A/N: Whew, this one really was a doozy. I'm sticking this up here because I just want to give a heads up. This chapter contains torture (non-graphic), violence (somewhat graphic), and a slightly shifting timeline (confusing maybe?). This is an M-rated story, but I'd thought I'd warn you anyway, seeing how this kind of thing hasn't happened quite yet.

I hope you enjoy, in any case. This isn't what I'm usually used to writing.

Chapter 9: Out of Body

Elsa gave a soft groan. Darkness surrounded her, and discomfort coursed through her body, centering around her head. An all too familiar discomfort. This was the morning after her watch over the exhibit all over again. Only this time it was infinitely worse. She could remember it. Every last excruciating detail. How had it all gone so wrong?

After sending Red away, Elsa tried to resume her work. Something started to nag at her as soon as she sat down, and she couldn't understand why. This was her home, Red was clearly in the wrong for what she did. Deep down, she knew her actions perhaps were less than laudable. She would need to have a serious discussion with Red later about where they wanted to go from there. Red disappointed her certainly, but hadn't really surprised Elsa. She would also need to ask about what Red saw when she intruded.

There was a sudden knock on the door. Elsa was certain it could only be one person. Red, probably giving some kind of tearful apology. Elsa let her guard down for that one, fleeting moment. That cost her everything. The moment she opened the door felt a sting, and everything went dark. Under any other circumstances, she would have checked. She would have asked. She would have done something. Now she was here with the same pain in her head, only this time there was no apparently loss of memory. Which could only mean one thing: it didn't matter at all whether she remembered or not.

The room suddenly glowed with a white, even light and the depth of Elsa's predicament became all too apparent. The room felt futuristic from the panel lights illuminating the place. It appeared to be a small room, cubic in shape except for the corners which were smoothed out into curves. The room didn't seem to have much besides a chair. One that Elsa was now trapped in. The chair was equipped with restraints, holding her wrists and ankles. There was no way she could slip out, and the restraints probably wouldn't break in a hundred years. Clearly this room was prepared for her. To what end, though? An interrogation?

"Ah, you're finally with us again," a disembodied voice suddenly spoke out. Elsa presumed it was over some kind of intercom, but it was so clear they might as well have been in the room. "We can get started".

Elsa knew that voice. Hans. The man apparently in charge of the White Hand. She had heard him speak not two weeks ago. Was it really that recently? She remembered it clearly enough, but it felt so much longer. "You aren't coming to talk to me directly?" Elsa knew that any sign of emotion at this point wouldn't help her case. Time to gauge the situation.

There was a sigh on the other end, wherever that happened to be. "To be perfectly honest, that would be a waste of time at this point. You've already thrown your lot against us, and it's gotten rather tiresome."

Elsa's internal discomfort started to creep up on her. Her suspicions that she wasn't stuck her for any practical reason grew ever stronger. As did her belief that she wouldn't be leaving the room intact. "So what now? Will you coerce me to join you? Or do I require 'reconditioning'?"

"Please. You're far too smart for us to trust you even under duress, and if we did anything to your mind, we'd lose all of that." Elsa balked. This man had actually considered it. "No, this is simply dealing with a loose end. You've got blood on your hands, Elsa Fresia. An eye for an eye, you know?"

"I had nothing to do with the deaths of those men on that mountain!" Elsa snapped. Her anger was starting to betray her. "You should have thought whatever twisted ritual you were attempting."

"There's so much you don't seem to understand. Did you think we would forget about what happened two years ago? That we wouldn't notice you trying to tail us afterwards?"

Could they really have been tracking her for that long, and she somehow never noticed?

"Believe me, I wanted to believe that you wouldn't be a problem to us ever again, but you had to go and prove me wrong."

"Did you really believe that I would just let that go?" Elsa asked. Her brain kept telling herself that this was completely hopeless, but there her mouth was moving anyway. Maybe she realised it didn't really matter now.

"You should have been smart enough to leave us alone. You of all people saw what we're capable of. If only you cut your losses while you have the chance." There was a short pause. "Now, that's the last thing you're going to learn in this world." The voice apparently cut off. A silence hung in the air. Then, pain. Electricity burned it's way through her body. It took all she had not to cry out.

Okay, I've gone from stupid to insane in the space of an hour. Go me.

Red knew full well that she didn't have much time. If that van took off without her, Elsa was as good as gone forever. There was no way for her to tail the van. Not to mention they would almost certainly get suspicious if she tried. No, the van itself was the only option. She couldn't possibly cling to the side, certainly not without anyone seeing. The underside was too close to the road. It seemed hopeless. In the nick of time she had notice the small sliding door at the very back. As quietly as she could manage, Red slid the door open to a small engine compartment. Just enough space to squeeze inside. Just.

For the next hour or so, Red felt a storm of emotions pass through her over the soft hum of the engines. Every minute or so, she thought of a new way this could all go horribly wrong. She had so, so little going for her. So far, her spurs of the moment only managed to make things worse. Only the thought of Elsa kept her focused. She couldn't fail now, of all times.

For what little it was worth, luck was on her side. For now. There was almost no light, every bump banged her against the sides. It was hot and stuffy, and it could get worse at any moment. Every little stop made her tense up inside. Where were they even going? Red knew she only ever seen the surface of the White Hand's operations. Who knew what else they had going on? She was completely in the dark, in every sense of the word.

There was no way she could tell how much time passed. Why hadn't gotten a watch? Or a phone? Maybe Elsa didn't trust her with those kinds of things. Well, you went and proved her right.

The thought was pushed out of her mind as the engines finally went silent. This must be it. There were seemingly distant noises of doors opening and closing. Something clattering. So much for the hope that they would leave Elsa inside the van for later. She would need some kind of plan, that was for sure. It was mostly chance that she had even gotten this far.

Find Elsa. That was the most important thing. There was probably some kind of cell they were holding her in. Then get her out. No, she needed more than that. A whole lot more. If she was seen, by guard or by camera, that was it. She had no weapons, no real fighting ability. Find a weapon, maybe? If possible, find out exactly where Elsa was as well. The White Hand probably didn't want any attention on this base, so she could probably get away with a bit more than normal.

With a few minutes passed, Red readied herself to get out. She'd been here more than long enough. Just as she was about to, a small light caught her managed to move her hand towards it. It was a second hatch, this one into the main vehicle. It took longer than Red would ever admit, but she managed to squeeze through, into the body of the van. There was the same array of gadgets and screens in every other vehicle, none of which she understood in the slightest. Suddenly, she cracked a smile. Her old tool kit. They must have snatched it up when they took Elsa, only they hadn't taken it with them. She clipped it on. Even if she swore she'd never need it again, there was still a sense of comfort it brought. Safety. This thing was better than any plan she could ever think up.

Distortion, engaged. No more cameras to worry about. Decrypter, standing by. No door or password could stand in her way. Shock gun, armed. One shot and no guard would be a problem any time soon. Even the old smoke bombs were there. The White Hand always held the upper hand in terms of technology. It was time to see how well they held up against it. With a deep breath, she walked out. She might just have a chance after all.

Elsa reeled from that last shock, trying to steady her breath. This wasn't about sending any kind of message. Hans and whoever else was watching just wanted some kind of sick amusement. What did they think would happen, she would beg for mercy? If she was to meet her end here, it would be a with dignity. She wouldn't let him. She wouldn't let him see.

"Not even a cry of pain? I'm impressed. Have you done this before?" Elsa stayed quiet. If Hans was going to goad some kind of reaction, he would have to try harder than that. "Well, this will simply take as long as it takes."

Another jolt of electricity crackled and burned Elsa's flesh. This one far worse. Her skin stung all over and felt as though it was on fire. Worse still, there was nothing she could do about it. As every part of her body screamed for help and went completely untended, Elsa finally felt her eyes starting to water. This truly was nightmarish. It didn't matter, though. He could inflict all the physical pain he wanted. She wouldn't budge. She certainly wouldn't fall for any promises of relief.

Again, it shocked her. Again, she felt the hot stinging. The crackling of her body. Her heart working overtime. Her skin turning red anywhere she tried to look. Through it all, the endless dread that this would only get worse from here. This was the top of the mountain all over again. Only this time with scorching heat instead of frigid cold. It was a miracle that she made it out of that alive, and now she had squandered that luck.

"That's the highest current possible without risking cardiac failure." Elsa instinctively knew that nothing that followed would be good. The sharp jab into her spine confirmed that. "There's plenty more in that room to keep you entertained." Maybe two seconds later, her head felt like it was spinning full of broken glass. "I'm sure you remember the concoction you were hit with at the exhibit. Quite a remarkable feat, by the way. One hundred percent of the subjects we tested that on experienced complete memory loss as a result." Elsa could barely hear him at this point. Her head felt like it was splitting apart. Her heart and lungs weren't faring much better, and her breath became more unsteady. "Had enough yet?"

Elsa definitely heard that. It was becoming more and more tempting. Despair was setting in. There was no telling how long she would stay alive, or lucid enough to notice what was happening to her. It was so easy to say she wouldn't falter, that she would stay defiant to the very end. The pain, though. It felt unreal. People weren't meant to suffer like this without dying. This was clearly the culmination of a man's twisted imagination. What could she have done to deserve this? What could anyone have done that wasn't criminal?

Elsa groaned. It was tempting for sure. That said, she knew all too well that for the man on the other side, that was the best possible way to make it as painful as possible. Hope torn away would be far worse than hope never given. "No. Nice try, though."

"Tell me, what do you think will happen? That you'll never break? Or maybe someone will come to save you?" Elsa simply rolled her eyes. "Guess not. Suit yourself, then. If we stopped now, we'd lose valuable progress." Elsa wouldn't scream. She swore to herself that she wouldn't scream.

As Red snuck through the building, she felt more and more uncomfortable. Not just because of how risky this was, but more because of how weird this place felt. It was like no building Red could remember. The walls had a strange shine to them, and they seemed to curve off into the floors instead of having corners. White walls lit by white lights. It all looked clean enough to eat from, no matter where she looked. It felt like every step was making the place dirtier. The thought stopped worrying her when she reminded herself where she was, not to mention how important time was.

There didn't seem to be any windows. Were they underground? Or did they just not want anyone to see what went on here? Red pressed on, heart pounding. Each door seemed to be exactly the same. Greyish in colour, and requiring an ID card to open. Thankfully the decrypter was still good to go, and each door offered no resistance, simply sliding open from the middle with barely a sound. Still, every door she opened could get her seen, which would be a serious problem, weapon or not.

She was doing pretty well so far. No one saw her, no alarms tripped so far. Red had seen a couple of lenses on the ceiling, but she could only assume that they were blind to her. The place was awfully quiet as well. Too quiet. Where were all the White Hand people? Maybe they focused most of their security on stopping people from getting in. Red didn't know how far she could push her luck.

While her fortune seemed to helped in keeping her from getting caught, it didn't seem to do much for her when it came to finding where Elsa was. One by one, she opened the doors on the walls, while getting no closer. Storage room. Meeting room. Some kind of lab? Toilet- male toilet! Red turned right out, blushing. Why couldn't these rooms have signs? Or even a map? Maybe only people who belonged here got that. Did they want their building to be secure or not?

Red reached the end of the corridor. Yet another grey door faced her. Maybe if she could reach a stairway or an elevator, there would be some kind of map or floor plan she could use. She pressed the decryptor against the scanner. Nothing. She tried again. Denied. What was going on? It hadn't failed at any point before. There was no reason to think that this door would be too secure. So why wasn't it-

"You know what?" Red felt a shiver as an all too familiar voice sounded behind her. "This is just sad."

Pain. So much pain. How long had this been going on? Four hours? Five? Trying to move hurt. Thinking hurt. Existing hurt. Elsa's vision blurred, Her skin raged against her. She swore she was starting to hear voices. Or was it one voice? She would not last much longer against this. Perhaps that was for the best.

"Oh, come on. We've only been at this for an hour." An hour? That was impossible. He must have been lying. No, why would he lie? It would be too obvious. There had to be something else. He couldn't alter time, could he? Perhaps not directly, but what if there was something else? Something that was affecting her-

"You-" Elsa gasped. Talking had gotten a lot more difficult. "You're altering my perception of time."

There was a loud, seemingly sincere laugh from the other end. "Oh wow, I honestly didn't think you'd even be able to form a coherent sentence at this point. Yet here you are pegging me on the first try. You're absolutely correct. Consider it making up for lost time if you will. Clearly, it's not working as well as I hoped." Elsa's breath slowed. Could it be? Was she winning? Maybe- maybe she could still do this. "Fortunately, a golden opportunity had recently come to my attention. So if you'd kindly turn you attention to what I'm about to show you."

A panel opened. There was a large screen. Suddenly, it came on. Elsa paled. She saw Red, and another man. Red was on the floor, clutching her stomach. She was bleeding in several places. "What, who is-" Elsa forced a cough, trying to pass the bluff. Trying to hide her horror. It was so clearly her, wearing the same clothes from earlier.

"If you'd be so kind?" What? He must have been talking to the other man. He landed three more blows on Red. Punch. Kick. Stamp. Elsa flinched each time. "She came barging in here, calling you by name and demanding that we set you free. I have to admit, even I didn't see this one coming. By all accounts, I expected you would simply have her arrested and continue on your way." Elsa shook her head gently. The pain in her head was coming back. So was the voice. She could almost make it what it was trying to say. "Yet here she is in some poorly constructed rescue attempt. What happened, did she follow you home after you let her go? She's awfully clingy, as you've probably noticed."

Elsa felt it. Something inside her. Anger? What else could it be. Red was a lot of things. Few of them particularly flattering. She still wasn't a bad person. "Why? How can she deserve this?" Elsa gasped. She could hear the voice again. Was it really there or not?

"Life cares little for what you do or don't deserve. That's something our little thief friend is learning the hard way. Now that she's not a solution, she's a problem. In this case, we still might get some use for her. I'm sure there's space for one more in that room."

Elsa's mind sharpened to a point. From the pitch black depths of despair, a ball of rage lit up, piercing the darkness. Elsa would face death or an eternity of agony alone, but the idea of seeing Red suffer the same fate was incomprehensible. Worse still, it would never stop there. Who else would they twist beyond comprehension with their atrocities? What could she do though, trapped on a chair with a body screaming in agony?

The red light in her mind suddenly turned to white, and the voice returned, this time clear as crystal.

The time has come, my queen.

Elsa had heard that voice before. She must have done. Before she could remember where it was from, everything became a blur, and faded into white.

Red's trek through the building came to a dead stop. Just when she thought it couldn't get any worse, Rex of all people appeared to confront her. How long had he known that she was creeping through the building? Maybe she could get that out of him. Or perhaps she could get him to lower his guard for a moment. That was all she needed.

"What are you doing here?" Red suddenly demanded.

Rex shook his head. "I believe that's my question. Unlike you, I'm still a part of the White Hand. Since you're here alone, I'm going to take a guess that no one will notice you've gone missing."

Red felt a chill. What did he mean by that? It may have been plain as day that she was intruding, but surely they could work something out. "Look, I don't want to hurt you."

"What you want is irrelevant," Rex replied with the hint a laugh. "In fact, it was irrelevant the moment you stepped out of the van." Red stepped back. The jig was up the moment it started. They were just toying with her. "I have to say, that was a cute trick, hiding next to the engine. Too bad you forgot to close the hatch you went through. An amateur mistake, from an amateur girl."

Red whipped out the shock gun. Clearly there other way this could end. "Tell me where Elsa is. Now."

Rex just sneered. "Well, that was rather blunt. You didn't even have to give that away, but you went and did anyway. Do you ever think before you speak? Since we're being so open, we saw your every step since you set foot inside here. What, did you think that we would be fooled by our own technology? Everything in this building that turns on is more advanced than your tiny little mind could possibly comprehend."

Red frowned at him. Did he even notice that she had a weapon pointed right at him. What did he think would happen, that she would be too stupid to be able to aim at him? "I said, tell me where Elsa is. Or else!"

"I'm going to have to say no on that one." Rex shrugged. "While I'm at it, I'm going to ask you to hand over that weapon and give yourself up. Save us both some embarrassment."

Red fumed. She may not have used much violence at all in the past, but that was then, this was now. Elsa needed her. For that, Red needed to show him that she wasn't playing around. She turned the gun's setting down just a little, and fired.

BANG. There was a bright light. Sharp pain. Worst of all, blood where her only weapon used to be.

Oh, fuck me. He did that, didn't he?

"Oh, the look on your face. Weren't you listening? You can't use our own weapons against us. Only someone like you would try anyway." Rex cracked his knuckles. Red barely noticed that over the state her right hand was in. "Well, the good news is that you chose a low setting. If you tried to shoot me at full power, you probably would have blown your hand off." Red's stomach turned at the thought. Wait, there was bad news? How could this possibly get worse. "The bad news is, you've tried to attack me. I don't have to hold back, now."

First, Red felt dread. Then, pain. She never saw Rex ever exert himself before. Now, she was finding out in the worst possible way. Kick, punch, smack. She barely saw them, but she felt them. She tried to raise her arms. Too slow. With one more hit, she was on the floor. "Stop it. Please."

"You struck first, remember? Or you came as close as someone like you could. It's too late now." Every kick found it's mark. Every punch brought more pain. Every blow hurt. It never seemed to stop.

Red was on the floor, one hand still bleeding, the other trying to stop the pain. "Why? What did I ever do to you?"

Rex didn't answer. Instead, he made another series of blows against her. "You know, I'm not one to doubt my boss's orders most of the time. If it were up to me though, you'd still be in that little concrete box we found you in. Anyone could have done what you did. A trained monkey would have been able to pick up those gemstones. But no, we have to accept the orders to pick up some arrogant, entitled, princess wannabe." He stamped Red for effect. "It was our hard work." His foot smashed into her face. "Our plan." His foot smashed her stomach. "Our technology. You're nothing, you hear me? Nothing," He almost spat

She could only lay there. Defeated. She had failed. Failed herself. More importantly, she failed Elsa. The one person who'd offered her real kindness. Red took it and spat in her face. Then she rushed out to try and get Elsa back. That only ended up making things even worse. Was that all she could do? Red couldn't even speak at this point. How could she have wasted all of her luck so quickly.

"Believe me, I'd love to finish you off myself. But the boss has something very special lined up. Don't worry, you'll be seeing your pathetic little friend real soon." He reached out, as if to grab her head. Then, he stopped.

Something was wrong. It wasn't clear at first, but that quickly changed. Cold. So cold. The temperature seemed to have dropped out of nowhere. Red could see her breath in front of her. It sucked the air out of her lungs. The only upside is that it numbed the pain just a bit. That, and Rex appeared to have stopped cold.

"Temperature, the temperature just dropped sharply. Would you care to explain?" He seemed to be talking over a communicator. Something really was off. No room people normally walked through should ever have been that cold. It was even colder than it had been outside. "Well check the system again, moron!"

Rex had been so caught up in his conversation he didn't even notice the other side of the room. The door there had come open, but it looked like it wasn't under its own power. Something, or someone had forced the door open.

"Elsa?" Red gasped. Apparently, Rex had noticed to. There she stood on the other end of the hall. The door she had come through appeared to be stuck open. It was definitely her. Something was wrong, though. Red could feel it. Not just the cold, either.

Elsa just stood there. She said nothing. Didn't she understand what was going on? Even if she had escaped wherever they were holding her, she hadn't escaped the building. Rex was still there. How could Elsa possibly hope to beat him? Worst still, even from a distance Red could see something had happened to her. There were large patches of red on her skin she could clearly see around what remained of her shirt. Worst of all, none of this seemed to bother her in the slightest. If anything, Elsa looked bored.

Rex clearly didn't feel the same way. He had a pistol aimed right at Elsa before Red could blink. "Freeze." at first, Elsa seemed to listen to him. "I don't know how you managed to escape, but this ends here." Elsa blinked. Did she even hear him. She suddenly noticed something else. She wasn't sure why. Whatever the reason was, Elsa didn't have visible breath. Red wanted to call out to her, but what little breathing she could do was difficult in the extreme cold. There must have been a few seconds of silence. Then, Elsa stepped forward. "I said, freeze!"

A click echoed through the hall. The safety was off. He wasn't bluffing. Rex probably had orders, but who would tell if he would obey them? Red tried to move her arm. It was so numb. It would probably ice over any second now. If only she could distract him, even for a precious second. Elsa stepped forward again, this time raising a hand. "No-" Red whispered.

BANG! The gun went off, the sound filling the room. It was too late. She couldn't even help Elsa in this one, simple way. Despite being the prisoner, Elsa had done a far better job getting herself out than Red. Was it all for nothing. Everyone seemed to wait. Wait for the blood to start pouring. For Elsa to try to nurse her wound. Or keel over. Do something.

Where had the bullet gone? It couldn't have missed. Not at that distance. Elsa hadn't moved at all. Her hand- right there! The bullet seemed to be stuck there in front of her palm. Or perhaps, frozen in place. She reached around it with her hand, looking at it as though she'd never seen a bullet before.

"Strange," she finally said. Red was put even more on edge. That sounded like Elsa's voice, and yet somehow- not. "It looks like you tried to strike me first. Pity." The next thing Red knew, there was a crunch, and a loud cry of pain from Rex. The arm holding the gun was now pinned to the wall by an icicle, and the gun clattered to the ground. His arm was clearly bleeding. The ice hadn't gone straight through, but it hit the side of his arm, hard. Red found it hard to feel sorry for him.

"What the f-. You'll pay for that, you bitch!" He was in pain, and stuck on the wall. The gun might still be in reach, though. He moved his left hand as close as he could. Just a few inches off. Given more time, he might have been able to get it into his hand.

Rex was not given more time. Elsa's left hand had placed itself around his throat. He tried to voice some kind of angry curse, but it was cut short. He balled his left hand into a fist and lashed out. His jab found its mark in Elsa's chest. She did nothing. If anything, the attack hurt him more.

"Wha- what are you-" Rex said weakly. Ice erupted from Elsa's left hand, enveloping his whole upper body. His body moved for maybe a few seconds longer. The silence returned, until Elsa retracted her hand, and the ice shattered.

Red couldn't believe what she had seen. "E-Elsa. What did you do? Rex. He's, he's-"

"Surprised?" There was a voice coming on the intercom, it seemed. Hans. "This is the true face of your little detective friend. She's a killer, through and through. Even you aren't safe. How long until you succumb to the cold?"

Elsa's head suddenly darted around. Within seconds, she was gone, leaving through the door she had forced open. The cold started to fade. Red was alone.

Elsa had finally escaped from the nightmare. Only to be launched straight into a new, drastically worse one.

That voice. The one she kept hearing. At first, she had believed it a sign of approaching insanity. In retrospect, that might have been for the best. The truth was far, far worse. That became eminently clearer as she remembered where the voice was from. It was that night, in the clearing on the mountains. The voice that appeared to come from the ritual being performed. Wherever it had come from, it was now somewhere inside her being. Slowly, it had seized control.

She hadn't noticed it at first. Elsa had appeared to have blacked out for a moment, and when she awoke, her restraints were destroyed and the room covered. Both, it appeared in a pure ice. Neither concerned Elsa as much, as the predicament she had seen Red in. That was when things started to happen. She moved from room to room, somehow able to force every door in her way to open. She had told herself that it was instinct that was guiding her steps, Now though, she knew better. The moment a man had died by her hand, the realisation came crashing down. It was far too late by then. She had now lost all control. She was a passenger in her own body. Able to look, but not touch.

Who are you? Do you have any idea what you've done?

Deep in her conscious, Elsa felt a white light. First, in front of her. Then, it enveloped her very being.

Now now, my queen. You know better than to ask redundant questions. I have come in your time of need. What would have happened, had I not interceded? Do not waste this.

What? Elsa couldn't believe it. From what she had seen, she didn't expect the other being to address her directly, much less try to justify itself to her. Maybe it could be reasoned with, to some extent. Elsa doubted it would relinquish control, especially after those last few words.

Who are you? Was it necessary to kill him? If I really am your queen, why are you seizing control from my own body?

This decision to infringe upon your sovereignty was not one I made lightly, and not one I shall repeat. You have found your cause, and I now I shall crush anything that is a threat to that.

You didn't answer my first question.

A long time ago for your people, I was known as Glaca. You may refer to me however you wish. It matters not. All that matters is we are united now. That is all I will say.

This internal conversation may have appeared to be a waste of time, but apparently the other being, Glaca, was not idle while it was taking place. When Elsa saw through her own eyes, they were apparently in an entirely different hall, much longer than before, let looking eerily similar.

"Stop right there!" There was no time to dwell on it, as two men were charging her way. Not a second later, ice covered the floor. The men fell. Elsa saw the blades of ice rise up underneath them just in time. They didn't get up. Glaca said she planned to crush them. Those were not empty words.

They stepped forward. Ice formed around anything and everything it could reach. Where were they going? Would Glaca find and eliminate every single person in this facility? It seemed everyone who crossed their path was in grave danger. She surged forwards, each door offering less resistance than the last. A man spotted her and raised his gun. The gun froze in his hands. Then, the rest of him did. Elsa's personal intruder started again as quickly as she stopped.

Next room. Some kind of checkpoint. There was an elevated platform in the center. It was armed! Elsa desperately tried to move her body. Nothing. She could only pray that her puppeteer had a plan. A hail of bullets erupted from what looked like a turret. They all stopped right in front of her. There was some kind of barrier in front of her.

Or, a force so cold, it saps the energy of anything that tries to pass. Astonishing.

Glaca stretch her arms out when the gun had stopped. Now for the counter attack it seemed. In the space of a second, a stalagtite of ice formed above the nest, before dropping. There was a short scream. Then, everything under the ice was crushed. Soon after, the room was covered in a layer of smooth ice. Elsa could see her reflection. So much had changed.

She had expected the skin burns. She was hardly surprised by the damage her clothing has sustained. What Glaca had appeared to have done went far beyond her imagination. It seemed her body was now covered in a series of pieces of ice Elsa could only assume formed a partial armor. A smooth set of pieces had been formed around most of her limbs, while a series of small ice pieces resembling chain mail covered her chest. The most shocking part was her head. At first, it looked like her hair had vanished. When she looked closer, it appeared to have completely changed in colour. Any traces of her old jet black hue had vanished. It appeared to have turned white, though upon closer inspection it was more like a very pale blonde. Adorning her hair was a series of small icicles curved together, protruding from the top of her head. Was that supposed to be some kind of mock crown? What exactly had the other being done to her? Elsa did not have long to wonder on this, it seemed.

"My, how ruthless of you. I take it my accommodation was not to your liking," the boss chimed in, once again over the communicator. Elsa had known her corporeal usurper long enough to know it wouldn't be goaded. While it had taken lives without reservation, it didn't appear as though it took any pleasure in it, either.

However, they darted ahead as soon as the transmission cut off, shards of ice now forming around her. The other being didn't say anything, but Elsa could sense it. That man, the leader. He was next.

Red didn't want to move. She really didn't want to. Her right hand still felt as though it had been through a shredder, while the rest of her muscles seemed as though they had gone through a wash cycle. She didn't think it could be much worse, but every time she moved, it turned out it could.

She saw Rex, slumped against the wall. He was dead, there was no question. What the hell has Elsa done to him? Had she really created that ice? Was it even ice to begin with? At the time, Red thought of that; seeing how cold it was. It felt like nothing made sense any more. She so badly wished this was all some kind of bizarre nightmare. She'd wake up on that spot on the sofa she had come to call her bed, and she'd never break Elsa's rules again. It couldn't be a dream though. It hurt far too much for that.

With great effort, Red slowly managed her way back up to her feet. Her body screamed at her to get back down. She wouldn't listen. She took one last look at the man who she had once considered her ally. Was he right? Was she just a dumb girl going from rash decision to rash decision? Even now she had every mind to go after Elsa, after watching her kill someone.

She didn't hurt me. And I still can't shake the feeling Elsa wasn't herself.

Maybe it was the ways she stood and moved. Maybe it was that strange voice she talked in. Maybe it was the weirdness of ice powers. Red had to know the truth, now more than ever. If Elsa truly never wanted to see her again, then that would be that. Though, if Elsa did actually want to hurt her- well, best not to think about that. She saw the busted door ahead of her. All she had to do was follow the ice.

Easier said than done. It was difficult to get a grip on the icy floors. The walls were covered too which gave her very little to grab onto. There was more than one time she lost her footing and had to regain her balance. A fall would bring back all the all too recent hits and bruises she had suffered. Under any other circumstances, the slow walk ahead would be unbearable, but anything that would put off her facing Elsa again seemed to give her comfort for the time being. It would have to happen sooner or later. That was the choice that she had made. The corpses she found along the way hadn't helped. Each one seemed to have suffered a worse death than the last. She had to keep going. Tell herself that the weapons the men had in their hands meant they had tried to strike first. That something had happened to Elsa. The dread still gnawed at her. Told her to turn back, or just try and get out of this forsaken place. She didn't listen. She told herself that she had to see this through. That this was what Elsa would do. Perhaps it was because she was doomed to a life of rash choices.

She made her way across the ice, through the doors that had been forced open, past the bodies scattered on the ground. The ice seemed to be become rougher as she went on, meaning a fall would hurt for more here, but it also gave her an easier grip. She found her way to a set of stairs, and started the dangerous climb. Red didn't know how long she could find the strength to keep moving forward. As long as it took. That was all she could keep telling herself.

She made it. The main entrance. It looked for all intents like a simple modern looking office reception, save for the streaks of ice all over the floors and walls. There were no bodies here, thanks goodness, but it appeared as though it had gotten dark out. How long had they been down there? It seemed as though they had been underground at the time, though. Something whirred in the distance. Red made for the front door.

The trail of ice seemed to have stopped, but Red could hear where the noise was coming from. It seemed it was a small building complex, probably fenced off and containing buildings that looked more glass than anything noise, a loudening whirring had suddenly changed, and Red turned to face it. It seemed as though a helicopter was trying to take off, but was now having trouble. There was a loud crash. It wasn't hard to tell why. The blades had been frozen and torn off, and now lay scatter on the ground. Red could see Elsa covered in her strange icy clothing, firing off spikes of ice at what remained. A man jumped out, and ran. The pilot. Elsa didn't even seem to pay him any mind.

It soon became clear why. Her real target was still inside. As ice started to surrounded what remained of the chopper, he too jumped out. It was him. The boss. The boss boss. Or at least, it used to be.

"Your progress ends here!" Elsa shouted to him. Red realised two things. First, that was definitely not Elsa's voice, meaning something could be controlling her. Second, neither of the two of them had noticed Red yet. It seemed dangerous to get too close just yet.

"Now now, let's not be too hasty," Hans quickly interjected. It seemed he still thought he could talk his way out of this. Elsa shot a blade of ice at his leg. He was clearly bleeding, but if that hurt him, he managed to hide it well. The intent was clear, though. "I'm sure we can be more civil than you've been so fa-" he whipped out some kind of gun and fired.

"Your lack of imagination never ceased to amaze me." With little more than a flick of a wrist, Elsa creature a wall of ice, batting away whatever had been fired at her. "Now, I will end this. Permanently."

"No!" Red called out, running out before she even realised what she was doing. Just like that, she was standing between them. "Elsa- I, I don't know what they did, or what happened to you, but please, killing him won't help."

"You are wrong, child. He shall remain a problem as long as he lives." There could be no doubt. This was not Elsa she was dealing with.

A strange sound started up behind her. It seemed Hans had a backup plan. He had lifting off the ground on his own, blood trailing off. Some kind of jet pack? Before she could figure out, he already blasted off into the dark. When Red turned back to Elsa, she saw something growing from her back. Great wings of ice.

"Fine," Red whispered. "El- whoever you are. Do what you want." Red could feel the tears welling up. "But please, give me Elsa back. I beg you! I'll do anything-"

It was a small thing at first. Something breaking. Or, cracking. Then, she saw it. The ice on Elsa's body was breaking, bit by bit. The once beautiful ice was now a maze of cracks and breaks. Just like that, they shattered, and blew upwards into the wind. Red rushed forward, managed to catch Elsa's collapsing body just in time. It looked like she had passed out. With Elsa in her arms, she looked up. It had started to snow.

Red somehow managed to get the both of them out of the complex. She could see it in the distance. A lot of lights. Arendelle? She could only hope. Whatever the case was, she would get the both of them back, even if she had to walk. It was the least she could do.