A cookie to everyone that noticed the Lion King reference at the end of the last chapter :)

There is also something I would like to clear up about Hans in this fic.

He was not evil before he was infected by the swamp, in this fic he was just a nice guy, if a little odd like Anna, trying to do the right thing. What happened in the swamp made him evil in this fic, and before it he had no intention of trying to take over Arendelle.

I will warn you that it may seem like there are a few holes in this chapter, but it is basically where things happen exactly the same as in the movie. I see no point writing the scene like the one between Anna and Hans where Hans turns evil in the movie, so am not going to bother with it and will right when things are different. Sorry if they bothers anyone.

Enjoy :)

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Disclaimer: I own nothing :(

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Chapter 7- The Beast

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It was cold

But it didn't matter

There was pain

But it didn't matter

There was hunger

That mattered

Nothing else mattered, nothing existed other than the burning, unimaginable hunger gripping his soul.

Wait, was he a he? A she? A It?

He couldn't remember, couldn't remember anything other than the hunger…couldn't remember his name. There were flashes, brief images in his head that came to him before the hunger pushed them away.

Little creatures made out of stone rolling around the ground.

A small blonde boy and a reindeer.

An older man looking down at him with a small smile.

An older woman pointing to odd lines on a flat thing, trying to tell him what they meant, her eyes shining with pride whenever he got it right.

Playing in the snow with a young woman with strawberry blonde hair, building snowmen.

A large blonde man with a reindeer hugging him.

A small girl with blonde hair that looked almost pure white, with pale skin and blue eyes. She was smiling at him, though it looked nervous.

The same girl, a little older, crying on a bed while ice slowly crept across the floor around her.

The girl again, a teen this time, hugging him closely.

The girl, a young woman now, in his arms while they danced in the snow.

But he couldn't hold on to them for more than a second before the hunger moved back into the front of his mind. It wasn't even a normal hunger…what was normal hunger? His body didn't need to eat meat and flesh…no, he needed something else…

He opened his eye, but there was nothing, just snow and shadows around him. Was he buried under the snow? Was that why it was cold? What was cold again…he could remember, he was too hungry.

Then he started to notice things, though he wasn't sure what they were, thing in his head that made the hunger lurch. He could feel something close, several something, and they were making him hungry, the feeling he could get from them. But they were nothing compared to what he could scene further out.

He needed to get to it, to the thing that made the hunger growl in anticipation, he needed to feast.

Slowly, he started to dig his way out of the snow tomb…

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It had been more than fifty years since a Troll had left the Valley of Living Rock, and over a hundred since Grand Pabbie himself had ventured from his home. But the situation called for it, and after sending Kristoff and his friends back to Arendelle, he had gathered a small group of ten other Trolls and started leading them up the North Mountain in search of Naruto.

In his hand was a walking stick, though in his hand it looked more like a staff, made from an old Mountain Ash Tree, though he wasn't using it to walk but holding out in front of him, moving it from one direction to another. On the end of the stick was a lock of golden blonde hair, tied in place with a string made from Ivy. It was old Troll magic, taught to him long ago when he was but a pebble, and he had made it shortly before Naruto left for the castle in case they ever needed to find him.

Despite his age, Grand Pabbie was actually outpacing the younger members of the group, his fear and worry for Naruto pushing him forward. His eyes would wonder back to the others following him, the bags they carried with them, making sure they still had everything they would need for the 'Cleansing', thought Naruto and Kristoff always seemed to prefer the word 'Detox'.

Back when Naruto had first come into their care, when he was unable to Detox himself because he hadn't learned how, Grand Pabbie had created a ritual to force his body to dispel the unwanted energy from his body. Unfortunately, the process was painful and clumsy, like trying to use a sledgehammer on an ordinary nail. But until he had learned how to dispel the excess energy himself it had been there only way to help him.

And it seemed it once again was.

They had passed the 'Red Swamp' on their way to the North Mountain, though at Pabbie's advise had given it a wide birth and walked around it, even if it had taken almost free hours longer then walking though. He could feel the wrongness of that place, a place created by the pure Negative Energy formed within Naruto's body, feel the danger it held. Only hours after its creation, they could hear sounds of some kind of life hidden in the folds of swirling red mist, hiding from the rest of the world. Anyone and anything that spent a prolonged period of time in that place would have one of three things happen to it.

The first was simple, they would die, their health slowly getting worse the longer they were within the Red Mist, though for it to get that bad would mean spending at least a day straight inside. It may even cause lasting damage it the exposure was too great, but would still lead to a slow and painful death, like a poison in the body.

The second would be that the Negative Energy would infect their minds instead of their body, filling them with the emotions the mist was made from, driving them insane. Personally, Grand Pabbie would prefer death to such a miserable existence, a feeling that was shared by the other Trolls in the group.

Then there was the third, where instead of dying or going insane, whatever spent too long in the swamp would adapt. Animals and any plant life that may have survived the creation of the swamp, or that may spring up after, would be mutated in unknown ways in order to survive the Negative Energy. This was most likely the source of the strange sounds they had heard within, meaning that any changes would be fast.

Fortunately, nothing involving the last option seemed to be venturing of the mist, though whether that was because they lost the ability to survive outside it or not would need to be monitored. The last thing they needed was monsters wondering freely around the forests.

All in all, the swamp was a physical representation of just how dangerous Naruto's powers could be, to be able to turn emotion into actually energy had always been a scary thought. But at the same time, despite having the potential to become a monster, Grand Pabbie had seen the blondes other potential.

It was true that Negative Energy was dangerous, and in more ways than people would realise, so was Positive. From what Kristoff had told him, Naruto had become erratic, unfocused. He was being consumed by the euphoria of Positive Energy, even if it was necessary at the time, and was a danger to himself and those around him.

But if Naruto was ever able to fine balance, true balance unlike what he had been doing for so many years by simple countering the two energy's inside his body, then the boy had could be something great. It was this thought, this potential, which pushed Grand Pabbie forward now.

From the pull of the stick, he could tell they were getting close, the magic almost pulling him through the snow. When the Ice Palace came into sight he was awed by the magnificent creation, it showed that he had been right about Elsa's powers holding beauty, and was almost enough to bring a tear to his eyes.

But then he noticed the broken staircase, the smashed in doors, and the cracks across its surface.

"Something terrible happened here…a battle of some kind…this is not good…"

His words got the attention of the other Trolls, who had also been marvelling at the magnificent ice creation, and they started to look around nervously. Then the stick in his hand gave a strong pull, almost dragging him down into the ravine between them and the castle, and would have if not for the other Trolls grabbing onto him.

The stick was retched from his hands before seeming to actually fly straight down the ravine before them, the action making the old Troll's eyes widen in slight panic.

"He's at the bottom…but how-"

Before he could finished the thought, the ground started to tremble under their feet, the Trolls backing away from the edge of the cliff.

Then, something seemed to burst from the scar in the earth with an explosion of snow and ice, shooting into the air for a moment before landing on the ground in front of them.

Grand Pabbie's eyes widened in horror at the sight before them, tears forming in the corners, as the other Trolls held him up when his legs gave out from under him.

"We were…too late…"

The Trolls all stood completely still as the creature before them looked around, seeming to either not see them or not care, before turning away and jumping out of sight in one huge leap.

XXX

Elsa had been in shock after seeing Naruto fall, had barely noticed as they brought her back to Arendelle and locked her in this room, not that it could actually hold her. All she could think about was the fact he was gone, that she would never see him again, and it hurt so much worse than anything ever had before. Not even losing her parents had hurt this much, though it hurt to admit it and made her feel worse.

What would she do without him, he was everything to her, and she never even got to tell him. Yet despite the pain, she could cry. Elsa was numb, the feeling of loss so grate she just couldn't truly understand it.

She had long since broken the shackles that were meant to restrain her, having frozen them enough that they shattered against the wall of her cell. If she wanted to, Elsa could break down the wall and run away again, go further this time where no one would ever find her, but what was the point without him.

There was no way Naruto could have survived that fall, it was too high, the impact alone…would…have…

Wait…Naruto had told her that Positive Energy could be used to heal, it was how he had never seemed to be injured after fighting, even when he was thrown into a wall by a man stronger than a hundred men combined. He might still be alive!

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of two men rattling the door to her cell, cursing in anger when it seemed stuck, mostly because her powers had frozen it shut in her grief. Elsa had to get out of here, she had to confirm Naruto was actually dead for herself, with her own two eyes.

Her face setting itself into one of determination, Elsa turned her back to the door and used her powers on the stone wall in front of her, weakening it until it shattered like glass and opened a small window for her to reach the outside.

Her mind was so focused on finding Naruto, that Elsa Didn't even notice the blizzard around her, the snow reaching up to the top of houses and wind so strong it felt like being slapped in the face. Even though she couldn't see more than a few feet through the snow, Elsa was still able to find the right direction, and was already running across the frozen sea.

"ELSA!"

Only to be stopped short by the sound of a slightly familiar calling out to her through the raging storm, her eyes widening slightly when she saw Hans walking towards her with his hands up to protect his face from the wind.

"Elsa, you can't run from this!"

"Just let me go, Arendelle will be better off without me, just take care of Anna for me."

A small frown crossed her lips when he lowered his hands and she saw the hurt expression on his face, though she missed the fact it didn't seem to reach his eyes.

"Anna? She came down from the mountains cool and weak, she said you froze her heart. I tried to help her but it was too late…Anna is dead!"

For the second time that day, Elsa felt her world shatter around her as she fell to her knees, her power pushing the storm away from her and clearing a small circle around the two. First Naruto, and now Anna, this couldn't be happening...this wasn't right!

So lost in her thoughts, Elsa never even saw Hans as he approached, his eyes and still unhealed cuts glowing red as a twisted smirk crossed his lips and he raised his sword above his head in preparation to strike her down.

"ELSA!"

Only for the sword to be stopped by the now frozen hand of Anna, who had jumped between them at the last moment before her body was completely turned to ice. The backlash from both the cures completing and the sword hitting her hand shattered the weapon and sent its wieldier flying backwards away from the two, back into the storm and out of sight.

Elsa could only stare at the statue in shock, unable to process what had just happened even as the man she now knew as Kristoff came running up to her frozen sister and fell to his knees with a defeated look, Olaf shuffling up next to him with large sad eyes.

"Anna…no…Anna."

Tear falling down her face, Elsa threw her arms around the frozen statue, crying into the hard shoulder of what had been her little sister. Only to freeze when she felt arms fold around her, and the hard shoulder suddenly turning soft as Anna turned back to normal.

"E-Elsa?"

"But…how?"

She watched with wide eyes as Anna looked around them as if she wasn't sure herself, before her eyes landed on Kristoff and a large smile crossing both their faces.

"I save you, I just couldn't let Hans kill you, I jumped in the way and…"

They were interrupted by the excited Olaf running over to them and hugging Anna's leg, bouncing on his little feet.

"It's just like the Trolls said! An Act of True Love can thaw a frozen heart!"

"True…love…"

Backing away slightly from Anna, a look of concentration on her face, Elsa look at her hands for a moment as his word sunk in. It couldn't be that easy…could it?

"Love will thaw!"

It was like something inside her head finally clicked, and with a large smile of her own, Elsa brought her hands up, the snow following the motion and collecting into a giant snowflake in the sky before it burst without a trace. The ice melted, luckily they there was a ship underneath them so when the sea unfroze they were lifted up as it resurfaced, and the sun peaked out from behind the clouds for the first time in what seemed like forever.

It was then they noticed Hans was still close enough to them that he was on the same ship as them, though his back was turned to them and he seemed to be shaking slightly. For a moment, Elsa was sure Kristoff was about to walk over and kill the Prince, not that she would stop him after everything that had happened, only for them all to take a step back when he finally turned to face them.

Both the cuts on his exposed skin, along with his eyes, were glowing an angry red. His lips were pulled back in a snarl, showing his suddenly sharp teeth, and he was letting out a low almost animal lick growl as he leaned forward slightly.

"You…stupid peasants! You ruined everything! I am a true king, I deserve to rule more than any of you and I will not let you take this away from me!"

His voice sounded wrong, there was no other way to describe it other than simple wrong, and was clearly not his own. But before anyone could stop him Hans had bent down and pulled a knife from his ankle, before charging forward with his eyes locked on Elsa.

"RRRRROOOOOAAAAARRRRR!" (AN think Godzilla roar ;)

Only for the loudest to fill the air, so loud that it actually made the sea quack and the ships to rock violently enough to send them all to the ground. Looking around wildly, Elsa move to stand in front of the others, ice magic gathering in her hands as she tried to find the source of the unnatural sound.

It was while she was still looking that something seemed to fall from the sky like a meteor, crashing into the deck of the ship with enough force to splinter the deck and make the front of the ship sink slightly into the sea, kicking up a small cloud of dust to obscure whatever it was from view.

When the dust finally did clear, Elsa could only star in horror at the…thing, standing before them.

Instead of skin or hair, it seemed to be made of red energy, getting darker until it turned black. Instead of eyes, there were two holes in its face filled with white light, and a jagged slash underneath acting as a mouth, also full of light and both seeming to give off a small trail of red smoke. Both its hands and feet seemed too big for its body, with long deadly looking claws, and trailing behind at the base of its spin were four long tails each twice as long as it's body. The last thing she notice were the two long, almost rabbit like ear pocking out the top of its head, that was shaped as if it had spiky hair even if it wasn't separated from the rest of its head in any way.

The wood under its feet was slowly darkening and rotting from its mere touch, more red smoke rising from under it.

But more than its appearance Elsa could actually feel and aura of anger and despair radiating from the creature, like a physical force pushing down on her body, and for reasons she didn't understand the Queen felt tears running down her face. Whatever this thing was, it was miserable, almost empty inside.

At first it didn't seem to take any notice of them, simply looking out over Arendelle with something akin to hunger…it was a look Elsa didn't like being directed at her home. But at that moment Hans, whose eye and scratches were glowing brighter than ever since the creature arrived, groaned as he slowly got back to his feet.

The sound seemed to draw the Prince to the monsters attention, its empty eyes locking on his face for a moment, before turning the rest of its body to face the young man.

"HHHUUUNNNGGGEEERRRYYY!"

The word sounded unlike anything Elsa had ever hear, guttural, and as if several people were talking over each other. For his part, the seemingly possessed Prince only glared at the monster, his face once again a mask of anger as he brought his dagger up and charged.

The creature didn't even try and dodge the blade, simple tilting its head as the knife slammed into its chest as Hans gave a demented grin, only for the grin to disappear when the knife didn't even pierce the skin like energy covering its body.

"What the he-AAAAHHHH!"

His words turning into a pain filled scream as the creature grabbed his wrist, Hans could do nothing as the skin in contact with its hand started to disintegrate and gave off more red smoke. Elsa watched as the knife fell from his now limp hand as the prince tried to free himself, but monster clearly had a lot of strength and no intention of letting him go.

Its other hand shot forward faster than she or anyone else could follow, wrapping around the princes' neck as it finally realised the now severely burnt hand, lifting him a foot off the ground so his feet hung limply in the air as he choked.

"FFFEEEEEEDDD!"

The monster opened its gash of a mouth impossibly wide, and for a moment Elsa thought it was actually going to try and swallow Hans whole, only for the red glow from his eyes and cuts to start to actually leach out of his body like some kind of liquid before floating into the creatures mouth. Hans gasps got more frantic, and his body was jerking randomly as the energy was forcibly pulled from his body, and when it stopped the prince fell limp and was dropped to the deck and forgotten.

Though it was laboured, Elsa could clearly see that he was still breathing and his features had returned to normal, meaning that if they survived this she would need to have a long talk with the man.

The creature seemed to be taking a moment to saver its meal, one had reaching up and covering its face, its four tails swaying randomly behind its back. Deciding to try and make a move while it was distracted, Elsa took a small step forward in preparation to fire a blast of Ice Magic, only for the wood to creek under her foot. The sound seemed a lot louder than it should have been to her ears, and for a moment nothing happened and Elsa hoped it hadn't notices as she held her breath…no such luck.

Slowly removing its hand, the creature turned to face her now, its eyeless eyes seeming to bore into her very soul. Then it was in front of her, hand outstretched and barley an inch from her face, seeming to be frozen in place. Being this close to it, Elsa could feel its aura stronger than ever, and it was almost enough to bring her to her knees alone.

Then it said the last thing Elsa, or anyone else, expected to hear.

"Eeelllsssaaa…"

It was the most human sounding word she had heard from the beast, almost sounding like an actual person if still a little distorted, but it was also more than enough to tell her what she was looking at. Even now, she was starting to see similarities the general shape and build, the spiky hair like shape on its head…

"…Naruto?"

The monster seemed to jerk slightly at the name, as if hit with something, grabbing the side of its head as if in pain.

"Eellssaa…h-hhuunnggrryy…"

Her tears increased at the pain filled voice of her best friend…no, of the man she loved, as she took in the thing he had become. The thing she had turned him into by allowing him to take her pain for all those years…

"Oh Naruto…what has happened to you…"

She reached out a hand towards his face, wanting nothing more than to touch him, only to stop when he growled at her and pulled away before taking a step back. Frowning slightly, Elsa steeled her nerves, took a deep breath and stepped forward to close the space again. When she saw he was about to back away, the young ice queen did something incredibly stupid, yet at the same time knew it was what she needed to do.

Reaching her hand out, Elsa grabbed both side of his face between her hands, holding him in place. She fought to keep the pain off her face as the skin in contact with him started to burn, but it felt as if she was actually touching a fire, and when he tried to pull away forced his face to look at her.

"Doon't…looook…mmmonssster...sooo…hunnggry…"

"Shhh, its ok…I could never think of you as a monster Naruto…never. You mean too much to me…"

Closing her eyes, ignoring the smell the red smoke coming from her hand was giving off, Elsa slowly leaned forward and whispered.

"I love you…"

Before gently pressing her lips to his forehead.

Elsa had braced herself for the pain of her skin once again burning, but after several seconds passes and it didn't come, she braved opening her eyes and pulled away slightly only for her eyes to widen. His forehead, directly were she had kissed him, suddenly had a light green mark in place of the same red as the rest of his body, and it was slowly growing bigger. She watched as it spread across his body, slowly at first, before picking up speed, moving across the rest of his face and onto his body.

The feeling of despair was slowly giving way to something new, something warm that sent butterfly's to her stomach as she suddenly found her body pulled closer by green arms into a green chest. The burns on her hands were healing without a trace, the red smoke fading into the fade before disappearing altogether.

"...Elsa"

For a moment, Elsa was treated to the sight of the red monster giving way to a something pure, something the complete opposite of what it had been moments before. Only for it to disappear with a gush of wind, revealing the gently smiling face of the man she loved, his blood eye shining with more emoting then she was used to, yet in a way she hope would never change.

"…Naruto."

It was a perfect moment as they starred into each other's eyes, there face barley a few inches apart and slowly getting closer as she leaned in for a kiss…only for the moment to be ruined by a single question asked my an all too innocent sounding snowman.

"Hey, what happened to his clothes?"

"Huh?"

Pulling away from each other with confused expressions on their faces, Elsa finally looked away from his face and at the rest of his body, only for her own to turn bright red.

"AAAHHH! Naruto, you're naked!"

XXX

Hope you like the chapter, couldn't resist the ending there XP

Let me know what you think :)

R&R:)