It took three days for the armour to be ready. Jason had ended up making an entirely new set for me, rather than fixing the old set.

During this time if I wasn't eating or sleeping I was in the old Training halls, practicing my psychic ice and refreshing blocking and parrying.

It felt good to let everything out on the training dummies. Every single bit of frustration, worry and pain was let out on the dummies, and they probably didn't deserve it, but I didn't care.

It wasn't as good as letting it out on someone alive, preferably the ones who had caused it all, Pitch and Lupine, but I wasn't suicidal. I'd gotten away once, didn't mean I could do it again. Although, with the Head's plan, I might be able to take it out on Pitch's Descendants.

Alfred quickly recovered from whatever was wrong with him and he got the story out of me. He made a good audience, and he laughed out loud at the bit in the petrol station, when the cashier was knocked out.

He paled when I got the bit with the flamethrowers. I had tried to brush over the fight, but Alfred was interested in my techniques, so got the whole story out of me. Once he had it out of me he began cursing them in such a strong accent I couldn't really tell what he was saying, or even if he was speaking English.

I backed off, wanting to go to the Training Halls, when Alfred stopped cursing and began a dry laugh.

"You've really freaked out the Descendants of Pitch there lass."

I stopped and looked at him, a little confused. "What do you mean?"

"They weren't trying to capture you. Anyone who knows about the Descendants of Jack Frost knows that we're not good around fire. You've already managed to rile them four years ago."

I flinched, but nodded for him to continue.

"They're scared of ye, they weren't trying to take ya in, they were tryin' to kill ye lass."

I froze in place in the Main Cavern, staring at Alfred.

"H-how c-can you-?"

"It is a guess, but think about it, they didn't use fire on me, and I'm a Head. You've really made an impression on them."

"And they tried to kill me." My voice was a disbelieving whisper. My voice going back to Purple Hair, I hadn't thought all that much about it, I'd honestly tried to forget, but she wanted me dead then too.

"Probably. So when you go get the others, be extra careful, ya hear?"

I heard alright.

I went into the Training Hall in a slight daze. I knew the Descendants of Pitch wouldn't exactly like me, I froze over two hundred for crying out loud! But for them to want me dead...

It almost didn't bear thinking about.

The third day dawned, or possibly night, I couldn't tell down here. I went to the Main Cavern, where we all ate. I ate my food in silence, ignoring the others as I ate. My injuries had faded by this point, my wrist was no longer painful, the bruising had all but disappeared and the scabs had become scars. Whatever Claire had given me certainly did the job.

I was jolted out of my thought by something being dumped beside me and a sweaty Jason sitting next to it.

"There you go." He said wearily.

I stood up and picked up the armour. It seemed to be the same design as before, but somehow felt lighter.

"This doesn't feel much sturdier." I said.

"I tested it with various weapons, as you can see, not even a scratch."

I looked over at Jason who a smile on his face. "The strongest Descendants of North have quite the connection with magic. That armour you hold is enchanted."

I looked it over again, but once again, other than size and lightness, I couldn't tell the difference.

"Well, go on, put it on!"

I obliged, finding that the armour fit to a T, the groves and slits had the same place in this armour as in the old set and the symbol of Jack's staff was in same place.

I lowered the clear visor and went into a mock defensive position, sending out my blades.
I swung them experimentally to find that armour did not hamper my movements.

"Thank you" I said, then without another word I went to the Training halls to get used to it.

A few hours later and I was happy. I met with the others in the Main Cavern, carrying the remaining snow globe and ready to go. More or less, what Alfred had told me still rang in my mind, but I was determined to not let it bother me.

"You do realise." Said Claire. "We don't know for certain that they're all being held together. Plus, the globe is one way."

I hadn't thought of that, but looked over at Alexander with an idea in mind, "You could follow me, and put up an entrance to the Tunnels, or is that too dangerous for you?"

"Of course not!" scoffed Alexander, "what do you take me for?"

"You don't want to know." My respect for them had fallen when they had all declined to help me.

"But what if they're not all there?" asked Claire.

"We check out the previously used bases." Replied Jason.

"Is that the only plan we have?" I asked.

"Do you have anything better?"

"...No." I admitted.

"Well then, are you ready to go?"

I checked my helmet straps and nodded.

"Remember, try not to get into a fight before you've freed some people." Said Claire.

"Noted."

I picked up the snow globe I'd brought with me and held it for a second, wondering who to think about. My mind drifted to my Branch and fixed firmly on them. Their faces appeared in the globe and I threw it at the ground, shattering the snow globe and allowing the portal to form.

Alexander bounded next to me and we walked through it, with the now very familiar swirling sensation in my stomach.

Once we'd walked through it we came to a sudden halt as silence descended.

We'd walked straight into a group of around ten Pitch Descendants.

They turned and the two groups stared at each other in silent shock as the portal behind us disappeared. We stood there for a few minutes, waiting for someone to make the first move.

In a sudden single movement Alexander opened up the hole to the Tunnels and I hopped onto an ice bridge.

I skated up to the top of the cavern to get a good look, as black sand was blasted towards me.

There were loads of cages in this cavern, more than there had been just before the war, which was a good sign. It could mean that most of, if not all of HOG was being held here.

Ignoring the black sand that was sent my way I sped towards the cages. I had to zig zag a bit and people in the cages seemed to gain life as I sped towards them.

I ran my fingers along the bars, allowing the ice to spread and shatter the bars. The ones in the cages that I first opened just stood on the edge of the door, looking around with a bit of trepidation.

The Descendants of Pitch had stepped it up, coming up to join me, causing me to slow down and slash at them.

"If you don't want to help me!" I yelled at the freed members of HOG, "then get to the Tunnels!"

I used the psychic ice to free the other cages. As one they shattered and a loud roar echoed from them as the occupants rushed forward to join the fight.

In a flash of inspiration, I formed frost on my ice bridge and began using my toes and powers to draw two large feline shapes. Quickly their barrel like torsos and their magnificent heads appeared in the frost. Once that was done I held my hands and concentrated, imagining them coming to life.

I'd seen Jack do this a few years ago, and while he'd never taught me this, I could guess how it was done.

A pair of ice tigers formed and roared.

I dedicated part of my mind to them, sending them off to fight while I fought some other Descendants of Pitch with the sound of fighting surrounding me. It was difficult to concentrate and this was the first time I'd tried to form and control ice creatures, so I wasn't fighting as well as I could.

Suddenly there were no Pitch Descendants around me, and I went up high, becoming focused more on the tigers as the others fought.

I was concentrating so much on the tigers that I didn't notice the person behind me until it was too late.

We are exactly one third of the way through this arc! And I end it on a cliffhanger, of course.

See you all in the New Year!