Harumi and Akita walked in silence as they made their way across the glacier. They would occasionally glare daggers at each other before looking ahead and focusing at the task at hand. Finding Lloyd and Zane.

There was a blizzard passing through which made the journey colder and more difficult than it already was. Akita had an injured leg and Harumi had an injured arm and shoulder which made both girls too weak to fight.

"We need to find shelter!" Akita yelled threw the blizzard.

"I am not staying in the same place as you!" Harumi shot back. She knew she had no choice for they had to stay together in order to take on the Ice Emperor. But in their condition, none of them would last long in the storm. "Ugh. Fine!"

They looked around and saw nothing but snow rapidly falling from the sky. Harumi spotted a ledge and decided to head towards it, Akita following closely behind her. Leaving a huge gap between them, the girls sat down and leaned their backs against the mountain to get some rest.

"We need our strength if we want to fight off the Ice Emperor and find Lloyd." Harumi explained but made sure her voice was heard from her place.

"Very well." Akita agreed and relaxed for a bit.

Harumi let herself recover from the dragon's attack just a few minutes ago. It was bad enough that her whole body was aching but so was her heart. She had never been far away from Lloyd before or the other ninja, she always had someone by her side (mainly to keep her in check but she did not mind the company).

She was worried about the dangers ahead and what must have happened back at the village. With these thoughts running through her head, it easily put her to sleep as they waited out the blizzard.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Soon enough they had reached the Ice Emperor's Castle. It was a palace made of bricks with red roofs and blue windows and like the rest of the village, it was covered in snow and ice. The girls hid behind some shards of ice as they observed the entrance to the castle. There was a long steep staircase leading to the door which was guarded by two soldiers that looked a lot like they had encountered in the village during the battle.

"Here's the plan--." Harumi began but Akita placed a hand up.

"No. This is where we part ways. I will go on my quest and you will go on yours." She stated before shifting into her wolf form and gave Harumi a quick growl before leaving her on her own.

"Alright then." She shrugged and used her ninja training into action. She noticed Akita had decided to distract the guards with her wolf form so Harumi snuck up from behind them and knocked them out. "What?"

"Leave me alone." Akita pushed past her and entered the palace. Harumi followed closely behind her but made sure to keep her distance.

The inside of the palace was bigger than how it looked on the outside. There were the same shards of ice they found on the land but this time it grew out of the floor. Blue lanterns lit up the place but it barely gave off any warmth. A red banner, with what Harumi assumed was the symbol of the Ice Emperor, hung on the walls and covered most of them like wallpaper.

As the girls explored deeper into the castle, they had no idea that the boys were right behind the other wall. Harumi wondered off on her own to try and find the dungeons. Every corridor looked the same, every wall and structure was no different than the last. It was getting harder and harder to find her way through this maze until she heard a window break.

How am I supposed to find Lloyd in this mess?

Harumi turned a corner and found a shattered window at the end of the corridor, she quietly made her way towards it and jumped through before the guards could spot her. The window had led her on top of a roof where she found Akita dangling on the edge.

"Grab on!" Harumi reached her hands out which the formling was reluctant to take. "Let me help you, Akita!"

Akita grabbed her hand and she easily pulled her up. They got back up the roof and climbed towards a window ledge. The girls caught their breath before taking a peak through the glass window which was covered in frost.

"Thank you." Akita mumbled. It was barely audible but Harumi smiled and nodded back at her.

"It's the throne room!" She pointed out before turning towards the girl. "You should go. I still need to find Lloyd."

Akita nodded and watched as Harumi made her way back inside the castle. Thankfully there were no longer any guards so she continued running through the halls. Her eyes were focused on the walls and before she knew it, she had collided into something. Or rather, someone.

"Lloyd!" She exclaimed when she saw who she had bumped into.

"Rumi!" Lloyd cheered back and the two wrapped each other in a tight hug. Their recent injuries ached at the contact which made them both groan.

"You're okay! B-but how?" Harumi was filled with worry but all she could focus on was the boy in her arms right now.

"I'll tell you later. Right now we need to find the throne room." Lloyd pulled away from their hug and grabbed her hand before dragging her through the corridors. "Can you fight?"

"Yes, but, why?" Harumi was filled with so many questions.

"Rumi, Zane is the Ice Emperor!" Lloyd informed her which was not what she had expected.

She started placing the pieces together and it was all coming too well. Everything had now made sense!

"This way! Akita and I found it earlier." Now it was Harumi's turn to drag him.

"Akita? Wait, where is she?" Lloyd looked around to find their wolf friend but was met with nothing but shards of ice.

"We had gone our own ways. My focus was to save you." Harumi explained before they were greeted by a hoard of guards.

They gasped before pulling their hoods over their heads. Lloyd conjured his powers and struck a ball of energy towards the guard in the middle. Harumi charged towards another before kicking him backwards. Another crowd of guards appeared and while Lloyd activated his powers, Harumi started her spinjitzu. Together, they were able to stop the guards before they even came any closer to the couple. Lloyd threw one towards the doors of the throne room which caused a loud bang that echoed through the halls.

"Oops. Sorry." He rubbed the back of his head and smiled sheepishly under his mask.

Harumi took down the last guard before both of them charged towards the throne room.

"It's time we finished this, Zane. Once and for all." Lloyd declared.

They found Akita on the floor, her hand trapped in ice, and the Ice Emperor by her feet with his staff. Now was the only time Harumi had ever gotten a chance to look at him. The suit he wore was all too familiar which meant Lloyd had not mistaken.

"Zane?" Akita whispered to herself before looking back towards the Ice Emperor who groaned in frustration.

"My name is not Zane!" He yelled out. He was tired of hearing this 'Zane' name over and over again. He wanted nothing more than to throw out that green guy out of the window.

"Yes it is! And you're gonna remember it." Lloyd protested, his hood over his head. He was not certain how he was going to make Zane remember but he knows there will always be a way. If you want it bad enough. "If I have to knock it into your thick nindroid skull!"

They walked past Akita who was still on the floor. Harumi thought about helping her but she knows the girl can handle herself.

"You know the emperor?" Akita questioned from the floor. Everything did not make sense for her right now.

"He's not an emperor. He's my friend." Lloyd explained.

"He's the one we're here to rescue." Harumi continued.

"It's hard to explain, but I can't let you hurt him, Akita." Lloyd placed a protective hand in front of the Ice Emperor who was still frustrated with him.

"My will is not yours to command!" Akita growled and freed her hand from the ice. She held up her dagger and charged towards the Ice Emperor.

"Akita, No! This isn't the way." Harumi stated as she held her back. One hand was gripping her arm which had the dagger and ignored the pain it was causing her.

"You're letting your anger control you!" Lloyd joined her in holding Akita back.

"Stand aside, both of you. Or fall with him." Akita threatened. She was now pushing back against the two who were still too exhausted to have their full strength.

"I won't let you hurt Zane!" Lloyd said once more. "He's my--."

He got caught off by the Ice Emperor who knocked him to the side with his staff.

"Lloyd!" Harumi called out.

She was ready to run towards him when the Ice Emperor sent her flying backwards where she hit a pillar with her back.

I'm gonna feel that tomorrow.

"There is no Zane!" The Ice Emperor yelled. He wanted to make sure they both heard it.

He then turned to Akita before shoving her back with his staff. Once she was on the floor, the Ice Emperor aimed his staff at her before blasting a shot of ice.

"No!" Lloyd and Harumi yelled.

They started their spinjitzu without knowing the other would do the same. They crashed into each other causing their spinjitzu to merge.

A bright tornado of green and jade formed in front of Akita who had to shield her eyes. The couple's combined spinjitzu managed to stop the Ice Emperor's ice from freezing them both.

When the Ice Emperor realized he could not freeze them. He pulled his staff away and struck the tornado. Harumi and Lloyd got separated but quick got up. The Ice Emperor sent a blast of ice towards Lloyd who blocked it with his powers.

The ice spread and the Ice Emperor charged towards him with his staff. Lloyd dodged his staff with a jump and a flip. Shards of Ice emerged from the floor and another shot of ice was directed towards Lloyd.

"Akita, hide!" Harumi instructed and helped her up.

While the boys continued to chase each other around the throne room, Harumi formulated a plan. All she had to do was get the staff away from him while Lloyd acted as a distraction. She hid behind a pillar as another blast of ice came to her direction.

"Hang on, Lloyd." She whispered before taking a peak behind the pillar.

"Wake up, Zane!" Lloyd stated before swinging a punch that the Ice Emperor barely dodged.

Harumi sneaked up behind the Ice Emperor who just blocked Lloyd's kick with his staff. She used her spinjitzu to trap him but he was stronger than he looked.

"Break the staff, Lloyd!" Harumi yelled as she fought off the Ice Emperor. Lloyd summoned his power but was hit by a huge force which threw him backward.

Harumi landed on top of Lloyd after being spun around by the Ice Emperor. They were currently on the edge of the staircase, muscles sore, and their backs hurting more than ever.

Before they could get up, the Ice Emperor took advantage of their fall and froze them in place. Shards of ice trailed through the floor and easily engulfed their bodies in a block of ice, except for their heads.

"Lloyd!" Akita yelled before throwing her dagger at the Ice Emperor. He dodged it with ease and quickly froze her in place.

"No!" The couple yelled at the sight of their frozen friend.

Harumi wanted to finally catch her breath and rest her aching body from all the bruises and hits she had suffered to get where they are now. But the ice that was making her body temperature go lower and lower by the minute said otherwise.

Lloyd started to lose feeling in his hands from all the cold that was surrounding him but he knew better than to focus on that. Maybe he could ask Kai to warm it up later.

"Zane, please." He pleaded as the Ice Emperor walked towards him.

"I told you, there is no Zane!" The Ice Emperor replied.

"Do it, master." Vex called from behind him. Lloyd then realized that his new found friends had failed to hold them off. "Finish it!"

"Zane." Harumi shivered from the cold and watched as the Ice Emperor pointed his staff towards them. He shook his head at the name and raised an eyebrow.

"I'll do it." Vex stepped up and grabbed a staff with a pointed end before approaching the couple. "Some savior you turned out to be. You couldn't defeat the Emperor, you couldn't protect your friends."

"Protect?" The Ice Emperor repeated those words for it had brought some familiarity to him.

"You couldn't even protect yourself. Not even your pathetic little girlfriend you dragged into this mess." Vex pointed the edge of the staff to his face while Harumi scoffed at the insults.

"When I get out of here, I am giving you a piece of my mind." Harumi threatened as she tried to fight her way out of the ice.

"Protect those who cannot protect themselves?" The Ice Emperor muttered to himself.

"I would like to see you try, little girl." Vex now pointed the dagger towards Harumi.

Its tip was now on her cheek and if he buried it more, it would cut into her skin. Harumi maintained eye contact, her stare cold and hard, in an attempt to intimidate him.

"Back off, Vex." Lloyd's eyes narrowed, he was daring him to move his hand. "See what happens."

Vex held the staff up, ready to strike them but was blocked by a familiar ice staff.

"Vex!" The Ice Emperor stated before removing the guard from his face. "Don't!" He struck him with a flick of his staff.

Zane looked around and slammed his staff to the floor. The crash created a flash which echoed through the castle. The curse had been broken.

The ice vanished from their bodies which made the couple sigh in relief. The castle had returned to its former glory as it had been free from the corrupted ice. Zane removed all the armor he was wearing before running to them.

"Lloyd! Harumi!" He smiled at them.

"I knew you'd remember. I knew it!" Lloyd stated as he returned his smile.

"Welcome back, Zane." Harumi laughed.

"Thank you. Where are the others?" Zane asked before helping them up.

Vex yelled from their left side and Harumi stepped up. She struck a blow towards his jaw before Zane froze him on the spot.

"Who's pathetic now?" Harumi rubbed her knuckles and Lloyd laughed before placing an arm around her shoulder.

"That's my girl." Lloyd kissed her cheek which made her giggle.

They turned towards the door and found the ninja running towards them. Along with Kataru and a huge creature.

"Kataru!" Akita yelled at the sight of her brother and immediately ran up to hug him.

"Zane!" Nya called as they approached the trio.

"Lloyd!"

"Harumi!"

Everyone formed into a group hug. Sighs of relief and laughter echoed through the castle as they had finally saved the Never Realm.

"What happened? How did you do it?" Jay asked curiously as they all walked out of the castle.

"Do we have a story for you." Lloyd laughed.

"Krag, this is Harumi, Lloyd, and Zane. They're my friends." Cole introduced the trio to the giant they brought with them.

Krag growled before engulfing them in a hug.

"Uh, he is trying to suffocate us?" Harumi chuckled nervously as she felt all her muscles ache more than they already do.

"Krag. Put new friends down." Cole commanded and the giant placed them on the floor.

"I have never seen such a creature. Where did you find him, Cole?" Zane looked over to him curiously.

"I went to get these." Cole showed them the travelers tea leaves he had managed to get.

"We have a way home!" Lloyd cheered for he had recognized those leaves.