Chapter Forty

Chapter Forty

DJ and Lui finally made it to the exit. As expected with the sirens and lights going off, the door was locked down and could not be opened. The two ran back the way they came, but had to redirect at the sight of the guards headed toward them. They made their way through the castle, trying to navigate as best they could only to get more lost. They went through a series of connected rooms that looked like the inside of an aquarium, which Lui and DJ probably would have stopped to enjoy had they not been in the middle of being chased by security. They somehow ended up in a large room, stopping just long enough to shut the door behind them and catch their breath. About twelve guards entered through the door on the opposite side of the room. 

DJ turned to Lui, “Seems our luck hasn’t changed.” 

“Nope,” Lui confirmed with a wide smile between pants from running. 

“Surrender!” one of the guards shouted as they raised their weapons. Lui instantly lifted his arms in compliance, but realized DJ did not follow suit. Lui leaned over slightly to whisper, “Why aren’t they attacking you?” 

“I’ve got a guess,” DJ whispered back, taking one large step forward. 

“STOP!” the guard shouted again, but did not move. 

DJ took one more exaggerated step forward. The guards yelled again, but did not move.

With a grin, DJ unslung and readied his lance. With one heavy, circular swing from the front to the side, DJ extended the lance in his left hand with enough momentum to slide the weapon to its maximum length. He started on a path toward the guards, walking at first with the spearhead lightly scraping against the ground. DJ picked up pace until he was fully charging at the enemy, the metal end of the spear sparking as it dragged across the floor. DJ stretched out his free hand, grabbed the air, and drew his hand back, using his control of wind magic to pull the guards toward him into range. Accurately judging the distance, DJ pulled the spear up and forward as he twisted. Most of the guards scattered out of the way, but the spear still caught two of them by the time DJ finished his twist and caught the middle of the weapon with his free hand. DJ immediately followed up with a second attack, forcing the guards on the defensive, even though he was outnumbered. 

“Oh, we’re attacking now, ok,” Lui commented to himself as he watched DJ take point. “Great.” Lui was hoping to avoid a conflict, but it didn’t seem like EDJ and his henchmen were going to let them walk away without a fight anyway. At least with DJ going full offensive, Lui had a chance to temporarily hang back until needed. The Original conveniently, consciously, and consistently placed himself between the enemy and Lui. Narrow corridors and small rooms weren’t optimal areas for combat with a lance, but this arena was perfect for it. DJ had all the room he needed to maneuver. “Huh… DJ’s upped his game since I last trained with him,” Lui said absently, watching the Original lunge, weave, and turn while he fought. Nice footwork... And that stance is new… Wow, look at him go! DJ dropped three more guards while he jabbed and stabbed, using the distance and reach of his weapon to his advantage. A slight hum from above caught Lui’s attention. Seeing a drone hovering in the air nearby, Lui threw out a lightning bolt toward it. The magic thunder attack hit the drone, overloading and short circuiting the machine. The drone caught on fire and crashed on the ground. Lui jogged up to the broken drone and leaned over to inspect it. Lui wondered if he could still use it to mess with EDJ’s security systems. Maybe block or redirect a signal. Or even use it to access the network and disable the lockdown. Lui made a face at the melting plastic hardware. Maybe if it wasn’t currently on fire... 

Lui straightened and turned back to see how DJ was faring. That was when Lui noticed the guards starting to group. The guards tried several times to get around DJ, but he kept backing out of their formations. Maybe I can help now, Lui thought as he drew his sword. He watched a little longer, waiting for an opening. If they group like that again, DJ’s gonna dodge left. As soon as he does, I can send an arc bolt that should connect with a few of them! Lui edged closer to the fight. The guards closed in again. There it was! The opening Lui was waiting for. Unfortunately for everyone, DJ dodged right. Lui sent out a lightning bolt before he realized the error in judgment. The bolt hit DJ and arced between two of the guards, dropping all three. 

“Gzzk!” DJ clambered to his feet first and turned around. “LUI!”

“Sorry!” Lui called out with a grimace. 

DJ shook off the unpleasant feeling, muscles still twitching, and turned back in time to narrowly miss a guard swinging for his head. The disruption had allowed the enemy to get within range. DJ blasted the guard away with a jet of wind magic and backed up to Lui. While DJ did not appreciate the friendly fire, he was grateful that Lui always managed to use lightning magic in a non-lethal manner, in spite of it being one of the most dangerous and volatile elements to control. “Why did you hit me?” DJ asked Lui, who was directly behind him now as the guards circled them.

“Why didn’t you go left?” Lui returned as he deflected an incoming attack with his sword. 

“Because I always go left,” DJ answered, using leverage at the back end of the lance to rotate the front of the weapon, fending off attacks. 

“That doesn’t even make sense!” Lui exclaimed. The last few months spent training at separate schools had left them out of sync and it was starting to take a toll. The seven remaining guards surrounded the two. While DJ could keep the ones in front of him at a reasonable distance, Lui did not have the same advantage. As a result, the opposing force was convening more toward Lui than DJ. 

What do you think? DJ sent through mindspeak. Another sunshine?

Don’t wear yourself out, Lui answered. I still have plenty of energy. All I need is one clear shot. 

DJ watched the guards closing in. “I’ll give you an opening,” DJ said, preparing for his next move. “Try not to hit me again.” 

“I’m doing my best here,” Lui uttered wearily, sheathing his sword. DJ charged forward, breaking through the enemy’s circle and sweeping the lance behind him to keep the guards from following. 

With DJ in the clear, Lui clapped his hands together. When he pulled his palms apart, tendrils of blue lightning energy filled the space between his fingers. In an instant, Lui became a living lightning storm. The thunder energy crackled as it wrapped around Lui’s arms and body and his eyes held a pale blue light in them. Lui turned both his hands out toward the guards as they closed the circle around him. With snapping and cracking sounds, lightning shot out, forking into dozens of smaller, crooked branches as they connected with the guards. The burst of magic energy stopped almost as soon as it started, leaving five of the guards stunned and twitching on the floor. The blue lightning around Lui’s body fizzled out as he lowered his arms and his eyes returned to normal. The two remaining guards backed up to the room’s exit. DJ rested his lance against his shoulder as he stepped up to Lui and reached out. The leftover static popped as it zapped DJ again. 

“Sorry,” Lui repeated. 

“It’s fine,” DJ said as he shook out the sting in his hand. DJ patted Lui’s shoulder as he looked over the cleared room. “Good job!” 

“Thanks.” Lui’s response was lackluster as he watched the guards still alive and conscious drag their injured and groaning buddies away. Lui frowned, not feeling great about the whole situation. “Can we get out of here now?” he asked, turning to DJ. 

“I think so,” DJ answered with a nod.

That was when Lui noticed the silence. “Hey...” Lui looked around the room and at the ceiling. “The alarm stopped.” 

The door in the back of the room opened again. Instead of more guards pouring through, one person clad in black entered the arena. 

“Hey, guys,” A familiar female voice called out to them. “How’s it going?”