My Pen name has changed, I lost a bet, and im a man of my word..........

Chapter 27: Escape

You ever wonder why ancient civilizations liked to build mazes? Well, as far as I know, there are a few reasons. The most obvious and most common one being – to keep intruders out of temples and burial chambers. Gotta give them credit though. This particular labyrinth was a damn masterpiece.

"Man, this is so cool," I was walking ahead of the others. Our newfound ally, Miriam, was just behind me. "Brings back memories."

"You have been here before, Jack?" the little puppeteer asked. The giant doll was instantly at his master's side every time Miriam spoke to me. William was like a bodyguard. A hollow one at that, which made him/it completely awesome.

Been here? Nah. The mazes at my castle had been the only ones I've ever seen. The fact that I could change the layout of walls, however... The look of despair on my victims' faces was an exquisite sight. After they tired themselves out and lost their will to fight... I never noticed that this was all spoken out loud until Woody's monotonous voice snapped at me.

"I think this story should stop right there."

Protecting his master's ears as always. The guy was diligent, to say the least. Miriam, however, seemed mildly interested.

"So you were a bad person?"

"He was the Third Demon Captain of Tera's horde," does Eve ever miss a chance to make a jab at me? Answer: NO. "That's until he was defeated; now he's just a homeless idiot."

Yeah... You can count on miss Blondy to make the mood suddenly drop a few points. As far as I was concerned, snapping her neck would put an end to this constant bitching. But then again, might as well let her live with a false sense of security and power for a bit longer...

"Demon Captain?" now William sounded interested too. "I have never heard of this term."

The mannequin, on the other hand, was good at finding a way out of awkward situations. And at this very moment, the little question probably saved a certain woman from a turning of tides in the endless flow of verbal bitch-slaps.

"Well, we don't seem to be from this world," neither me or Eve had much on why or how we got transported here. But then again, our two new companions weren't asking for a scientific explanation. "Our planet's called Spira. Brought here by some big-shot wannabe god. Unlike myself, of course. Hee-Ho."

"Keep tugging," Eve said, rolling her eyes and walking ahead.

"This type of language is inappropriate for the present company."

"Can it, Woody. You can leave at any moment. Don't let me stop you."

I wonder if William would join the 'Smack some sense into Eve' campaign? If his master's ears keep getting exposed to Eve's acid-dripping language... I think the answer is pretty obvious. This time, the tension was broken by Miriam.

"William, I am twelve, I know what is best for me. And right now we have to work together to get out of this place," the girl said. This made William bow and apologize; surprisingly, it made Eve shut up. Gotta give this girl some credit. She's pretty damn mature for her age.

"Well, with me being the maze expert, allow me to lead the way, Hee-ho," I offered to the more or less silent group. Miriam was right. It's time we put some more effort into getting the hell out of here.

This maze was better constructed than I thought at first. We had been walking in circles for a while now. The others didn't seem to notice, so my pride as a labyrinth pro was safe for now.

The surrounding walls lacked any distinct markings. This made wandering the structure even more confusing. The occasional plant and patch of moss were the only markings hinting our location. And getting lost wasn't the only danger. Everyone, including me, were beginning to get edgy. A puppeteer with high magic potential, a perma-PMS-ing vampire and a guy with a few screws loose – the ultimate recipe for disaster.

It wasn't long before we ended up getting completely lost. It was then that a ingeniously obvious idea struck me like a ton of bricks.

"I'm gonna blow a hole in the wall," I announced, scratching my chin. A layer of stubble that had formed there over the last few days....

"What?!" apparently, my suggestion shocked Miriam. The girl jumped in front of me flailing her arms in a panicked manner. "This temple has been here for thousands of years! It a historica-"

"What a great idea," Eve interrupted her. She seemed happy with the prospect of finally getting the hell out of this mess. "Why didn't I think of it. Blast away, Frost!"

Without further ado, I cracked my knuckles and approached the nearest wall; warning the others to stand back. Going through a list of elements available, I settled for ice. Allowing one of my blades to poke out and draw a bit of blood, I put my palm flat against the wall. A thin layer of frost began to cover it, seeping deed into the stone's structure.

"Wow," Miriam tried to step forward, but the puppet held her back. William, probably having figured out my master plan, stepped in from of his master and pushing her aside. I took a step back, clenching my fist.

"Hee-ho!"

My fist collided with the weakened wall, shattering it into hundreds of pieces. The leftover ice prevented them from flying too far away and hurting anybody.

"They don't call me Jack Frost for nothing," I struck a pose in front of the newly created path.

"Yeah, great job. Now break through the other fifty or so walls," Eve, half-encouraged from a distance. Always the fun-killer. "Chop-chop."

Freeze, punch, break, advance. Eve was right about one thing though. I counted thirty six walls before the we finally saw the sweet sight of sunlight. I wonder how stable the temple is now? Although, these things usually come with a few millenniums long warranty.

"I... can't believe we just did that..." from the sound of it, Miriam felt genuinely sorry for the temple.

"Aw, don't worry," I knelt to the girl's level. "It didn't feel a thing."

This earned me a huff, a crossing of arms and a turning of back from the puppeteer. I think this girl is beginning to take after Eve in terms of character. It was William who shed some light on my mistake.

"I believe she is referring to the building's historical heritage rights."

"Ah well, I'm used to getting that reactions from kids."

As we moved away from the cursed temple, the ever so mature kid of our group asked:

"So where are we heading now?"

The stroll through the jungle was, to say the very least, a welcomed change. After the still air of the maze, the moist and fresh feel of the surrounding greenery felt like heaven. And, heck, as much as I hate warm weather... I found myself enjoying the somewhat humid shade under the century old trees surrounding us.

"We're going to Medeel," Eve answered. Sometimes her more 'intellectual side' and the way it clashed with her usual image fascinated me. "A map I found in the Junon archives showed a few peculiar places there, which I want to investigate."

"That's a bit far from 'team-play', ain't it?" I pushed a few branches out of my way. Intentionally letting them go when Eve passed withing strike zone.

"Do you want to stay on this 'team'?"

As much she tried being scary, it was hard to take the blond vamp seriously. I mean, come on, she got utterly humiliated, tied to a wall, bested at combat and pitied. By me no less. And just why do I keep forgetting this when it's the perfect thing to rub in Eve's face as a comeback?

"Yes, ma'am," I turned around momentarily, giving a mock-salute.

As our rag-tag group continued towards the beach, William had taken up the role of tour-guide. For a puppet that's definitely younger than his master, the guy was quite smart. I'd go as far as guessing that he knew everything and little bit more about this world. One more reason to keep him around. All that was left – make sure Eve thinks the same way.

The story behind the town we were heading to had quite a bit of history behind it. A few hundred years ago, there it was a simple resort with little to no landmarks. Sure, it had some great beach potential and all, but because Costa del Sol was more accessible, Medeel eventually settled for second place. But then some great planet-wide crisis happened and something called 'The Lifestreem' surfaced right under the town.

"The Lifestreem is basically Mako," Eve pipped in. "Xavier had a very violent reaction with it. I want to investigate it some more."

Well, Xavier wasn't the only one. The amount of raw power that had flown into me just from going into an abandoned reactor made me 'drunk' on it. I guess me and Xav were affected differently, since the kid simply went batshit insane.

"Um, Frost, you're walking into the ocean."

I think I was Eve who snapped me out of my daze. I was standing ankle-deep in water, probably looking like an idiot. Didn't notice that the jungle had ended and we stepped onto the golden sand beach. Right where me and Eve disembarked. Now we had one-and-a-half more people though.

"We are so taking this boat," nobody noticed how Eve appeared in Miriam's vessel. Naturally, nobody could object now.

"Off to Mideel then," William said as he started pushing the boat back into the water. Now this was pretty impressive. The boat was completely out of water and half way up the beach. And he was pushing it though the sand with Eve and Miriam sitting in it. He didn't even appear to be straining.

I jogged past him and jumped into the boat as well.

The little boat trip ended up being uneventful. Just like most of the time on the island and temple. It was a bit unnerving, like the calm before a storm. Here's to hoping everything goes smoothly.

We approached an island that looked just like the one we've just left behind. Minus the docks and piers. From a distance, quite a few people could be seen in the port, simply minding their own business.

"Woot, civilization!" I couldn't help but holler my observation. "Just when we were getting low on supplies."

This earned a quizzical look from the blond vamp. She did stock up before leaving Junon.

"What? A whole backpack of food wasn't enough for you?"

"Hey, even though I lost Gluttony..."

"As long as you're buying – I don't care," she jumped out onto the pier as soon as the boat got close enough.

What can I say about Medeel? For a so-called 'resort' town it was kind of... plain. Sure, there was the jungle filled with exotic plant life and animals, there were the golden beaches and that's all. The buildings were made of of wood mostly, with the rare exception of white bricks or concrete. The ground was without proper paving, just the occasional row of wooden planks in case the of heavy rains.

And just like Costa del Sol – tourists, everywhere. You could recognize them from a mile away, thanks to the brightly coloured T-shirts and... those... little devices, which let out flashes of light from time to time. I had a hunch what they were, so I decided to confirm it by asking my new companions.

"What are those?" I asked, pointing at the nearest person holding said device.

Clearly, Miriam was puzzled by my question. Following my line of sight, she finally figured out what I was asking.

"You mean the cameras?"

"Ah, so it is like a sphere recorder."

"What's a 'sphere recorder'?"

"Well, its like a sphere-shaped stone, filled with a special kind of water that reacts with light. When attached to a viewing base, can record and playback the light which entered the sphere. Works kinda like our eyes, since we can see thanks to the light reflecting off tings," I explained, proud of my knowledge.

"You... bothered finding out how they work?" Eve gave me a disbelieving look.

"Hey, seventy years is a long time," I replied, keeping my cool and following another 'camera' with with my sight. "I get bored easily."

"What?! Seventy?!"

Both me and Eve turned to Miriam, who was staring at me wide-eyed. Yep. Obviously she never encountered age differing from appearance in this world. It was almost funny when she tried to say something, but instead kept closing and opening her mouth, like a fish out of water.

"Wait until yo meet Xavier," I patted the gawking girl on the head. "He's seven thousand years old."

Okay. This did little to ease the confusion. Now even William looked like he was about to ask...

"Is that even possible?"

"Well, neither of us are human," I pointed over my shoulder at Eve. "She only half human, so her appearance and age match."

"Youth and beauty," the blond teased me in return. "Some thing you lost long ago, Frost."

"Hey!" I shot back. "I'm around twenty-something physically..."

"With a mind of a deranged eighty year old."

And the grand prize goes to... Eve! I had nothing to counter that with. As the vamp staled off to somewhere, Miriam approached me. To be honest, I was sulking a bit at my latest defeat...

"You're intersting, Jack," nice attempt to cheer me up.

"Call me 'Frost'. And it looks like we'll be splitting up for a bit?" I addressed the last part at William.

"This is only the beach area of Mideel. Follow the island path to the Life Stream view point. There is an airport nearby. It only has small airships, but we can still get a lift from there," William said.

"By 'lift' you mean 'commandeer'?"

I was half-expecting the puppet to deny that. Instead, William replied in that scary flat voice of his:

"But of course, we do not have the funds."

Nodding in agreement, I parted way with the master and puppet duo and followed Eve. By the looks of it, she was harassing some local with her questions about the Lifestraem. Better go save the guy's arse...

The conversation abruptly ended and Eve ran off to see the pool of Mako in the distance. I could see her walking down a path towards the place where the liquid surfaced. As I got closer, a noise began to creep into my head. It was definitely a reaction to the Lifestream... The ringing sound became almost unbearable until I couldn't take it any more.

"Would you just stay quiet!" I shouted to no one in particular, making the other people to turn and stare at me.

I cradled my head in my hands for a few seconds before the noise disappeared. Just as suddenly as it had begun, it faded into a dull echo.

The planet will remove that which does not belong

I whipped around, trying so see the person who said that. The people seemed to be avoiding me... Must be losing it again...

The Weapons will be reborn

The noise was back and a hell lot louder. It was too much for me... Just when I thought my head would split open – my vision suddenly flickered and a familiar feeling of something clawing at the back of my mind returned...

POV: Eve.

"So, what exactly is the Lifestream?" I asked and elderly man leaning on a cane. I saw him from a distance before, explaining something to the kids. Apparently, he was my best bet for getting some information.

"A pretty question from a pretty girl," the old man chuckled.

I really didn't understand his sense of humour. Remaining silent, I waited for a real answer.

"The Lifestream is the planet's blood. It is what makes life on Gaia possible. Everything revolves around it in an endless cycle of rebirth."

Was the planet alive or something? It made no sense at all. How could of such large proportion be a living entity? Maybe it was a metaphor or... I don't know...

"So... it's alive?"

"What do they teach at schools these days..?" the old man grumbled under his breath. He began to walk away, leaning on his cane for support. I wasn't finished talking to him, but it looks like he took offense in what I said. Strange old people...

All this time, we've been standing on a simple wooden bridge built over the pool of Mako. The liquid was swirling and stirring by itself. The green glow strangely captivating and so... beautiful. I had to suppress the urge to reach down and scoop up a little bit with my hand. The various 'danger' and 'toxic' signs all around the pool made me think twice though. A scream tore through the eerie silence of the place.

I jolted out of my thoughts and turned around, searching for the source of disturbance. What I saw was somewhat expected: Frost was standing not far off, his bone-blades drawn and dripping with blood. Here's to hoping it belonged only to him...

"What the fuck are you doing?!" I yelled at him.

When the demon finally looked up at me... His eyes were glowing with the same colour as the Lifestream. Great. He was having another reaction with the substance. This was bad...

"Get away from the planet, sis," Frost voice was devoid of the usual happy note. This seriousness scared me even more than his appearance. "It wants to remove us."

The planet? And did he just call me his sister? Okay. The guy has officially lost it. I needed to restrain him as soon as possible.

It was then that the ground began shaking violently. Before I could react, Frost was right next to me. He scooped me into his arms and quickly dashed across the bridge. I didn't have the time to protest, because as soon as we reached solid ground, the surface of the Lifestream began to bubble. A huge shadow burst from it and shot into the sky.

Once we were a safe distance away, Frost sat me down on the ground gently. His blades were out seconds later.

"Stay here, sis," he said quietly, before turning to face the descending creature. "I will protect you... This time."

The huge being was hovering just above the ground, it's wings sending mighty gusts of air. Dust and small object were being blown around. A grotesque-looking black dragon with an orb in the middle of its torso... And it was targeting only me and Frost...

So how people liking the new version of Dominance, more detail, more character thoughts and generally all round better.

All of these is pretty much because of my editor NotJackFrost, who has been proof reading my garbage and making everything flow more smoothly. Double thumbs up to him!