Frozone was the only one who reacted. With Elsa shocked by Mirage's sudden appearance and Jack and Peri on the ground, stunned from the sudden blast, Mirage had just enough time to freeze their hands together and their feet to the ground. She dodged as Frozone raced by her, moving so fast she couldn't catch him.

"Elsa, Peri! Snap out of it!" he yelled. "Try to break free!"

"Hey this ice is cool," Jack said excitedly, peering down at it. He licked it, then shook his head frantically. "Ok guys, don't lick the ice it doesn't taste good!"

Frozone slapped him as he went by. "Come on, Jack, wake up!"

"Oh I'm awake I've never felt more awake in my life. I haven't felt so alive since I was alive."

"Then get out!" Elsa yelled, managing to break free. Peri was still struggling.

Now it was three on three, with Frozone fighting off Mirage, Syndrome going after Elsa, and Pitch bearing down on Peri. Jack strains upwards, pulling at the ice but not using his power against it. He started laughing maniacally.

"FEEL THE POWER!" he yelled, exploding the ice onto everyone, including his allies. Then he flew and rammed into Pitch, who looked very taken aback.

"Jack, look out!" Peri warned.

Jack looked up and deftly caught a gun that Elsa had knocked from Syndrome's hands. He promptly turned it on Pitch, who again was taken completely by surprise and knocked backwards.

"Elsa, he's got another one," Peri yelled, trying to help.

By that time Pitch had recovered and sent out a tendril of nightmare sand. It coiled around her legs and dragged her backwards. Frozone immediately skated over to help but Jack, delirious as he was, could see that Elsa was in trouble. Syndrome did have another gun, plus an array of dangerous weapons that fired nearly faster than Elsa could counter. Before Syndrome had blinked, Jack had stolen his gun.

"Cool, now I have two guns!"

He pointed them directly at Syndrome, and suddenly there was no mirth in his eyes. Unable to face both Jack and Elsa, he froze them in his ray.

"Get Frozone, you fool!" Pitch yelled, frantically battling his attacks.

"I only have two rays," Syndrome said. "If you had worn the spares like I asked this would never had happened!"

"If you had followed my plan..." He ducked another blast of ice. "Just done release Jack!"

"Fine," Syndrome sighed. He released Elsa and managed to catch both Frozone and Peri. "Mirage! Take down Elsa. Pitch, give me a hand."

"With what?"

"Well, I can't program the ray to siphon their powers without my hands, now can I?" Syndrome said irritably.

Frozone watched as Elsa held back Mirage's ice. She looked more like a robot now than she ever had been, and Elsa knew it. Cautiously, she slowed her own ice and weakened the fight.

"Mirage, listen to me! You don't have to do this. You can live another life!"

"Why would I? This is my life. It's my home and Syndrome is my family."

"No, he's not! That's just what he wants you to think. You're nothing but a robot forced to do whatever he needs you to do."

"That's not true!"

"Yes it is. Only a few days ago Frozone said you realized that Syndrome was evil and you joined the good side. But then he reprogrammed you or something. He's manipulating you, can't you see that?"

"Wait, what?" Syndrome said, finally hearing the conversation. "That is nothing but a blatant lie!"

Frozone held his breath, hoping against hope that Syndrome would forget about them and accidentally drop the ray connection. The pixie dust was being stripped from both Peri and Jack. On a good note, Jack would revert back to his old self again, though sometimes it wasn't much different. But if the process carried on for too long, then both fliers would be so weakened that they wouldn't be able to help.

"Come on now, sweetheart," Syndrome continued. "Who are you going to believe? The enemy we're fighting, or me?"

"The enemy, of course," Pitch said. "Because it's true. I watched him reprogram you. He created everything about you, your looks, personality, thoughts, family, memories, everything. You are nothing without him. You're just what your name says you are: a mirage. You're not really there."

"TRAITOR!" Syndrome yelled, throwing down his arms in a rage and releasing his prisoners.

Mirage, shocked by the revelation, stood to the side as the battle burst back into life. Frozone fought Syndrome, Jack fought Pitch, Pitch and Syndrome fought each other if they had time. Elsa, after making sure Peri was alright, threw in a punch wherever she could and kept an eye on Mirage in case she decided to stay loyal to her maker anyway. But as soon as she looked away, Mirage vanished.

Jack, Elsa, and Frozone managed to form a protective ring around Peri as she tried to regain her strength. It was the second time in as many days that her pixie dust had been taken from her, and even though she had some left this time, it had left her severely weakened. Luckily, Jack Frost was back in the game, his head cleared from the purple dust.

"Frozone, this isn't working," he yelled.

"I know, I know. Everyone, fall back!"

He built an incredibly thick wall of ice blocking the tunnel while Elsa picked up Peri and flew. Frozone backed away slowly but never stopped the flow of ice. Already he could feel it weakening as the villains hammered away from the other side. Jack paused before following the girls.

"Do we have a plan?"

"No," Frozone grunted. "Any ideas smart guy?"

"Ambush avalanche? Elsa and I could take them further down the tunnel."

"Good a plan as any. But hurry, I can't hold them off much longer."

Jack raced off after Elsa. Frozone poured his strength into the wall, even managing to mend it from the other side, albeit briefly. He wondered how much longer he could fight them on his own, or even if they could be defeated at all. On their own they were each powerful enough. Put them together and it was an unstoppable nightmare.

But we have to defeat them, he thought. For the kids.

Another blast shook the ice and the surrounding tunnel. Frozone gave every last ounce of ice he had. He had every intention to run, but as he collapsed realized that he had no more energy.

I'm done for.

Suddenly, he heard a piercing whistle, and galloping hooves thundering on the cold metal floor. Looking up, he saw Snowflake, Elsa's unicorn, hurrying towards him. Without stopping to think how she might have gotten here in the first place, he swiftly mounted and she carried him away. A hundred yards down the corridor, Elsa and Jack had built large mounds of snow and ice, blocking the side tunnels. Each of them floated above their mountain, ready to send it on top of Pitch and Syndrome at a moment's notice. Peri stood on the other side of the intersection, out of harms way. Frozone dismounted and stood next to her, watching to the inevitable appearance of their enemies. There was a sharp noise like breaking glass and yelled orders.

"More guards," Jack said cheerfully.

"Then we'll take them down, too!" Elsa said. "Get ready."

"On my signal," Frozone said, raising his hand. He could see the shadows moving on the opposite wall. "One..." A dozen or more guards appeared, running full speed and holding machine guns. Peri quickly formed an ice shield to deflect the bullets. "Two..." The first couple guards knelt in the cross-section without noticing the mountain and cocked their guns. Syndrome and Pitch had not yet appeared, but there was no time. "NOW!" Frozone yelled as the guns began to fire.

In harmony, the mountains moved and toppled over the soldiers, burying all of them under two tons of snow. Jack let out a celebratory whoop before he was once again knocked from the sky. Syndrome had crept up from behind.

"Jack!" Elsa yelled, flying over to him.

Syndrome pointed a finger and froze her on the spot. Frozone made a dash at him, but Peri screamed. Pitch had snuck up behind them and captured. Jack, Frozone figured, would be able to take care of himself. He went after Peri.

But it wasn't just Jack that had been knocked out of place, the staff had gone too. Powerless, Elsa watched as Syndrome pointed a gun at Jack. The big merely grinned.

"You know that thing doesn't do anything to me, right? Shoot all you want but I'm already dead."

Syndrome gave a dry laugh. "You know who I'm working with, riiight?"

He raised an eyebrow and looked over his shoulder at Pitch fighting Frozone. Jack's eyes widened as he noticed thin tendrils of nightmare sand curling from the gun. He remembered what happened to Sandy only a few weeks ago. Syndrome laughed cruelly and cocked the gun, aiming straight for the heart. Jack closed his eyes and braced himself, wondering if he'd ever come back, and if so, when?

But the impact never came. There was a whirring noise as the weapon powered down and Elsa dropped to the floor. When Jack brought himself to open his eyes Syndrome was banging the weapon on his hand, looking shocked that such a thing could even happen. He had completely forgotten about Elsa, who did a very impressive kick that knocked him down. She grabbed the staff and tossed it over to Jack. Quickly, he scrambled up to face Syndrome, who was fuming.

"You little wretch! What did you do?!"

"Wasn't me," Jack said shrugging innocently.

Suddenly Syndrome gasped in pain and a hand pushed through his chest. Mirage stood behind him.

"You know, it's a really bad idea to hook up all the weapons to the same computer. It's an even worse idea to have your robot "sweetheart" trained to operate them."

"What are you doing?" Syndrome groaned, turning his head slightly to look at her.

"Stopping you for good this time," she said.

Slowly, she withdrew her hand back inside his body. Jack and Elsa could still see as ice shot out of her hand, and she froze him from the inside.

"Pitch…" he wheezed. "Help…me…!"

But Pitch was now being chased by Gru, Violet, Dash, and Frozone. Syndrome wasn't going to get help any time soon. And based on Pitch's earlier revelation that Mirage really was a robot and had been reprogrammed, he probably wasn't going to help anyway. A moment later, Mirage pulled her hands from his frozen body and spat over him.

"Get the kids and get out of here," she said urgently. "Quickly."

"What's going to happen?" Elsa asked suspiciously. "What are you going to do?"

"Syndrome was always afraid for his life after his near-death plane experience. He distrusted Pitch so much that he secretly made a weapon that can trap him forever. I'm going to get that and go after him. They acted confident that they would win, but Syndrome wanted to be sure he would have the last laugh. This place will explode in half an hour, probably less time than that."

"Can't you stop it?" Jack asked in alarm.

"Even I don't know the code to stop the volcano's eruption. And if I did it's probably too late to stop it. But I do know how to free the children." She reached into her pocket and pulled out a remote. "Press this button and the doors to all the cages will open. This one controls the parents. Now hurry, we don't have much time!"

She took off down one corridor, while Jack and Elsa went back the way they came.

"Frozone!" Jack yelled. "Hold off Pitch while we free the kids!"

Frozone nodded briefly and continued the battle. Pitch was already starting to look weak and desperate. Elsa grabbed hold of Peri and Gru and began pulling them along. As they went, Peri managed to sprinkle pixie dust on all of them, turning the running into flying. Jack quickly explained the situation. They reached the cavern a few minutes later, having encountered no further resistance. All of the guards were elsewhere. Elsa released the parents, waving them on to the next room.

"Everyone! The kids are in here! We have to free them and get out of here quickly, before this volcano explodes!"

As if to confirm her words, a crack appeared in the floor, releasing a vent of steam and a glimpse of the lava below. The frightened and confused parents followed Elsa's orders and ran into the next room. The doors to the kids' chambers were opened, and the room was soon filled with yells and cries of joy mixed with terror as the walls continued to deteriorate. Not all the children had parents waiting for them; many began to cry uncontrollably.

"Dad!" Margo exclaimed, jumping down into Gru's arms. "I knew you'd come and find me!"

"I'm so glad you're safe! Where are Edith and Agnes?" Gru asked.

"I found them!" Lucy yelled, carrying Agnes and dragging Edith behind her.

"Margo!" Jack yelled, interrupting the family reunion. "Have you seen Jamie or Sophie?"

"No, not since we were at their house."

"I know they're here, I just can't remember where I saw them last."

Elsa and Jack flew around the room, carefully bringing the children from the higher cages to the ground. The temperature was rising steadily, and Jack still hadn't been able to locate Jamie or Sophie.

"Can Sandy erase memories, right?" Elsa yelled to Jack. "Make it all seem like a dream?"

"We can arrange something, yeah. They've seen too much at this point, and the portals will be our best option for getting everyone out safely. We'll go to the Warren, it's the safest place and easiest for everyone to get home."

"Elsa, my wings can't take this heat much longer!" Peri called. She had collapsed on the ground again, and her fragile wings drooped.

Without even thinking, Elsa waved her hand and coated the room in a thick layer of ice and made it snow. This resulted in more terrified screaming, mainly from parents. Elsa brought out a portal and yelled "the Warren," throwing it into the middle of the crowd. Peri was first to go through, but the others were more hesitant.

"Just trust me, go!" Elsa screamed. "Go! If we stay here we'll burn!"

She began urging the kids with no parents through the door. The volcano rumbled and the whole floor shook, knocking a few children over. Now, everyone stampeded towards the portal, from both sides. Elsa hoped that Peri could control the crowds on the other side so there wasn't a huge pileup. Frozone, Violet, Dash, Mirage and Pitch—frozen in a ray similar to the one Syndrome had used—arrived shortly after. Dash was extremely helpful running around and saving people from being trampled. Frozone used his sled to help rescue more children.

"Jack! I found Jamie!" Elsa yelled.

Jack and Frozone raced over to find Jamie shivering uncontrollably in his cell. Sophie was nearby, crying but unable to reach her brother. Frozone immediately gathered them both in his arms.

"Get a portal out and take us to the hospital," he yelled to Jack. "Elsa, you're in charge of getting the rest of these people out of here. I contacted North to meet you at the Warren but you have to hurry. Mirage says we only have 10 more minutes, max."

"Who's Max?" Elsa shrieked.

"MAXIMUM!" Frozone yelled. "WE HAVE TEN MINUTES BEFORE THE VOLCANO EXPLODES!"

Jack threw the portal and he and Frozone dived into it. Elsa was left on her own with nearly a score of parents and over a hundred kids, some of whom were still in their cells. The room shook again, and this time it didn't stop. Taking a deep breath, Elsa reached into her pocket and pulled out the pinch of purple dust Peri had given her in case of emergencies. She threw it over her body and shot off like a rocket, grabbing every kid left in the cages and throwing them into a snow sleigh that she only barely remembered making. The ice around the room was almost completely evaporated now, and the heat levels were unbearable. Elsa propelled the snow sleigh into the portal before it, too, melted beneath the kids' feet. At this point, nobody needed urging, only a little help to keep up. Elsa grabbed a five-year-old little girl and a two-year-old boy. Both of them had been constantly screaming in fear.

"Hey, it's ok, I'm here to help," Elsa said as calmly as she could with her veins on fire. "What are your names?"

"I'm Lily," the little girl said.

"Noah," the boy mumbled.

"Nice to meet you, Lily and Noah. Would you like to go home now?"

"Yes," they said in unison.

They were the last ones through. The warm Australian air felt like Arendelle's winter to Elsa's overheating body. She collapsed on the ground and found herself staring into North's boots. Almost crying in relief, she looked up at him and pointed back at the portal.

"Close it, we're the last ones."

North snapped his fingers and the portal shut with a click. Then he knelt and talked quietly to the children. Elsa didn't even hear him; she was trying to cool down. When she opened her eyes again, it was just her and North.

"Was anyone hurt?" he asked quietly.

"Jamie was freezing when we found him, Jack and Frozone took him somewhere to get help, I think."

"But did you hurt anyone?"

"Only the guards," Elsa said. "And only because I pretended we were having a snowball fight."

North chuckled softly and helped Elsa to her feet. "Look around, Elsa of Arendelle. Look at what you have done. There are nearly three hundred children in this glen, and two hundred parents. All of them are safe…because of you. You saved them."

Elsa's hand flew to her mouth as she sank into North's gentle giant embrace.