Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Sixteen

EDJ stood up from his chair and gave all of the screens of the control station one more cautionary glance. Satisfied, he stepped over to one of the AV techs. “Chris,” EDJ started, hands together, “I shouldn’t have to stress the importance of this, but I’m going to anyway. Do not mess up the timing here, okay? If you get this wrong like Marco did last week, so help me, I will put you back where you came from.” 

The AV tech blinked at him. “Unemployed in Greenland, sir?” 

EDJ’s face dropped in disappointment. “No. In the ground,” EDJ clarified. 

“Oh! Heh, right. Yes, sir. I got it,” the tech answered and nervously saluted, though he was not required to.

“Make sure Tony is on pyrotechnics.” EDJ rolled his eyes and left the room. 

***************************************

The room was pitch black when Hanna entered, just as dark as the tunnel she was just in. The door slid shut behind her. She took a few cautious steps forward and held her breath. Something felt off. The entire castle felt off, but this room in particular made the hairs on her neck stand up. She was not alone. Hanna heard music start up, a single guitar riff, quietly at first then it increased in volume. The riff repeated before it was joined by drums then a bass. When the music picked up, different lights started going off in time with the tune, shining through smoke in the room. Multicolored lights flashed and highlighted a platform in the center of the room. Pillars of fire erupted from the floor closest to the platform and fountains of sparks shot between them. 

What’s going on here?! Hanna thought, understandably confused and on edge. 

Between the smoke and flashing lights, a hooded figure rose in the center of the platform. Backlit with explosions, wings snapped open on the figure’s back. Hanna stepped back and held her sword ready in front of her. The hooded figure also drew a sword and waved a hand over it, creating an orange glow that followed the length of the blade. Hanna could barely make out long gray hair and a sinister smirk under the hood from the orange glow and flashes of light. When the music peaked, the lighting adjusted to a more reasonable level as the opponents faced each other, though it was still dim. Hanna attacked first, launching herself at the hooded figure. As she swung her sword, the stranger pulled up his blade and blocked hers without a hint of effort. He smiled at her. “Hello, dear.” 

Hanna flew back, sword still poised. She stared at him with suspicion. “EDJ, I assume?” she asked. 

“The one and only,” EDJ responded, pulling back the hood. 

Hanna raised a brow, tone changing to one of annoyance. “Really?” She gestured to the stage lights. “A bit much, don’t you think?”

EDJ grinned. “It’s all about the presentation.” He popped his eyebrows and spun the blade forward, orange glow making a fancy circle. 

Hanna narrowed her eyes and frowned. “EDJ,” she stated loudly. “I’m bringing you in.” 

“Gotta catch me first!” His grin never faltered. “En guard!” 

EDJ attacked this time, swinging the sword upward, which Hanna parried. Hanna grimaced and twisted the blade, batting his away as she went in for a jab. EDJ countered and knocked her back. Hanna recovered by flying higher into the air and using gravity to her advantage with a downward strike. EDJ also launched into the air and parried her incoming attack again with ease.
“Give up!” Hanna shouted, furiously trying to gain the upper hand. 

“You first!” EDJ said with a laugh. 

Hanna growled and attacked again, swinging repeatedly. Her technique looked more like she was trying to use her blade as a blunt weapon instead of a slashing one. EDJ parried, countered, and batted away every attack she threw at him without bothering to dodge. He did not bother attacking as often as he would have normally either. He was taking his time, observing his opponent’s tactics and move sets. Hanna did not realize this, of course. Hanna landed on the ground breathing heavily, worn and spent from her trek through the castle and previous challenges. “Can we at least stop the music?!” she shouted. 

“Sure.” EDJ snapped his fingers and the music ended. “Better?” He landed and started circling her, which Hanna quickly matched to keep distance between them while she took a few seconds to recover. “What did you think of the entrance?” EDJ asked, taking long, relaxed strides. “I’ve been working on it for a while.” 

“Screams of ego and immaturity,” Hanna replied, taking many short, quick steps. 

“Aw, come on, you’ve got to be at least a little impressed,” EDJ said with a smile. “I recorded that riff myself and everything!” 

“Don’t really care,” Hanna responded, still circling. EDJ started laughing. Hanna pursed her lips and tightened the grip on her sword. “What’s so funny?!” she demanded. 

“You really haven’t noticed it at all, have you?” EDJ shook his head as he stopped walking. 

“Noticed what?” Hanna asked, also stopping. 

“The exit.” EDJ pointed a thumb to the open door behind him with a grin. He laughed again as Hanna frowned. “You heroes are so absolutely predictable,” EDJ started, still shaking his head. “The maze of life and death, the rooms, the monsters. You could have stopped at any point. You didn’t have to keep going.” 

“What… what are you talking about?” Hanna asked, trying not to let nervousness creep into her voice. “The doors always closed behind me.” 

EDJ nodded. “Yeah, when you entered the room. They reopened as soon as you cleared them, but you never even checked, did you?”

Hanna glared, nose flaring. “I wouldn’t have turned back anyway! I wasn’t going to leave without capturing you first”

“That’s exactly what I mean!” EDJ’s free arm swept out like he was making a point. “You were so focused on getting to me that it didn't even occur to you to leave! Forget asking for help, the exit has been open to you the entire time! On top of that,” He pointed to a door behind Hanna. “Had you checked the castle before entering, you would have found the back door. It leads directly to this room.” EDJ laughed again. “Give up. You know you’ll never defeat me.” 

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Fifteen

Hanna walked through the long hallway leading away from the arena. She was overspent, she knew it, but she still had a job to do. She had to reserve the strength she had left to deal with EDJ, if she ever found him. Regular-sized doors started showing up on either side of the hallway. Hanna went to the first open door and looked inside. People. Hanna ducked back out of sight and peeked again. Indeed, she finally found another living person in this cursed castle. Quite a few of them, it seemed, as she watched a group of people working around large machinery. A few guards stood around, but the people seemed to be unbothered and engrossed in whatever process they were doing. Hanna was about to lean in to figure out what the smooth-running machines were doing when the door suddenly slid shut in her face. 

“Sorry, you weren’t supposed to see that,” EDJ’s voice said. “Employees only.” 

“Were those printers?” Hanna asked, continuing down the hall. 

“Sharp eyes,” EDJ replied. “I run a little printing operation on the side in my spare time.” 

“If only you put your entrepreneurial skills to less criminal use,” Hanna muttered. 

“Why do you assume everything I do is illegal?” the voice asked. 

“Because you’re a villain,” Hanna answered, seeing another open door. “Illegal is your MO. You evil are all alike.”

“Wow, way to overgeneralize,” EDJ’s voice scoffed. “We can’t all be the goody-two-shoes and expect to get ahead in life. Money don’t grow on trees.” 

Hanna flew through the open door before EDJ had a chance to close it on her. “You’re not supposed to be in here either,” EDJ said over the intercom. Hanna looked around. This room was a lab storage room filled with specimen tanks on tables. No one else seemed to be in this room. Hanna walked down the rows of tanks, looking at them as she passed by. Some of the specimens were intact and she could easily tell what they were. Lizards, mice, cats, dogs, crocodiles, monkeys, there was even one tank holding something that looked like a much smaller version of the creature Hanna killed in the arena room. There were far more tanks filled with grotesque and half-formed creatures, abominations that failed whatever process EDJ was trying to put them through. Hanna gulped and her stomach churned in discomfort. She stopped in her tracks when she heard a strange scratching and half-growling sound. She was not alone after all. She crouched where she was and looked under the table. A red and white puppy was pawing at a box on the floor. As soon as the dog saw Hanna, it barked and hopped toward her. Hanna immediately jumped back into the air with her sword in front of her. The puppy barked again, jumping in circles around her with its tail wagging.

“Oh, you found Stitches!” EDJ’s voice said pleasantly. “I was wondering where he wandered off to.” 

“Shush!” Hanna hushed at the dog and looked around, making sure no one else heard the dog barking. When no one came running, Hanna looked back at the dog. The puppy watched her with big brown eyes, its tongue hanging out and head tilted. Its front end bowed while its back end wiggled in the air, indicating it wanted to play. Hanna tried suppressing a small smile. She lowered to the ground and let the puppy lick her boots, tail still wagging. “Another pet?” Hanna asked, watching the puppy, but not interacting with it. 

“Yeah, he’s not the best guard dog in the world,” EDJ’s voice answered. “Too much puppy in him, I think. He’s not the smartest either, but he does boost morale so I’d appreciate it if you left him alone.”

Finally giving in, Hanna crouched again and scratched the cute puppy’s ear with a soft smile. The dog barked again and, with a strange wobble, ran back to the box under the table. It was only then that Hanna noticed something terribly wrong. The dog’s back legs did not match its front legs. Not in the manner that the coat pattern was different. No, the back legs were from a different animal entirely, one with talons. Hanna stood up and took a step back in horror. “What did you do to it?!” Hanna whispered, all sympathy replaced with disgust. 

“What, Stitches?” EDJ asked. “Well, he didn’t have legs when I found him so…” 

“You can’t just splice living creatures together all willy-nilly!” Hanna exclaimed in alarm. “What’s wrong with you?!” 

EDJ drew back from the screen with a confused look and turned to one of the guards in the control room with him. The guard shrugged. EDJ shrugged and turned back to the monitor. “I don’t have time to answer that question. Besides, you’re one to talk. Humans aren’t born with wings.” 

Hanna frowned, watching the puppy paw at the box again. EDJ has to be stopped, no matter the cost. She reached under the table and pulled the box out. A tennis ball sat inside. How it got there and how the dog knew it was in there, Hanna didn’t know or care. She took the ball out and lightly tossed it to the other side of the room, distracting the dog so she could leave the room without it following. Hanna sighed in relief when the door to the next room closed behind her. Hanna figured she must have been wandering through storage rooms because this one was filled with dark screens, floor to ceiling. “You have a really weird layout,” Hanna muttered. “I still can’t get over the fact that you built an entire castle on Everest.” 

“I am under no obligation to make sense to you,” EDJ answered casually. “It's not my fault you thought I was normal.” The brief look on Hanna’s face indicated she agreed with him, though she didn’t say it. When she was about halfway through the room, all the screens turned on at once, blaring loud music. “AAUUUGH!” Hanna covered her ears and dropped to her knees. “NOOO!” Hanna looked up in shock, recognizing the music. Every one of the screens showed a man in a coat and striped shirt in front of a microphone, playing the same video in synchronization. “WE’RE NO STRANGE-” Hanna shot all of the screens with icicles, shutting them down and stopping the song before it got started. 

EDJ laughed so hard he fell out of his chair. He laughed and laughed until he wheezed. He was nearly gasping for air as he climbed back into his seat. “Ahhhhh, gets them every time,” he said with a chuckle. “Whew, that was funny. I needed that.” He looked back at the screen to see Hanna had already left the room. “Uh-oh, where’d she go?” EDJ flipped through the cameras. He pulled up the 3D model of the castle and moved through every possible location until he found Hanna. “Great, she found the shortcut tunnel,” EDJ said sarcastically and rolled his eyes. He tapped a few keys and buttons, sending a drone to follow her. 

Hanna followed the winding tunnel, fury on her face. “You sure are persistent,” EDJ’s voice said next to Hanna’s ear. She jumped and pirouetted, swinging her sword behind only to meet empty air. Hanna heard a light hum above her. Looking up, she spotted a tiny mechanical drone. She shot an icicle only for the drone to move out of the way. The lights in the tunnel cut off completely, leaving her in the dark. 

“Where are you hiding, coward?” Hanna demanded, pulling out her flashlight and sweeping the light over the empty tunnel. 

“Much closer than you think,” EDJ’s voice said from the little drone, cameras automatically switching to low light settings. 

“Show yourself!” Hanna growled. “Only a coward refuses to face his problems head on.” She continued down the tunnel, albeit at a much more cautious pace and in the wrong direction.  

“And you think running directly into danger alone makes you brave?” EDJ asked, watching with amusement. 

“Yes,” Hanna answered. 

“No,” EDJ countered. “That makes you a fool. It makes you a liability.” Hanna frowned as he continued. “You are completely cut off from help. You are tired, weak, and surrounded by your enemies. You may think me a coward, but this so-called coward will destroy you and your friends.” His voice shifted from one side to the other as the drone flew around her head out of sight. “All because you had to be the hero. Maybe you’re the one with something to prove.” 

Hanna sneered. “Only that I’m stronger and better than you. I can take you down easily! All you have to do is fight me. I won’t let you get away.”

“Maybe,” the voice continued. “But why is that so important to you? Who are you trying to impress?” 

“No one,” Hanna muttered. Finally realizing she was going the wrong direction, Hanna growled and turned the other way. 

“I’ve seen your records,” EDJ continued, voice eerily close. “I’ve talked to your friends. You’re impulsive. Reckless. Aggressive.” 

"You’re wrong," Hanna said. "I'm not any of those things."

"Hm, your actions thus far might say otherwise."

“So what?!” Hanna asked, frustrated that the tunnel was taking forever to get through and irritated at EDJ’s incessant babbling. “I’m determined to vanquish evil. That just makes me a better hero. I won’t rest until I bring you to justice.” 

“Justice?” EDJ asked, raising an eyebrow as he watched the screen. “Now there’s a fun word.” He paused for a moment, seemingly in thought. “Okay, let’s say you do get your justice. Lock me up and throw away the key. Once again, the day is saved, blah, blah, blah… You won’t stop there, will you? You’ll seek out the next threat. The next big bad boss and personally kick his teeth in.”

“What’s your point?” Hanna asked, swatting at the drone she could not see. 

“You go looking for trouble.” 

“Of course I do. That’s my job,” Hanna answered, seething. “I have to seek out evil and destroy it before it hurts the people I care about. For that, I will gladly put myself in harm’s way.” She smirked. “I even welcome the challenge.” 

EDJ’s voice went quiet for a moment, which Hanna enjoyed until he spoke again. “This front you’re putting on,” he started. “It’s not bravery. It’s obsession. And it’s not to protect people… it’s to hurt them.” 

“That’s not true!” Hanna shot back, anger flaring. 

“You’re a danger to everyone around you,” the voice whispered. 

“Your lies won’t stop me.” Hanna spotted a door at the end of the hall in the beam of her flashlight. Victory was just around the corner.

“Lies?” EDJ asked in surprise. “You think I’d stoop so low? Nothing hurts worse than the truth, dear. If you want something sugar-coated, eat a donut.” EDJ motioned to the guards to get in place as Hanna closed in on the door. “If it was only about stopping me,” he continued. “Why didn’t you bring your little friends?” 

“To protect them,” Hanna answered softly, reaching for the door. 

“From who?” 

Chapter Fourteen

 

Chapter Fourteen

It was a while before Hanna finally made her way out of the maze. The maze ended in another large set of double doors. Similar to the entrance, they were wide open. As soon as Hanna stepped inside, the doors shut behind her. The new room she found herself in was circular, with lights all around the perimeter and one large light hanging from the vaulted ceiling. Hanna could barely make out another set of open double doors on the other side of the room. Hanna walked forward, but stopped at the ledge where the ground dropped into a massive pit. There was scaffolding along the sides and machinery. A mine? Hanna asked herself. She frowned, glancing from the hole to the doors and back. Hanna leaned over and stared down into the never ending abyss. The light from the room did not reach very far and Hanna doubted her little flashlight would do much better. If she had to venture into the mine, it could at least wait until the rest of the castle rooms were cleared. The fastest way would be to fly across the room directly over the bottomless pit, but she didn’t feel like doing that. Hanna enjoyed the dark, usually. The dark was quiet and peaceful. She could exist in the dark without being bothered. But looking down into this darkness made even her uncomfortable. She swallowed the fear creeping in and flew around the hole, following the lights on the wall until she reached the next set of doors. 

The castle seemed to modernize the further she went in, the rooms started to appear livable and possibly inhabited, but she still didn’t see anyone. Something felt off. Everything felt off. Nothing was guarded. Everything was creepy. She wasn’t sure what was going on, she only knew she had to keep moving forward. As expected, as soon as Hanna entered the next room, the doors closed behind her. This new room was bright. The walls were white and plain. “Oh, you found the training room,” EDJ’s voice said. He flipped a switch on the control panel and pulled a lever. “Quick, use the surge of fear and adrenaline to sharpen your decision making.” Before Hanna could react, panels in the ceiling dropped down while panels in the floor and walls popped out. Turrets in the panels locked on to her with red lasers. 

Uh oh. Instinctively, Hanna created a wall of ice between her and the turrets as she dropped to the floor. The turrets fired at her as she cowered behind the ice. Wave after wave, Hanna continually had to reinforce the ice while curled into a ball. The machine guns fired without end. How many bullets do those things have?! Hanna thought. She peeked between her arms to see another panel with a turret pop up in front of her. The nozzle of this turret looked different from the machine gun ones. Hanna’s eyes widened. Click. click. Hanna dove out of the way just as a stream of flame shot out from the turret. Hanna chucked icicles out at the turrets as she flew. Some of the icicles broke through the turrets, disabling them. Some of the turrets Hanna froze as she flew past, causing them to jam. She saw more of the flamethrower turrets and attempted to take them out with more icicles. Hanna flew, swerving and dodging, trying to avoid the turrets. She continually tried to keep a wall of ice between her and the danger. She barely made it to the other side of the room in one piece. As soon as she flew through the doorway the doors slid shut behind her. Hanna collapsed and leaned her back against the closed doors, trying to catch her breath. She was trying to mentally prepare for whatever new terror EDJ was planning to throw at her.

“Getting tired, dear?” EDJ’s voice echoed. 

“Hah!” Hanna laughed with a huff and a determined grin. “You wish.” She stood up and looked around. This room was similar to the last one, however there were two sets of doors, one to the right and one to the left. Both sets were closed. The ceiling was very high, compared to the last room. Black patches lined the walls, but Hanna ignored them. “I might be slowing down, but I will not let you escape,” Hanna said as she walked up to the doors on the right. 

“Bwahahahaha,” EDJ’s voice laughed. “This is starting to get good! I’m not going anywhere.” 

Hanna pushed and pulled the large ring on the doors, but the doors did not move. She narrowed her eyes and turned. “You’ve threatened the world once already,” Hanna said. “You’ve threatened my friends and you’ve threatened me. What else are you planning?!” A low rumble from the other side of the room caught Hanna’s attention. The ground rumbled again. And again. Footsteps? 

“Your death,” EDJ answered lightly. “You came to my home to pick a fight. I will give you war.” 

Hanna suddenly noticed the white bones on the floor swept to the corner of the walls. The black patches on the walls were scorch marks and burn shadows. It was then Hanna realized the room she was in was not another training room as before. No. This was an arena. That thought alone filled her with dread. The doors burst open as a large creature smashed through them. Black smoke billowed around the creature’s flaming body. The fiery eyes of its horned head locked on to Hanna before charging. Hanna’s eyes widened and her face paled. She squeaked as she dove out of the way. The creature smashed into the wall and turned to slice through Hanna with a large, flaming claw. Hanna barely dodged the limb as it swung at her. 

“ACK!” Hanna rolled out of the way and jumped into the air. “Where’s the door?! Where’s the door?!” Hanna uttered in sheer panic, flying out of range of the next attack. All the dark smoke from the creature was quickly filling the room. Hanna coughed and her eyes watered. She lowered to the ground. The creature snapped open two large, leathery wings and roared. Hanna crouched and held her hands to her ears, squeezing her eyes shut. As soon as the creature stopped roaring, Hanna opened her eyes and took off, scanning for an exit. There should have been a door where the creature entered, but there was only rubble now. The only doors Hanna could find was the one she came from and the one the creature was standing in front of. Hanna looked up and noticed a small rectangle in the wall near the ceiling. A window! If she could fly up to it, she might escape with her life. 

The giant creature roared again, knocking Hanna to the ground. She sat up wincing. The creature’s large wings flapped and the flames around it grew more intense. Hanna got up and flew around the creature, narrowly missing another claw swipe as the creature snapped its jaws at her head. Hanna flew to a corner of the room and shot upward, straight toward the window. Just as she thought she was going to make it, a fiery tongue wrapped around one of her boots. “What?! NO!” Hanna shrieked as she was instantly yanked back down. The tongue pulled her down with such force that it slammed Hanna into the ground. 

EDJ winced. “Ouch, that didn’t look good.” He watched the screen with pursed lips. Maybe that was a bit much. He didn’t need her dead, after all. His hand hovered over a button on the panel, but he waited when he saw the body on the screen start moving again. 

Coughing and grimacing, Hanna rolled to her side and reached for the hilt of her fallen sword. She picked up the weapon with a shaking hand. Hanna sliced off the tongue that was still wrapped around her boot and she staggered to her feet. She glared at the creature. While common sense would dictate she attempt to fly for the exit again, now that the tongue was severed, she was angry. Hanna huffed and spat blood out to the side. “I hope you’re not attached to your little pet, EDJ,” she said, wiping her mouth. “Cause I’m about to put it down.” 

Hanna’s sword glowed with blue light as she spun it backwards and dashed forward. The creature swung a claw at her. Hanna leapt over the arm and over the creature’s shoulder, slicing as she went. The creature roared, flames now bursting from its neck. With an overconfident grin, Hanna turned at dashed again, this time slicing through the creature’s side. Again, through the leg. Again through the arm. Again, through one of the wings. All the while, the light in Hanna’s sword grew. Once the sword was fully charged, Hanna yelled and ran forward. She shoved her sword through the creature’s chest and an explosion of ice magic went off, quelling all the flames bursting from the creature. The creature dropped to its knees and roared again, body smoldering, but still alive. With a boot planted against the chest, Hanna yanked the sword out of the creature and, with one swift motion, sliced the horned head clean off. She flew back and landed as the body hit the floor. 

Hanna panted with a wide grin, eyes gleaming. She suddenly dropped her sword and fell to her knees, clutching her head in her hands. When the pain subsided, Hanna blinked and looked at her hands. She looked up at the dead creature with wide blue eyes. The doors that were once locked slid open, waiting for her. Hanna took a deep breath, picked up her sword, and stood up. She walked through the doors, continuing her journey through the castle. 

EDJ stared at the screen with critical eyes. He moved to another screen and rewound the footage of the fight. Stop. Fast forward. Stop. EDJ zoomed in on a particular frame of Hanna turned to the camera. “Red eyes?” he whispered, tapping his fingers on the control panel. “Interesting… Very interesting.” 

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Thirteen

-Longyearbyen, Svalbard; May 6th, 2009-

Lui yawned as he stepped into the lobby. He wasn’t sure if they had missed the restaurant’s breakfast hours or not. He was having trouble keeping track of what time it was. Without his phone, he couldn’t text Hanna to see if she was up yet. Technically, DJ still had his phone and could have texted for him, but Lui figured it could wait. Especially if Hanna was still asleep. Lui meandered over to a vending machine and browsed the snack options. DJ was at the front desk talking to the clerk. Lui pressed a few buttons on the vending machine and waited as it churned. 

DJ walked up to him with a frown. “They’re gone.”

“What? Who?” Lui grabbed the packet of fruit snacks from the machine and stuffed it in a pocket. DJ held out a folded piece of paper between two fingers. Lui took it and opened the note. 

“Lui, I’m going after EDJ. Go home. I’ll see you when it’s over. Hanna.” Lui’s shoulders sank. “She left?” He looked up at DJ with wide eyes, disappointment in his voice. “But… but we agreed we’d go together…” 

“I know,” DJ said, rubbing a hand over his face and neck. “The pilot’s gone too, essentially stranding us here. Probably so we wouldn’t follow.” 

“We have to go after her,” Lui said with determination, folding the note and sticking it in his pocket. 

DJ stood in thought for a moment before responding. “We should go back to Iceland.” 

“What?!” Lui exclaimed. “She needs our help! We can’t abandon her!”

DJ gave him a confused look. “I never said anything about abandoning her. I just said we should go to Iceland first.” Seeing Lui’s puzzled face, DJ continued. “How much help are we going to be if we spend all that time rushing after her just to show up unarmed and half rested? We go back to Iceland, get our stuff, then go straight to Everest from there. She already has a head start regardless.” Lui looked away and sighed before nodding in agreement. DJ put a hand on Lui’s shoulder and looked him in the eye. “Do you think she can hold out against Iul till we get there?” 

Lui nodded again. “She’s more than capable of fighting her battles alone,” Lui answered. “The hard part is getting her to realize she doesn’t have to.” 

DJ grinned. “That’s what I thought.” He patted Lui’s shoulder. “In all seriousness, I don’t think Iul would stand a chance. Hanna knows an idiot when she sees one.” 

Lui blinked at him, suddenly concerned. “She does?” 

DJ chuckled as he walked back to the front desk, planning to ask for ride options to the airport. 

*******************************

-Mysterious castle; Mount Everest; May 9th, 2009-

Hanna stared down at the origami napkin swan in her gloved hand. She exhaled and put it into a pocket, switching her attention to the green blinking light on the tracking device. The dot jumped all over the screen, just as it did back at the North Pole. “A lot of help that is,” Hanna muttered, turning off the device and tucking the object away. She looked up at the magnificent castle in front of her. Large stone walls, narrow windows, tall towers, blocky parapets, even catapults, it was all there. A proper castle at the top of the world. It felt like something straight out of a video game or a fairytale. Something so grand and spectacular that the mind cannot fully comprehend the scale until it’s physically sitting in front of you. The wind swept snow across the dark stones and swirled at Hanna’s feet. The castle was impressive. It was extravagant. It was unsettling. From what Hanna could observe from the outside, the castle was too well-kept to be abandoned. At the same time, she did not meet any guards outside. At the very least, she knew EDJ was inside, but she did not know what other challenges to anticipate. Not that she could have known. Hanna wasn’t sure which was more unnerving, the fact that she didn’t see or hear anyone else around or the fact that the large doors stood wide open. Hanna cautiously trudged through the knee-deep snow with her sword drawn, ready to strike at anything that moved. She was oblivious to the hidden cameras and all the eyes watching her. EDJ smiled from the comfort of his control room, watching the screens. “Like a moth to the flame,” EDJ said in a low voice. He pressed a button on the control panel, activating the PA system. 

“Welcome, hero,” EDJ’s voice boomed across the snow laden mountain top. The voice was so loud, Hanna stopped and covered her ears. “Have you rescued your pesky friends yet?” EDj asked. 

Hanna uncovered her ears and looked around, unsure of where the sound was coming from. “I have indeed rescued my beloved friends,” Hanna shouted into the wind, tightening the grip on her sword. “They’re in a place even you, with your foul talons, can never reach! As promised, I’m here to bring you in!” Hanna looked around, still on high alert. Still no sign of life. “Show yourself, coward!” she shouted. 

“Where’s the fun in that?” EDJ’s voice asked. “I went to a lot of trouble designing and building this castle. It’s only right you get the full tour.” He watched her inch toward the open doors. Amazing how easily sheep will show up to the slaughter if you leave the front gate open, he thought. “It’s been so long since my last guest,” EDJ continued speaking through the PA system. “They didn’t make it very far. Perhaps you’ll fare better?” 

Hanna stared up at the castle with narrow eyes. Was she impressed by the scale? Yes. Did she care? No. She had one mission and one mission only: track down EDJ and bring him in. Perhaps not before he got the beat down he so richly deserved. Hanna entered the castle and the large doors slammed shut behind her. Torches lit up along the walls, illuminating not one path from the door, but three. A path to the left, the right, and down the middle. Hanna frowned. Her gut told her to take the middle path, but she glanced down the other two paths with hesitancy. The longer she stood where she was in indecision, the warmer she felt. The area was quickly acclimating to whatever the internal temperature was set to without the doors open. There was something else, a strange smell Hanna couldn’t place. Dank and fishy? You need to move. Now, Hanna thought. She slowly walked forward down the center path. Hanna suddenly dropped three feet before she caught herself with her wings. Looking down, she realized a section of the floor had dropped out from under her. Part of the floor landed with a splash at the bottom. Hanna flew up out of the hole and back on to the solid part of the hallway, heart almost skipping with the scare. Hanna leaned over, trying to see what fate she had narrowly avoided. She pulled a flashlight off her belt and shone it into the hole. She could see water rippling between quite a few logs. The smell was stronger and the air rising up was thick and humid. She could barely make out brightly colored bits of fabric floating in the water. Looking around for something to throw, Hanna resorted to creating an ice cube and dropping it down the hole. It landed in the water with a splish. One of the logs rolled and snapped at the place the ice cube landed with a row of sharp teeth. It was then Hanna realized the logs were actually crocodiles. Or alligators. Hanna never bothered learning the difference between the two. The fabrics she saw were probably all that was left of climbers that had ventured too far in the wrong direction. Hanna looked down the hallway in front of her with a grimace. “A maze with trap floors that lead to hungry crocodiles. Typical,” Hanna muttered, standing up and walking back to the closed front door. “Pick a direction and follow it to the end,” Hanna whispered to herself as she put the flashlight away. Deciding to try a new path, Hanna placed her empty left hand against the wall and pressed on. The metal walls met the ceiling, making it impossible to get an aerial view of the maze. She met a few dead ends, but she kept her hand against the wall and kept following it. The floor dropped out from under her two more times before Hanna decided to skip walking altogether and fly through the maze. 

“Clever girl,” EDJ’s voice echoed through the halls. 

Hanna’s eyes narrowed as she smirked. “Mighty big castle you have here, EDJ. Got something to prove?” 

“Nothing of the sort. I simply have very high living standards,” EDJ answered, pressing a few buttons on the panel in front of him and switching screens. “Nothing wrong with wanting a little of the good life.” 

“Uh-huh, I can see that,” Hanna responded. “Shame you didn’t feel the same about your Original’s apartment before you destroyed it.” 

“I did him a favor,” the disembodied voice said as Hanna continued down the maze path. “But let’s not talk about him. I’m far more interested in you.” 

“What’s so interesting about me?” Hanna asked, venom in her voice. 

“I had my doubts about you after our initial phone conversation,” EDJ answered. “Your priorities seemed… scattered, to say the least. Are you sure you’re even cut out for this kind of work?” 

“Gotta make a living somehow,” Hanna muttered, flying around another dead end. 

“Dying isn’t much of a living, but what would I know?” EDJ’s voice laughed. 

“I saved the world, didn’t I?” Hanna demanded, temper rising. 

“You saved your friends,” the voice answered. “The world was an unfortunate bonus.” 

“We can argue about that all you want once you’re behind bars,” Hanna said. “What were you planning to do after that flood anyway? If it was world domination, you would have killed everything worth ruling.”

“King of the world is a lonely role, but one I would gladly play.” EDJ shrugged. “All I seek is the path to glory.” 

What a whack job. Hanna frowned. “I’m no expert, but I don’t think ending the world was the solution.” 

“Can’t blame a guy for trying,” the voice answered cheerily. 

Chapter Twelve

 

Chapter Twelve

Lui shivered and rubbed his arms as soon as he was inside. The hotel had a fireplace in the corner of the lobby, which Lui gratefully walked over to and stood in front of. Hanna sat on one of the chairs and picked up a puzzle book from the thin stack of reading material on the closest coffee table. “So,” Lui started, turning around to talk to Hanna. “What do you do when you’re not saving the world?” 

“Reading, usually,” Hanna answered, flipping through the book to find a puzzle that wasn’t in norwegian. 

“Cool.” Lui folded his arms and turned back to the fire, feeling like a rotisserie chicken. 

“Cool?” Hanna echoed, glancing up at him. “Not lame?” 

“Nope.” Lui turned back and smiled. “Not lame. Books are the best weapon in the world. They also make wonderful Christmas gifts.” 

“Good,” Hanna said, picking up a pen and starting on a maze puzzle. “I was afraid you’d think I’m a dork or something.” 

“I already think you’re a dork,” Lui commented with a chuckle. Hanna’s head snapped up and her hand lifted to make another snowball. Lui threw his hands out to stop her. “Not inside,” he whispered, eyes darting to the front desk. Hanna lowered her hand and stuck her tongue out at him. He stuck his tongue out back and the two of them giggled. Lui shook his head and sat across from Hanna. “And you call me the troublemaker.” He leaned over to see her progress. Hanna was filling out the maze path backwards, from the end to the start. “I don’t think I’ve seen anyone do a maze like that before,” Lui said, watching. 

“I want one clear path from start to finish without any mistakes,” Hanna said, concentrating on the maze. 

“If only life were so simple,” Lui muttered absently. “Do you want help?” he asked. 

“Nope,” Hanna answered immediately. 

“Okay,” Lui leaned back into the seat, arms still folded as he warmed up. 

Hanna’s pen stopped and she sat back with a smile, admiring the perfectly completed puzzle. She flipped the page to a blank maze. She glanced up at Lui, now curious. After a moment of contemplation, Hanna held out the book and pen to him. “How would you do it?” she asked. 

“Easy.” Lui leaned forward and took the objects. He drew a line from the start as he spoke. “The easiest way to solve a maze is to pick a direction and follow it.”

Hanna stood up and stepped closer to watch. “Assuming the maze is only two pieces,” Lui continued, still drawing. “You can pick a wall and follow it all the way to the end. Yeah, you might hit every dead end, but you’ll make it out every time. See?” He finished the maze and showed Hanna the page. The corners of her mouth turned down, trying not to look mildly impressed. 

They both looked up when the outside door opened and Zhenya walked in, stomping her shoes on the rubber mat. “Hey,” Hanna said, turning back to Lui. “You should probably go to bed and get some rest. I’m going to talk to Zhenya and figure out if we can get a flight out tomorrow.” 

Lui yawned and nodded his head. “That’s a good idea.” He stood up and stretched. He almost walked away when he stopped and turned back. “Get some sleep, Hanna. You need it too.” 

Hanna nodded. “I know, I know. I’ll be fine.” 

“Hanna…” Lui hesitated. “Thank you.” He smiled at her. “Thanks for coming to save us.” 

Hanna smiled back. “Go to bed. I’ll see you in the morning.” She watched him leave the lobby before going to find Zhenya in the restaurant. 

***********************

Lui made his way up to room 202, unlocked the door as quietly as he could, and turned the handle as it opened. To his surprise, the tv was on and DJ was still up. DJ looked at him expectantly. 

“Don’t say it,” Lui immediately said as he closed the door before DJ even had a chance to open his mouth. 

“I didn’t say a word,” DJ said, turning back to the tv with a small smile. 

“You were thinking it.” Lui entered the room and flopped onto the secondary bed face first, utterly spent.

“That great, huh? Popcorn?” DJ asked, holding out a bag.

“Mo, fanks,” came the completely muffled reply. Lui grumbled as he lifted himself on his elbows and looked at the tv. “What are you watching?” 

DJ shrugged. “The foreign subtitles keep overlapping the English ones, but I think these teams are racing.” He tossed a piece of popcorn in the air and caught it in his mouth. 

“Huh, that sounds like fun.” Lui sat up, tilting his head as he watched the screen. 

DJ nodded. “They go to different places around the world and have to complete activities and puzzles.” 

“Wow, that’s amazing,” Lui said. As soon as the commercials hit, he turned to DJ. “Why are you still up?” 

“I stopped by the hospital to make sure my arm got proper medical attention,” DJ answered, raising his freshly bandaged limb. “Make sure it doesn’t get infected or something weird like that.” 

Lui nodded. “Smart.” He watched DJ frown in concentration. “What’s wrong?” 

DJ shook his head, not quite knowing where to start. “All this stuff with Iul… It doesn’t make sense.”

“How so?” Lui asked, leaning back against the pillows. 

“If he was dead set on flooding the world, those heat rays would have been protected.” DJ turned to Lui, face scrunched in thought. “Why didn’t we meet any resistance?” 

Lui shrugged. “I dunno. Maybe he didn’t want his guys to drown.” 

“That’s out of character,” DJ said, turning back to the screen, not really watching anymore. “There was something Hanna mentioned too. Why would you create a problem and then bring in the person with the exact power needed to fix it? Neither of us could have stopped that flood. That’s another thing… Why us? Why her? What’s he really up to?” DJ shook his head. “I don’t like it. I don’t like it at all. It’s been so long sinc-” A light snore interrupted DJ’s train of thought. He turned to see Lui already out cold. DJ exhaled with a tired smile. “Heh, I guess we’ll talk tomorrow. Goodnight, buddy.” 

*************************

Hanna found Zhenya sitting at the restaurant’s bar table chowing down on a plate of food. “Hey, how did it go?” Hanna asked in Russian. 

Zhenya shrugged. “Good. The people here are too nice,” she answered in Russian.  

Hanna nodded. “Can we fly?” 

“Yes, but only directly home,” Zhenya answered. “No extra stops. Slava is not happy with you.” 

“When do we need to leave?” Hanna asked, folding her arms.

“The sooner the better.” Zhenya finished the food on her plate and shrugged again. She paid for the meal and stood up.

“Can we leave now?” Hanna asked. 

Zhenya turned to her like she was crazy. “NOW?! I’m tired! You’re tired. Your friends are tired. It’s the middle of the night!”

“Is the plane ready?” Hanna asked without backing down. “Can you fly?” 

The pilot scowled. “Yes,” she answered begrudgingly. 

“Then let’s go. I’ll sleep on the plane.” Hanna turned to walk out when the pilot spoke again. 

“What about your friends?” Zhenya asked. 

Hanna stopped and frowned. “They’ll have to find their own way home,” she answered icily, turning back. “You already said we can’t take them back.” 

“Back to Iceland, yeah.” Zhenya nodded to the side with raised eyebrows, still surprised at the response. “Ok, but I need to shower first. I’m a mess.” She looked Hanna up and down with a face that said “you are too,” but was nice enough not to say it outloud. She patted Hanna’s shoulder and walked to the front desk. 

Hanna looked down at her clothes. All the black in her light leather armor was caked in grime and mud. Her gloves were brown and gray. She couldn’t even make out the laces on her boots anymore. Hanna looked up at the mirror behind the bar. Her face was dirty and her pigtails had come loose, dark hair tangled and ratty. When did that happen? Did she look this bad the whole time? For a split second, Hanna thought she saw the blue eyes staring back at her gleam red. Hanna huffed and left in a hurry.