Chapter Thirty-Three

Chapter Thirty-Three

Hanna glared at EDJ. EDJ smiled back. Hanna had half a mind to draw her sword on him. She wasn’t sure how far she would get with all the guards in the room. Weighing her options, Hanna instead spoke. “How did you know about my evil side?” Hanna asked, maintaining an aloof air. “I haven’t told anyone about that. Not even Lui.” 

EDJ leaned back in his seat with a shrug. “I don’t know whose attention you got exactly, but I was tasked by the World Committee of Evil to convert you to our ranks. Someone somewhere sees you as a very powerful threat. I didn’t believe it myself until I saw in you the evil power that was visibly displayed here.” He pointed to one of the screens behind him, but did not break eye contact. “No evil can resist harnessing that power.” 

“That was a test?” Hanna asked, frowning. 

EDJ nodded. “As was the North Pole and the trek through this castle.” He smiled pleasantly. “You passed.” Hanna remained quiet so EDJ continued. “I didn’t know the full extent of your power, but I was informed you had it and that it was highly desirable for our cause. That was why I had to use such tactics to break your will.” He smiled again. “You have so much potential for evil.”

“Apparently, I’m not as skilled at hiding it as I thought…” Hanna muttered, staring at the floor. 

“Quite to the contrary,” EDJ said. “Most people with that sort of power would be in a state of complete rage. All the stress of holding it back must take up at least half your true potential. You hide the fact that you are an Evil Other very well.” EDJ offered a sympathetic smile when Hanna glanced at him. “It must be such a toll... Why do you fight it?” he asked.  

Hanna’s hands squeezed into fists in her lap again as she stared at them. She pursed her lips and her eyebrows knit together. “Because that’s not me,” Hanna finally answered, looking up at EDJ. “I’m not evil. I’m good. I’m a hero!” 

“‘Hero’ is a title paid for with sacrifice.” EDJ tilted his head curiously. “Are you sure you want that?” 

“Doesn’t matter whether or not I want it, it’s what I am,” Hanna answered, anger flaring. “It’s everything I am. Nothing you say will change that. No matter what, I’ll stop you!”

“How?” EDJ asked, still calm. “Are you gonna take out everyone in this room? They have families too, you know. Does that sound good to you? Heroic?” He shook his head. “Think it through. Mass murder doesn’t look good on paper.”

“T-that’s not… I’m not…” Hanna backed down again, seemingly talking to herself. “I’m a hero… I’m a hero…”

“You are a force of unequivocal destruction,” EDJ continued. “You obliterate every living threat without hesitation. You struggle to keep this power contained, but how is that benefitting you? By keeping it bottled up, you’re reducing it to a last ditch response when you could be using it to win every battle. Why not give in?” 

“Because,” Hanna answered in a low voice. “Ruthlessness is not the trait of a hero.”

“No,” EDJ agreed. “But it is the trait of a survivor.” 

Hanna’s eyes flashed red for a second. She shook her head. “No. I’m a good person. I’m good…” 

“Good?” EDJ echoed. “Good people are limited by their morals. Good people have boundaries they choose not to cross because, for good people, morality dictates their actions.” EDJ shook his head again. “That’s the problem with heroes. A hero would rather sacrifice the love of his life to save the world because choosing the greater good is the right thing to do. But heroes only exist in fairy tales.” EDJ continued speaking with an almost distant look in his eyes. “This world isn’t a place for heroes or better men. Their moral code doesn’t hold up to reality. Sure, you might have one man in a million still cling to it. One person who will stand alone and die for what he believes in and for that they call him a hero instead of a fool. Good things don’t happen to heroes…” EDJ’s far off look changed as he turned his attention back to Hanna. “For the rest of us, when the chips are down, that’s the first thing we drop. Morality. Order. Good.” EDJ shrugged. “All we ever do is prolong the inevitable. In the end, chaos wins.” EDJ watched Hanna for a moment. She seemed to be debating internally. Her head was bowed as she chewed her lip and stared at the floor, hands fidgeting in her lap. It was hard to tell if she was even still listening or not. Whatever mask of sympathy or empathy EDJ wore evaporated and his next words were without emotion. “I don’t think you’re a hero, Hanna.” She froze, listening. “I don’t even think you’re a good person,” EDJ continued. “I think, if it came down to it, you would gladly watch the world burn to the ground to save someone you care about and that makes you… just like me.”

“I AM NOTHING LIKE YOU!” Hanna screeched, jumping up from her chair. The chair fell backwards and the guards were brought to full attention. Hanna stood with her fists at her side and her wings outstretched, black feathers ruffled. She glared at EDJ, ignoring the weapons trained on her. “I will never fall to your level! You hear me?! NEVER!” 

EDJ closed an eye and pressed a finger to his ear. “Sorry, little deaf in that ear,” he commented, acting completely unbothered by the whole scene. “Could you repeat that?”

Hanna continued to scowl at him, wings and feathers folding back into place. “I’m not a villain.” 

EDJ remained relaxed and composed, watching her with a raised brow and a half amused smirk from his seat. “‘Villain’ is simply another word for outcast.” He gestured to the guards to lower their weapons. EDJ finally stood up and walked around the desk. “You don’t think I know what it means to be the black sheep?” he asked. “You think I don’t know what it’s like to be the one no one trusts? The one everyone blames when things go wrong?” EDJ circled her with slow strides. “You saved the world, but did that change anything? You’re still looking over your shoulder for the next threat. Always questioning what form the next attack will come in and who it will come from. While everyone around you goes about their pathetic, everyday lives, you lie awake at night worried about who is going to find out what you really are.”

“And what am I?” Hanna asked, the anger in her voice still present. 

“An Evil Other,” EDJ answered simply, stopping in front of her and leaning back against the desk. “Trying to fit into a mold you were never made for. Play hero all you want, but your evil side is never going away. What do you think is going to happen when your friends see the footage of you going berserk in that final room? Do you think they’ll look at you the same?”

“My friends?” Hanna asked, looking uncertain. “T-they… they trust me… They wouldn’t…” 

“Lui has this innate ability to read people,” EDJ stated in a matter-of-fact manner. “He can sense their true intent. If he hasn’t figured out by now what you are and what you’re capable of, he will soon. And DJ? Well, he’s always been a stickler for the rules. Is the person you turn into someone they can trust with their lives?” 

Hanna remained silent, her downcast eyes darting back and forth between two different spots on the floor. Where her hands were once fists, now they were open and empty, hanging loosely from hunched shoulders. EDJ pushed off the desk and stood straight as he stepped closer. “Hanna,” he said softly. “There is nothing left for you outside this room. The guild isn’t going to help you. Whatever organization you were part of before this isn’t going to welcome you back with open arms once this footage gets out.” He paused for a moment, letting the words sink in. “But… if you choose to stay and join the side of evil, I can guarantee you the rewards far outweigh anything you leave behind.”

Hanna swallowed the lump in her throat, still refusing to look at him. “You have nothing I want.”

“I can offer you freedom,” EDJ answered. Hanna looked up at him with violet-colored eyes. EDJ continued speaking. “Join me and you will never have to hide your true nature again. You won’t have to run or hide or worry about the next threat. You would be free to do and act however you want.” 

“...I…” The violet color in Hanna’s eyes returned to blue. “What happens if I refuse?” she asked. 

EDJ raised his arms in an exaggerated shrug as he stepped back and leaned against the desk again. “Nothing,” he answered with a polite smile, folding his arms. “You are free to walk away alive, knowing you missed the opportunity of a lifetime. No one is going to go after you. No one is going to attack your loved ones again. None of my people will, anyway. Can’t say the same for the plethora of organizations out there, evil, good, or otherwise.” He tilted his head. “I’m only offering you this opportunity once, Hanna. There will be no second chances. Join me and be free or leave and you will have to continue hiding and running for the rest of your life. It’s an easy choice.” 

Hanna lightly scoffed, resuming her downcast gaze. “An easy choice… simplistic in and of itself, but the consequences will ruin my life either way… Why can’t there be a solution in the middle?” 

“That’s the problem with trying to do both,” EDJ said apathetically. “You can’t. At the end of the day, you’re always going to let someone down. Choose what’s best for you. A hero can’t save everyone. That’s why villains exist.”