Chapter 42: Creeping Ever Closer

Chapter42: Creeping Ever Closer


Shadow stands extremely still, like he was a stone statue. His arms are crossed, his suit is stretched, and his gaze is strong. You're there, in Limbo, floating. You're completely unconscious and won't wake up. Shadow tried to wake you, but you wouldn't.

Can Alistair knock us out that badly? Or is it the tank? Hm... can't be the tank. I'm still conscious. Must be Alistair. The thought of him being able to render (Y/N) completely unconscious with one attack is unsettling. He was weak, but... still...

Shadow cringes a bit.

I need to get stronger. But I also need to be patient. The strength will come in time. If not... well...

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Alistair pours himself a drink, smiling at the perfection of the concoction he created. He grabs the cool glass and takes a swig. He enjoys the odd taste. He looks down the room at Hunter, who is laying against a wall, his arms crossed, his snow-like hair dangles in front of his face, and his eyes closed. Alistair sighs.

"You're too tense, Hunter. You need to learn to relax," Alistair speaks. "Have a drink. Take a nap."

"I'm fine, thank you," he snarls.

Alistair shrugs.

"I see. Maybe it's not (Y/N) who's pushing himself too much. Maybe it's you who's pushing (Y/N) too much," Alistair predicts, looking away from Hunter.

"He knows the stakes," Hunter snaps. "He knows what needs to be done, and why we have to stop you."

Alistair sighs.

"Always so dramatic. Maybe you need to take a rest too. At least (Y/N)'s getting his. But what about you? There's no way you can defeat me unless you're at your peak," he says, purposefully pushing his son's buttons.

Hunter remains silent.

"Whatever. You should at least be grateful that I'm trying to help you, despite you being against me."

"Your generosity is overwhelming," Hunter sarcastically answers.

Alistair shrugs.

"Well, I'll be resting until we're there. I'm not sure whether (Y/N) will be ready by the time we get back, so we may have to operate on our own for a time. If you have a problem... deal with it," Alistair finishes, deadly serious.

Hunter opens one eye and looks at his father. He shakes his head then returns to his original position.

"Fine. I'll be ready."

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Alec lies in his car, the seat laid all the way back while the automatic driver brings him back to Arendelle. His mind is working on overdrive right now. He's good at looking at a problem from all angles, but usually he doesn't have a personal connection to the problem. He also promised Hunter that he'd take care of Elsa. But if Erik is right... but what would Alistair want with Elsa? He could have her whenever he wants, especially now that you're both far away from her. She has basically no protection. There's Alec himself, but he can't directly intervene.

But Erik wouldn't lie. There's no reason too. Though, it's unsure whether his powers can actually see into the future. He can only influence people, to Alec's knowledge. But he's also been manifesting his powers for years. Who knows his prowess now. He may be powerful enough to see into the future. From what he remembers, Pabbie had the same power too, though his age distorted it.

Alec lets out a massively exaggerated sigh. He lays his hands behind his head and continues to stare at the inner roof of the car. Suddenly his car beeps. He rolls his eyes, knowing that someone is calling him.

"Accept," he states.

The car makes a more high pitch beep before connecting.

"Alec," Juno's voice starts, immediately making Alec's eyes open. "Erik... where is Erik?"

"I..." Alec thinks back. Erik left, and Alec genuinely has no idea where he went. "I don't know."

"You... you find him. You bring him to me. If you don't... well," she snickers. "I'll make a new drink out of whatever's left of you."

Alec audibly gulps.

"R-Right, yeah. Of course."

"Well... I'll see you at work," Juno chuckles, hanging up.

"Christ," Alec huffs. "Hm... where did he go, anyway? Well, he'll contact me when the time comes. I've gotten what I want out of him."

He has a few things in mind he needs to do when he gets back. Hopefully Elsa is okay. He's now worried about her. Hell, he's worried about everything.

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Elsa pulls into the driveway, her hands shaking. She's on the fritz, her pale complexion now completely red.

Is he there for you? Would he be a good husband?

Those words have been repeating over and over and over. She can't get it out of her mind. It's like she wants to claw her brain out to get it to shut up. It's a lie, she knows it. You'll be a good husband. You're there for her when you can. If she was busy with work all the time and couldn't see you, you wouldn't be doubting her at all. So she has to give you the same respect. But what if she's wrong? What if you'd abandon her?

"Elsa?" Anna says, innocently.

Elsa shakes her head and looks around. She looks out the driver window and sees Anna, leaning over to Elsa's window. She has some shopping bags lying around her feet. She has a very innocent, very Anna-like look. She's not quite worried about Elsa, but just curious as to what she's doing. But, she notices Elsa's more distressed look. A dead giveaway being her red skin.

"Elsa, are you okay?" Anna quickly adds, concern filling her voice.

Elsa clenches the wheel of her car, silently venting her frustration.

"I'm... fine, Anna. Just a rough day at work," she lies.

"Well, do you want to ta-"

"No!" Elsa barks, making Anna sit up straight, creating more distance between the two sisters. "I... don't want to talk about it. I think I'm just going to go to bed," she sighs before getting out of her car and walking past her sister.

Anna pouts in a sort of frustration. She knows that something is bothering her stubborn sister, but lucky for Anna, she's quite stubborn herself. She won't let this go. Considering everything that's going on lately between you and her, there's no way Elsa's mind isn't constantly overwhelmed with stress. Seems Anna has a mission right now: a mission to help her sister.

Anna saunters back to her house, gently closing the door behind her. She notices that Elsa's shoes and suitcase are laid by the door with no Elsa in sight. Anna can hear a little bit of rustling upstairs, likely from Elsa's room. Anna slips out of her own shoes and carefully makes her way up the stair and to her sister's room. She gently leans against the door so her ear is right up against it. Elsa's in there, mumbling something incoherent to Anna. But her tone is what concerns Anna the most. It's a distressed voice, almost like Elsa's going to breakdown at any moment. There's a breath every other word, her speech is incredibly fast yet full of stutters.

Anna moves her body off of the door and sighs, biting her bottom lip. She can't think of what could be troubling the normally calm and collected Elsa to this extent. The only option now is to confront her and make Elsa confess what's on her mind. Maybe Anna can calm her down a bit, or at least allow Elsa to vent so whatever's on her mind can be let out.

But something suddenly comes to Anna's mind. She used to do this all the time. She used to stand outside Elsa's door, ear to the door, listening and hoping her sister would talk to her. But now it's years later, they're both adults, and Anna has no fear of rushing into her room and forcing Elsa to confess to her.

Anna reaches to the door handle and wraps her hand around it. Her heart's pumping with fear and adrenaline. She shakes her head, letting out as many jitters as she can, then pushes the door open and stepping into the room. Anna instantly notices the frost crawling along the walls and floor of the room. From this alone it's clear that Elsa's having a freak-out. Elsa's a little shocked at the sudden invasion of privacy by her sister, and attempts to collect herself. Some of her makeup has dribbled down her face from some tears, and her hair's a little messy from her wrestling with it. She's taken off her suit jacket – which is lying on the bed – and is now simply in a dress shirt.

"A-Anna? What're you doing in my room?" Elsa firmly asks, attempting to be gentle yet empowered, though her appearance doesn't help that at all.

"Elsa, you're going to tell me what's bothering you right now! I'm not letting you out of this room until you do!" Anna confidently says, closing the door behind her and leaning on it.

Elsa can do anything right now. She can confess what's on her mind. She can yell at her sister to get out. She could do nothing and simply go to bed. But something about Anna's actions spark something in her. The way Anna is leaning on the door, the way she's pouting. It reminds her of a younger Anna – an Anna she never revealed anything to.

Elsa's lip begins to quiver, then she sighs. Elsa lazily walks onto the bed and lies on it, staring up at the ceiling. Anna assumes this means Elsa's ready to talk, so she slowly makes her way beside Elsa's bed.

"I've... had something on my mind. Well," Elsa struggles to find the proper words as the mantra keeps beating in her head. "It's almost so sudden... so... different. It's stupid, and I know it's stupid, but the more I think about it the more relevant it becomes," Elsa vents.

Anna stares at her sister with compassion and confusion.

"Elsa, what're you talking about? I don't get it."

"(Y/N)!" She shouts in frustration, slapping her forehead and leaving her hand there. "It's about him, Anna," she breathes, calmer than her last statement. "I... I keep thinking about the future. He's asked me to marry him, and I love him, but... Anna I don't know whether he'll be a good husband."

"Elsa, that's insane," Anna chuckles. "(Y/N) is a great guy."

"He is," Elsa nods. "But... take now for instance. Where is he? We should be planning our wedding, but instead he's off somewhere in the world getting hurt, fighting some secret organization that nearly sounds made up! They have powers, and weapons, and people and he just wants to fight them without any regard for me and what I want! I don't want any of this anymore, Anna! I've had enough of all this. I want to live a normal life, ignoring the powers I have," she huffs, squeezing the bed. "I just want a happy family. I just want it to be calm." Elsa finishes before tears roll down her cheeks once more.

Anna finds it hard to produce words at the moment. She wants to defend you so badly. She knows you don't WANT to be doing this, but you still are. You're still gone, ignoring the family you have here in Arendelle. Your business has even gotten their own family hurt, that being Rapunzel's father and husband. She can even understand Elsa wanting a normal life, considering everything that's happened to her. It's unclear whether you want a normal life, even to Anna. You're always off doing something, always needed because of what you're capable of. It's possible you could always be gone, always be doing something that drags you away from Elsa.

Anna slides her hand over her sister's in an attempt to comfort her.

"Hey Elsa, you remember when we were kids? You remember what you always did when I was sad?"

Elsa thinks for a moment, then softly chuckles.

"I would make a bit of snow in our room and build a snowman for yo- wait, you remember that? I thought your memory was lost?" Elsa inquires, her mind effectively off the previous subject.

"Pabbie has helped me remember those memories. Besides, I remembered us building snowmen, just not with your powers. But... do you remember what I would ask you to do every day?"

Elsa smiles.

"You'd come up to my door every day and knock on it." Both sisters imitate knocking on a door, even making the sound in perfect unison.

"Elsa? Do you wanna build a snowman?" They both sing, then break into laughter.

"I did it because I knew you were sad. So maybe..."

"Anna?" Elsa interjects, lifting her upper body off the bed and looking at her sister. "Are you saying-"

"Elsa," Anna lightly taps Elsa's forehead, making the sound. "Do you wanna build a snowman?"

Somehow, someway, Anna always knows what buttons to press to calm her down. Elsa stares at her sister as she waits for a response. Elsa sighs, then looks to her sister with a smile.

"Go get a carrot," she smirks.

Anna starts laughing from pure excitement, then instantly runs out of the room and down the stairs. Elsa looks around her room for a good spot to fill with snow. As she scans her room her head floods with thoughts.

Is he there for you? Would he be a good husband?

Elsa grinds her teeth at the thought, then shoots out a plethora of snow out of frustration, covering nearly half of her room. She breathes a little heavier after releasing the tension, but she returns to normal when she hears Anna rushing back up the stairs. Anna bursts into Elsa's room, carrot in hand, and is a little too dazzled at the sight of all the snow. But the thought of building a snowman again with her sister after all these years is something that gives Anna the major jitters. She's so happy, excited, everything!

"It's just like I remember! No! Even better! It's so shiny and beautiful, Elsa!" Anna shrieks with glee.

It's been some time since Anna's seen Elsa's powers used like this. Here and there she chills something like a fire, but most of the time it's used in a combat situation. Not that Elsa has been in a fight for quite some time, but the sight of such a beautiful use of her powers is truly a sight to see. Elsa, on the other hand, has a certain pride in seeing her sister dazzled by such a simple display on Elsa's part.

"Yeah, I guess," Elsa humbly smiles. "So," she starts, rolling up her sleeves. "Are you ready? I haven't done this in a while."

"Me neither, but we'll figure it out somehow."

Elsa and Anna both drop to their knees and making their own snowballs.

"How hard can it be for two grown women to make a snowman?" Elsa brings up, rolling the small ball across more snow.

"No cheating!" Anna warns, vigorously pointing at Elsa. "You can't use your powers to make the best snowman."

Elsa rolls her eyes in a friendly manner.

"Who do you take me for, Anna?"

The sisters giggle, then go back to making the snowmen. Elsa is easily making the ball of snow without her powers, getting it far bigger than Anna's far easier. Elsa notices this and brings something up.

"I'll make the bottom ball, you make the middle one. I'm closer to it anyway. Here," Elsa looks a bit behind Anna and shoots some more snow out. "There, in case you run out. "

Anna nods, still giddy from the whole ordeal, and shimmies over to the new patch of snow. Surprisingly the snow isn't very cold on Anna's bare hands, but this doesn't even come to Anna's mind as she makes the ball bigger and bigger. Elsa's already made the bottom big enough to hold a medium sized ball. She rolls it close to the corner, using her powers push any extra snow away from her so her clothes don't get damp. She sets it close to the corner, nods at her work, then looks to her sister's progress. Anna's gotten a decent sized ball for the middle.

"That should be enough, Anna!" Elsa informs, to which Anna replies to with a nod.

Anna moves to the other side of the ball and rolls it towards Elsa's, collecting some extra snow on the way. Once there, she and Elsa lift the ball on top of the other. Anna wipes her hands with pride.

"All that's left is the head," she declares.

Elsa nods, then turns to her side to roll another ball of snow. She rolls it around herself, then in-between her and Anna. Anna pushes a large amount of snow on it, completely ruining what little symmetry it had. Elsa's face drops and she stares at her sister with sassy disappointment. Anna covers her mouth as she giggles, then leans over to drag some snow onto the other side of it as if it'll fix it. Elsa shakes her head and the action, giggling, then rolls the ball around, lightly smacking to even out the ball. Once done, Elsa places the head on top of the other two balls. Anna quickly grabs the carrot off Elsa's bed and jams it into his head. The two then quickly get to work, tracing eyes and a smile with their fingers. This takes little time, and the two lean back to admire their work. Elsa disperses the excess snow into thin air; it's as if nothing was ever there.

"This... was fun, Anna. I needed this," Elsa admits, smiling at their creation.

Anna nods.

"It was. Olaf would..."

Her voice trails off as a grim reminder falls on the two. Their little brother is still missing with no evidence of where he is. It's been weeks. Anna looks over to her sister and sees the melancholy look on her face. Anna mentally smacks herself for bringing it up, but she's determined to lift Elsa's spirits. Anna slips her hand onto Elsa's, which makes Elsa meet Anna's gaze.

"They'll find him, don't worry. And, about (Y/N)... well... maybe it's not our time to settle down yet. I mean, we're not even 25, Elsa. Even I don't want to settle, marry, and have kids. We just have to have faith, you know? We have plenty of life left to live with (Y/N) and Olaf."

Elsa sighs.

"I know. But I just keep worrying – it's always on my mind."

"And you're always on his mind, I'm sure of it. Besides, (Y/N)'s definitely not the 'average job' kind of guy. Adventure seems like his thing, at least for now. I know I like a good party here and there."

Elsa leans away from Anna with a doubtful look.

"How often do you go to parties?"

"Well," Anna smirks. "Not too many yet. But maybe my upcoming schooling with change that."

"No parties! You study, you stay safe," Elsa lectures.

Anna giggles at Elsa's demeanor. She winks at her before starting to get up.

"There's my big sister. Stay calm, Elsa. I'm always going to be here for you when (Y/N) can't."

With those words, Anna leaves Elsa alone with the snowman. Elsa watches her sister leave, then once she's gone, Elsa turns her gaze to the snowman. Anna's right. No matter how much Elsa's own brain tries to psyche her out, there'll be people there to support her. If you're not here, then Anna will be. If she's not here, then Kristoff will be. There'll always be someone to help her. Still... she hopes you're back soon, safe and sound.

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Alistair swiftly opens his eyes, taking in his immediate environment in an instant. He's in his cabin of the plane – taking a quick nap to pass the time and keep his body rested. He sits on the edge of the bed and looks down at his now wrinkled dress shirt. He knew this was going to happen, but it's always a pain when it does. He begins unbuttoning the shirt as he stands up. Once the shirt is unbuttoned he slips it off and tosses it onto the bed. He approaches the build in closet and slides the door open. The entire thing is filled with suits and dress shirts. All suits are black, dress shirts mix of black and white. Alistair grabs the traditional white and black for his attire, then redresses himself in a brand new suit.

Once outfitted, Alistair leaves his room and walks down the corridor. As he's walking his eye catches something in the room two down from his own. He stops and takes a closer look. Hunter is... actually sleeping in one of the beds.

"Watch out, that's the one filled with snakes," Alistair quietly teases. "Though it's humbling to see you're somewhat trusting me during our truce." Alistair returns to walking down the corridor. "I simply hope this leads to something better than both your deaths. Perhaps you'll see why I'm right."

After a few more moments Alistair reaches your room. You're still floating in the tube, unconscious, healing. He enters your room and positions himself right in front of the glass, staring directly at you. Bubbles float past you to the top, slipping through the liquid that fills the tube. Alistair gently places his hand on the glass without diverting his eyes from you. He then huffs, closes his eyes, and focuses.

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Shadow's eyes burst open with urgency. He can sense someone here, but won't allow his confidence to waver. He closes his eyes once more and waits for his guest to approach him. As he assumed, someone's here.

"Interesting. You allowed me to enter," the voice points out.

Shadow remains ever calm.

"You cannot hurt me here, and I can force you out at any time. None of you psychics can enter our mind now."

The new voice finally assumes a form. Alistair's body and clothing materialize a short distance behind Shadow. He examines his own body, slightly amazed that it's the exact same as his physical body – clothes and all.

"Hm... I sense Pabbie's presence. He's been here before?" Alistair inquires, sauntering towards his son.

"Once, yes. When that happened I took measures so that would never happen again. Not even you or Erik can enter my mind now."

Alistair completely pauses at the mention of Erik for just a moment, then shakes his head with a smile.

"So you've met Erik?"

"Not formally, no. He simply dropped by at the hospital back in Corona," Shadow answers.

Alistair chuckles.

"I thought I felt him, but it matters little. He's no concern of mine. I'm more interested in you."

Shadow finally turns around to face his father. He opens his eyes and meets with Alistair's.

"Similar fashion sense, hm?" Alistair points out, seeing as their both wearing similar suits.

"It's comfortable, despite what most would say," Shadow responds.

"Indeed," Alistair nods, admiring Shadow's suit. "Well, let's get down to business. I didn't come here to make up for the lost years."

"I would be surprised if you were. Helping (Y/N) defeat Hans is more than enough, but you're not doing it out of the kindness of your own heart."

Alistair snickers, waving his finger at Shadow.

"You're definitely the clever one out of my sons. Being the logical one, I ask you this: how do you see this ending. I want the honest truth."

Shadow raises his brow at Alistair's question.

"Why do you care about my predictions?"

Alistair waves Shadow off and starts pacing.

"Bah, the other two are too idealistic. Hunter is caught up in his vendetta against me, so no matter what he'll say 'with you dead'. (Y/N) just wants this to end, but I don't think he'll ever side with me. Thus he'll say when I'm stopped. See the difference between the two," Alistair smirks, stopping beside Shadow. "Which leaves you."

Shadow thinks for a moment.

"I... I'm not sure. I don't have all the pieces yet. We're unaware what your true intentions are or what you're end game i-"

"Oh please," Alistair scoffs. "You know more then you're letting on."

"What makes you say that?" Shadow responds in a serious tone, keeping his eyes on Alistair.

"Because you're like me, always keeping your cards close to your chest, showing what needs to be shown and saving the best ones. So, I ask again," Alistair takes position right in front of Shadow. "How do you see this ending?"

Shadow takes in a deep breath.

"The best case scenario? You and (Y/N) dead."

Alistair smirks.

"Now there's something I can agree to. BUT," Alistair shouts, turning and walking away from Shadow. "Unless (Y/N) – or you – can fully tap into your latent abilities then he'll be the dead one."

"At the temple you both fought relatively equal," Shadow points out.

Alistair stops dead in his tracks. He turns his head to the side so he can eye Shadow. He grins deviously, sending a short chill down Shadow's spine.

"You haven't seen anything."

Alistair returns to walking away.

"And I agree with your prediction. No matter what I say, there will be no truce. Either I will die, or (Y/N) will."

And with that, Alistair dissipates from Shadow's realm. Shadow continues to stare forward, tightening his fist.

"You haven't seen anything either, Alistair."

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Alistair opens his eyes to meet reality. He's immediately greeted with your unconscious body. Alistair smirks.

"But I have a plan for both outcomes," Alistair speaks to you.

He pats the tube before stepping away and leaving the room.

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Normally it would take nearly an entire day to reach San Fransokyo. However, this is no normal aircraft the Knights are utilizing. After sleeping, recovering, and having a few more drinks, the three Knights' plane lands on a reserved airstrip. Alistair, who's watching the news with a drink in his hand, feels the slight bump made by the contact of the ground. He smiles with relief. He sets his drink on the nearest surface and makes his way to Hunter's room. Once there, Alistair stands just inside of the room.

"Hunter, wake up!" Alistair shouts.

Hunter's eyes burst open as he pushes himself off the bed, lands on the other side, and has his fists up ready for battle. Alistair sighs.

"We've arrived, and I don't wish to waste any more time than I need to. Let's go."

Hunter gradually lowers his guard.

"What about (Y/N)? Is he coming with us?"

Alistair shakes his head.

"He's not fully healed yet, so no. It will release him once that happens, so for now he stays here."

"There's no way I'm leaving him here! You could take him somewhere a-"

"Did we NOT agree on a truce?" Alistair asks with an irritated tone. "Hunter, please get over yourself. I'm a man of my word, so when I say I'm no threat to you and (Y/N)... I'm. No. Threat. You can pick him up once we're done."

Hunter looks away, acting like some sort of child. Alistair rolls his eyes and walks out of the room.

"Come now. Don't make me put you on the counter," Alistair snickers.

Hunter crosses his arms and saunters out of the room. He quickly follows Alistair to the exit of the plane. The door slides open and the ramp materializes. Alistair and Hunter walk down the ramp and head towards a limo that's been waiting since the plane landed. A suited man who would easily be recognized as a bodyguard steps out of the passenger seat of the limo, walks to the back door, and opens it.

Alistair nods his head to thank the man, then enters the limo. Hunter ignores him completely and simply gets in. The suited man closes the limo and returns to his passenger seat. Once everyone is in the limousine the vehicle begins rolling to its destination. Inside the limo, Alistair and Hunter sit at opposite ends at the limo.

"So, where are we going?" Hunter asks with some resentment.

"Krei Tech. Duke Krei should have information about Hans' whereabouts."

"You're sure about that?"

"I am. I better be, for his sake. We'll find out soon enough," Alistair decides, crossing his arms and closing his eyes.

Hunter looks away from his father in contempt. Yet he's going to be stuck in the car for some time until they reach Krei Tech, so he might as well brush it off the best he can.

After a very uncomfortable and silent ride, after a few stops for the traffic of the city, the limo finally comes to a halt. Hunter pointlessly looks around, pondering whether they've actually arrived or not. His suspicion is confirmed when the door is opened for himself and Alistair. Alistair moves to the door and exits the limo. Hunter follows, hopping out and looking around at the new and improved Krei Tech. Hunter remembers the whole incident with some masked man and the Big Hero 6 saving the day.

It's far bigger and discreetly more fortified than the previous version. There are more buildings that link with the main one. The main building is a grand circle with a clear entrance, a hole in the middle for whatever tests they need to do outside, and is the hub to reach all the buildings connected to the center. The main circle is at least five stories tall, with the connected buildings ranging from one to seven. Most have small hallways connecting each other, whether that be on the ground floor or built above the main circle. Either way, Krei Tech looks far different.

"Notice the new designs?" Alistair speaks, eyeing Hunter. "After that idiot attacked the building," Alistair starts explaining as the two approach the building. "I recruited Krei and helped him rebuild."

"So you bribed him, basically?"

Alistair snickers.

"Of course not. Krei, with his money, could have rebuilt on his own. But he saw the perks of being my ally." Alistair looks to his son, a coy smirk on his face. "Guess that's what the smarter ones do."

Hunter rolls his eyes at Alistair's little jab. Hunter throws his hands in his pockets and follows Alistair's lead. There's far more security than Hunter remembers, but that's likely a combination of the resources from the Hierarchy and the paranoia of Alistair Krei. All of the security eyes the two Knights – awestruck and honoured by Alistair's presence while resentful of Hunter's. Hunter is well known throughout the entire Hierarchy for all the wrong reasons. Hunter winks at any who eyes him, almost taunting them.

The inside of the building is massive and beautiful. Chrome all around, brand new technology on display, pictures of Krei every so often, people, furniture, everything. It's a common theme among companies run by the Hierarchy – they all look extremely similar. It also makes it easy for Hunter to pinpoint weak spots and flaws that transfer over to other buildings. It's a useful thing to keep in mind when infiltrating these buildings, not that he's had the time or reason to do so.

Alistair and Hunter pass by a security gate completely unchecked, and begin to enter the labs. Alistair taps his ear while walking and waits a moment for the connection to be established.

"Monarch? How can I help you?" Krei responds with a somewhat timid voice.

"I'm on my way to you with a little guest. You have minutes to secure any data or projects you're looking at, since company secrets can't be shown to my dear son," Alistair smirks.

"Dear son..? Is Hunter with you? That little ba-"

"As I said, don't let anything compromising be there. Now hurry up, I'm almost to you."

"Y-Yes sir."

Alistair taps his ear to end the connection. The two make their way through hallways, passing various staff and security until they reach one of the various rooms in this one hallway. Alistair enters a quick code, the door clicks, and Alistair pushes the door open. The two walk into a less than extraordinary room. In fact, it's absolutely empty, save for the one man standing in the middle of the room. Hunter recognizes him instantly. Blonde hair, suit, a... prominent nose – Alistair Krei. He bows his head with a smile.

"Monarch. Always a pleasure. And... you," he says, turning his gaze to Hunter.

Hunter shrugs.

"Nice seeing you too, Krei. Now le-"

"No time for pointless arguments," Alistair cuts it. "Duke Krei, what have you got on Hans?"

Krei nods before extending his hand forward, palm facing the ground. He lifts his arm up which brings up a massive diagram of San Fransokyo in perfect detail.

"You'll be pleased. It seems that a transmission has come from San Fransokyo, which I have confirmed to be Hans through voice recognition," he reassures, walking through the diagram. "However, he seemed to be talking to someone in Arendelle." Alistair scratches his jaw the moment he hears this news. "Who that is... I don't know," Krei admits. "However, I know for a fact he's here. The kicker is that his transmission was blocked, guarded. The only thing that can cloak from our technology is-"

"Our own tech. So you're saying he's in one of our bases?" Alistair theorizes.

Krei nods.

"You're right. I have a few ideas, but nothing concrete. I've been working on getting a location on its origins, but that'll take some time – a day, at most."

Alistair nods.

"Alright, keep working on this until you've found something. This is your top priority," Alistair says, to which Krei nods. "When you learn where he is, contact me. I'll be in town."

Alistair turns around and heads for the door.

"Hunter, come. Let the man work."

Hunter sighs, hating the fact that Alistair's bossing him around, but he begrudgingly follows the orders given. Hunter catches up to Alistair and instantly starts speaking.

"That's it? We just wait?"

"Yes. But you'll be waiting on your own. I have things to do, but I'll contact you when I know Hans' location. Just don't be an idiot and force me to kill you. I've been enjoying this family bonding."

Hunter snickers.

"I'm sure you do. Fine, I'll get (Y/N) and go."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

As you float silently in the tube, it begins to light up. Slowly the liquid starts draining out, and in place of it is a huge gust of wind to dry you and your clothes. Once the process is complete, the tube opens and you fall out of it, still unconscious. You slowly start to feel your body again. You manage to move your hand forward, grasping at the floor. Your eye lids peel open and expose your eyes to light. You cringe a bit at the light but manage to push through it. You cough a few times, spitting out some of the liquid that was in the tube.

"Blegh, that's... what is that?"

You rub your eyes and get to your feet slowly and steadily. Once standing up straight, you take a moment to feel your body – get it working again. You roll your shoulders, stretch your arms and legs, twist your torso. You can't believe it...

"I... I feel incredible! I've never felt so good or... so strong! What happened to me," you state, chuckling.

You roll your wrist then clench your fist. You smile at the feeling.

"Haha! This is awesome! But, uh... where am I?" You question, looking around.

You step out of the room and notice the ramp out of the plane. You shrug and head towards it. Being outside will definitely get you a better feel for you surroundings than being cooped up in a plane.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"What's your scans say?" A young voice asks.

"It is indeed a Hierarchy plane. Is there someone there who needs medical attention?" A robotic voice inquires.

"No, no, but there's definitely something on that plane. I say we take it, see what we can find. We'll only be helping Hunter," the same voice responds, activating his own visor.

"Hey, Hiro, someone's coming out of the plane," someone points out over comms.

"I got'em. Lemon, keep them in place," a separate, female voice requests.

"Got it!"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

You hop out of the plane and land gently. You're still surprising yourself at how good you feel, how powerful you feel. Whatever happened while you were knocked out really gave you a boost. In truth, it's likely you feel as you normally would, but after being injured for so long your body has forgotten what it's like to be normal.

You stretch your arms up as you examine your surroundings, which is quite extravagant. The city's booming with lights, life, and lots of noise. You've never been to San Fransokyo, and it's definitely a different experience already from Corona, Arendelle, and even your home town.

"Well... I guess Hunter or dad isn't around. So... what am I suppo-"

Suddenly something flies toward you from one of the nearby buildings, hitting your foot. The moment it makes contact the object expands, covering your entire right leg with some sort of goo. You stare at it, trying to understand what just happened to you.

"That is, um... different. Alright, this place has got my-"

Another one hits your other leg, covering it up for your knee. Now you're stuck, but you're not feeling overly threatened at the moment. You sigh at the inconvenience.

"Thaaaaat's unfortunate. Well, I suppose I should cut myself out of here."

You go to reach around to your back but something distracts you. Someone zooms by, making your clothes and hair flutter in the wind. You lower your hand and lean to see what's behind you. The same thing zooms past you again, stopping a bit in front of you. You, again, turn to see what it is. In front of you is a person, a woman, it looks like, with a very interesting suit. Over her black hair is a yellow helmet with a visor coming down from it. The rest of her body is situated in a black suit with red lines, covered with yellow armour. The most notable thing is what's on her feet and hands, which are discs of some kind.

She blows up some bubble gum and lets it pop.

"Cheeky. I see how it is. So is this just bubble gum?" You ask, looking down at the material covering your feet.

"Funny. Now, tell me what you know. I won't ask again," she demands.

Hm... Must be with the Hierarchy. I thought I was on the nice list for now, but it seems not.

"Better finish this fast then," Shadow comments.

Oh, now you're speaking! What happened while I was out?

"I'll explain later. Focus."

You shrug and decide to get down to business. You reach your hand over your shoulder and grip your sword as it materialized from the holowatch. You quickly and expertly cut through the substance surrounding your legs, making it fall to the side and release your limbs. You shake your feet as you sheathe your blade.

"He broke free..."

"This isn't just some guy. We shouldn't take any chances. Everyone, to Go!" Hiro commands.

Before you can speak again you notice a flash from a somewhat close building. You squint to see what it is, but it's moving at such a pace that it reaches you before you can recognize it. A large, red robot lands beside Go Go, dropping off two different people while one stays on its back. One is another woman in some armour akin to the first one, and the other is a man also wearing a similar suit except his afro is clearly visible, and his face isn't as covered as the women's. In fact, upon inspection all of them are wearing a similar fashion of armour with varying colours.

"Well, this is new. I gotta say, last time I had to fight a team..." Your mind travels back to years ago, back to when the elementals attacked Elsa. Back to when you slaughtered them. "Well... It didn't end well. Buuuut I'm sure it'll fair better this time around."

"I don't like his attitude," Go Go declares, readying her visor for battle.

You shrug at the numbers. You really don't feel like you're gonna lose, even if you don't know what they can do. Still, there's only five of them. Nothing too-

"Fred to the rescue!" Someone shouts from behind you.

You look over your shoulder, then up to see some monster suit shooting flames coming right for you.

"Whoa!" You shout, leaping to the side.

The monstrosity lands where you were, brushing away the fire it erupted.

"Six of them now?" You question.

"Seems we have friends, even here. Interesting how the Hierarchy would attack us. But..."

You're thinking what I'm thinking, huh?

"These people aren't part of the Hierarchy. Who are they, then? What do they want?" Shadow ponders.

"Haha! Fear the almighty flame of Fred!" He shouts, proud of his glorious entry.

You chuckle.

"I like this one. He's got more charm than dark and brooding over there," you say, lazily pointing to Go Go.

"Okay," Go Go irritatedly states, pulling out her gum and sticking it to her helmet. "I'm taking him down."

Her visor activates and she starts speeding towards you. She's far faster than you expected, but not fast enough to make her a blur. You're fully capable of seeing every move she makes with no difficulty. She circles around you at a rapid pace in an attempt to disorient you. Finally she actually attacks by throwing one of the disks. You lean your head to the side, allowing the disc to zoom right by your head.

You reach to your shoulder and grip the Dragon Sword tightly. You keep your hand on it while your eyes follow Go Go. Once she throws another you manage to quickly slash it in half, rendering the weapon completely useless. Go Go stops circling you and grinds to a halt beside her friends.

Wasabi activates his two blades of light.

"This is why we have plans! And right now my plan is to take those swords out," he shouts as he charges you.

"(Y/N), be careful. We don't know what those are capable of."

Got it.

Wasabi leaps forward, charging his two blades to come down on you. Having ample time to prepare, you decide to simply block it. Wasabi's blades connect – plasma against steel. Wasabi, along with the entire squad, save Baymax, are surprised. Wasabi's blades are supposed to cut through anything, yet your regular steel blade is holding its own against them. Since he's not putting too much force into it, you easily push him to the side, sending him flying across the pavement.

"Well that was... underwhelming," you admit with a perplexed face, sheathing your blade once more.

"Perhaps attacking together would minimalize any potential injuries," Baymax declares, extending his finger.

"Alright, charge team!" Hiro declares, magnetizing himself onto Baymax's back to prepare himself.

Honey Lemon activates her purse and throws small balls at you. You leap away from them and notice, once you land, that they explode on contact.

So she's the one who can lock me in place. Good to know.

Once you land your eyes catch Go Go coming at you once more. She comes right at you and swipes with her remaining disc. You shuffle to the side and lean back, dodging the disc. As you do that you kick the back of Go Go's leg, right above the disc, and knock her completely off balance. To your surprise, when she falls forward she uses the disc on her hand to keep her momentum to move away from you and recover.

At the same time Honey continues to launch her sticky bombs at you while you're dodging them and the mascot-looking suit. He swipes at you, you lean back. He swipes again, you duck. You hop back to dodge a sticky ball, then he shoots his flame at you. You twirl right over it, your arms, back, and legs mere inches from being caught in the main flame. You land beside him and duck down, sweeping his legs out from under him so he lands flat on his back. You know that the girl is going to throw another one of those balls, so you act accordingly.

"Hammerfist," Baymax says as he brings his fist down on your location.

You roll out of the way, grab Fred, and lift him in front of you. The ball flies right into the suits mouth, effectively blocking anymore fire. As the sticky substance expands, you twirl around and throw him at the girl, making sure he hits her face first. He falls atop her, and the substance locks them together. You smile at your success, but you're not done yet. You have three left to deal with. The giant robot, the speedster, and the sword man.

The robot is the strongest one, though I don't really know how hard he can hit.

Baymax extends his fist at you and propels it towards you, which, admittedly, you weren't expecting.

"The fast one is circling you. Perhaps you can take her out with this," Shadow recommends.

You nod, then kick your leg to the side, twirl your entire body around to gain momentum and waste time, then you finish your twirl and kick the fist right to the side. You make sure to use more force than you have been to counter the jets, and it works perfectly. The fist's course is completely rerouted and slams into an unsuspecting Go Go. She tumbles onto the ground, disoriented from the attack.

"Oh no," Baymax exclaims, concerned for the health of his friend.

"Baymax, we'll get her later!" Hiro reassures, completely focused on you – the man who's defeating his friends.

Wasabi gets back into action, running at you from the side with his blades activated. You grip the Dragon Sword once more, ready to block his attacks. He executes a fairly decent if very amateurish flurry of strikes that you easily block.

Is it just me, or is he really slow?

"Perhaps you're just used to dealing with people far faster, like Alistair."

You lean, duck, block, and simply outmaneuver anything this guy has to give. You slide back a foot to dodge his attack, then seamlessly rush in with a side kick to his stomach, forcing saliva out and causing him to collapse, holding his stomach. You sheathe your blade once more and look around. Everyone except the robot and its pilot are down. They turn towards you and you can tell the pilot isn't pleased you've beaten his teammates.

"Baymax, we have to stop this guy!"

Baymax nods and prepares for battle. His wings extend and he soars right towards you, fist charging. You push yourself off your back foot to gain momentum and ready your own fist. You both throw your fists at one another. You feel the sudden force of metal pushing against your flesh and bone... yet... it's not overpowering you at all. In fact, you're pushing into it. The three of you watch as your fist breaks through Baymax's artificial one, rendering the glove utterly useless. Having won the collision, Baymax and Hiro are sent flying across the air strip and land some distance away.

You look around, assuring yourself that you've dealt with any hostiles. Everyone is still alive but beaten. They're slowly starting to get up, but they're in no condition to beat you. Hell, they weren't when they first got here.

"Hey! Whoa! What the hell's going on?" Hunter shouts, sprinting into the fray.

"Oh, hey Hunter," you wave. "Well I woke up and these people just kind of attacked me, so I took'em down," you say in a cheery tone.

"(Y/N), these are my contacts in San Fransokyo! Hell, Hiro! What's with the brawl?"

Everyone, now somewhat calmed down from Hunter's presence, converge on his location. Wasabi rushes over to Fred and Honey to cut them free of the goo. Hiro takes off his helmet and approaches Hunter, frustrated at his defeat.

"What're you doing? He's part of the Hierarchy! He came off their plane!" Hiro argues.

"Ah, jeez," Hunter shakes his head. "Everyone, I'd like you to meet my little brother, (Y/N). He's NOT part of the Hierarchy," he says in an exhausted tone.

"Ooooh, well right on!" Fred chuckles as he approaches you. "Name's Fred, good to meet you little Hunter," he greets, extending his hand out of the mouth of his suit.

You're... confused, to say the least. You have no idea who these guys are and why they look so weird. But they're Hunter's friends and it's evident they're going to help you, so you might as well get friendly with them.

You throw on a smile and shake his hand.

"Heya! Sorry for the mix up. But I had fun," you pleasantly say.

Hunter approaches you two.

"Yeah, we'll get to introductions later. For now, let's get to your lab. I have something you guys will find interesting."

Everyone nods, though still a little cautious of you. But your now carefree attitude and smile warms everyone up to the idea, and they can see the resemblance between you and Hunter... even if Hunter is being far more serious than they've ever seen him. Still, everyone makes their way off the airstrip with no problem. However, the whole time walking Go Go keeps her eyes glued to you with a menacing look. You don't notice, but it's there.

Bet this caught you by surprise, huh? I'll bet you twenty bucks when you woke up you didn't expect a chapter of Project's Past. Yes, quite a few months since a chapter was released. I remember I said that it wouldn't take so long, and I admit I was wrong. Honestly I thought about canceling the story entirely and just giving you an abridged version of what would happen from this point to the end of Act 3. But I kinda got my spark back when I explained my plan for the story to my friend. I just got so fired up and wanted you all to see what I have up my sleeve. Thus, with this new found passion, I wrote most of this chapter (probably sixteen pages) in a matter of a few days. Plus, I have a plan to alternate between this story and my other major one, Crimson Shadow. Thus I will always be returning to this story. I really hope to finish this story by the end of the year. I'm not sure if that's possible, but I'm going to try my best!

Also, and this is going to bug some people, I have a small announcement about this story. Up until this point I have been adding some... well, kind of BS fluff because I remember a few people mentioning how the plot was getting too intense and how there was too much action. I get it, but right now the fluff is going down dramatically. I'm sorry, but see it from my perspective for a second. We're getting close to the end of Act 2, which means a lot if important events are coming and I need to stick to my schedule. I can't add more Elsa and Anna just because you guys want to see them more. It interrupts with the flow of my narrative. I know, this is a Frozen fanfiction about these characters, but there'll be time for that stuff later. Imagine watching a movie and it's getting to a really important point, but it just keeps cutting off to other characters doing nothing related to the plot. That would be very annoying to me, and that's what I feel fluff is at the moment. So yes, there will be less Anna, Kristoff, and Elsa in these coming chapters. I'm sorry, but I have to do what's best for my plan. I hope you all understand, and realize there's room for more of that later on.

Anyway, that's about it. I'm really happy to be back and hope you're all ready to see the conclusion to this VERY long story. If you want updates on writing and such, I do have a Twitter account where I post updates. Nothing there is unrelated to my stories, so if you want to know what's coming and when, I suggest you check it out. But that's it for me. I hope you all enjoyed the chapter and I'll see you all next time!

Want to keep up with me? Know what chapter's coming out next and the progress of them? Follow me on Twitter! Twitter . com (slash) Chinsangan

Want to support me in creating more content? Get your own one-shot written? Decide which stories I focus on? Consider checking out my Patreon page! Pat reon . com (slash) Chinsangan

Questions? Comments? Concerns? Advice? Send me a message! See ya!

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