Chapter Fifty-Three

Chapter Fifty-Three

“LUI!” Hanna called out as she flew along the hallways. “WHERE ARE YOU?!” She had no fear of coming across guards after seeing all the empty security screens back in the control room. Even if she found any, she wasn’t worried about them. She was prepared to face any threat as long as she found Lui. Where did you go? I’m sorry I got you into this mess. Hanna searched the open rooms. When she would get to a locked door, she slammed the pommel of her sword against it and called out again. No response. She was relying on DJ to figure out how to remotely open the doors for her the way his Evil Other had. Until then, Hanna was limited to the easily accessible rooms. On a good day, perhaps when Hanna was fully rested, she might have tried breaking down the doors or blasting through them with ice. But this wasn’t a good day and Hanna was in desperate need of respite. In one of the rooms, Hanna found a medic station. She stopped long enough to stash everything she could fit into her pouch. Different types and sizes of bandages, various medications, antiseptics, and an epinephrine injector. Hanna took everything. She didn’t need to. She was still relying on DJ to contact help outside the castle. Once he did, backup should be relatively quick. But Hanna took all the supplies she could find anyway. 

“LUI!” Hanna shouted again, her voice bouncing off the empty, stone halls. She worked her way down the floors, passing the traps, and through as many rooms as she could. It seemed like the direction EDJ led her through previously was completely separate from the rest of the castle. Hanna passed through living quarters, a kitchen, break rooms, gyms, and training rooms. Everything was in recent use. The food in the kitchen was still warm. But Hanna still saw no one. The uneasy feeling never left. Hanna was flying down another hall when a sound stopped her mid flight. 

“...help me…please…” a soft voice pleaded. 

Hanna turned around. “Lui?” she whispered. “LUI!” she shouted and waited for an answer. Nothing. Did I imagine it? Hanna raised the radio. “DJ, I’m two floors down. Do you see anything in the lower levels of this place?” 

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What a time for Lui to go missing, DJ thought as he focused on the console controls in front of him. He’s more familiar with this sort of tech. I bet he would have easily navigated this thing and had backup on the line in seconds. At the very least, DJ was able to figure out how to pull up the 3D image of the castle. Between the holographic model and the security camera shots, he was working up a clear picture of where the different rooms were located and where Hanna was in relation to them. DJ flipped through the screens until he came to a shot of plexiglass cages. “Is that the dungeon room?” he asked himself, looking back and forth between the model and screen. Doesn’t look like a full shot. If I can find the intercom button, maybe I can- The radio buzzed with Hanna’s voice. 

DJ lifted the radio to answer. “I found the dungeon, but it looks empty as far as I can tell. I’ve looked through four of the six levels so far. No sign of Lui on any of them. I even checked the locked roo-” a noise from behind caught DJ’s attention. He spun around, instantly drawing one of EDJ’s swords, and looked over the control room. Empty. Silent. Still. DJ put the blade away and turned back to the console. Focus. Need to call for help. Need to find Lui. DJ did not see the shadow of a hidden wall panel sliding back into place. 

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Hanna listened. Maybe she hadn’t heard anything at all. Maybe she imagined the sound. She continued flying down the hall as she searched. The small voice returned, stopping her again. Hanna landed on the ground and listened with bated breath. “Please… help… trapped…?” It was definitely Lui, but the voice was so quiet and broken it was impossible to tell where it was coming from. 

“Lui! LUI!” Hanna shouted, trying to determine the source. “Hang on, Lui! Where are you?”

DJ buzzed in on the radio. “Did you find him?” 

“I don’t know,” Hanna answered, voice anything but calm. She spun around in circles in the middle of the hallway, unsure of which direction to take. “I think I hear him, but I don’t see him anywhere. Did you find anything on the cameras?” she asked, hoping for a bit of guidance. 

“No,” DJ answered. “I don’t see anything at all on the screens.” 

Hanna turned around again. Why can’t we find him?! I know he’s here somewhere! He should be on one of those screens or something! Please be safe, Lui, please… The grip Hanna had on the radio was tight enough that her hand shook, but she did not notice. Where are you?

Thankfully, the little voice spoke again. “Trapped… no… see… .me… this…” the soft voice said. Hanna picked a direction and followed it as quietly as she could manage. “Particles…” the disembodied voice continued. “Soul… shattered… rescue…?”

Hanna paused. “What… What are you talking about?!” she asked loudly, hoping Lui could hear her. “How can I help you?!” 

“Check… cameras… fight… particles… disappear… me… Particles… trapped… me… in… castle…” 

Hanna’s mind raced. Something's not right. What’s he talking about?! Particles. Disappearing. Trapped. Cameras. Hanna gasped and pulled up the radio. “DJ! check the cameras right after the battle. EDJ was recording everything! Maybe you can figure out what happened!” 

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“I’m on it.” DJ answered and set the radio down. Not seeing the commands directly at his current console, DJ went to one of the closer workstations. This workstation still had cameras filming the arena. Thankfully, EDJ was still frozen solid and had not moved from his position. DJ tapped on the keyboard, accessing the video files, and scrolled through the footage. There it is! He rewound the recording until he got to the tail end of their battle. Too far. He moved the footage forward a little, rewound again, and stopped. He watched the screen play out. That’s not possible. With a frown, DJ rewound the footage and slowed it down. Lui was there one frame and gone the next. 

“He… he really did disappear…” DJ whispered, brows furrowed. That doesn’t make any sense. DJ rewound again and slowed the feed down even further before pausing on a frame. DJ moved back  to the main console and grabbed the radio. “Hanna, Lui’s body dissolved into little particles and left the room.” DJ gave a frustrated sigh as he flopped into the large command chair. He put his head in his hands, needing a moment to stop and thoroughly contemplate the situation. Lui dissolved into particles. How? Nothing hit him. Not visibly anyway. No one else was around. Could someone have activated a remote particle transmitter? With everything else in this crazy place, I guess it would make sense for EO to have a particle transmitter on hand, even if only a handful of prototypes are in existence. But why? What am I missing? DJ took a breath and stood up. He grabbed the radio again. Maybe talking it out would help. 

“Ok,” DJ started, mostly to himself. “If EO has a particle transmitter somewhere in this castle, it’s possible Lui ended up in a part of the castle we haven’t checked yet. We still have two levels to go through. If it’s outside the castle, then it’s possible he’s not even here to begin with.” DJ squeezed his eyes shut in thought. “Then again, it’s also possible the particles wound up in an object of some kind between transmission. The range of those things is sketchy at best. This is all so weird.” DJ shook his head before looking back at the screen of Hanna standing in the hallway. She did not move. “Are you still there?” DJ asked. She still did not move. “Can you hear me?” DJ looked at the radio in his hand. DJ turned to the main console. Which one of these is the intercom? DJ held down the most promising of the buttons on the console. 

A loud, robotic voice broke the silence of the control room. “DUNGEON SELF-DESTRUCT WILL OCCUR IN FIVE MINUTES.” 

“Uh oh.”

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Dissolved?! Hanna stood frozen to the ground. That doesn’t… That can’t… What have I done? How do I fix this?! How am I supposed to bring him back now? DJ’s voice was still going on the radio in the background, but Hanna wasn’t listening. He was discussing something about particles and the possibilities of Lui being inside an object. Or something along that line. Hanna’s mind was stuck on the word “dissolved” until the tiny voice returned. “...Mirror…”

Hanna’s head snapped up. Mirror? Hanna lifted from the floor and called out into the hall. “Lui! If you can hear me, say something!” She continued checking the rooms she could access. 

“Mirror… rescue? Hear… voice… louder… You…?” Lui’s voice was also growing louder, but not by much. Hanna entered a room with a bunch of furniture draped with white sheets and boxes scattered throughout. It looked like an unfinished guest room currently serving as storage space. Hanna didn’t see anything terribly out of the ordinary. 

“Lui, it's me,” Hanna called out. “I'm gonna get you out of here alright? Just hang on. Where’s the mirror?” 

“Behind… table… see… me?” the voice answered. 

Hanna went up to a large table, grabbed a corner, and pulled it out of the way so she could see the mirror behind it. It looked like any other ordinary mirror. Hanna could see her reflection and the reflection of the room, but nothing else. “Lui?” Hanna put her hand against the glass. The surface was warm. She flew back to the open door and turned off the light. In the dim room, light from within the mirror poured through and a figure on the other side could be seen. Hanna gasped. “Lui!” She flew back to the mirror and stared at it. 

Lui was on the other side, chained and looking to be in rather miserable condition. “Me… See… in… mirror?” Lui’s broken voice emanated from the mirror. 

Even this close, Hanna had trouble hearing him. She nodded slowly with a small smile. She found him. So close. So far. How did this happen? How did he get in there? How do I get him out? Hanna swallowed the lump forming in her throat. “Lui… I… I'll get you out of this,” Hanna said in a somber tone. “I promise.” 

A computerized voice boomed through the castle, “DUNGEON SELF-DESTRUCT WILL OCCUR IN FIVE MINUTES.”