Chapter Text
He'd gasped and winced, and Donald and Goofy had asked him if he was hurt. "No, I'm fine. But... I think something terrible must have happened."
He'd meant it at the time, when he told them nothing was wrong. The stabbing sensation in his chest had come and gone without leaving a trace of pain. He'd clenched his fist and teeth, but then the feeling had vanished. He had been sure he was alright. As the hours wore on though, he'd started wondering if maybe he'd been wrong.
He knew now that something terrible really had occurred. There wasn't a doubt in his mind that he had felt it, that exact moment when Elsa's ice had struck Anna's heart. He'd known it the moment Kristoff told them what had happened in Elsa's palace. That pain in his chest had felt cold as ice.
He'd been right about that part, but he wasn't so sure that he was fine anymore.
At first, he'd just put the momentary waves of vertigo and weakness down to fatigue. After all, they had been in the mountains a long time by now, and tumbled down enough snowy cliffs for a lifetime. It would have made sense. But then he began shivering each time it happened. Soon they were accompanied by the strangest sensation on his scalp. It felt as though the tip of an icicle had pricked at the skin.
He'd pulled his hood up while they forced their way through the blistering wind of the storm (a tiring endeavour even with Marshmallow shielding them from the worst of it) and had kept it up since then for warmth. Even now, after the last of Elsa's snow had been scattered into the sky, he felt too cold to pull it back down.
He rubbed his hands together, trying to work the numbness out of his fingertips. His mind was only half focussed on the cold though, the rest overflowing with questions, and wonder at what they had just witnessed.
As they made their way off the boat and onto one of the harbour docks he, Donald, Goofy, and Kristoff hung back a little, as a crowd of people swarmed Elsa and Anna, cheering for their Queen and Princess, and anxious for their wellbeing.
"Umm, Kristoff?"
Kristoff had been watching Anna, feeling awkward and out of place, so when he turned to Sora he was rather relieved to have something to distract him from the throng of people. "Yeah, Sora?"
"I'm still kind of confused." Donald and Goofy came to stand beside him. They gave Kristoff curious looks as well. "What exactly happened after we lost you guys? Up by Elsa's castle?"
"Oh right, wow, a lot really has happened today..." Sven gave a grunt of agreement and Kristoff patted his back. "Well, like I said, when Anna and I were in that castle, Elsa lost control of her magic, and she accidentally struck Anna's heart with her ice." Even though Anna was fine now he grimaced. Just thinking about it was awful. "After that Anna started getting colder and weaker, and her hair started turning white."
"Her hair?" Sora echoed, and Kristoff nodded.
"Yeah. So I brought her to see my fam- uhh, I know some people who know a lot about magic so we went to talk to them. They told us that there was ice in her heart and that if it stayed there... Well, you saw, she turned to ice." He glanced over his shoulder at Anna, who was looking slightly nervous as she stood beside her sister in the crowd. She seemed to sense his gaze and looked over. She gave him a smile and a little wave. He returned them both, flushing a little, before turning back to Sora.
"They couldn't remove the ice from her heart, but they told us there was a way to save her. They said 'An act of true love will thaw a frozen heart.' So when she sacrificed herself to save Elsa, I guess that was a strong enough act of love to melt the ice."
"She must really love her sister," Goofy said, and Donald nodded.
"Yeah..." Sora agreed, dropping his gaze to the ground.
"She does." A bashful expression came over Kristoff's face, and he scratched the back of his head. "They thought it had to be a true love's kiss to make the ice melt." He dropped his hand and smiled again. "But turns out that wasn't the only way, a sacrifice for someone she loved deeply could also reach her heart."
There was a pause as they all watched Anna and Elsa laughing at something one of them had said, still surrounded by their apparently adoring citizens.
"Do you think that would have worked?" Sora asked Kristoff, voice strangely quiet.
"A kiss?"
"Yeah."
"Hmm, I don't know. Magic's not really my field, but the trolls thought so, and they know a lot about these things."
There was another brief silence, which Donald broke. "Trolls?!"
Sora didn't hear much of Kristoff's explanation about the trolls, despite Donald and Goofy clearly finding it fascinating. He crossed his arms tightly across his chest as they talked, trying to warm himself up and calm his shivering.
It was weird, none of the others seemed cold anymore. On the contrary, Anna had shed her winter cloak and, if it wasn't for the little cloud Elsa had summoned for him, Olaf would have been a puddle by now. Maybe he'd just been on the mountains so long, and gotten so tired that it was going to take him a bit longer to warm up.
He managed to keep his shaking under control enough to stop anyone from noticing as they bid farewell to their new friends, as usual promising to visit again soon. He dropped back a little as he followed Donald and Goofy to the Gummi ship. They'd left it hidden in a clump of trees just outside of the town.
He breathed a sigh of relief when the ship came into view, looking forward to curling up in one of the bunks on the way to wherever they were off to next. Surely that would chase the cold from his bones. He could really do with some sleep as well. He was just tired and cold. That was all this was. As if to spite him for dismissing it, a wave of chill swept over him again and he staggered, hugging his chest tight as his teeth chattered. When the dizziness passed he straightened up and called out to the others.
"Hey, Donald, Goofy? Can one of you drive the ship this time?"
Donald and Goofy stopped dead. Never, in all their time of knowing him, had Sora asked one of them to pilot the ship. Ever since Donald gave in to his begging and taught him to drive it he had always claimed the pilot's seat the moment they got on board. They'd both given up fighting him for it a long time ago, once they were sure he actually knew what he was doing.
It didn't matter where they were going, how short or long the trip, or how tired Sora was. He always, always, wanted to drive the ship.
They stared at each other for a moment in shock, then spun around. "WAK?" Donald burst out, startling Sora and causing him to stumble a few steps back. His friends were staring at him with their mouths hanging open.
"What?" He looked from one to the other.
"Are you feeling alright Sora?" Goofy asked.
"Of course!" He grinned at them, putting his hands up behind his head. "Why?"
"It's just... You always want to drive." Goofy exchanged another concerned look with Donald.
"Well, I'm feeling pretty tired." He tried to keep his grin in place.
"You're shivering," Donald said suspiciously. "Did you catch a cold?" He approached him with a hand raised, wanting to check his temperature, but Sora didn't bend down to let him reach, instead taking a step back and waving his hands in front of him.
"No, no! I don't feel sick. Uhh... islander, remember! I'm not used to being cold for so long." He tried to laugh it off, and though they seemed to take his word for it, they were still worried.
"You're having a hot shower and getting some rest as soon as we get on board then!" Donald ordered him, waggling a finger.
Sora smiled authentically this time. It was nice having friends who cared about him the way Donald and Goofy did. "Sure."
Sora eyed the ship bunk with longing. He wanted nothing more than to huddle under those blankets and fall asleep, but he had to check first.
He made his way to the bathroom, still hugging himself to try and stave off the shivers, shutting and locking the door behind him. He didn't want to risk any of the others coming in right now. He stared at himself in the mirror. His reflection was terribly pale but that wasn't strange, right? Not after spending so long outside in the freezing snow and wind. The blue tinge to his lips and the tip of his nose made sense, considering the chill that had sunk so deeply into his bones.
Please just be the cold, please...
With some trepidation, he reached up and pulled his hood down. It wasn't just from the cold.
If he was honest with himself, he'd known the snow-white streaks amongst the brown would be there. He'd known ever since Kristoff told them that the weaker and colder Anna became, the more of her hair had changed to pure white. He raised a hand, touching the mirror as he leant forward to examine the streaks, and noticed, for the first time, the blue markings on his fingertips. They were almost invisible, but if you looked closely there was no denying they were there. Tiny snowflakes.
He wasn't sure how the ice had ended up in his heart the moment Anna's was struck as well, but it had. He gazed at the delicate lines across his fingers. Then he shook himself.
This was no time to panic. Alright, he could figure this out. No point freaking out or worrying the others before he figured out how to fix this. And he already knew how to fix this! True love, that's what they'd said right?
He groaned and put his head in his hands. What the hell did he know about that? He lowered his hands and stared down at his blue-tipped fingers. There had to be some other way to fix this... He wracked his brain for something he could do. How was he meant to fix this?
He wasn't sure how long he stood there but was pulled from his spiralling thoughts by another wave of cold and an awful ache in his heart. He pressed a hand to his chest and let out an involuntary groan, as he clutched the edge of the sink to steady himself.
"Sora?" He jumped as Goofy's voice and a knock came from the other side of the door. "Are you OK?"
He yanked his hood back up. "Yep! Just going to take a sh-sh-shower." He called back as cheerily as he could, but it was hard with his voice shaking so much. He took a few deep breaths to try and get it to stop.
There was a brief silence. "It's just, you've been in there quite a while?" It was Jiminy questioning him this time, and Sora's stomach sank as he thought about his friends giving each other worried looks on the other side of the door.
"Sorry! I'll h-hurry up."
"That's not what I meant..." Jiminy said, sounding no less concerned.
"Sora, are you sure you're alright?" Goofy asked.
"Yep! I'll be out in a-" He was cut off as the ache pulsed again and his legs threatened to give way. He stumbled sideways, shoulder colliding loudly with the wall as he shuddered. A gasp of pain escaped him.
The door handle rattled urgently as Goofy tried to open it. "Sora, please let us in!" Jiminy called out. He sounded panicked. Weighing his options, Sora glanced back at the mirror and tried to tuck in all the stray hairs, then unlocked the door. The second the lock clicked Goofy pushed it open.
"What's going on Sora?" Goofy asked.
"Nothing! S-sorry, you guys probably want the sh-shower too, I'll hurry up." He did his best to suppress his stuttering, without much luck. His smile couldn't hide the shivering.
Goofy opened his mouth to probe further, but Jiminy cried out, "Sora! Your hands!"
Crap. He'd forgotten about his blue fingers. He shoved his hands in his pockets, smile slipping. "Sora..." Goofy put a hand on his shoulder. "Please, we know somethin' is wrong, and we can't help if you don't tell us."
He couldn't hide this anymore. He dropped his gaze and sighed. "OK..." Taking his chilled hands back out of his pocket, he reached up and pulled down his hood.
Jiminy's gasp made Sora flinch, and a long, shocked silence followed. "Oh Sora..." The misery in Goofy's voice was the final straw that hammered home his fate. Hot tears stung his eyes. "Why didn't you say somethin'?" Goofy asked. He didn't answer. He didn't know what to say. He wiped his eyes on the back of his hand hurriedly, trying to hide the tears as Goofy rubbed his back. "Don't you worry, we'll fix this!"
A muffled "WAK!" from the cockpit upstairs, followed by running footsteps told Sora Jiminy had gone to tell Donald, and moments later he skidded to a halt at the door. "Sora! What happened?"
"I don't know," he told them honestly, still not looking up. "I guess when Anna's heart was struck, some of it must have hit me too."
Donald and Goofy exchanged confused looks. "But how? We weren't anywhere near Elsa when that happened?" Sora shrugged at Donald. He didn't have any more answers than the rest of them. Another flurry of cold passed over him and his vision flashed white for a moment. His body sagged, suddenly weak, and Goofy caught him by the arms before he fell. Pinpricks of ice on his scalp made him shiver, as a few more patches of his hair turned white.
"We can worry about the how later," Jiminy said, and Goofy nodded.
"Let's get you sat down," Goofy said, his tone reassuring, and Sora was too cold and drained to do anything but nod and let Goofy put a supportive arm around his waist. Together, they made their way back to the bunks where Goofy lowered him down. Donald hurriedly wrapped a blanket around his shoulders and his friends plonked down on either side of him.
"Thanks," he sighed, tugging the blanket tight.
Jiminy hopped up onto his knee. "Alright fella's, we need to figure out how to fix this."
"We already know how!" Donald said, grinning at the three of them. "An act of true love can break the spell!"
"That's easier said than done," Sora murmured.
"But Sora, there are lots of people who love you and that you care about! Think of all your friends," Goofy said, but Sora looked up at him and shook his head.
"I'm not going to put anyone in danger just so I can do something like what Anna did." He doubted a sacrifice like that could possibly work anyway. It wouldn't be real, not like what Anna had done.
He hesitated. "And I'm not sure if that's the same thing." Love wasn't a completely foreign concept to him, as far as love for friends was concerned, true love though... After everything he'd seen in his travels and all the people he'd met, that seemed like something different. Something more.
Anna and Elsa were the most precious people in each other's lives, it didn't take being around either of them long to see that. Being sisters theirs was a different type of relationship, but the amount they meant to each other made him think of what Hercules had said about Meg. He'd said she was the person he loved most, that his life would be empty without her, and that he hadn't thought twice about risking everything to save her. And then there was Eugene, who had accepted his own demise so that Rapunzel had a chance at a happy life. Beast throwing every caution to the wind to travel between worlds in search of Belle and placing her happiness before his.
He'd met so many people who had someone infinitely precious to them, who they would do anything to protect. Sure, there were plenty of people who cared about him, but not like that.
"That's not the only way though!" Goofy said, still sounding optimistic. "Remember, Kristoff said a true love's kiss can do the trick as well."
Donald snickered, and if Sora could have right now he would have gone scarlet. Even with his face so cold his cheeks turned pink. He raised a hand to rub the back of his head. "Heh, that's not really an option either."
That baffled all three of them. "But... What about Kairi?" Donald said.
"Kairi and me... We're not really like that."
Donald's jaw dropped. "What d'ya mean?" Goofy asked, just as taken aback.
Sora felt awkward. He hadn't really thought about this much himself, but he was sure it was true. Kairi was extremely important to him, just like all his friends. She was one of the most important people in the world to him. He wouldn't hesitate to risk it all if she was in danger. But a kiss... well, that was something entirely different.
"I used to think maybe we were, sort of, but I don't feel like that now. I love her, just... not like that." There was a long pause, as they all took a moment to take in the gravity of the situation.
"Well, we better get going then," Donald said, voice full of confidence he didn't entirely feel. He jumped to his feet. "I bet Master Yen Sid knows something about this kind of magic! We can ask him."
"Do you really think he'll be able to help?"
"I'm sure he will!" Goofy said, but Sora wasn't feeling particularly hopeful.
"If you give me the Gummi phone Sora then I'll go through everything in the journal, maybe I'll find something in there that will help," Jiminy offered. Sora nodded and, with some difficulty, extracted the phone from his pocket with numb fingers.
"We should call the king too!" Goofy said as Sora handed the phone down to Jiminy. "He'll-"
"No!" Sora cut him off, suddenly feeling panicked. Riku was with Mickey. "Uhh, I don't want to bother him and Riku, if Yen Sid knows what to do then there's no point worrying them."
Once again, the others were taken aback. "I'm sure the King would want to know Sora," Jiminy said kindly. "And Riku too."
Sora shook his head. "They've got enough to worry about already." He winced at another icicle in his chest.
"Alright then Sora," Goofy said, giving him a pat on the shoulder and thinking it wasn't worth arguing with him right now. "You can have a sleep down here until we get there."
"Nah, I'll come up too."
"Uh-uh," Donald told him. "You stay here and get some rest!"
"It's just..." He stared at the floor again, feeling small. "I don't want to be alone right now."
That was easily a good enough reason to convince them. "Alright then," Donald said. "But don't think we're going to let you drive!"
He chuckled. "Fine by me."
Goofy helped him back up to the cockpit and guided him to Donald's usual spot. Rather than taking his own seat once he had settled Sora down and tucked the blankets back around him, Goofy perched on the armrest, gave him a pat on the head, and wrapped an arm around his shoulders. Donald took the controls. "Don't you worry Sora, Master Yen Sid will know what to do!" he called back, setting a course for the Mysterious Tower.
"And we'll take good care of ya until then," Goofy said, rubbing his arm to try and warm him up.
"Thanks guys," Sora sighed, leaning against Goofy and trying to keep his eyes open. He wasn't sure he'd ever felt so grateful for his friends before in his life. If only a hug from a friend he loved was enough to fix this...
He gazed out through the cockpit window, wondering when the stars around them had lost their shine, then dropped his eyes to the ground.
His whole body felt drained. If it weren't for the sporadic sharp pains in his chest and the fear he might never wake up again, he probably would have quickly fallen asleep on Goofy's side. Instead, he hovered on the edges of consciousness, shivering and hoping Yen Sid could help. If the wizard couldn't, then he couldn't see a way out of this one. What a way for this all to end...
If that was the case, the best he had to hope for was that the three hearts within his could survive the frost. As long as the others would somehow still be able to free those hearts then things would be alright, even if it was an icy statue they had to free them from.
The trip to the mysterious tower never took more than a few hours. Unlike other worlds, it always seemed close to wherever they were, almost like Yen Sid knew whenever they needed it. Sora sometimes wondered if the wizard was psychic that way. They all sat in relative silence for the first half of the trip. Jiminy reviewed his journal with such fervour that he seemed oblivious to all his surroundings, and Sora lost himself in his thoughts while the other two fretted.
Donald couldn't help glancing back every few minutes, and it seemed every time he did a few more strands of Sora's hair had turned white. He and Goofy exchanged many an anxious look. Sora didn't notice Donald's worried glances. His eyes were heavy-lidded and downcast as he stared at the floor, pondering this strange thing that was apparently the only way to break this curse.
"Hey, Donald?"
His voice breaking the quiet caused both Donald and Goofy to start. Still absorbed in his reading, Jiminy didn't seem to notice. "Yes, Sora?" Donald looked back over his shoulder.
For the first time since he sat down Sora raised his head. "You and Daisy love each other, right?"
Donald beamed. "Of course!"
"What does that feel like?"
He stared at Sora, momentarily lost for words, while Goofy looked down at him with a sad smile on his face. They'd never known Sora to ask something quite so personal. "Hmmm..." Donald turned back to the ship controls, pondering the question. "Being together makes us both really happy." He paused again, considering just how much to share
Sora tilted his head, confused. "But, there must be more to it than that?"
"There is! It's just, uhh... hard to explain." He scratched his head. "Well, I really care about her, and she cares about me. She's always cared about me, and been there for me, and I try and do that for her too."
"Awwww," Goofy sighed, with complete sincerity. Donald shot him a look and he chuckled. Sora was staring at him with wide eyes though, so he kept going, though turned away so they wouldn't see him blushing.
"I want her to be happy... my life is better when she's in it, and we look after each other."
"But why do you come travelling with us instead of staying with her then?"
"Well, I miss her a lot right now... I miss her all the time when I'm away. But that's OK," he smiled, though there was a tinge of melancholy to it. "Because I know we'll get to be together again one day! And she knows this is important and I need to do it."
"And with your hearts connected, you're always with each other, right Donald?" Goofy said.
"Right!"
"Your hearts are connected," Sora murmured. "And then when you're together, you always feel happy?"
"Hmm..." Donald paused, raising a hand to scratch his head again. "Not all the time I guess, I might be sad about something, or worried, or-"
"Or grumpy?" Sora said with a smirk. He couldn't help making the jibe.
Donald turned to glare at him. "Sometimes..."
"And sometimes they fight," Goofy said, chuckling.
"Me and Daisy don't fight!" Even Sora laughed a little at that. Donald huffed. "Well, sometimes... but we always work things out! That's part of being together, we always work as a team to try and fix things."
Sora smiled. "You must really love her."
"I do!" Donald grinned. "Daisy is amazing. She's so talented, and kind, and..." A misty look came over his eyes, and Goofy covered his mouth to stifle a laugh.
Donald continued for a full minute, and the others weren't entirely sure how much of his monologue he was aware he was saying out loud. Eventually, he seemed to lose himself completely in his thoughts and trailed off. After a few seconds too many of silence, Goofy and Sora exchanged a look. Sora cleared his throat loudly.
"Wak?" Donald jumped, then shook his head furiously in an attempt to bring himself back to the present. He gave a wheezy laugh, the one he always did when he'd been caught out and felt embarrassed. "I guess what I mean is, she's really special to me. I always feel like I'm at home when I'm with her." He sighed. "Boy, do I miss her..."
"Is there anyone you feel like that about, Sora?" Goofy asked. It was another more personal question than any of them would usually ask, but Goofy thought that if there was ever a time for personal questions like these it was now.
"Uhhh..." Was there? Sora wasn't sure.
To be honest, if he tried to think about someone he always felt at home with the one person who came to mind was Riku. He was always grateful for the time he got to spend with him. Even when they weren't happy times, he was always glad when he got to be with him. They'd had plenty of fights and rough patches in their friendship in the past, some rougher than others... But he couldn't remember a time when he'd ever stopped wanting to be friends, or wanting to be close to him. If there was someone he missed more than anything it was him. He missed him every day. But that was because Riku was his best friend, they weren't like that.
He shook his head. "I don't think so."
"I think it is gone," he said. But it was not gone; it was one of those bits of the looking-glass—that magic mirror, of which we have spoken—the ugly glass which made everything great and good appear small and ugly, while all that was wicked and bad became more visible, and every little fault could be plainly seen. Poor little Kay had also received a small grain in his heart, which very quickly turned to a lump of ice.
- The Snow Queen, Hans Christian Andersen, 1845