[b]Alicia Hayden[/b]

Cold.

Nothing really prepared you for the cold of being frozen solid. It was like jumping into cold water on a hot day, only the sensation never went away. Sure, you could get used to it, but that did not take the cold out of your bones. 

Frozen in the same general stance that she had washed up on the beach in, Alicia could only watch as Penny and Scout fought Curie and Doris, the two minions proving themselves powerful contenders. Nonetheless she was confident that her allies could succeed, especially as Penny turned herself into a large war machine using the wreckage of the Bastion (without realizing what that meant). She itched in her forced impotence, unable to summon the strength to break out on her own. There was no way to tell how the fight was progressing inside, but she could tell that they were running out of time. 

In hindsight, she was left to chastise herself for her move earlier. It had left her helpless when it mattered, and ultimately it hadn't achieved all that much. Everyone's reaction had indicated that no one was particularly impressed by it, making her look stupid for even trying. 

Resigning herself, she settled in to wait for the fighting to end so she could be released from her icy prison. She might hate not being able to do anything, but pointlessly worrying about what might happen while she was frozen wouldn't help anyone either. She would just have to try and make a difference when they finally got around to confronting Justine.

Needless to say she was not expecting what came next, her eyes widening as she found herself seized by a diminished Doris to be used as a hostage. This was humiliating enough, and she began wracking her brain for options. She still trusted Scout, generally, she just didn't trust Doris to not shatter her anyway even if Scout did back off like she wanted. Anyone working for Justine couldn't be that honorable after all. 

"Like hell you are," she growled, determination setting in. And a bit more than that, as she grasped at the renewed tendrils of magical energy. Maybe she did have some options after all.

Then a couple things happened at the same time. Noticing Penny pointing a large gun in her direction out of the corner of her eye, Alicia was spurred into immediate action. There was no way she'd survive as she was if Doris decided to use her as a shield against that. Focusing her magic, she began to radiate light, melting the ice while ideally blinding Doris. She didn't go overboard with it though, since she didn't need to directly melt all the ice. It just needed to be weakened to the point where she could break out with her own strength.

It wasn't all she did, as light coalesced in her left hand before extending into a sword of light. As the ice cracked and shattered under her exertion she flipped the blade in her hand, letting it stab and swing upwards to cut the arm that currently held her. She dropped as ice fell to the ground all around her, gasping for breath as the chill was removed immediately. 

There was no time to relax, and she forced herself to dive away from the cannon shot before it could hit her too. Stumbling through a roll, she came up with her blade at the ready, taking advantage of the impact (whether it hit or not) to charge forwards and strike at the center of Doris' ice golem with her blade before her magic could run out and cause it to fade away. "Nobody uses me as a hostage!" she challenged with the forceful blow.