They stepped lightly out into a long hall lined on either side with cells, their fronts closed off by metal bars. The room had been full of shouts and angry swearing from the prisoners when the lift opened, but they all stopped instantly as the three Knights walked towards the small group of people at the opposite end of the passage.
"Annabeth, Sarahfina, Clairetta," Ace greeted them. "It's great to see you."
"Ace!" Annabeth embraced him lightly. "I knew you guys would come through!"
"Of course. But what made you so sure?"
"Oh, she's taken up future seeing in her spare time," Sarahfina informed him knowledgeably. "Isn't that right, Clairetta?"
"Sure is," Clairetta glanced around nonchalantly with her ocean green eyes. "Where's Sparx?"
"Upstairs. Chief Dunn asked her to take the Amulet to the safe room while we waited for you."
"When you've finished, Ace, I'd like to see Sarahfina." Dunn tapped his foot on the floor, more out of jealousy than impatience.
"Oh, Chief!" Sarahfina laughed liltingly, although no one would think to accuse her of mocking. "You know I'm always ready to work!" Her eyes sparkled gaily as she accompanied to two men to a dark corner of the room. It lit up from her sheer and dazzling radiance as she approached, revealing a figure chained to the wall.
"This is Kilobyte," Chief Dunn began. "He's under the influence of the clever ruse you came up with to convince all humans that the Sixth Dimension is a game."
"He thinks it's in his right to destroy all of humanity, in both this dimension and the mortals'." Ace picked up the story. "We managed to defeat him, but he refuses to cooperate, and there's every chance that he'll escape!"
"Is there?" Sarahfina quirked an eyebrow at the captive, who stared sullenly back. She then noticed a quick movement behind him. "I do so love a man with tentacles," she said in a breathy and quiet, yet still dominant voice that only he could hear. "What will it take for me to convince you that everything you see here is real?"
"Nothing you say will convince me," said the captive.
"Actions speak louder though, don't they?" She laughed again, the notes springing from her throat and dancing around the cell walls, bringing tears of delight to the prisoners' eyes.
All of the prisoners except one, that is.
"The only action I desire involves controlling this world and destroying the other!"
"I see," said Sarahfina, remaining perfectly calm. "We'll discuss this again. Don't run off meantime, alright?" She turned to Ace and Chief Dunn. "I'll talk to him again, when he's calmer.
"Thankyou, Sarahfina!" said the Chief admiringly.
"I'm always happy to help, Chief," she reminded him, before walking back to Annabeth and Clairetta.
The two Knights had been travelling from cell to cell, convincing various prisoners to repent, and turn their backs on evil for life. The prisoners willingly agreed, and clamoured for more as their redeemers turned to face Sarahfina, Ace, and Chief Dunn.
"Speaking of help," Ace was saying. "Where'd Sparx get to? She should be back by now."
"Did you hear that?" Annabeth asked excitedly as the three fell rhythmically into step. "Ace must love Sparx! Why else would he be talking about her?"
"And it's completely clear that Sparx adores him," seconded Clairetta.
Annabeth nodded. "We really should do something to get them together!"
"Oh, girls!" laughed Sarahfina. "You really are the most."
They sprang lightly into the lift, unaware of how flatteringly this action displayed their perfectly rounded derrière, although the Chief certainly noticed. Ace followed them in, holding the door open until the Chief could collect himself and join them. All five soon alighted on the third level, the three young women's shapely eyebrows lowering in concern at the sight that met them. Sparx was lying on the floor of an otherwise deserted hallway.
"Sparx, are you okay?" Ace hurried to help the young redhead to her feet.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Where's my sword . . . ?" She glanced around briefly before spying Annabeth, Sarahphina, and Claretta.
"Umm, hi," said Sparx.
"Hello."
"Hi there."
"Hey."
"Sparx, what happened?" Ace began helping her search for the sword.
"And more importantly, where's the Amulet?" asked Annabeth, remembering what Ace had said earlier.
"I was jumped," responded Sparx, somewhat testily. "I didn't even have time to fire before the creep knocked me out with some weird spray."
"And he took the Amulet?" asked Dunn.
"Damn! I'm sorry, Chief. Let me go find him?"
"Without a weapon?" pointed out Clairetta, delicately.
"She's got a point, Sparx." sighed Ace. "You'll have to find that, first."
"Hmm," Clairetta knelt by the spot where Sparx had been knocked out, using her amazing tracking skills to study the irregular swirls that had been made in the carpet. "Sparx was attacked," she announced. "By a middle-aged, heavyset guy with . . . sunken eyes and greying hair."
Annabeth and Sarahfina looked at one another. "Frank N. Stein!"
"Yup," Clairetta stood, her outfit not at all creased from the effort. "And where there's Stein, there's . . ."
"Katielle!" Four bell-like voices chimed in unison, as Lauraleese rounded a corner, followed by Random.
"I thought I sensed trouble."
"I believe these four are best suited to this mission." Decided Dunn. "You understand, Lightning. Your sidekick's weapon is missing, and Random's, well, random. Yes, these four are the best equipped."
"In ways only you'd notice," mumbled Sparx, before Ace quietened her. It didn't go unnoticed Lauraleese, Annabeth, Sarahfina or Clairetta, but they remained silent on the matter, used to and completely understanding the jealousy.
"Let's go back to my office and discuss this, ladies." Dunn began walking, but then held up a hand to stop Random. "Don't you have a machine to fix?" he asked the cyborg vaguely.
Random got the message. "Excuse me," he let his gaze linger on Lauraleese before trundling down the hall.
"And Ace? Help Sparx find that sword, will you?"
"Yes, sir." Ace saluted briefly, before placing a firm hand on Sparx' back and guiding her in the opposite direction.
"Now, ladies. Let's try and get to the bottom of this, shall we?" Dunn held the door to his office open.
