Mufasa and his men surrounded the prison, it was built like a fortress. Makeshift platforms were assembled as watch towers and most of the windows were barred or boarded up. He had several snipers in position to take out the men in the watch tower, the rest of his men were loitering into position disguised are drunks toasting the death of the king and queen or in the nearby buildings secretly taking aim at the guards. Mufasa knew that it was critical to wait until they got the signal, they would have to kill as many guards as possible and free the prisoners, which was the easy part. The hard part was being the distraction. As soon as they took the prison they were to free the prisoners and fight their way to the shore. At that point all Hell would break loose and all the soldiers would rush to stop them. It was dangerous and risky but Mufasa had a brilliant war mind and had more than one way of making it out with the least amount of casualties.
** ** **
The party was glorious, the food was spread out and the music was riveting. The party for the death of the king had drawn almost every noble. It was a somber event for those who were not eager for the death of their king, but it was an uproarious occasion for those who felt the death of the king meant one step closer to victory or even victory itself. Everyone who was anyone was here, nobody wanted to be seen as an enemy to the Revolution out of fear that they may be next.
Aladdin and his agents had been in place for months and were at the party as servants. There was a bomb outside that he could trigger remotely; when he got the signal it would cause a panic. In the panic Aladdin and his agents would grab the nobles that were known allies and they would escape through a series of underground pathways mixed with back streets to a group of speedboats and fishing boats that were prepped and ready to take them out of the city.
** ** **
Jack, Elsa, and Kristoff would infiltrate the palace and Eugene would stand by to cover their escape and give the signal. Everything hinged on this moment. Kristoff was the best of the best, he had been recruited from the police academy for his excellence and his age to be a personal guard for the royal family without sticking out too much. He was excelled at all fields of his work but had a special talent for covert operations. Initially his heart had been in serving his country and most importantly the people. He was recruited three times for the other areas and turned them down, but when royalty approached him he couldn't say no to the king and queen. That was when he met Anna soon after began regretting nothing about working away from people. Then when Jack and Elsa approached him about an opportunity to save hundreds of lives of people in France using his underutilized talents Kristoff jumped at the chance. Especially since it meant he could serve the crown and save lives at the same time.
The Palace was armed to the teeth with soldiers, an impossible mission except for the agents who were working for the Order of the First Frost who were still loyal to the king and queen. These agents weren't part of the order but they were more than happy to help by, 'overlooking' a few things. Most of the staff had been on board and had retired for the evening as if nothing had been amiss. Several pieces of soldiers' uniforms had been 'lost', when a fire broke out the previous week. Keys had been misplaced while cleaning, locks on window had been broken, and munitions had gone missing. These and many more instances had been set in motion for the night when the king and queen would be rescued. However, none had planned for these things to be needed so soon, luckily preparation and diligence had been on their side.
Jack, Elsa, and Kristoff found the necessary guard uniforms in an alley where they had been hidden, these would be used to get into the palace unnoticed. Eugene however was surprised to find three armed servants volunteer to help in the escape of the king and queen. Their names were Lumiere, Cogsworth, and a woman named Mrs. Potts, they stood ready to fight to the death if that is what it meant to save the crown. Where all the other servants had slipped out of the city by now with their families, these three considered themselves personal friends of the crown and would not abandon them. Eugene couldn't talk them into leaving and in the end he was grateful to have a couple extra sets of eyes and guns.
Jack, Elsa, and Kristoff easily slipped passed the guards and made it into the castle. They went to the window and signaled Eugene using a flashlight. Once Eugene saw the flash light he pressed a button. That button was connected to a flare seven buildings away that would signal Aladdin and Mufasa to strike. Once the signal was fired they would only have minutes to find the King and Queen and lead them to safety while the entire city would be in a panic.
** ** **
Aladdin was waiting by the window, as soon as he glimpsed the flare he walked toward his target and offered him a drink. That was the signal that everything was about to turn into panic. The royal nervously took the drink and sipped it to calm his nerves. Aladdin pressed the button and three explosions shattered the glass and tore at the building as if someone was attacking with cannon fire.
Everyone screamed and ducked as the glass went everywhere. Aladdin threw his arm over his target and led him through the panicked crowd. They pressed their way toward the kitchen, Aladdin pressed the second button on his remote and another set of explosions went off creating of frenzy of noise and movement. Once in the kitchen they would take the series of tunnels leading out of the city.
Once they made it to the kitchen, one of the chefs who was one of Aladdin's agent that had been deep undercover for months, opened the tunnel hidden behind the stove. Aladdin did a mental checklist to make sure all of the nobility were clear, and once they were he closed the passage behind them and pressed the third button which activated a series of blanks that sounded like bullets inside the hall. The bullets would go off in a series of intervals for about ten minutes which should give them enough cover to slip away unnoticed. The guards would be too consumed by who was shooting, who was shoot, and how to fight back to worry about finding a few nobles.
Once in the tunnels Aladdin and the chef took the lead and led the noble families through the maze of sewers. But as they were coming to the end they were met by a horde of dark creatures with hollow red eyes.
"What are they?"
"Monsters!"
Similar shouts came from behind Aladdin from the royal families. He saw the twisted smiles grow on the creatures as the families screamed in terror.
"Let us pass!" Aladdin ordered but the only sound they made in response was an unearthly squeal as they charged. Aladdin pulled out a pistol and fired four to five shots but they didn't affect the creatures in front of him.
"What the devil!" Aladdin exclaimed.
** ** **
Mufasa saw the signal flare and his hand tightened on his weapon, the adrenaline coursed through his being. It had been far too long since he had charged a prison camp, and thought of the thrill of releasing the prisoners to their families, and the thrill of the fight of course, burned within him.
Mufasa roared a battle cry and his snipers took out the guards at the front of the prison camp. He charged with his small battalion through the front gate before the soldiers inside could close it. Mufasa's roar inspired his men, and struck fear into his enemies, for nothing could have been more frightening then seeing that Lion of a man charging you with his rifle. Men either ran or froze at the sight of him and were soon shot or run over.
The army secured the building and found little to no resistance at some levels of the prison.
"I don't like this, it was too easy." Mufasa growled as his lieutenant reported the perimeter secure.
"But sir, we won."
"There were hardly any guards." Mufasa freed looked at the prisoners but they weren't army men in disguises. "Something doesn't smell right, gather the prisoners and guard the doors."
"Sir, there is a mob forming outside and there is no sign of French reinforcements." A young private announced.
"They were going to let the public do the executions so they didn't waste the time with bureaucracy or to get their hands dirty. Those evil, dirty, blasted-... never mind, secure the entrances and find us another way out. Our mission is to save the French not to murder them. Don't fire on any civilians without my say so!" Mufasa ordered and his men scrambled.
** ** **
Eugene watched as the guards fluttered around the palace, there were more and less than he expected but after a few minutes he noticed a pattern. They weren't panicking they were patrolling. There was not going to be any escape with the guards circling every entrance and window. It was smart he noticed the same guards going through several motions and they paid special attention to each door. They would trade off door patrol as a break between their sprints and never left the doors unguarded, they crisscrossed so that every window was always in someone's line of sight. It was a brilliant formation that looked like they were panicking but it was actually a carefully designed plan that any one showing up out of the blue would stick out, especially the king and queen.
Eugene had to do something, those inside were sure to get caught and he was the only one that knew something was off. He had and automatic rifle and two pistols in his belt. He would have to do something quick and effective.
"Cover me, but if something happens just make sure that the rest have cover fire in case something goes wrong." Eugene said cocking the rifle and making sure there were chambered rounds in his pistols.
"Wait, what are you going to do?" Asked Mrs. Potts.
"Something stupid." He gently removed a ring from his left ring finger and slipped it into a handkerchief he kissed the wrapped prize tenderly. "If something happens to me, give this to my wife and tell her..." he paused as the words got caught in his throat. "... Tell her I love her, and that every moment spent with her was a dream come true." He gave the treasure to Mrs. Potts.
"I promise, but if you can, please come back," Mrs. Potts blubbered as her eyes watered.
Eugene nodded but he had said what he meant to, he left the enclosed space of the abandoned house and secretly approached the back door where a majority of the guards were gathered. He waited until there were the most possible guards and then he opened fired using the whole clip to wipe out all of the guards, but the gunshots called the attention of the nearby soldiers who were quick to respond.
Dropping the rifle Eugene pulled out his pistols and with several clean shots while jumping through the bush took down the nearest guards. Using his momentum he ran inside and burst through the door breaking their hinges, but without missing a beat he fired a few more rounds and wiped out the guards on the inside. He hid behind a wall as reinforcements came in waves and fired on them taking out every guard with one clean shot. He reloaded when he got a second and continued to fire, even with a bullet wound in his side that could have come from anytime within the last few moments.
Mrs. Potts and the others could no longer see Eugene passed into the dark cloud of the night but they could hear the gunfire as could the rest of the neighborhood.
Eugene counted but he only had two bullets left, there were too many of them but at least he had thinned out the herd and cleared a path as he led the enemies to a different part of the palace. He had done his job, he created an exit for the Jack and the rest. He had found his way into the study and hid himself behind a couch and looked for and exit. He lifted his hand from the gunshot wound on his side. He wasn't bleeding too much, he might just make it out of this if he could just escape.
"Hey there cupcake."
Eugene looked up to see Gaston standing above him. How had such a large man move so swiftly and silently? But Gaston was a great hunter and had used all his skills to find and sneak up on the injured member of the First Frost.
Before Eugene could lift a finger, one swift meaty fist from Gatson knocked Eugene out cold.
** ** **
Once inside the palace they made their way to the throne room and the bedrooms but couldn't find the king or queen.
"There has got to be something that we are missing," Kristof said while dodging some guards that were scrambling.
"Think Jack, think. There has got to be something, we know that they are here somewhere." Elsa urged.
Jack thought about their running through the Palace, he tried to think of anything out of the ordinary.
"Why would you need two guards to guard a wall?" Jack said struck by a moment of realization.
"What are you talking about," Elsa asked.
"Because it's not a wall, it's a door." Kristoff answered understanding what Jack was talking about.
"Of course!" Elsa exclaimed.
The three of them joined the rushing guards scattering around the palace until they came upon a hallway where two guards stood. They were an anomaly, while the rest of the guards scattered to assume emergency protocol these two stood fully armed in front of a blank wall.
Kristoff and Jack ran as if going somewhere and then as they were passing the guards they charged and rammed them in to the wall. Once the guards were out of the way they looked for the door the soldiers were guarding.
Jack found a funny looking candelabra hanging near the wall, "I hope this works." Jack pulled on it and it clicked allowing a door in front of them open.
At that moment they heard gunshots from outside.
"We have to hurry!" Kristoff urged and they raced down the dark stairwell.
Once at the bottom of the stairwell the found an old wooden door that led to an old-style dungeon, it was obvious that it had been as old as the Palace and yet little used until recently. Two torches and a light bulb lit the depressing place. A single guard stood by and pointed his gun at them, but Kristof dispatched him before he was a problem.
On either side of them were cells locked with old iron bars, on the opposing wall was freshly dug tunnel that led to a door that was obviously an entrance to another part of the house. Jack, and Kristoff scanned the cells while Elsa dug through the body to find the keys.
"I found them!" Kristoff said.
"Who are you?" A tired voice came from the dank cell.
"We are the Order of the First Frost and we are here to get you out." Elsa answered as she fumbled with the keys to open the cage. "Are you both here?"
"Praise all Holiness, yes we are both here." A woman's voice also came from the cell.
Something caught Jacks eye in another cell, there was a petite woman chained to the wall in the standing, well more like dangling position as her feet didn't touch the ground. In the corner of the cell there was a lump of clothe that seemed to be breathing.
"Can you walk," Elsa asked as she unlocked the chains from the King and Queen. They responded saying that they could.
"I need the keys!" Jack called, and Elsa ran over to hand him the keys. As he fumbled with them Elsa shined a light into the cell but couldn't see anything.
"There is no one in there," Elsa said.
"Elsa you have to trust me." Jack responded.
Kristoff and the King held the Queen weakly to her feet and approached them as a loud inhuman cry came from the door on the opposite wall. Everyone turned to see a dozen or so dark creatures enter the room.
"What are they?" Elsa exclaimed, as Kristof rushed them out the door in fright.
Jacks eyes widened, "oh Frostbite," something had gone terribly wrong how could everyone see them? He had to act quickly, Jack dropped the keys and stood between his party and the Fearlings. "Run, Go now I will hold them off as long as I can!" Jack opened fire and shot at the Fearlings which only delayed them for a few moments.
Elsa was the last out the underused yet sturdy door and as Jack was closing it she paused, "But you promised."
"On my honor my love," Jack kissed her on the cheek and slammed the door closed.
Jack instantly called out his rapier and slashed at the nearest Fearlings. Experience had taught him to not show any fear and to fight them with passion and that would give him the upper hand. He laughed and taunted them as one by one they fell before him. It was now up to Elsa and Kristoff to see the King and Queen to the light of freedom, it was now up to Jack to face the darkness.
As soon as Jack made it to the dungeon keys he had dropped he heard clapping. The Fearlings stood back as a man walked smoothly down the stairs.
"Oh my, isn't this a sight." The sinister voice seemed to create its own shadows as it sent a definite chill down Jacks spine. It was Pitch Black, he looked just like the Pitch that Jack knew and wore the clothes of a French Noble.
"Jack Wintercrest is it? Or should I call you Jack Frost since you are both." Pitch said with a smile that's evil could turn butter. "I suggest you put down your weapon."
"Why would I do that Pitch?" Jack raise his sword to meet Pitch.
"You wouldn't want us to hurt your little friend now would you?" Pitch turned aside as Gaston walked down the stairs holding a bloodied yet still breathing Eugene at gunpoint.
"No," Jack said out of the terror of seeing his friend so broken.
"I had heard rumors of a new Guardian, I doubted it at first but now I finally see for myself that the rumors are indeed true. However, just like the rest, you are a disappointment." Pitch mused, "now put down your weapon." Jack had no choice but to concede and let his sword fall to the ground. "I have to thank you Jack, after the stunt you pulled tonight there is finally enough fear in the world that everyone can now see my Fearlings, even now they foil all your grand plans of success. People run in terror at their sight and it was you who pushed us over the edge, you have ushered in the Age of Fear." Pitch laugh successfully.
"Well if it isn't Jack Wintercrest," Gaston seethed in hatred and triumph.
"I told you that I would deliver you the leader of the Order of the First Frost, and here he is Jack the Frost." Pitch motioned toward Jack.
"I should have made sure you fell off that ledge when you passed out at the Pre-Christmas Eve Party, I should have given you the poison myself. I should have killed you myself when I sent my men to escort you back to the party that night but kill you on the way." Gaston seethed.
"It was you? So I was poisoned, I thought..." Jack breathed thinking of the moment he came into this body, so he was supposed to die at that moment.
"Of course you were poisoned! Do you really think that you passed out from the cold or from meeting a girl? You are supposed to be dead! Your bumbling meddlesome father was supposed to be morally crushed and stay out of my business. But here you are the real thorn in my side all this time. But I won't make that mistake again, this time I will end you with my own hands."
Eugene heard it all, he reached for a knife hidden in his belt and as Gaston raised his gun away from his head and pointed it at Jack he yelled: "for the Order!" with his last breath he thrust the knife into Gaston's side.
Jack took the moment and grabbed his sword and leapt at Pitch hoping to End the Age of Fear right here and right now with the death of Pitch Black.
Bang!
Jack watched as the gun pulled away from Eugene's head. The darkness masked the horrible sight of the mortal damage done to Eugene's face, and his light was gone... Eugene was dead.
Bang, click, click, click!
Just as quickly Gaston turned Eugene's gun on Jack and a devastating force to Jack's chest knocked him out of the air. Jack Frost's lifeless body fell to the ground.
"Pitiful," Pitch sighed. "I expected more."
Gaston pulled the knife out of his side and dropped it by the body of Eugene.
"Throw him in the Kings cell, we will parade his body in the morning as a sign of our power when we execute the King. My Fearlings should be wrapping up everything as we speak." Pitch sneered.
With one arm Gaston threw the lifeless bodies of Jack and Eugene into the Kings cell and locked it, "Good riddance." Gaston spat a mouthful of blood and saliva throw the bars into the cell.
Pitch watched the stardust rapier disappear, "yes indeed." Pitch would never admit how close he had come to death himself, but in the end he had won and wouldn't need to.
*****
10,000 Reads! You guys are amazing thank you for helping me get this far I couldn't have done it without you. I hope you made it through this chapter alright, I tried to put as much in here without skipping out on the story.
I hope you enjoyed the first part of 'Breaking France'. For those of you who really get into the story you will start to notice a pattern and me screwing with that pattern.
Please leave some feedback and let me know what you think.