Buzz and Jessie were still chattering to themselves when Elsa spoke. They hadn't noticed her exclamation, or her mouth dropping open so far it almost struck the floor. It took Elsa stumbling backward, tripping over her own non-ice cape and surprising Bullseye, to catch the duo's attention. They quickly approached her, asking her what was wrong.

"My… my… my sister… my sister is up there…"

Jessie stepped back, perplexed. "Your highness?"

"Anna… in that box…"

Elsa raised a finger, and Buzz followed it to the box near the top, which contained a figure of a striking young woman with a fanciful green dress and red hair (not the crayon-red hair of Jessie, but the orange-red of real people that humans described as "redheads"). Buzz couldn't quite make out any details beyond that, but when he turned to Elsa again he noticed there was a definite resemblance.

Jessie looked up, but couldn't quite follow Elsa's finger. "I can't see where she's pointing, Buzz, do you see…"

All of the connections in Buzz's head fired in an instant.

Bonnie's rants about Frozen. Her singing. Her birthday that was now just one day away. Bonnie begging for an Elsa toy, and a toy with a name he had forgotten. Elsa's early unboxing.

Bonnie's mother would never give her a toy this important before her birthday… unless there was a second one…

He looked up again. Elsa had a sister. Bonnie had asked for both of them. He remembered her telling her parents you couldn't have one without the other. They were inseparable.

Inseparable…

Buzz turned back to Elsa, and could see the palpable anxiety on her face. Jessie turned to him, and the look she gave him indicated that she had just come to the same conclusions as he had. Even Bullseye was starting to act nervous.

Buzz finally responded. "Elsa..."

"I HAVE TO GET TO HER!" Elsa shrieked. "I HAVE TO HELP HER! I CAN'T LEAVE HER UP THERE! ANNA!"

Elsa bolted, the desperation overcoming her. The hideous stillness in the princess' face was too much. Anna was in limbo, just as Elsa had been. She couldn't let her sister endure that any longer. Anna had spent enough time as a frozen statue thanks to her. Never again…

She grasped the bottom of the lowest shelf, and started to pull herself up. Buzz and Jessie were on her in an instant, using all their might to drag the unwilling queen from the closet. They were repaid for their troubles with the ferocity of a wild animal, whose panic had mutated into rage.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING! THAT IS MY SISTER! HOW COULD YOU EVEN THINK TO KEEP ME FROM HER, YOU INHUMAN MONSTERS! LET ME GO, I HAVE TO HELP HER—"

Elsa's face was contorted with fury, her eyes a piercing stare that could chill any human to the bone with far more efficiency that her ice powers ever could. She wanted to freeze them, to make them suffer for stopping her, for trying to keep her from what mattered most. She was concealing nothing anymore. She would do what she must...

Elsa spun, breaking Jessie's grip and surprising her. She grasped the cowgirl's wrist and yanked her to the ground, with Jessie landing face first onto the hard wooden surface. She turned to Buzz, popping open his helmet and pulling back for a solid blow to his face. Thinking quickly, Buzz stepped on the queen's cape, causing her to twist and stumble to the side, the back of her head striking the floor.

Jessie pulled herself up and stood next to Buzz, watching Elsa slowly recollect her scattered thoughts. The queen lay on the ground for over a full minute, her anger subsiding and her shame and fear reasserting themselves. She rolled over onto her stomach, her head now facing the others. Her eyes were raw, and she felt the sensation of tears running down her face even though she had none. Her voice broke, and she could only manage a weak question. Even still, Buzz and Jessie could still feel the enormity of her pain through her single word: "why…."

Buzz hesitated, then cautiously approached the whimpering queen. He crouched down in front of her, and waited for her to make eye contact. When she did, he almost wanted to pull his own eyes away, uncomfortable with the torment they expressed. How could he even hope to convince her of what needed to happen?

"Elsa, I can't begin to imagine what you're feeling right now – I really can't – but your sister can't come down today. Bonnie has to open her on her birthday. She's her big present – you were both supposed to be her presents tomorrow, but she opened you early – and if you open her now, we can't put her back. We'll be exposed."

Elsa moaned weakly. "But… what if she just pretends… Bonnie could still open her tomorrow… I can't leave her stuck inside her head like I was. I can't."

Buzz replied softly. "Elsa, to remove your sister, we would need to peel all the tape off of her box just to get it open, and after that, we would have to undo probably over twenty different twist-ties. We would never be able to replace those. The box would be obviously damaged, and the best-case scenario would be Bonnie's family thinking the toy is damaged and sending it back. We'd lose your sister before you spent any quality time with her. Not to mention that, if she's like you and I, she thinks she's real. We could never open her up, convince her she's a toy, and then get her to willingly go back to the box. It's hopeless."

He concluded by stating that "if you think being trapped inside your head in that box is maddening, just imagine being stuck inside the box when you are aware of everything around you."

Elsa cringed. "I… I know you're right… but Anna…"

Oh Anna, what have we gotten into?

She felt the Anna-voice come back. Just have a little patience, Elsa. I waited years for you. Do you think I can't take one more day?

You shouldn't have to wait one more day for me, Anna. You waited so long. I can't shut the door on you again.

You're not shutting me out, Elsa. You didn't put me in the box. We're toys, Elsa! You were just born a bit earlier than me, just like before. Tomorrow you get to be my big sister all over again, teaching me all about our new world and our new lives. If you can just wait one more day, we'll be together again! But if not…

But if not, I lose you all over again. I get it. I'm just… I'm so sorry I have to leave you like this, Anna.

Hey! What did I tell you before! This is your adventure right now! Stop worrying about me, silly, I'll be fine! You need to go back to being a toy so you can teach me. Now leave me alone so I can get some sleep!

You always were a heavy sleeper. I'll see you tomorrow, Anna.

Elsa blinked, and shook herself a little. She looked up at Buzz again and gave a soft smile. "Okay. I understand."

She pulled herself up, catching a glimpse of Jessie. Suddenly the guilt of her previous actions came rushing back to her. "Oh my God. What have I done! I'm so sorry I acted this way – I can't believe I would ever try to hurt you… and those things I said…"

"Hey," Jessie interrupted. "There's no need to apologize, your highness. You were only trying to do what you thought was the right thing. You're still okay in my book."

Buzz patted Elsa on the shoulder. "No one blames you, Elsa." Bullseye licked her face again and Elsa smiled. She looked up into the closet again and hesitated. Finally she turned to her companions and said, "we should close the door. Wouldn't want to accidentally leave it open."

So they did.

The group gave one last look at the door, but Elsa motioned them onward, and the tour continued. By the time Bonnie came home that day, Elsa had gotten more than her fair share of time exploring the house. Anna was right. She needed to be a toy right now, and she was eager for some fun. Playtime was coming.