heard and everything became silent.

Elvira let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. They were talking about her. More so, they were searching for her. And they were going to find Kristoff… unless she did something about it.

Quickly, she descended the last few steps and went into the hallway. There, walking at the distance, she saw two guards, probably on their way to tell Hans. To her right though, there was another corridor, with a single guard walking down it. The one who was going to check the security room.

Not wasting one second, Elvira ran towards him, alerting him of her presence. However, before he could call for help, she shoot him… on his arm. Damn.

"She's here! The prisoner is here!" He shouted, alerting all the other guards in the area of her presence as, at the same time, he took out his gun. Elvira looked at it for a second and shot the guard before he had a chance, this time hitting him on his face.

Satisfied, she tried to run away, following the other two guards who were probably going to the secret lab. But before she could take more than a few steps, four guards appeared from another hallway, a few feet behind her. She heard their paces and turned around, but she was too slow. The bullets flew and she felt them impact her chest and abdomen. Thankfully her vest managed to protect her.

Before the guards could realize this fact though, she aimed her rifle and took them out with a few shaky shots in their general direction. Once she finished, she tried to steady her breath, but it was difficult; though the vest protected her from getting killed by the bullets, they still hurt like hell, and she was sure she'd gotten hit a dozen times or more (thankfully none to her head).

But it didn't matter now. She had to keep moving before more guards came and this time she ended up getting killed.

She took a step and winced as she felt a sharp pain on her leg. She touched the spot with her hand and it came wet with a dark red liquid. Blood. She grimaced at the sight but knew there was nothing she could do about it. Hopefully it wasn't too deep. Oh, and now that she noticed, she'd also been wounded on her arm, though thankfully it seemed to be a rather superficial wound.

Sighing and trying to suppress her pain because she knew it was the only option, Elvira started limping through the hall where she'd seen the other guards go. All her body hurt and her breathes came out short and ragged, but she kept pressing forward, and fighting against the fatigue she felt.

It wasn't long before she encountered another group of guards but, unable to sneak past them or even run for her life, she confronted them directly. Thankfully this time they were only three of them, and she was able to shoot one of them in the face almost immediately. She still came out of the fight with a few more wounds. Well, mostly bruises on her torso, due to the bullets impacting the vest, but they still hurt.

She was beginning to think the bulletproof vest was a little too thin for her taste. She'd feel safer if it more heavily reinforced, but… well, it's not like she had much to choose from.

"Kristoff? Do you have any clue as to where the secret lab is? Over." She asked while she rested for a moment.

"Well, I've been following the guards you told me about with the cameras." He answered through the radio. "You'll have to turn right at the end of the hallway, and then descend some stairs. Be careful though; they're easy to miss because you have to enter something that appears to be a janitor's room. Over."

"Okay. Inform me if they reach it. Over." She put her walkie talkie back in her pocket and forced herself to start walking one more time, a part of her regretting her decision of trying to save Elsa (probably the part that hated being in near unbearable pain due to bullet being embedded deep in her leg).

She followed Kristoff's instructions, and soon found herself in another hallway. This one though, was slightly different from the others she'd been in; the walls were grey, instead of white, and it didn't appear to be connected to any other corridor. And also… at the end of it she could distinguish at least five armed men, plus the two guards that were about to reach them.

She quickly retreated into the stairs and pulled out her walkie talkie.

"Kristoff, are the guards at the lab yet? Over."

"No, I don't see them." He answered, but then paused as if checking on the screens again. "Wait… yep, there they are. Just entered the camera's field of vision."

"How many men are at the entrance? Over."

"Aside from the two guards? Let me see… Five. No, six. And they're all armed." He answered with dread on his voice. "Elvira you can't take them all out by yourself."

"I didn't ask your opinion." She spat before putting the radio away. But she knew he was right. If she were to just walk out there in the open and try and kill them all, she'd most likely die, so… what could she do? She needed to be smart, and attack from a place where she had better defense options, like… the very stairs she was standing in actually. They were narrow and she'd have the advantage if she kept a high ground. More so, she was less likely to get shot at the head if she was there.

The only problem now was… how to lure them to the stairwell? Well, she could only think on one thing. One very dangerous thing, but she decided to try it anyways.

Taking a deep breath, Elvira went into the hallway and started slowly walking towards the lab out in the open, very aware that her wounded leg couldn't carry her too fast for long, and so she stopped about a hundred feet away from the stairs, hoping she could at least run that distance. The guards still hadn't noticed her or, if they had, they'd probably assumed she was another guard, but she knew it wouldn't take them long to realize the truth. So first she tried to aim at them from where she was, but her rifle had no scope, and she didn't have as good aim as she'd like at long distances, but… she still pulled the trigger.

Of course, she didn't hit anyone, which was to be expected, but she did grab their attention. Six heads turned towards her (the two guards she'd been following were probably inside the lab), but before they could react, she turned around and ran as fast as she could towards the stairs.

Unsurprisingly, she heard a few shots and felt a few bullets fly past her as she ran, but once she was in the relative safety of the stairs, she also could hear their hurried steps racing towards her. So she raised her rifle, tried to calm down, and pointed it to the base of the stairs. As soon as the first man appeared, she shot him square in the face before he could even try to aim at her; same with the second and the third and fourth, who all remained there, laying at the bottom of the stairs.

The rush of adrenaline receded a bit once Elvira saw them there, no longer being a threat to her. However, she forced herself not to relax just yet; she still needed to take down the other two men before being able to enter the lab, and who knows how many people were in there? So no, the action was far from over.

Still, she let herself sit down on the steps for a moment, trying to catch her breath and check her injured leg. Half of the right leg of her jeans was now stained with her blood, and the throbbing pain she was feeling was like nothing she'd ever experienced before, but for the moment it seemed like it could handle a few more minutes of fighting. It's not like the blood was gushing out at an alarmingly fast rate, so the bullet probably hadn't nicked an artery. No, she told herself, she was well enough. Well enough to get up, walk to the lab, take down whoever she had to take down, and save Elsa.

She just hoped she was well enough for the trip back.

And so, she got up with great difficulty and descended the stairs once more, her heart beating with such force against her ribs she was sure it'd break them. Her lungs burned, taking in rapid and swallow breaths, and her muscles tensed, preparing for what would happen now. She was scared, and her body knew it, but she was also determined, and wouldn't give up just yet.

Rifle ready, Elvira descended the final step and then started running towards the unsuspecting guards that had apparently come closer to investigate once their comrades didn't return. They'd probably thought she had escaped or was dead, but they didn't expect her to be running towards them at full speed.

They lost some precious seconds, startled by her presence, and this allowed Elvira to get close enough to shoot them with slightly better accuracy. Still, it didn't matter because they soon opened fire on her too, and their bullets did hurt quite a lot, almost as if they were penetrating her vest… which couldn't be possible, right? Right, except they were not carrying pistols; they were carrying shotguns, and though this made the time to reload bigger, the ammunition they had could sometimes penetrate a thin vest, like the one she was wearing.

But Elvira barely had time to reflect about this, as she tried to dodge the bullets and shoot at the same time. Fortunately, she was able to hit the right one before he could re-load his shotgun, but the other one managed to fire at her before she had the chance. She felt a searing pain in her abdomen, far greater than even the pain she felt on her leg but she didn't let herself get distracted by it, and shoot him in the face.

Now, the only thing between her and Elsa was a door… and all the people behind it, of course.

Trying to ignore the feeling of her shirt getting wet with a hot, sticky liquid (a.k.a. her blood), she walked a few feet until she got face to face with the door and, getting the card out of her pocket and presenting it to the scanner, got it open. Instantly, she stepped aside and hid herself next to the door, just in time for a few dozens of bullets to fly past her. Just as she'd expected, there were even more guards inside.

Once she heard the shooting pause for a second, probably while they checked if they'd managed to kill her or not and reloaded, it took her less than a second to point her rifle inside the lab and start randomly shooting without getting too exposed, hoping she'd hit at least one person.

"Go get her!" She heard the order from inside, and in that moment she entered the place. She knew the guards would be trying to follow that order and wouldn't expect her to suddenly ambush them on the way out, so it was quite easy to take out the two guards. Once inside, she came face to face with another one (probably the one who had given the order), but she didn't react soon enough, and he shot her first. Thankfully though, her instinct saved her by making her throw herself at the ground.

She saw a table and quickly rolled to get under it, just as a couple of bullets hit the spot where she previously was and, from her new position, she was able to awkwardly hold up her rifle and shoot the man in his hand, which fortunately was bare. And so, he fell to the ground.

Sighing in relief and hoping there were no more guards in there, Elvira got out of her hiding place with a little bit of struggle, and then turned to look around her. The first thing she noticed was the broken walkie talkie laying on the ground, which meant she wouldn't have Kristoff's aid anymore. Then, she saw that all that was there were tables, chairs, microscopes and other instruments, but at her left she was able to perceive the faint sound of voices arguing.

Not wanting to wait any longer, she limped her way around the table and pushed open a wooden door that led her to another room, this one not being empty at all. At the center of it, there was a metal table, and stranded to it, laid Elsa, who was looking at her with both shock and hope. Next to her though, there were three men; Hans, Weaselton and a scientist. And Hans was pointing his gun at her.

"Drop your weapon." He threatened, but she hadn't come all this way only to give up at the first threat. More so, the pain she was feeling didn't allow her to think clearly. She was full of adrenaline and functioning only on her basic instincts.

"No. You drop it." She snarled, pulling the trigger and effectively hitting him in his ugly face. She pulled the trigger again and this time took down the scientist, before turning to Weaselton.

"No, wait!" The old and scrawny man practically threw himself at her feet, begging. "Please don't shoot. I'll let you go, the both of you, just…"

"Too late." She answered darkly as she pulled the trigger one last time and painted his forehead red. Once the weasel had fallen, Elvira let out a deep breath and tried to relax a bit, though every single one of her muscles throbbed with adrenaline, making her think she was still in danger even though she knew she wasn't… at least for the moment; she still had to get out of there.

"E-Elvira?" Elsa's shocked and slightly scared voice forced the black haired girl to look up. She thought of a thousand things to say to her in less than a second, but upon seeing her laying there in her normal clothes and apparently unharmed, she could only think of one thing.

"What the fuck were you thinking?!" She spat as she dropped the rifle and stomped towards her, making her flinch slightly. "Did you honestly believed Hans would just let me walk out of the Center after you'd given yourself up? What do you think Anna would have felt if she lost both of us in the same day?!" She continued scolding her as she started untying the ropes that were holding the clone in place.

"I-In my defense… if you're rescuing me, that means you could have escaped." Elsa protested, frowning and getting angry already because Elvira was yelling at her even after she'd pretty much sacrificed herself for her.

"I shouldn't be rescuing you!" Elvira retorted, now untying her hands. In that moment, Elsa noted the wounds on her wrists, her bruising face and her clothes…wet with something that didn't look at all like water.

"You're bleeding." She gasped, softening her tone a little bit. She didn't want to sound rude with the one who was trying to save her, more so if she had gotten injured in the process.

"It's nothing serious." Elvira tried to appear as if she was well enough, even though at that point she could barely walk, or even breathe, due to her injuries. She knew they didn't have time to worry about it.

"It looks pretty serious to me." Elsa frowned as she got up from her lying position after Elvira had finished freeing her.

"We don't have much time." Elvira dismissed the topic and looked around the lab, not forgetting at all that, when they got out of there, they'd need proof of the Center's unethical practices if they wanted the police to believe their story.

It was easy to find out what she was looking for; a laptop, probably where Weselton kept all his secret data. "Here." She thrusted two pairs of shackles into Elsa's hands. "Use them to immobilize Hans and the other scientist. I'm afraid you'll have to find rope or something for the weasel."

"Immobilize them?" Elsa asked confused. "They're… d-dead. Are they not?" She asked unsure, eying them. They were covered in blood and didn't move at all. Seemed pretty dead to her.

"No." Elvira shook her head as she approached the laptop.

"But the blood…"

"It's just paint." She explained her absentmindedly while she searched for a USB or something to transfer the documents to; she wasn't going to carry a laptop. "I created the ammunitions using false blood and a potent somniferous; they'll be up in about an hour or so."

"Oh." Elsa breathed relieved. She had been pretty scared when she saw Elvira breaking in and killing three men in a whim, showing no regret whatsoever. For a moment she'd actually even regretted having turning herself in for that monster, but… it was a relief to know that wasn't the case. Maybe Anna was right after all. Maybe Elvira was indeed more than what met the eye.

And so, Elsa proceeded to do as Elvira had instructed, while the other girl started transferring as much files as she could to a USB that she'd found in one of the drawers. Thankfully it had still plenty of free space.

However, the black haired girl could almost feel as life slowly escaped from her body at every breath; she felt weak, and the sudden lack of adrenaline was finally letting her feel each and every one of her wounds… and the odds of surviving weren't precisely in her favor.

While the files were transferred, she took note of how many bullets had managed to break through her vest. She counted three; one at her right shoulder, another at her ribs, and the most concerning one at her stomach. It was a miracle she was still breathing.

For a moment, she thought about just giving the USB to Elsa and telling her to escape without her, but she told herself she needed to at least try and get out. For Anna. Anna would probably miss her (even if just a little bit) if she died, and she didn't want to cause her any more pain. Plus, Elsa probably didn't know how to defend herself, and it was possible they'd find more guards on the way out.

She decided she'd try it. No matter if every inhale and exhale hurt like someone was twisting a knife inside her.

"Elvira." Elsa called her, and she turned around to face her. "It's done." At least, she hoped it was done; she'd had to use Weselton's shoelaces to tie his hands, and she wasn't sure how much they would resist.

"Good." Elvira nodded before turning around and looking at the screen. Most of the files had been transferred, and though she didn't have time to try and search for more, she hoped this evidence would be enough. She then extracted the USB and put it in her pocket, before shutting the laptop and offering it to Elsa. "I need you to carry this for a little bit."

"Okay?" The blonde answered, raising an eyebrow as she took it. She didn't understand why Elvira was using the thing to, apparently, transfer information into another thing, if she planned on taking it with them anyways.

"Just until we find somewhere to hide it." The other girl explained, sensing Elsa's unspoken doubts. "We don't want them wiping out the information when they wake up." She signaled with her head at the three unconscious men, and Elsa nodded in understanding.

"Will you be able to walk?" Elsa asked worryingly, eying at Elvira's blood-covered leg and assuming whatever injuries she had must hurt a lot. She wondered how she had managed to make it this far with such wounds; she knew she'd probably faint if she got even half of that.

"I'm fine." Elvira responded once again, this time exasperated; she knew if Elsa kept doubting her, she'd start doing it too. "Come on, let's get out of here." And with those words she got up, trying not to wince in pain and failing. Elsa instantly noticed this and rushed to help her, but the older girl dismissed her with a wave of her hand. "I said I'm fine." She snarled and went to pick up her rifle before walking towards the exit of the lab, the blonde close behind her to make sure she could help her if she were to faint for the exhaustion, or something like that.

They'd walked in silence for a while, crossing the hallway that led to the secret lab, climbing up some stairs (Elsa actually had to help Elvira with those, because the girl paled even more, if possible, and looked like she was seconds away from passing out from the pain) and continuing through some other corridors. Elsa was the one leading, since she knew how to get back to the clones' chambers from the secret lab, but she hoped Elvira would be able to lead them once they reached that point… if they made it that far, that is.

Up until that point, they hadn't really seen any guards, but Elsa knew that could change at any moment, and she wasn't precisely a fighter. She knew she'd give her life for Elvira if it came to that though; that's the least she could do after the black haired girl ended in such a state trying to rescue her.

She couldn't even begin to describe how glad she was when she'd seen her walk through the door. When she first stepped into the Clone Center that night she had been so afraid she almost went running back to Kristoff's car, but unfortunately they were waiting for her, and so the guards dragged her straight to the secret lab, not even answering her questions about Elvira.

When she got there, they didn't waste any time tying her to the table she was so familiar with, before Hans, Weselton and one of the head scientist came inside. She hadn't even tried to hide her fear when they started talking about testing a new drug on her, discussing if it was better to do so right away or wait until the next day. Unsurprisingly, they had just ignored her when she demanded to know if they'd already released Elvira.

She felt like a clone all over again; invisible, unimportant, useless… non-human.

She had wanted to cry, as well as slap herself for her stupidity. By then, it was obvious they weren't going to release Elvira and her sacrifice had been for naught. She hadn't wanted to do so in front of Hans though, and so she held in the tears and wished to be left alone with her sorrow soon enough.

Unfortunately for her, they'd decided to do some checkups and see if her body was in optimal conditions for the experiment. First, they ran some blood tests, then they took her blood pressure and heartrate, and were in the process of checking her cortisol levels when a guard came in and informed them Elvira had escaped.

This new information had given her new hope. Not because she thought she'd try and save her, but because she thought that maybe, just maybe, her sacrifice hadn't been in vain. She sure didn't expect the girl to burst in minutes later, shooting bullets at her captors like she was some sort of fiction hero. Her joy had only been momentary though, as after noticing Elvira's deplorable state, she started wondering if she'd be able to make it out of there alive.

She promised herself that, if Elvira survived, she'd never be mean to her again, or even think lowly of her. By doing something so selfless and downright heroic, the girl had gained her respect and proved that she was, in fact, deserving of Anna's love and admiration for her.

"Elsa." Elvira interrupted her thoughts, stopping next to a door and leaning on the wall for support. Her face was covered in sweat and it looked like it took her a lot of effort just to keep breathing.

"Do you need help?" Elsa offered once again, shooting her a worried glance. Elvira, however, just shook her head. Being in the blink of death apparently did nothing to diminish her stubbornness and pride.

"Just… go in there and hide the laptop." She panted before sinking to the floor with a grunt. "I'll wait here."

"Okay." Elsa answered quietly, doubting for a moment if it was wise to just leave her there lone. However, she figured the sooner she hid the thing, the sooner she could come back to her, and so she got into the room.

It was a room full of shelves, where many reagents and equipment were stored when they weren't being used, so it wasn't difficult to find a good hiding spot; under a pretty large bag of agar, in one of the dusty corners.

Once she was sure it wasn't noticeable at all, and moving some things to mislead anyone who'd try and search for it there, she got out, and let out a sigh of relief when she found Elvira there, still breathing.

"Is it… done?" She asked with great difficulty, making it obvious talking was painful for her at the moment. Elsa nodded and looked down at Elvira's left hand, which was clutching tightly her stomach, and noticed it was entirely covered in blood now. This last detail set up her mind.

"I'm helping you walk." She said with a voice that left no room for arguments, before moving to put her arm around Elvira's waist and help her stand up, despite the girl's protests.

"I'm… fine." She insisted, even if she let out a cry of pain when Elsa's hand came close to the zone of her injury.

"You clearly aren't. Now, come on. Don't make me carry you." Elsa replied before starting to drag her down the hallway. After a moment of struggling though, Elvira calmed down and wrapped her arm around her shoulders so she could put some of her weight on her, apparently accepting her help.

"… Thank you." She said after a few paces.

"It's the least I can do." She dismissed it.

"No, I mean… thank you. For trying to save me." She clarified. So she wasn't talking about Elsa helping her walk.

"It was a stupid move." Elsa sighed, regretting the way she had handled the situation. "I should have planned it more carefully."

After that, they kept walking in silence for a while, climbing more stairs and getting to a familiar part of the center, before Elvira finally broke the silence again.

"Why did you do it?" She asked with a quiet tone of voice. "Why try to save me?" This question surprised Elsa; she never thought Elvira would ask something like that, but then again… it was a fair question, wasn't it? It's not like they had the best of relationships after all. And though she knew her answer could hurt her (maybe) she decided to tell the truth anyways. Elvira deserved that much.

"Honestly?" Elsa sighed. "I didn't do it for you."

"For Anna then?" She didn't sound too surprised.

"Yes." She admitted. "I mean, I'm not going to lie, it was a very difficult decision, and I paced in the house for a few minutes before finally resolving to turn myself in. I didn't want to save you. I didn't even think you deserved to be saved." She grimaced, disgusted by her thoughts at the moment. "But then… I remembered what Anna told me just before falling asleep."

"What did she say?" Elvira asked, clearly curious and hopeful about her answer.

"She said she wouldn't be able to find the will to live if she lost you." She answered truthfully, and could see in the other girl's tired eyes a spark of joy. "That you are the one she loves most in the world."

"Is that… true?" She questioned, a part of her not believing her sister would say such a thing even after all she'd done.

"Yes." Elsa assured her. "I'd never heard her speak in such a serious tone before."

At her words, Elvira couldn't help laughing. Even if it hurt her to the point she thought she'd die, she couldn't help it. It just gave her too much joy and alleviated too much of the pain in her heart to know her sister still loved her, and thought so highly of her. After a moment though, she had to control herself, or else she wouldn't have been able to keep walking.

"She really said that?" She'd look pretty cute with that goofy smile if it wasn't for the blood and bruises on her face.

"Believe me, I wasn't very happy when she said it, but she did." Elsa confirmed it once again. "And though it pains me to admit it… it really makes sense she'd love you more than me."

"What do you mean?" Elvira frowned. "You're beautiful, and innocent, and sweet and… well, not a screw up like me." She casted her eyes downward, no doubt depreciating herself, but Elsa didn't waste any time contradicting her.

"But you grew up together; you've known each other for a long time and no doubt share a lot of memories and experiences, while I… well, I've only known her for less than two weeks." She sighed, trying not to let her own words hurt her once again. But it was difficult, knowing she was telling the truth. "More so, you are her sister. And though I know she does love me quite a lot, if I died she could just get another girlfriend, but if you died… she could never get another sister."

At first Elvira didn't respond. She recognized there was some truth to what she was saying, but she knew there was a reason she had been jealous all this time. There was a reason she knew Anna would never leave Elsa for her, even before she decided to try and make her change her mind.

"I've seen… t-the way she looks at you." She practically whispered with great effort. "S-she l-loves you."

"Well… she loves you too." Was Elsa's answer, after which they both fell silent, processing what the conversation they'd just have meant. Or at least, Elsa did so; Elvira was gasping for air and focusing all her energy not to collapse into the ground. If the clone noticed the way she leaned more heavily on her she didn't comment on it.

"Maybe… maybe we don't need to fight for her love." Elsa voiced her thoughts after a while. "We don't need to fight for her love because we both already have it." She explained, and Elvira clung into her words to stay awake. "Anna's heart is big enough for the both of us."

"I-I know." She chocked out. "I-I've always… known it." She gasped loudly for air, feeling her vision starting to blur. "I was just… t-too ambitious. A-and I tried to… o-occupy the spot m-m-meant… for you."

Just when she finished saying the last word, Elvira lost control of her feet for a moment, and would have fallen to the ground face first if Elsa wasn't holding her and hadn't delicately lowered her to the ground.

"Elvira?!" She asked, panicking even more when she got no response. "Elvira!" She repeated, taking her face with her hands and almost sighing in relief when the girl opened her eyes.

"E-Elsa." She gasped, trying not to let darkness consume her just yet, but knowing she didn't have much time. It was surprising enough she'd made it that far, so getting out of the Center alive would be a little too much to ask from her battered body. Still, she did one last bit of effort to reach into her pocket and extract the USB. "Take it." She rasped out, pressing it into Elsa's hand.

The blonde took the object and looked at it in confusion for a moment before finally understanding what it was and why Elvira was giving it to her.

"No! I'm not going to leave you!" She protested, feeling tears burning in her eyes. She knew Elvira's state wasn't ideal by far, but she couldn't just let her die! She'd promised Anna she'd do anything in her power to keep the girl alive. And plus… she had to admit that, after being saved by her, she'd realized she actually cared about her more than she would normally admit.

"You have to." Elvira answered, her voice barely above a whisper.

"No!" Elsa shook her head, tears finally falling down her cheeks as a tight knot formed on her throat. "I'll carry you out of here if necessary, you hear me?!" She sobbed. "I'm not letting you die." She added with a trembling voice, not wanting to admit that it wasn't in her hands to keep Elvira alive.

"Elsa…" Elvira could sense her senses fading; the edges of her vision becoming blurry, and Elsa's voice sounding distant. She could barely feel the pain of her wounds anymore, and her muscles didn't want to respond her. This could only mean one thing; the end was near, and she needed to voice her thoughts now. "I-I… I don't… h-hate you."

"I don't hate you either." Elsa answered between sobs as she pressed her forehead against Elvira's. She was openly crying now, because she too could sense what was about to happen. Maybe she had known it the moment she saw Elvira's wounds. She just hadn't wanted to admit it. It was too painful. She hadn't imagined knowing the insufferable girl would die soon would be so painful. But it was. It ripped her heart apart.

Elvira managed a little smile at her answer, before closing her eyes and drawing a shuddering breath, preparing herself to say her last words.

"Tell Anna… I… love… her."

A/N: By now you surely know I absolutely love cliffhangers, right? XD. Anyways, please don't hate me too much for this, I promise you'll have the next (and last) chapter next week.

Thanks for reading, and also, please leave a review if you liked it. Or if you want to yell at me for practically killing Elvira. Or to say anything, really. Just leave a review.

BTW, if you'd like to see a drawing i made of this scene, please check my DeviantArt, Tania Hylian. Thanks ;)

And thanks to my beta reader moonwatcher13.