A ‘Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons’ story

by Chris Bishop

Content notes

This 2024 revised edition of the original story written in 2006 incorporates supplementary materials, such as improved text, altered scenes, additional dialogues and reworked character description and action development. Approximately ten thousand words were added to the original text, which bring the story roughly to ninety additional pages.

This new edition is “sexier” and contains adult situations, but without graphic depictions. It is now presented to you, as part of the 2024 Edition of Spectrum Headquarters Halloween Challenge.

The original story is still available at this address.

The 'Viking' language used in this story appears a font different to that of the regular text. For a better experience, in which you will see the language appear in uncial calligraphy, we suggest you download and install the Cyrodiil font, included in this zipped file. If you don't like it, you can still remove it and the Viking language will then appear in Time News Roman or a similar serif font.

---

Prologue

“Had a nice stay in Los Angeles?”

Seated at the helm of the Spectrum Passenger Jet which was bringing them from Los Angeles back to Cloudbase, Captain Blue addressed the question to Rhapsody Angel, sitting in the co-pilot’s seat. She answered with a large smile.

“Indeed,” she said. “I met with my old friend Sam, who’s a native of L.A., and we were able to catch up. We worked together at the Federal Agents Bureau, and we shared a flat in Manchester for a short while. Imagine that: Sam has opened a private investigation office in Los Angeles, which turned out to be very successful. We visited Sam’s parents, who live in Santa Barbara. Charming people – they welcomed me like the prodigal daughter. I had not seen them in ages. We had fun reminiscing about the past.”

“I bet your friend Sam asked you to go and work with him,” Blue commented with a smile of his own. “Kind of a way to rekindle your relationship? I’m sure he was crushed when you said you had other career plans.”

Rhapsody giggled. “It wasn’t like that between us at all, Adam. For starters, Sam is short for ‘Samantha’.”

“Oops. Sorry, I assumed that since you said you shared a flat together –” Blue cleared his throat, slightly embarrassed. “Me and my big mouth…”

“No harm done,” Rhapsody replied, her smile broadening. “We simply shared the cost of the apartment, that’s all. I’m pretty sure Sam didn’t have that kind of views on me. She was way too busy dating the most eligible male bachelors in town – that’s ‘bachelors’ with an ‘s’. And that included stealing my beaux whenever she had the chance!”

“Yes, I can see that was quite the walk down memory lane with her,” Blue said, chuckling.

He and Rhapsody Angel had been in Los Angeles for the past week, both on official Spectrum business. After four days working with the officers of Spectrum Los Angeles concerning the investigation of suspected terrorist activities in the area – during which time she had met with her friend – Rhapsody’s help had no longer been necessary; she then took advantage to visit the city and go to Santa Barbara.

During that time, however, Captain Blue had been busy checking on the security of the Los Angeles Spectrum Headquarters, and had not been able to free himself before the very day of their return to Cloudbase. He and Rhapsody had not had much contact during the past week, and only met again the moment they boarded the SPJ.

“I noticed you had time to do some shopping too,” he said, giving a sharp nod toward the cabin in the back. “You must have bought something for everyone onboard Cloudbase.”

Rhapsody laughed. “Not quite! But enough not to create any jealousy amongst the senior staff, anyway.” She stole a glance in his direction. “I know you wanted to buy something for Karen, too. Were you able to tear yourself away from work for a few hours to do that?”

Blue grunted. “The last three days in particular have been very busy. I got about three consecutive hours for myself earlier today,” he admitted. “Thankfully, that was enough to run off to the shops. When Colonel White gave me this assignment, I made a call before leaving Cloudbase and placed a special order. I hope it has turned out right and that Karen will like it.”

Rhapsody raised a brow. “Was it the ‘special gift’ you told me about and needed my help for?” Blue nodded. “It will surprise me if she doesn’t like it,” she continued. “She’ll be in Seventh Heaven, Adam.”

“I’d show it to you, but it’s in my personal luggage in the cabin,” Blue said. “Burrowed deep under my underwear.”

Rhapsody laughed again. “Please don’t show me. I’m not superstitious, but maybe it could spell bad luck between you and Karen if you did. She ought to be the first to see it. Then she can show it to me herself.”

“I just hope this thing will be the right size,” Blue added with a sigh. “Maybe if Karen had come with us –”

“Oh, but no! That would have spoiled the surprise entirely!” Rhapsody protested. She smiled mischievously. “And anyway, after the stunt you pulled in Las Vegas, I doubt the colonel would allow the both of you together anywhere near that city in any foreseeable future.” She chuckled. “He will want to avoid any further temptation for you to elope.”

Blue grimaced. “We’ve learned our lesson, don’t worry. Besides, there’s no need anymore, since he has more or less given us his blessing to get married eventually.”

“Perfect. Because no-one on Cloudbase would miss that for the world, so you two had better not try to secretly elope again, if you know what’s good for you.”

“I’ll pass the message to Karen,” Blue said with a short laugh.

“And when ‘eventually’ might the wedding be?” asked Rhapsody.

Blue shrugged. “We haven’t set a date yet. What about you?”

“What about me?”

“I mean you and Paul. I seem to recall that you haven’t set a date either,” Blue pointed out.

Rhapsody shook her head slowly. “No... and neither have we talked to the colonel. You know Paul’s feelings about this. While there is this continuing war with the Mysterons.”

“Mmm-hmm I know. He wants to wait until it’s finished. Has it ever occurred to you that it might go on for years and years?”

“I know. But I’m hoping that he might change his mind...” she smiled. “... eventually.”

“Seems to me that makes a lot of ‘eventually’, don’t you think?” Blue replied, smiling in turn.

“I think that makes us hopeful people, Captain.”

Blue laughed openly. “Sure does at that.”

A beeping sound coming from the control panel attracted their attention, and they looked ahead; through the cockpit windshield, they could see their destination, growing bigger as they approached it.

“Cloudbase in view,” Blue announced, flicking up a switch. “Auto-pilot deactivated. Taking back control of the plane.”

“S.I.G.,” Rhapsody answered, taking the same official tone, and checking the information on the computer. “We’ll touch down in about… five minutes. Contacting Cloudbase Control Tower...”

“It’ll be good to be back home,” Blue muttered, while Rhapsody was preparing to make the call. “I wonder what the others have been up to while we were gone. I heard it was pretty quiet up there.”

“It’s difficult to imagine Cloudbase being ‘quiet’ at all,” Rhapsody retorted. “Especially with Captain Ochre and Captain Magenta probably up to their usual tricks... If you know what I mean.” She spied Blue’s knowing smile just as she was making the call to the Control Tower to announce their arrival.

That’s certainly true, mused Blue. Life on Cloudbase is ANYTHING but quiet.

Upon seeing his friend and colleague Captain Magenta enter the Officers’ Lounge, Captain Ochre raised his head, his eyes momentarily leaving the chess board set on the table between him and Captain Grey. In the back of the lounge, Captain Scarlet barely glanced over the top of his newspaper to see who the new arrival was, before going back to his reading.

“Hey, Pat – What have you got there?”

Captain Magenta had a large, multicoloured box stuck under his left arm; hearing Ochre’s call, he strode toward him, a broad grin on his lips. “I’ve got something to show you, guys. Fresh from this morning’s shuttle from London.” He sat down and put the box on the table, right next to the chess board, almost on top of it. That made Grey turn to him in annoyance.

“Hey! Be careful where you put that! You almost knocked the pieces down.”

“Forget your chess board, Grey,” Magenta retorted with a dismissive shrug. “That’s so boring... here’s something much more interesting.”

“How can you know chess is boring if you never play?” Grey asked with a frown. “You’re a philistine, Magenta.”

“Chess is all about strategy, and defence, and taking your opponent right where you want him to go,” Scarlet added from behind his newspaper. “It’s a good exercise in our line of work.”

Magenta rolled his eyes. “It might be good for you, Paul, but for these two…” Scarlet lowered his newspaper in time to see Magenta shake his head pathetically, turning to face both Ochre and Grey. “I swear, you two are becoming more and more like Scarlet and Blue when you’re playing with that board. And that’s starting to worry me.”

“Hey!” Scarlet protested, putting the paper aside and getting to his feet. “Whatever do you mean? What do you have against Blue and me?”

“Especially coming from you, Rick,” Magenta continued, without taking notice of Scarlet’s protests. “Brad I can understand... We know what to expect from him.”

“What do you mean by that?” Grey retorted in a warning tone. “That I’m boring and predictable?”

Scarlet, who had joined the three of them, cleared his throat, but kept silent. Grey stared at him, before fixing Ochre and Magenta with a look of enquiry. He was somewhat annoyed that none of his colleagues would answer his question. Instead, Ochre had turned with interest to the box that Magenta was opening. “Oh, that’s grand! So, it’s arrived?”

“What’s arrived?” Grey asked, unsure whether he should feel more frustrated at being ignored – or that his friends should be more interested in the contents of that big box. He and Scarlet watched in curiosity as Magenta, his smile becoming broader, almost dramatically took a large object out of the box. He handed it to Grey, who started turning it around in his hands.

“Now, if you want a strategy game, so much more exciting than chess, I’ve got just the thing.”

Grey stared at the object for a second, before lifting a brow. “Electronic goggles?” he asked Magenta.

“More than that,” Ochre retorted. He fished out another pair of goggles from the box, and passed it along to Scarlet, standing beside him. “Those are state-of-the-art, the finest piece of equipment in the ultimate in 3D digital entertainment.”

“I see.”

Grey exchanged glances with Scarlet, who shrugged. In fact, the only thing that both could see was that Ochre also knew what all this was about. Unlike themselves.

Grey sighed deeply. “I know I don’t usually strike you as being the most computer-minded person onboard, but I can recognise what they are. Do I have to remind you that all of us had to train with computerized flight simulators – and in my case, sea-navigation simulators – for the different aspects of our past or present jobs?”

“Gee... For a guy who usually doesn’t talk that much, Grey, you sure can string mean sentences together when you want to.”

“Oh, stop pestering me, Ochre,” Grey retorted with annoyance. “Now, would you care telling me what this is all about?”

“Telling us,” Scarlet corrected, walking around the group to sit next to Grey. “I’m quite curious to know what this is all about, too.”

“Ochre told you,” Magenta replied patiently. “It’s the state-of-the-art in 3D digital entertainment.” He took the lid of the box onto his knees to show it to Grey and Scarlet, as if it was a large sign. The two men frowned deeply. On the cardboard cover was a colourful drawing of bearded, fur-wearing Viking warriors, all armed with swords or axes, battling with each other in a snowy background setting.

“Twilight of the Gods... The ultimate battle against the Ice Giants,” Grey read in a mumble. “It’s a computer game?”

“It’s a 3D role-playing game,” Magenta specified. “You put those goggles on and, it’s like you’re there, in the middle of it.”

“Thank you, I know what a 3D game is. I’ve played some of them already.”

“I’m sure you’ve never played one like this. The graphics are so real, you would BELIEVE you’re really in those battlefields, and that the people you’re talking to are as real as yourself. As for the feel, it’s like you’re really holding an axe to cut your enemy down.”

Scarlet raised an eyebrow. “Why would I want to cut an enemy down with an axe when I can blast him with a gun?”

Ochre rolled his eyes. “The real soldier talking. I knew it, you’ve got no imagination.” He ignored Scarlet’s indignant look and pointed a finger at Grey. “That goes for you too.”

“I’ve got as much imagination as both of you,” Grey defended himself. One look toward Magenta told him that he shared their colleague’s view. That made him frown. “Except I use it for far less trivial things than you.”

“Come on, don’t you know how to have fun?”

Grey did not deign to answer that. Ochre was now flipping through the pages of a thick user’s manual. Magenta pointed to a note on the cover, attracting his friend’s attention to it.

“Read that. It’s really interesting.”

Ochre nodded slowly. “For the full version, and better effects, this very special strategy game should be played inside an FX Room.” He shrugged and threw the book back into the box. Scarlet reached for it and started flipping the pages in turn. “Too bad we don’t have that kind of thing around,” Ochre said. “This game will really be appreciated only in arcades.”

“That’s where you’re wrong,” Magenta retorted with a new smile. “You know Lieutenant Keppel, in Engineering?”

“Yeah. The guy’s who’s in charge of the Room of Sleep. What does he have to do with this?”

“Well, hear this: before joining Spectrum, Keppel was a video game designer – one of the best in the field. He worked with a company which created FX Rooms.” He turned to Grey and Scarlet to explain: “FX Rooms were created especially for very sophisticated 3D games. They’re pretty much only available in games arcades. You go into the room, you see, and –”

“I know what an FX Room is, Pat,” Grey cut in.

“I know too,” Scarlet added, not wanting to be left out. “It’s the same as those goggles, but on a larger and more realistic scale.”

“Okay, so from what Keppel’s told me, he was working on a similar type of 3D role-playing game to this one, a few years ago, and had adapted it to work in an FX Room. That was before he branched out and came to work exclusively for Spectrum, who hired him, along with a team of engineers, to work on the Room of Sleep concept.”

“Yeah? So?”

Magenta sighed. “You were right, Rick. No imagination whatsoever...” He stopped upon seeing Grey’s warning frown. As for Scarlet, he didn’t seem to be too concerned by the comments. He looked far too occupied reading the contents of the book he had taken from the box earlier. “So, Keppel told me he would be able to use this program here and combine it with the Room of Sleep’s electronic mechanism so it would induce in the players a sense of near authenticity in the game’s virtual world.”

“In plain English?” Grey asked with an impassive expression on his face.

“That means that the virtual reality in which the players will find themselves will feel totally real. The Room of Sleep could be used as an FX Room, simply put.”

“Uh-uh. I got that, okay,” Grey said with a quiet nod. “I’m not totally stupid. But there’s something that’s bothering me. As you two well know, the Room of Sleep is programmed to induce sleep, by using lights, sounds, music, and low frequency electromagnetic waves – directly to the brain.” He took the small disc he found inside the box and showed it to Magenta and Ochre. “So… erm!... isn’t it a little risky to feed this kind of program directly into one’s brain?”

“Why do you think Spectrum hired Keppel to perfect the Room of Sleep idea to begin with?” Magenta reiterated. “It’s because the mechanism behind the Room of Sleep is pretty much the same as for an FX Room. An FX Room also uses electromagnetic waves directly to the brain, except the user is awake, and not asleep. And instead of being induced to sleep, they are plunged into a new virtual reality in which they can live out their fantasies. Keppel only has to cut the sleep-inducing program, introduce this one and we’re in business.”

Scarlet was keeping silent. He had left the reading of his book and was now totally involved in Magenta’s explanation, his blue eyes reflecting the obvious fascination and interest he was feeling about it all. The same couldn’t be said of the more cautious Grey, however.

“Okay... I’ll buy that. Another question, please?”

“You’re very inquisitive. What now?”

“What makes you believe you will be allowed to use the Room of Sleep as an FX Room?”

“Keppel is responsible for the Room of Sleep. He’s already given his agreement.”

“Uh-uh. You also need the colonel’s approval. You seriously think he’ll give it to you?”

“Oh, lay OFF, Grey!” Magenta almost snapped. “The colonel’s bound to approve; it sharpens our wits and sense of strategy.”

“It’s a goddamn game!”

“Yeah, so is this,” Magenta pointed out, gesturing towards the chess game.

“It’s similar to a war game,” Ochre interjected. “Now, isn’t that enough to justify its use? It’s like we’d be doing an exercise.”

“Think of it as a simulator,” Magenta added quickly. “Who knows, it could also be accepted as an official training session for all of us?”

“Doing battle with a bunch of Ice Giants, using axes and swords? I hardly think so!” Scarlet now expressed his opinion, but both Magenta and Ochre could see that he was contemplating the possibilities presented by the game. He was looking down pensively at the book he was still holding. He patted Grey’s shoulder. “You know, as strange as it may sound, these two clowns may actually have a point, Brad.”

“Thank you,” Ochre said with a broad smile. It disappeared suddenly, to be replaced by a frown. “Who’re you calling clowns?”

Scarlet ignored him, and continued addressing Grey: “If this experiment of theirs is conclusive, and if Keppel is as adept with computer games as Magenta pretends...”

“I don’t pretend anything,” Magenta cut in suddenly. “Keppel is a genius.”

“Then maybe he can create some kind of a program especially made for Spectrum to use in... training sessions?” Scarlet continued with a meaningful smile.

“Are you serious about this, Scarlet?” Grey asked with a frown.

“Think of the possibilities, Brad. There’s no harm in trying it out and seeing what can be done with it. Besides, battling ‘Ice Giants’ might prove interesting.” He showed him the book and patted it. “I’ve been reading the game backgrounds and the characters’ bios. There’s a lot in there which is quite similar to what Adam told me of the stories from Norse mythology his grandfather read to him when he was a child. Could actually be fun.”

“You’re saying you’ll try this with us?” Ochre asked with a raised brow.

“Well, I would say I’m rather curious to see how it goes.”

“And I’m saying that we should talk to the colonel about this,” Grey added quickly. He seemed a little concerned at the direction the conversation was now taking. He knew all too well how impetuous Scarlet could be. Fortunately, the English captain’s next statement made him breathe a sigh of relief.

“Of course, we’ll have to ask the colonel,” Scarlet said with a vigorous nod. “After all, we wouldn’t want to have these two charged with unauthorised use of Spectrum equipment now, do we?”

“Would we do that?” Ochre asked, twitching his brow. His secret question was, of course, to know if Scarlet would.

Scarlet put the book back into the box, collected his cap, and rose to his feet. “Come on, let’s go and see him now.”

“You mean, right away?”

“That’s what ‘now’ usually means, Ochre. Yeah, right away. And if you present him with the same arguments you just presented to Grey and me, then maybe – just maybe! – he’ll agree that you conduct that game of yours – sorry, that experiment of yours. And of course, I’ll be there with you to give you my entire support.”

Ochre and Magenta smirked broadly, getting to their feet. They looked down at a brooding Grey. “And what about you, Brad?” Magenta asked hopefully. “Are you coming along? You know, the colonel values your judgement very highly. If you’re there to support us as well...”

“Don’t you think we’ll look like a delegation?” Grey gave a deep sigh, and then got to his feet, picking up his cap from the table. “All right, I’m coming along. I’m also curious to see what the old man will think of your idea.”

“What would we do without you, Brad?” Ochre asked with a grin.

“You would get in trouble, that’s what you’d do,” Grey mocked them. “Now, let’s go, and don’t forget the whole contents of that box, Pat.”

Magenta nodded, and while everybody else walked to the door, he leaned down to gather all the objects into the box, before putting the lid on and hurrying to join the others who were waiting for him at the door.

All four of them left the Officers’ Lounge to go to the Control Room, to ask for an audience with Colonel White.

So very cold...

That was the sensation Captain Blue first felt upon slowly recovering his senses. Then through the cold, he felt the shooting pain all over his body, and the heaviness in his head. Snow and icy winds were lashing at him, filling his ears with an incessant and unnerving wail. He moved and groaned, feeling the pain once more; with a supreme effort, he tried to ignore it and rose to his knees. The snow already covering him slid down to the ground on which he was lying. He looked around in confusion, his eyes barely able to focus.

Where the hell am I?

There was nothing to see but a vast, white-covered area, stretching towards a faraway wood; he could see the outlines of trees in the distance. It was difficult to know if it was night; it was dark enough, but then that could just be the effect of the falling snow.

Blue tried to recall his last conscious moments, before waking up in the snow. His head hurt as he reached for the memories, which seemed to be immersed deep in a very distant, foggy dream.

Cloudbase... The SPJ was approaching Cloudbase... We had started the landing manoeuvre...

What happened? Did we miss the runway?

That didn’t make sense. They couldn’t possibly have missed the runway and fallen to crash to the ground. He wouldn’t have survived. Besides, Cloudbase was over the Pacific Ocean; nowhere near any place with this kind of weather, this much snow.

Where the HELL are we? he repeated inwardly.

‘We’... I was with someone...

Rhapsody...

He literally sprang to his feet at the thought of the young woman. “RHAPSODY!” he called loudly.

The all-too-prompt movement and the desperate shout sent a wave of nausea through him and pain reverberated inside his skull. His vision blurred and he fell to his knees again, groaning. His hand reached for his throbbing head and his fingers delicately felt a huge bump he had on his temple. He grunted and brought his hand forward to see blood covering his fingers...

... And at the same time, he noticed the large, finely chased, golden bracelet encircling his wrist.

He stared at it in puzzlement, and when he reached with his other hand to touch it, he saw that his other wrist had the same kind of bracelet. The sleeves weren’t of his uniform, but made out of a thick, brownish wool; he stroked the rough fabric, going up his arm to his shoulder, and then looked down at himself with astonishment. He wasn’t wearing his blue uniform tunic anymore, but some kind of leather overall, laced up in front, and worn over the warm woolly vest. The fabric was leathery, thick and hard, giving the impression of a solid, protective cuirass, and was adorned with white fur around the waist and shoulders, and pieces of metal hanging in front of his chest.

What the hell…

His uniform pants were gone as well, as were his boots; he was now wearing clothing obviously made out of pelts. There was a heavy knife, hanging at his side on a large leather belt.

“What’s g-going on here?” he mumbled, his teeth chattering because of the cold. He could no more explain why he was dressed like that than his presence in this place. He didn’t remember getting here... he didn’t remember having changed into these... outlandish... garments.

He looked around, with uncertainty. No SPJ in view... no wreckage of any kind... Only darkness, snow... winds lashing furiously into him. The woods in the distance... Nothing else. He shivered anew. His mind couldn’t conceive how he could have got there.

A faint moan from nearby nearly made him jump and he looked in the direction it seemed to come from. About two metres from him, he could see a hump in the snow, from which emerged a slender, naked arm. A woman’s arm. And the new groan he heard was a woman’s groan. His eyes opened wide. He could see her move.

“Rhapsody...” With a pounding heart, Blue paddled on his hands and knees into the thick snow towards the arm, towards the young woman he knew was lying there, under the snow. When he reached her, he hurriedly brushed away the snow covering her. Her face appeared, and he lifted her to cradle her in his arms. She let out a louder groan of pain.

Blue noticed her pale face and the large bruise on her forehead. Her eyes were closed and she muttered something when he tried to wake her up.

He looked down with puzzlement at her attire – as bizarre as his own, made out of fur, leather and wool... Except that her clothing seemed to be of more expensive quality than his own. The wide belt she was wearing was obviously covered with gold, and hanging from her neck was a large, richly decorated medallion. There was a very large white pelt around her shoulders, and Blue quickly wrapped it round both of them, in order to protect them from the lashing winds. He held the young woman close to him, to share warmth. In doing so, he uncovered something big that was previously hidden by the fur, and that Rhapsody had been lying on. He nearly gave a double take when he saw the head of a grey horse lying in the snow.

The animal was obviously dead, not moving at all, its tongue sticking out from its mouth through the bit between its teeth. It had a bridle, and a full harness, completed by a fur saddle that was hanging loosely on its back. Blue could see large, deep lacerations on the horse’s rump and side. As if the mount had been attacked by vicious predators.

Just as Blue came to that conclusion, he heard howls in the distance, deep and sorrowful, that sent shivers down his spine.

At the same instant, he felt a violent headache assaulting him. Images flashed in his mind in furious sequence. He almost lost hold of Rhapsody, before bringing her closer to him, groaning.

He was riding the horse... with Rhapsody. There was the feeling of impending danger... Wolves, coming from the blizzard, attacking them. The horse went down... Trying to protect the young woman, he slashed through the wolves with...

...His sword?!

He was wielding a sword?

That didn’t make any sense! Those... memories... they couldn’t be real! They were as absurd as these clothes they were wearing... and this place they were stuck in.

We were approaching Cloudbase... Rhapsody and me. We were coming back from Los Angeles. I was piloting the SPJ... We contacted the Control Tower and we received the green light. We were making our approach... All was going well... And suddenly, we experienced trouble...

We made an emergency landing...

That’s what had happened. Blue remembered that now, but couldn’t recall the actual images in his head. And beyond that, he didn’t know anything at all. What could have necessitated that emergency landing, what happened afterwards, how they had survived... Nothing. There was a total blank in his head.

We must have been shaken up pretty badly during the landing. We were hurt...

“Rhapsody... can you hear me? Please, wake up... I think I’m going mad.”

He heard her whimper faintly and her eyelids fluttered. She was obviously making an effort to answer his call. When her blue eyes finally opened and she looked groggily up at him, he offered a relieved and hopeful smile.

“Thank God, you’re alive.”

“C-Captain Blue?” she slurred tiredly. “W-what happened? C-cold...” Her brow creased and she looked around in confusion. “Snow...?” She winced and shivered violently, and Blue brought her closer to him, wrapping the white pelt tighter around them.

“Shhh... Don’t try to move. I think you have a concussion...” He glanced about, suspiciously. “... And I may have one myself.”

“W-what’s going on? Where are we...?” Her voice slurred into nothingness and Blue saw her close her eyes. By the sigh he heard coming from the young woman, Blue realised she had lost consciousness. He made sure she was all right by checking the pulse in her neck. It was beating strongly, if a little erratically.

“I wish I knew,” he murmured in answer to her question, even though she might not hear him. “None of this makes any sense at all. If I wasn’t so cold and hurt, I would say I’m dreaming all this… Or that I’m going mad. Of course, the fact that you’re seeing it all as well proves that I’m not crazy, fortunately.”

Howling interrupted the course of his thoughts and he raised his head in the direction from which it was coming. It seemed to be closer than previously, and to Blue, that sounded ominous. He looked down at the horrible wounds on the horse’s rump and shivered. He did hope it was all a dream, that this howling was nothing but a figment of his confused imagination, but it seemed far too realistic for him to dismiss it. Just like the rest of what was going on. If there were wolves around – wolves hungry enough to attack a horse and to kill it – it was far too dangerous for both himself and Rhapsody to stay here in the open.

“We’ve got to find a shelter,” he breathed, looking around desperately, as if his wish would make one appear out of thin air. Of course, nothing of the kind happened, and his hopes stayed unanswered. On the contrary, he heard a deep throaty growl coming from his left and his head snapped that way, tensely.

At first, through the heavy falling snow, he could see nothing at all. Narrowing his eyes, he looked attentively – and finally came to distinguish a number of red, bright dots seemingly burning into the darkness.

He realised right away those were intense red eyes, looking directly at him.

His heart nearly missed a beat when he saw the red eyes approaching so very slowly… and five big wolves, their dark backs covered with snow, barely visible a few seconds before, appeared before his horrified eyes, with their lips curled on their bared yellow fangs, staring at him and the young woman he was holding, in such a way that obviously meant they fully intended to make them their next meal.

Blue kept his eyes fixed on them, as they trotted around him, making a large circle that was slowly shrinking. One of them snapped furiously. Blue had made a supreme effort not to move, but it was hard trying to ignore the danger those fierce beasts represented.

“Easy now,” Blue murmured in a soothing voice. “I guess you want the horse, fellows. Plenty of meat for you all... You don’t need either the lady or me.”

In answer, another wolf snapped at him and made a daring step towards its prey. It stopped just short of reaching them and stepped back. Blue had flinched this time and pushed himself away from the approaching fangs, holding the unconscious Rhapsody closer to him, his free hand nervously groping along the surface of the thick snow behind him. His fingers encountered something solid and cold. He surreptitiously looked over his shoulder. Through the snow, he perceived the flash of metal. The hilt of a sword...

Oh God, so I didn’t dream these memories?

He didn’t have time to elaborate on this, as suddenly, the closest of the wolves charged at them. Instinctively, Blue’s fingers wrapped around the sword handle and he raised it. He winced under the unexpected weight of the weapon as he slashed it in the general direction of the attacking beast. It was pure dumb luck that he actually succeeded in striking it in mid-jump. The razor-sharp blade cut right through the wolf’s breast, causing a geyser of blood that spilled over Blue and Rhapsody. The beast gave only one brief yelp of pain as it fell to the ground.

Stunned by the rapidity of what just happened, Blue looked down at the dead wolf lying only inches away from him, turning the snow red with its blood – the same blood that was covering both Blue and Rhapsody and that seemed to render the other wolves frenzied with rage. Keeping the Angel pilot close to him, Blue raised the sword again, threatening the beasts with it. The first kill was a stroke of luck, he knew that, but he was determined to defend his and the young woman’s life dearly.

“Stay back,” he warned.

He really didn’t expect the wolves to listen to him, of course. They were stepping closer. Blue drew a deep breath when one of them suddenly leaped forward, causing the others to follow in its steps. Blue braced himself for the attack.

As the first wolf was making its last jump to reach its prey, a whistling sound was heard through the wind, immediately followed by a high-pitched whine coming from the beast; it fell on its side in the snow, right in the path of its brothers who suddenly stopped their assault to sniff in incomprehension at their fallen comrade. Blue was staring in wonder at the thing that he could see protruding from the dead wolf’s side.

A feathered arrow.

As soon as Blue had made this observation, a swarm of new arrows suddenly seemed to fall from the sky and hit the other beasts, taking them all by surprise. Amongst a concert of howls, whimpers and whines, the remaining wolves fell back from their prey, albeit with obvious reluctance. One of them attempted a new dash at them, but a wall of arrows fell in front of it, narrowly missing their target. The wolf snarled angrily and backed away.

Distant shouts coming from behind made Blue turn around; through the falling snow and semi-darkness, he could see a group of human and horse shapes swiftly coming down the snow-covered hill, yelling and gesticulating wildly. He couldn’t make out what they were shouting, but they were obviously trying to scare away the wolves. And it was working.

Narrowing his eyes, Blue watched the rapidly approaching group. Their features became more distinct as they grew nearer. Blue blinked several times, unsure if he was seeing straight. All of them were dressed in furs and leather, and were holding ancient weapons – not only the bows and arrows that they were presently using against the wolves, but swords, battle-axes and shields. They were wearing sturdy metal helmets, glittering against the snow, adorned with high horns or wings.

Like... Vikings?

Blue didn’t have time to wonder if he were truly going mad or not; with growing concern, he saw the band of howling men moving towards him and Rhapsody, waving their weapons in a threatening way. They were strikingly fearsome, and the alarmed Blue felt his heart miss a beat at the thought that they might now attack them. The one running in front was coming fast, bellowing his heart out, his heavy furred cape flapping in the wind, striking the air with the heavy, short, but terrifying-looking club he was holding in his left hand. He was now so close that Blue could see the foam dripping on his dark beard, the fierce expression on his face, the glitter in his dark eyes, which seemed to reflect a madness beyond them. In defence, Blue raised his sword...

And stopped.

He frowned in disbelief, as he thought the approaching ‘Viking’ was familiar.

“G-Grey?” he murmured.

The Viking didn’t answer; probably, he didn’t hear him. He drew level with Blue, but didn’t stop running, passing by the crouched man and the unconscious woman to run toward the fleeing wolves, shouting curses and threats in a furious, throaty tone:

“Come back here, spawns of evil! We have a score to settle and tonight is the night I am going to make you pay!

Blue opened eyes wide with surprise. He barely recognised Captain Grey’s voice, but he was sure it was his friend’s. Except… there was a strange, lilting accent to it that wasn’t Grey’s at all.

“Come back, you cowards! And I will cut you open and spread your innards onto the snow and give them to your hateful sire to eat!”

“Let them go, Tyr. There will be another day to wage battle against these beasts.”

The new voice, coming from behind Blue, made him turn in astonishment. It had the same throaty accent he had heard from the first man. Standing over him was another man, with long red hair, emerging from under a horned helmet, and a long, full moustache falling on each side of his mouth. Under thick, shaggy eyebrows, there were two brown, twinkling eyes that were looking down at him with concern.

It took a few seconds for Blue to recognise the eyes and he gasped the name, almost in an undertone. “Ochre...?”

The man tilted his head to one side, staring at Blue with probing eyes “You are safe now, brother... Do not concern yourself anymore with those blood-thirsty devils.” He crouched near Blue and his hand reached for the sword the blond man was still warily holding. “You do not need this anymore. Give it to me.”

The red-haired man had to force Blue’s fingers open, so tightly were they holding the sword. He gave a comforting, almost contrite nod. “Do not worry. I will give you your sword back later on. I mean you no dishonour.”

The words made little sense to Blue at all, but he could see the red-haired man wearing his friend’s face only meant to reassure him. As soon as he let go of the handle, all the tension he was under took its toll on Blue and he fell backward, suddenly victim of a violent dizzy spell. His vision was blurred, and his mind was fogging, unable to understand what was going on. The red-haired warrior gently held him up with one arm, while passing the sword along to another warrior behind him.

“Easy now, brother...” he said in a soothing voice that contrasted with the roughness of his accent.“We will take care of everything now.”

“Ochre,” Blue croaked in a faint voice, trying to focus on the known face looking down at him. “Wha-what’s going on...? Why are you dressed like this?”

Either the man didn’t hear him out or didn’t understand him. He turned toward the men standing behind. “Relieve him of his precious load. Gently. She seems hurt.”

He looked down at Blue again, as two men were carrying out his orders by carefully taking Rhapsody from Blue’s arms. The latter didn’t stop them, as they obviously didn’t mean her any harm. But even if he had tried, he was presently too weak to do anything.

“Were you attacked by the wolves, brother, or were they seeking to finish the job started by someone else?”

Blue shook his head in confusion. “I don’t know, I... Rick, I... I don’t feel so good.”

“Aye. You are wounded in the head. That is why you are confused. But do not worry, we will get you to Aesgard and you will get better.”

“Aesgard...?” murmured Blue, his eyes drooping with tiredness.

“Home, my brother Hodur, whence you have been gone too long in the quest for the missing Valkyrie.”

“What...?”

Blue didn’t have time to ask more of what the man, who looked and sounded so much like Captain Ochre, meant. The latter was getting to his feet, and helping him up. Blue gasped in pain, as a sudden throbbing awoke in his side. He felt as if he was losing consciousness and would have fallen down again, if the red-haired warrior had not been holding him up, with the help of another man.

The red-haired Viking raised his head and shouted in the direction of the still vociferous warrior, who had pursued the wolves.

“You had better come back here, Lord Tyr, before they really turn around. We are leaving right away. If you do not come, we are leaving you behind. You might regret having to face these devils alone.”

The man called Tyr – who bore a striking resemblance to Captain Grey - turned around. “They might regret having to face ME, if they were to come back!” he replied furiously, nevertheless turning on his heels to join the group.

The red-haired warrior had left the haggard Blue in the care of two other men, who gently took him toward a make-shift wooden stretcher, covered with furs, that was dragging behind a horse, attached to the saddle. Quite unable to resist, and actually thankful that someone should take care of him, Blue let them lie him down on the travois and cover him with warm furs. He was by now shivering from head to toes, and his ribs were hurting like hell when he took too deep a breath. He noticed that Rhapsody had been laid on a similar travois, attached to another mount, and that she was being equally tended to. She was still unconscious, and Blue wasn’t that far from losing his senses himself.

“Perhaps you are afraid of these beasts, my lord?”

While desperately trying to decide whether he should fall asleep or fight to stay conscious and attempt to figure out what was going on, Blue slowly turned his attention to where the loud voice had made itself heard. The dark-haired, club-carrying warrior was standing in front of the red-haired man, apparently defying him.

“You know better than to ask that question,” the red-hair warrior snapped back with an obvious edge to his tone. “Be careful, Lord Tyr, or I may forget how useful you have been to Aesgard’s cause.”

“Is that a threat, Prince?” the other man asked in a taunting tone. “Your sire would not be pleased about this.”

“Your personal war against Fenrir and his brethren will have to wait. We have more important things to do. Hodur and the Valkyrie need to be cared for as soon as possible,” the red-haired warrior replied, still harshly enough. “And you had better believe, Tyr, that Lord Odin would not be happy if something were to happen to one of his sons.”

Tyr bowed slightly before him, a smile playing on his half-concealed lips. “Aye, Lord Thor. That I do believe.”

“Very well, then. Let us go back to Aesgard.”

The red-haired warrior turned again and walked toward his own mount. Blue followed him with blurred eyes and incomprehension, and watched as he was climbing into the saddle. Hanging from it, Blue could see a heavy hammer, half-hidden behind a rounded shield.

His mind reeled as, with all the men finally saddled up, the procession started to move forward. He felt the tug in the stretcher he was lying on, as the horse started to walk.

Odin. Thor. Valkyrie...

Aesgard?

My God – this is a freaky Wagnerian nightmare...

What the hell is going here? was Blue’s last but not-so-coherent thought as he drifted into merciful oblivion.

Chapter 1: Aesgard

“Is he coming out of it?”

“No – but he’s drifting in and out. He’s trying to regain control. Like the Angel before him.”

Voices... coming from the darkness. So far away that they seemed to echo in the recesses of Captain Blue’s mind. He wasn’t exactly conscious at the moment. It was as if he was in a state between consciousness and sleep, without the ability to drag himself from this sleep. The voices were just at the very edge of his awareness, and didn’t bear the same lilting accent he had heard just before losing his senses completely. They seemed more real.

He tried to focus on them, hoping to chase away the drowsiness his mind was filled with. He realised that he was lying on his back on a bed, and that he was physically struggling as well. Something was holding him down. Restraints, apparently, biting into his wrists and ankles. He couldn’t get free.

A sense of desperation clutched at him. He struggled even more, straining every nerve, every muscle to free himself, his efforts causing more pain from the restraints; the fog in his mind began to disperse slowly, and he tried to force his eyes to open.

“He’s waking up.” The growl of anger was close, but yet almost still out of reach. Almost. It was close enough for Blue to concentrate even more.

“Don’t worry, that won’t do him any good,” the second voice retorted coldly. “This sedative will put him back under before he’ll be able to get a good enough grasp on reality.”

Whether it was those words and the obvious threat they were conveying or the sudden puncture he felt in his forearm that gave Blue the boost he needed to finally find the strength to open his eyes, he would never truly know. The fact of the matter was that his eyelids flew open suddenly, just as he felt a warm liquid entering his bloodstream. His vision was a blur of indistinct colours, but he could see forms leaning over him. Two people, one of whom was clearly holding what looked like a gun; Blue fought against the unexpected numbness he could feel spreading through his body. He heard beeping sounds over his head, coming from what sounded like an electronic medical panel. He could feel something cold on his temples. Electrodes, his confused mind registered. Probably plugged into that panel.

A hand pushed him down as he made an otherwise fruitless effort to rise.

“Relax, Captain... There’s no need to struggle. Any resistance is quite futile, believe me.”

Even though he tried not to obey that soothing voice, Blue felt his head fall heavily onto the pillow. His eyelids were becoming increasingly heavy, and his mind was fogging anew with each passing second. His breathing slowed, and his throat tightened as he struggled to speak.

“Who – who are you?” That was all he managed to say coherently. A curtain seemed to fall before his eyes, and the image fogged completely, turning into darkness. Despite his bravest effort, his mind shut down, and total silence surrounded him...

“...Do you not know who we are?”

It seemed like only seconds had passed since Blue had lost consciousness when these words reached him once more. He groaned, concentrating on them, trying to pull himself out of his darkness.

“Come on, you can do it – fight! This is what you were born to do!”

Blue realised with dread that there was something... awkward... in this voice calling to him. There was that lilting accent again, like in that dream where he was lost in a raging snowstorm, and where Vikings were coming to his rescue... No... their rescue, his and Rhapsody’s. It was becoming clearer now. But it was only a dream, wasn’t it?

“Come on, brother... Wake up!”

Blue’s eyes flew opened and he found himself staring up at a tall, red-haired warrior, standing over him and looking down with obvious worry in his eyes – eyes he instantly recognised, and where he saw a flash of relief.

“Finally!” the warrior grunted with obvious satisfaction. “You deign to join us in the land of the living, brother!”

Captain Blue wasn’t in any mood to jest; if this was Captain Ochre’s strange idea of a joke, he wasn’t playing it.

“Ochre, what is going on?” he asked in a slurred, although quite obviously annoyed, voice. “What game are you playing?”

“Game?” The red-haired warrior furrowed bushy eyebrows, looking down in concern at Blue. “’Tis not the first time you have called me ‘Ochre’, my brother. And what… ‘Rick’, as well? What is this game you are playing?”

Blue found himself unable to answer; he raised himself on his elbows with some difficulty. His head was still a little woozy, but at least, he noticed, he was free to move; he also noticed those same chased bracelets he had seen before on his wrists, and that the clothes he was wearing, although different, were as alien as those he remembered wearing before. He was lying on a wooden bed, covered with thick furs as a mattress. He looked around, with some perplexity. The walls that formed the room he was in were made of stones, supported on strong, wooden studs that looked like they had been crudely carved from huge pieces of tree trunks. There was an aperture in the wall next to him from where he could sense a cool wind entering – and beyond which he could see a clear blue sky, devoid of clouds.

He couldn’t be on Cloudbase: Cloudbase didn’t have any windows – only portholes that couldn’t be opened. Cloudbase didn’t have rooms that even remotely looked like this one either. So the only logical explanation could be…

“I didn’t dream it, then?” he muttered under his breath, rolling his eyes in disbelief.

The red-haired warrior grunted again, this time with annoyance. He turned his attention to another man, who then entered Blue’s line of vision. The confused Spectrum officer recognised, under long, unkempt, greyish hair and beard, another familiar face – that of Doctor Fawn, who, now standing next to the impressive-looking warrior, was looking down at him with apprehension.

“You did say he would be confused, physician,” the warrior snapped angrily. “How long do you think this condition of his will last?”

“I’m not certain, Lord Thor. I can only hope it’ll not last long...”

Blue’s eyes opened wider still. Was it his imagination or did the ‘physician’ actually speak with that same slight Australian accent he knew so well, and not the lilting tone he could still hear in ‘Lord Thor’s’ voice. He remembered that same accent issuing from the mouth of another warrior who had borne an astonishing resemblance to Captain Grey.

“Yes, you had better hope!” snarled ‘Thor’. “We will need the presence of my brother for the ceremony later. Lord Odin will not suffer any delay. This is too important!” He turned squarely on his heels, glaring ominously at the shorter man, before walking toward the door. “Make him better, Master Mimir, or your head will adorn a pike at the front door of the Walhall!”

At those words, Blue nearly jumped out of his bed, in complete outrage. “Hey! You can’t talk to him like that!”

‘Mimir’ was on him before Blue could actually leave his bed. ‘Thor’ had not turned around. Either he didn’t acknowledge Blue’s outburst or he was totally unaware of it. He left the room, as Blue struggled to get free, but the other man’s hands were strong and were holding him down forcefully.

“Let go of me!” Blue demanded angrily. “I want to get out of here and find out what’s going on! I can’t –”

“Calm yourself, Captain!” The authoritative voice of Doctor Fawn, coming from ‘Mimir’, stopped Blue in his tracks. He looked up at the man’s face. He saw the familiar flash in those dark eyes – and noticed the wink of complicity the man gave him.

“Edward...?” Blue asked, under his breath.

“Yes, Adam, it’s me,” Doctor Fawn whispered quickly. “Now, please calm down, I beg of you! Or you’re going to make things worse for all of us!”

Almost despite himself, Blue obeyed, forcing himself to calm down, and sat up in bed, looking up at Fawn with bewilderment in his eyes. “What’s going on?” he asked, his throat tightening. “Where are we? What happened to Ochre... what happened to you?”

Fawn put a finger on his lips, demanding that Blue kept quiet, and went to the door to look out, as if to make sure that nobody was listening. Reassured that there was no one about, he came back to his patient, nodding slowly. “You mean, what happened to all of us,” he grumbled under his breath.

“All of us...? Rhapsody, where is Rhapsody? Is she okay?”

“Oh, she’s all right,” Fawn confirmed to an increasingly worried Blue. “As confused as you are, undoubtedly. But all right, all things considered.”

“Where is she? I was with her in the SPJ when we... we crashed.” Blue’s brow furrowed in a questioning frown when he looked up into Fawn’s face once more.

“You did crash,” Fawn acknowledged. “On Cloudbase’s runway. That’s about the last thing I remember clearly from... before.”

“Before… Doctor, for the last time – what the hell is going on?”

Fawn shook his head and, with an open palm, motioned to the window. “Look outside, Captain Blue.”

Blue only showed a moment’s hesitation, before getting to his feet; a wave of dizziness hit him instantly, as he tried too quickly to get up. He took a deep breath, and then took a slower, almost tentative step toward the window. Fawn followed behind, as if to make sure he wouldn’t fall down. This was a useless precaution; Blue was growing stronger on his feet by the second.

But his mind was going from perplexity to complete incredulity over the situation.

Standing at the window – a carved aperture in a wall almost a foot thick – Blue gazed outside in wonder. We’re not in Kansas anymore, he thought wryly. In fact, they weren’t on Cloudbase either, of that he was certain.

He was staring down at a green narrow valley, wedged between high mountains. There was a high palisade, made out of heavy wood and stones, guarding the entry of what looked like a fair-sized village. The valley opened out into a plain which stretched towards what Blue thought was a distant, dark forest, nestling at the foot of high, threatening peaks. The mountain tops were covered with eternal snow, and surrounded by an eerie fog. The sky above the valley was blue, with almost no cloud at all, and the sun was shining brightly.

Over the side of the palisade, there was a stone bridge, stepping over a narrow cliff, from the side of which poured a waterfall of pure, white water. The contact of the rays from the bright sun above upon the millions of water droplets from the waterfall created a beautiful, complete rainbow under the stony bridge, which led to what looked like a large, white palace apparently carved from the side of the mountain.

Strong winds lashed into Blue’s face and he took a deep breath of the vivid, cold air. This air, this wind, were too real not to be true.

“Pinch me,” he murmured.

“You think you’re dreaming?” the voice of Fawn asked from behind.

Blue turned around to face the bearded man who was looking grimly at him. Instinctively, the American captain stroked his own face with his hand. It was as smooth as he remembered it should be. He searched around for something which he could look into and discovered a shield with a shiny surface lying against the wall not far from him; he took it to stare at his face, with some apprehension.

Unlike the others, he realised with relief, he didn’t look different. His face was smooth from his last shave, his hair short. He put the shield down, and sat on the edge of the bed.

“I don’t understand,” he whispered again. He turned to Fawn. “Doctor, am I dreaming?”

“I wish I could tell you exactly,” Fawn said hesitantly. “If we’re indeed dreaming, then this is a most unnatural dream, as we’re all sharing it.”

“Can you explain to me what happened?” Blue gestured toward the window. “And where we are?”

“From what I know, this place is called ‘Aesgard’.”

“Aesgard... as in Norse mythology?”

“Exactly as in Norse mythology. And,” Fawn added quickly before Blue could utter another word, “we’re stuck in here. All of us on Cloudbase. And apparently, only you, me – and Rhapsody, as far as I can gather – remember and realise that this is wrong. The others seem to have settled quite nicely into their new ‘persona’, and don’t seem to remember anything of their real lives.”

“How did this happen?” Blue repeated, frowning.

“Well – I’m not sure if you’ll believe me.”

“Try me.”

“This all started with a game.”

“A game?”

“Exactly.” sighed Doctor Fawn. “And with the use of that unspeakable Room of Sleep as a FX Room for the purpose of what should have been a simple experiment. Sit down, I’ll tell you all I know.”

“You mean to tell me a 3D game is responsible for all this?”

Blue was sceptical of Fawn’s explanation. The doctor had told him about the game received by Captains Ochre and Magenta, and that the senior staff on board Cloudbase at the time had presented it to Colonel White, asking for his permission to use the Room of Sleep as a FX Room, so it might serve as a possible training exercise. Colonel White had agreed to the test, obviously more than a little curious about what benefits such an experiment would actually bring, and certainly very aware that his officers were eager to try something new – and possibly entertaining at the same time. He had asked for his officers to give him a full report on this test. He had allowed Lieutenant Keppel to reconfigure the Room of Sleep, to transform it into an FX Room and…

“...Something went wrong,” Fawn said with a sigh. “I don’t know what exactly. Colonel White had asked me and Lieutenant Green to supervise the experiment, and Scarlet had agreed to serve as guinea pig. ‘Just in case,’ he said, and considering he was indestructible, he thought he should be the one to make the first test. And at the start of it, the experiment went okay, apparently without a glitch. Scarlet even seemed to have a good time, according to what we could witness through the monitors and…” His voice trailed off.

“What happened?” Blue urged.

“I don’t quite know.” Fawn shrugged. “As the test progressed, there was the emergency caused by your SPJ crashing on the runway and I was called back urgently to sickbay, while Green, Keppel and the others were supposed to interrupt the experiment, wake Scarlet up, and take him out of the Room of Sleep, to tell him what had happened. The last thing I remember clearly was when you and Rhapsody were about to be rolled into sickbay. There was a hissing sound, then a sudden buzz coming from the speakers, and finally, a violent flash of light. I think I passed out. And next thing I knew, I found myself in this crazy world, chased by warriors on horseback... seemingly wanting to cut my head off!”

“You’re not serious, are you?”

“Oh, very serious!” Fawn sighed. “Well, obviously, they didn’t kill me and I was brought here. Because of my – er – understandable confusion, they seemed to think I was crazy and apparently, they respected that... Or rather, feared it, I’m still unsure, I have to admit.” He cleared his throat. “Anyway, as I said, I was quite confused – especially when I got to meet with some of our colleagues who were decidedly different from what I knew of them. They didn’t remember anything at all about the ‘real world’, Spectrum, the rest... This world was the real world for them. They were acting like real barbarians – Vikings, actually – and were mistrustful of me. They didn’t recognise me as – well – me. It would seem that to them, I’m some kind of an enemy... You see, according to them, my name’s ‘Mimir’, and I’m apparently part of another clan, called the Vanir, with whom they’re waging a long-lasting war. And I’ve been captured by their clan, the Aesir, who inhabit the land of Aesgard. As they recognised my qualities as a physician, I’ve been kept as a prisoner here to take care of their sick and wounded.”

“Wait a minute,” Blue cut in, “you mean to say that this is a world created by the 3D game? Doctor, that doesn’t make sense. I’ve played 3D games. This place doesn’t look or feel like anything I know of any 3D game – it’s too real!”

“I’m only telling you what I know, Captain,” Fawn retorted. “I never said it made any sense. Believe me, I know it sounds crazy, but this does look like the world described in that booklet Captain Magenta showed me. It is the world of Aesgard, and all the others are playing the part of characters from this world, believing every second of it.”

“You’ve said this already, Doc. All the others?”

“All of them, Captain. It very well looks like every single person on Cloudbase’s been affected by this. Whatever this could be and however it happened.” Fawn huffed loudly. “I knew that Room of Sleep would eventually cause us trouble. I just knew it. But I never imagined it would go to these lengths.”

The doctor’s aversion to the Room of Sleep and its ‘unnatural purpose’ of cramming the benefits of eight hours’-worth of rest into two or three was well-known throughout Cloudbase, so Blue barely listened to his complaints. He was too stunned and trying too hard to concentrate on the problem in hand to take any real notice, anyway.

“I can’t believe it...” Blue murmured. “This can’t be a 3D game. I know how that kind of game works. It’s all done through the subconscious mind – nothing’s real, and you can get out of it any time you wish.”

“Well, no one ever used a Room of Sleep to experiment with those games, did they, Captain? It would appear this time’s different. It must be some kind of weird malfunction. How it got all over Cloudbase is a mystery, but... it’s affecting everyone. We’re all stuck here with no idea how to get out.”

“So… whatever might be affecting the others’ memories, why isn’t it affecting you... or me?”

“And Rhapsody,” Fawn reminded him. “Me, I don’t know. Maybe because my mind isn’t as attuned as the others to the Room of Sleep’s procedures?”

Blue gave him a doubtful, almost annoyed look. Fawn shrugged again.

“As for you – well, it might be because you weren’t actually there when this... thing... happened. So, you weren’t affected the same way the others were.”

“So, it’s up to us to find out what happened, how it happened and how to reverse it,” Blue murmured.

“If that’s possible. Frankly, I don’t have the faintest idea how it happened to begin with.”

“Doc, do you recall if there were any strangers on Cloudbase prior to this incident?”

“No, so far as I can tell.”

“Are you sure?” Blue insisted.

Fawn stared at Blue with an inquiring look. “Why do you ask that?”

“I’m not sure. Before waking up in this room I... I had a strange dream. I was on Cloudbase, in sickbay, I think... and I was trying to wake up, struggling against restraints that were holding me down on a bed. There were people standing over me. Two men, I believe... and they were talking. I’m not sure but from what I can recall of their conversation, it seemed it could be related to what’s happening to us. They were very apprehensive that I would... ‘regain control’.”

“Regain control of what?” Fawn said with a frown.

“Maybe it wasn’t a dream after all,” Blue mused. “I don’t know, Doc... but you’ve got to admit, it’s highly suspicious.”

“Highly suspicious indeed,” Fawn murmured. “If these men weren’t part of a dream, and if they do have anything to do with what happened to us, we’ll have to discover who they are, how they did this... and why.”

“We’ll find out, Doctor. We’ll have to try.” Blue marked a pause. “They mentioned an ‘Angel trying to regain control’ too. They probably meant Rhapsody? You said she remembered too?” he pointed out.

“She does – well, for the short time I saw her, she seemed to, anyway.”

“You still haven’t told me where she is. Just that she’s all right.” Blue sounded suspicious.

“She’s all right, of that, I’m sure. They wouldn’t dare hurt her... the Aesir, I mean. Ochre – er – ‘Thor’ and the others... From what I know, they went to great lengths to have her here.”

“Where is she?”

“Well, she was brought to me with you, so I could make sure she was uninjured.” Fawn gave a deep sigh, hesitating to continue. “I do wish I’d had more time to talk to her and explain to her what I’m telling you. The poor kid must be confused as hell. But when I gave confirmation that she wasn’t hurt, Lord Thor had her sent to the dungeon.”

“The WHAT?!” Blue was outraged.

“Shhh! Not so loud!” Fawn urged. “You want someone to hear you?”

“I don’t care about that! I don’t care what kind of crazy fantasy the others think they’re living in! Whatever could possess them to send Rhapsody to a dungeon?”

“She’s not alone there, that’s where they put all the Valkyries.”

Blue’s jaw dropped. “Valkyries? Oh no... I’m afraid to ask. That’s not... the Angels?” Fawn’s grim face gave him the answer he was dreading. “You’re not serious!”

“Oh, stop asking me if I’m serious!” Fawn almost snapped, annoyed. “This is getting old. And do calm down, please. None of them are in any danger, as far as I can tell.”

“HOW WOULD YOU KNOW?!” Blue protested.

“Blue, please... What I do know is that they’re okay. All of them. The Aesir need the Angels – Valkyries – for some kind of ceremony later tonight, which you should attend too. I don’t know what it’s all about but –”

“Wait a minute, that doesn’t add up,” Blue cut in, looking suddenly pensive. “From what I know of Norse mythology, the Valkyries were daughters of the god Odin – and Odin was the ruler of Aesgard. That’s the case here too, right? Why would he put his daughters in a dungeon?”

“I don’t know that much about Norse mythology, but this world, although similar to it, is rather different. These people are not gods, like in the Viking legends, Blue. They seemed to be... er... warped human representations of those gods of Norse mythology. The Valkyries are not the daughters of Odin. Apparently, they are the Vanir’s elite cavalry, the personal guards to their ruler. They have recently been captured by the Aesir and are to be kept here as hostages of some sort, I believe. I don’t know the full details of it, but the Vanir will be sending representatives tonight, at this ceremony I was telling you about. It seems they are going to discuss the terms of their surrender.”

“That seems down to Earth enough,” Blue grumbled. “And you believe that the Angels are treated fairly?”

“I would think so. The Aesir all have an interest in keeping them alive and well. Their king, Odin, would not permit it to be any other way.”

“So… there is an ‘Odin’ in this mad set up,” Blue groused again. “I was beginning to wonder. Doc, I’m almost afraid to ask again. That King Odin... that’s not –?”

Fawn nodded. “I told you everyone has been affected,” he answered grimly. “The colonel like the others.”

“I don’t know, I was kind of hoping that at least he would have been untouched by this. It seemed so unlikely that he would be transformed into a Viking warlord.”

Fawn raised a brow. “You haven’t seen him yet. Boy, are you in for a shock.”

Blue took a deep breath. “Doc, you haven’t said anything about Scarlet, except to tell me that he had agreed to become the ‘guinea pig’ for this experiment with that 3D game. What became of him? I guess that his retrometabolism has not prevented him from falling under the ‘spell’ too?”

Fawn sighed in turn, and lowered his eyes. “Oh, Scarlet, well... I guess he’s a case all by himself in this world. You see, he –”

Fawn’s voice broke off, as he then became aware of a presence at the open door; he turned to it, and Blue followed the doctor’s gaze.

Casually leaning against the recess of the door, stood a tall man, staring at them with intense blue eyes. Blue rose to his feet, almost out of surprise; it took him a few seconds to realise that the Viking warrior standing there, a mean-looking sword at his side, wasn’t a threat at all. The black hair was long on his neck and surrounded an unshaven, familiar face lit up by a roguish, somewhat bemused smirk.

“I see you are well now, brother Hodur,” the black-haired warrior noted. Although he fully expected it, following Fawn’s warning, Blue could not keep himself from feeling frustrated when he heard the man he knew as Captain Scarlet speaking in the same lilting accent as the others. He watched as the newcomer now fully entered the room to approach him and take him into a strong embrace, laughing gaily. “It is good to see you on your feet again!”

Fawn had shot to his feet in turn to welcome the newcomer, who, letting go of Blue, now turned to face him. “Prince Balder...” Fawn bowed slightly, and caught sight of Blue lifting an inquiring eyebrow at the use of the name, and in nearly the same manner, Fawn mutely asked him to play along.

“’Twould seem your patient is healed now, physician,” ‘Balder’ remarked with an obviously pleased smile, while his hand rested on Blue’s shoulder.

“He’s not all well, my lord,” replied Fawn. “Still his memory fails him somewhat. But, in time, he should make a full recovery.”

“Is it true, brother?” Scarlet/Balder asked, turning a concerned look on Blue. “Are you feeling better?”

“I’ll be all right... brother,” Blue said without so much as a second’s hesitation.

“That is good.” Scarlet’s hand squeezed Blue’s shoulder in a brotherly fashion, smiling at him. “I do not have to tell you how much I am relieved that you have come back to us alive from the dangerous mission you had undertaken.”

“You don’t have to, indeed,” Blue agreed.

“In truth, I should have been the one to go, do you not agree?”

“Should you?” Blue asked with a lift of his brow.

Scarlet nodded slowly. “I see that the usual fire of your eyes has given place to confusion. Still, will you be able to attend the ceremony, brother?”

“Lord Hodur can attend, my lord,” Fawn confirmed. “That may even be... helpful to him.”

“It could be helpful indeed,” Blue agreed.

“In that case, we will leave you now, Master Mimir,” Scarlet said. He moved towards the door, literally dragging Blue along, and the latter looked over his shoulder at Fawn, unsure of what to do. Fawn gave him an encouraging nod.

“I’ll see you later, Lord Hodur,” Fawn declared to a less than enthusiastic Blue. “If ever you feel any discomfort, you’ll know where to find me.”

“There will be no need of your further assistance, I am sure, physician,” Scarlet declared as they walked out of the room. “You have taken enough of his time, my brother. And I waited long enough for you,” he continued addressing Blue. They were now in a large hall, at the end of which Blue could see an open door leading out, with two warriors guarding the entrance.

A beautiful young woman walked out through a much smaller nearby door, closing it behind her, and adjusting her clothes as she started to walk past them. Scarlet looked musingly at her. “’Tis true that, while waiting for you, I found... a suitable way to pass the time.”

Saying that, he grabbed at the passing young woman and brought her close to him to plant a big, ardent kiss on her lips, right in front of Blue’s mystified eyes. The woman didn’t resist much; on the contrary, she gave in to his kiss, giggling like a schoolgirl, before pulling herself from him, flashing him a big smile.

“Come see me later,” Scarlet murmured to her with a knowing smile. “In my chamber. We will continue this... interesting conversation in private.”

The languorous expression on her face spoke volumes, and she reluctantly went away.

Oh boy... this is not the Scarlet I know, Blue pondered as he watched the woman leave. He knew her. That was, he thought he knew who she was in ‘real life’. If he wasn’t mistaken, she was one of sickbay’s nurses. Preston... Anna Preston. That was it. Blue suspected she had a crush on Scarlet, but the English captain had never given her more than a polite smile and some kind words.

Apparently, her secret wishes might have come true in this fantasy world.

But... what about Rhapsody? Doesn’t Scarlet care about her here?

Think logically, Adam. Remember what Fawn told you. Strictly speaking, this isn’t really Scarlet. He’s acting the part here, as if he doesn’t remember the real world. He’s Balder, a warrior of the Aesir people. Rhapsody is supposed to be a Valkyrie. And according to Fawn, Valkyries are part of the enemy. So maybe he wouldn’t know about Rhapsody.

And technically, it wasn’t as if anything had really happened between Scarlet and Preston. If this situation really was caused by a 3D game and a malfunction in the Room of Sleep, then this was all only on a subconscious level. It was all a trick of the mind, after all…

No?

Right... I don’t know if Rhapsody would be that open to this particular kind of… cybersex. I don’t want to be anywhere near when everything is back to normal and this comes to her ears.

“I see what you mean when you said you had found a good way to pass the time,” Blue declared matter-of-factly.

“She is a nice girl, that Gerda,” Scarlet declared nonchalantly, as he and Blue walked toward the exit. “They are all nice girls.”

“All?” Blue was more and more perplexed. He stared at Scarlet who sighed heavily, as if filled with regret.

“Too bad... I suppose these carefree days will be gone soon.”

Blue lifted a brow. “What do you mean?”

“As if you do not know,” Scarlet retorted with a shrug. He looked at Blue with a mocking smile. “You know, Gerda told me she has a friend who is quite smitten by you.”

“No, thank you,” Blue retorted emphatically.

“I might have known you would say that.” Scarlet chuckled. “You are already taken, after all.”

“Taken?” Blue asked, puzzled.

“I do not think you have forgotten that too,” Scarlet laughed. “But still, you continue this charade of yours, Brother Hodur. If it pleases you so, then, we will continue the pretence.”

Blue didn’t insist. He figured he would have time enough later on to understand the riddle of Scarlet’s words.

As they walked out into the open and were welcomed by the bright light of the sun, Blue looked around with mystification. All the houses around were made of sturdy wood or stones, and most of the ground was of hardened mud, on which many people, men and women, all of Viking appearance in clothing and hairstyle, were going about their personal business. On a corner, there was an argument between a woman and what appeared to be a vegetable merchant, who seemed to be insisting that the prices of his merchandise were a bargain. Not far from there, a peasant was trying to make his stubborn donkey – a donkey?! – walk on with the cart it was pulling, while a band of warriors were standing by laughing heartily at his apparently useless efforts. A blacksmith and his apprentice were busy at their forge, while in front of what could pass as a tavern, a visibly inebriated man was being thrown out into the dirt of the street, amidst the loud clamouring of voices coming from inside.

Blue had trouble believing his eyes, and he had to fight hard not to actually rub them. He knew these people hiding under that rough, unsophisticated exterior – at least, he recognised some of them. They were Cloudbase personnel; technicians, nurses, security guards, administrative staff, military and civilian personnel alike. All of them acting in this setting as naturally as if they had been born into it and had lived it all their lives. All of them so manifestly and dreadfully unaware that this was not, by any means, an usual situation for them.

I don’t care what Fawn said, there is NO WAY a simple 3D game and a malfunction of the Room of Sleep could create this. There is more to it, I am sure of that!

He realised Scarlet was now crossing the street, without waiting for him, so he dashed across to join him. Just at that moment, the obstinate donkey finally decided to move and, escaping from his frustrated master’s hand, started to race down the street. Blue nearly got run over by both animal and carriage. He probably would have been if Scarlet had not grabbed him by the arm and pulled him over to his side. As a result, both men found themselves surrounded by a cloud of dust raised by the hurried departure.

Blue coughed, more than a little astonished that the dust would feel so uncomfortably real. From his memory of 3D games, that certainly wouldn’t be the case. He brushed himself free of the dirt, while looking at Scarlet who was doing the same with an obvious look of disgust on his features.

“It is a good thing that the ceremony does not start for an hour yet,” Scarlet remarked, glaring darkly in the direction of the donkey’s unfortunate owner, running after his possession. “We will have time to change before presenting ourselves to Odin.”

“Where to now?” Blue asked. He coughed again, finally clearing his throat of the annoying dust. Scarlet gave him a curious look.

“Why, to the Walhall, of course,” he answered matter-of-factly.

“The Walhall?” Blue turned around, looking beyond the stony bridge, and staring in direction of the huge construction which seemed carved from the mountain. “Odin’s Palace?”

“Aye,” Scarlet concurred, with a deep frown. “That is where we live, as Princes of Aesgard. Do you not remember that?” He grunted, seeing the obviously lost look upon Blue’s face. “Maybe Mimir was wrong. You might not be well enough to attend the ceremony. Maybe you should rest more.”

“Well, he did warn you my memory was still failing me,” Blue retorted. Seeing Scarlet’s doubtful expression, he added quickly: “Come on, I know it’s your habit to worry about me, but there’s no need for that, I assure you.” Of course, Blue had no way of knowing if ‘Balder’ usually worried about ‘Hodur’, but he was playing a hunch that it might be the case. If there was anything of the usual relationship between Scarlet and himself in this fantasy world.

The bluff paid off, and Scarlet grinned widely, before landing a friendly, but forceful, slap on Blue’s shoulder. That took the latter aback, and he was nearly thrown forward. “Spoken like a true prince of Aesgard,” Scarlet laughed heartily.

Blue nearly rolled his eyes. Whatever else he might be feeling, he didn’t feel ‘true’ at all, at the moment.

As he followed Scarlet toward the foot of the bridge, Blue reflected on this strange world he found himself in, and what he knew of Norse mythology. His grandfather, Erik Svenson, used to tell him stories of the Norse gods and heroes, either reading them from books or recalling them from memory. Proud of his Viking ancestry, Erik loved the ancient Norse sagas, which were almost ingrained into his being. The lively way he was telling them had made such an impression on his grandson that the latter found the need to read more about them in later years. He had discovered, not without surprise, that his grandfather had made ‘creative alterations’ to some of the tales. Either to preserve Adam from the more offending and shocking parts not meant to tell any child – or to render other rather boring parts more exciting.

Granddad certainly knew how to tell these stories, Blue reflected. THAT, I remember. But how come I can’t remember all of these stories themselves?

All he could recall at the moment were fragments, general outlines – nothing really definite. The details were hazy at best, but still, at this point, he recalled enough of the myths to have an idea of this fantasy world he was currently a part of.

The names used in this world were obviously the same he remembered from the ancient legends. This ‘Aesgard’, however, and the people living in it, seemed to have little to do with the home of the Viking gods. For starters, as Fawn had pointed out, they weren’t gods, but apparently ordinary people, from an ancient and defunct time. The village had nothing ‘godlike’ about it, although it was an extraordinary man-made construction. Odin’s palace - and especially the bridge overstepping the waterfalls leading to it – was an extraordinary sight.

The Bifrost, Blue reflected inwardly, nodding his head thoughtfully. This bridge seemed to be a fair illustration of the legendary ‘Rainbow Bridge’ of Aesgard, from Norse stories, as he recalled it. It was, according to myth, the link between the world of Aesgard and the world of men below. And it was guarded by...

“Heimdall,” Blue murmured out loud. He stopped in his tracks as, right at the entrance of the bridge, he could see a group of guards standing there, holding spears, one different from the others by his smaller stature, brilliant armour and the horn hanging by his side. There was also something more distinctive about him as, seeing the two ‘princes’ approach, he came to them, with long strides, a bright smile of very white teeth in the middle of his...

... black face.

“Ah!” Scarlet said with a satisfied grin. “Your memory is not a total loss then! You remember our captain of the guards!”

Not quite, a confused Blue reflected, as the newcomer stopped in front of him and clasped his forearm in a welcoming gesture. That was Lieutenant Green’s face he was seeing under that horned helmet polished so bright, the sun flashed from it.

“My lord Hodur, it is so good to see you back amongst our people!” Blue blinked in surprise. Gone was the West Indian accent of the young communications officer from Cloudbase; it had been replaced by the same lilting accent as Scarlet’s – or Ochre’s – which Blue had heard earlier. This was getting confusing, and he could do little to properly hide his reaction to it.

“Are you all right, my prince?” Green asked with a concerned frown. “You look like you have seen a phantom... Or maybe one of the Jötnar, the dreadful Ice Giants, while you were on your mission? I heard you had been hurt.”

“Ice giants?” Blue asked. “Er... no, not exactly...”

“The Valkyrie gave you trouble when you captured her, then?”

“Actually, I think we were attacked by wolves, both she and I,” Blue replied.

Green nodded his understanding. “Aye. I should have realised. You had to cross Fenrir’s woods. And so, you would run the risk of encountering his fearsome offspring.”

“At least it was not the brute Fenrir himself, noble Heimdall,” Scarlet remarked. “Or maybe my brother would not be here to tell the tale. Though he has not said much of it so far!” He laughed and thumped Blue’s back vigorously.

“Or he might have won the wolf’s hide and wear it as his coat of arms, now,” Green proposed with a teasing wink.

“Nay... that is an honour that Lord Tyr reserves for himself – or even Lord Thor, whoever first meets with the fiendish beast. Lord Hodur prefers other sports over the wolf hunt.”

Blue raised a brow, but did not dare ask Scarlet/Balder what kind of ‘sports’ he was referring to. It was obvious by the large mischievous grin displayed on his face that ‘Balder’ regarded this as a good joke. Green didn’t seem to notice – or made a show of ignoring it, Blue couldn’t decide. The younger man was now turning to point his spear in the direction of the palace beyond the bridge.

“I have been made aware that our lord Odin has been waiting for the both of you,” he declared solemnly. “I would suggest, my lords, respectfully, that you prepare yourself for the upcoming ceremony, which should be starting in the hour.”

“Will you not come along, brave Heimdall?” Scarlet asked.

“Nay. Someone must keep guard over the Bifrost. Keeping it safe, and that way keeping Aesgard safe, is my responsibility and my duty, as you are well aware, Lord Balder.” Green’s smile broadened. “And your responsibility, my princes, is to make sure this venture, carefully planned by our king to ensure the safety of our land, will succeed, by doing your duty.”

“’Tis a price highly paid,” groused Scarlet. “For me, it means the end of freedom.”

Green burst out laughing. “I am sure it is not such a sacrifice, my lord. I would gladly take your place. But, alas, this is not possible. I am not a prince of Aesgard.”

“Though your heart is a noble one, Heimdall.” Before Blue’s puzzled eyes, Scarlet squeezed Green’s armoured shoulder. “We will leave you to your task, then.”

Green nodded his acknowledgement and watched as the two ‘princes’ left to start crossing the bridge. Blue found himself looking over his shoulder, in a curious manner, pondering what the conversation Scarlet and Green had had was all about. He couldn’t even begin to fathom what was going on and the more he ‘advanced’ into this business, the more confusing it was becoming. He caught sight of Scarlet glancing at him.

“Not too nervous, are you, my brother?” Scarlet asked matter-of-factly.

“Nervous?” Blue retorted, trying to compose himself into a casual attitude. “No... Why should I be nervous?”

“I suppose you would not be. After all, all you have been working for these last months, all your efforts, will finally bear fruit tonight.”

Blue frowned at the remark and looked straight at Scarlet as they were approaching the large open door of the Walhall palace, guarded by warriors.

Scarlet shrugged dismissively. “It was your idea, after all...”

“My idea?”

“Aye... Yours and Lord Tyr’s, to be precise.”

Blue could hear a certain animosity in Scarlet’s voice and at first thought it was directed at him; but as they entered the palace, he could see that Scarlet’s eyes were looking straight ahead. Shifting his eyes in the same direction, Blue discovered that there was a black-bearded man standing in the hall, his arms crossed on his chest and looking at them as they approached. Blue frowned, recognising Captain Grey – who had assumed the identity of Tyr in this strange reality. He offered a tiger-like smirk as the two stopped in front of him, and addressed a nod to Blue.

“I see you are on your feet already, Lord Hodur,” he said, in that lilting accent that was beginning to grate on Blue’s nerves. “’Tis good. We will be able to proceed according to plan.”

“Your obvious lack of sympathy for my brother’s health is bordering on insolence, Lord Tyr,” Scarlet growled, eyes flashing with anger as he faced Grey. “You are speaking to a prince of Aesgard. Do not forget it.”

Grey raised a brow. His voice was still calm when next he spoke: “And I, Lord Balder, am a prince of Vanaheim. I am only within these walls and in King Odin’s service, because it serves a good greater than either my own land or Aesgard. I am not here for my own pleasure. Do you not forget it.” His eyes moved from Scarlet to Blue. “As for my ‘lack of sympathy’, I do not see any lasting wound on your brother. ’Twould seem he would not have any use of it.”

A dull rumble escaped Scarlet’s throat, as he gritted his teeth. “Beware, Lord Tyr –”

“That’s quite all right,” Blue interrupted.

He didn’t wish for this conversation to end up into a fight. Both Scarlet and Grey were carrying heavy and mean-looking swords. If he was to believe Fawn that this was a 3D game gone wrong – about which he was starting to have considerable doubts – he had to admit any fight in this ‘world’ would not have any wounding impact on the participants.

But if Fawn should be wrong in his assumption, there would be no telling what could happen. Blue didn’t want to take any risks with the lives of his friends and colleagues. He addressed a diplomatic smile to Grey and presented his hand.

“I have no quarrel with you, Lord Tyr. Let’s not fight. Are we not all working toward the same goal, which will soon be achieved?”

Grey stared down at the extended hand without answering; the up until now detached expression on his features had changed suddenly to one of total coldness and he had tensed. He then looked straight at Blue, who suddenly felt as if he were frozen into place, so icy was his look.

“Is this some kind of a jest?” Grey asked slowly. There was restrained anger in his voice, and Blue couldn’t imagine what could exactly be wrong. He saw Grey raise his right hand at eye level, presenting it to Blue who could only stare at it without any reaction.

Instead of a flesh and blood hand, there was an artificial metal hand, wrought in the shape of a fist, shimmering in the sunrays entering through the door. Beyond that stunning sight, the coldness in Grey’s eyes grew so intense that Blue found himself shivering inwardly.

“I do not shake hands with anyone anymore,” Grey seethed between his teeth. “And that, Lord Hodur, you very well know.”

Unable to detach his eyes from the iron hand, Blue continued to stare at it. He wished to God this was really a fantasy world. He didn’t dare think that something that bad might have happened to Bradley Holden.

He didn’t have time to answer Grey’s remark; as suddenly as the coldness had appeared in Grey’s eyes, it disappeared, and he turned his back on the two princes. “I will see you in an hour, at the ceremony,” he announced, in a voice which was calm again. “Despite our past differences, be assured of my entire support, princes of Aesgard. This scheme must be allowed to run its course. Our security, for all of us, depends on it.” He walked away briskly, without even turning around.

Blue followed his departure, until he disappeared through a door, and then let out a deep sigh. Scarlet’s hand landed heavily on his shoulder.

“That was a careless gesture, Hodur,” he said quietly. “You are lucky he took it so well.”

How was I supposed to know he was missing a hand? Blue asked himself almost angrily.

“He’s an intense man, isn’t he?” he murmured, trying hard to hide his discomfort.

“I suppose he is at that, since he lost his hand to the wolf Fenrir, during a hunt to kill that fearsome beast,” Scarlet said with a nod. “However, Fenrir was too clever for him, and it was the beast who became the hunter instead of the prey. Lord Tyr was lucky to escape with his life and to lose only his hand in this venture.”

Wait – that’s it... I should have known. In Norse mythology, Tyr, the god of War, had his hand bitten off by the giant wolf Fenrir, when the gods of Aesgard had tried to tie up the beast with chains that couldn’t be broken. Blue now recalled that legend, as it rushed into his mind.

Fawn might be right: this world is indeed following the pattern set by the Norse legends; except, it’s been transposed into a more ‘human’ setting. His colleagues really seemed to be living warped versions of the Norse gods’ lives.

Blue stared at Scarlet. I wonder what HIS story is, he pondered. He’s supposed to be Balder in this fantasy. But who and what is Balder exactly? Fawn said earlier that he was a case all by himself here. What did he mean?

Blue only knew that Balder was a son of Odin, but at this point, he couldn’t recall what the legend attached to him was. He recalled the name, of course, but it wasn’t as familiar as Odin, Thor, or the Valkyries.

His mind was still confused, and it was so frustrating not being able to recall all of the details of these legends. It was as if there was something hindering his memories of them. What exactly, he couldn’t tell. It was coming back to him, but much too slowly for his taste.

He had to remember more of those stories and characters.

Fast.

“Tyr is not such a bad man,” Scarlet continued. “Once you get to know him.”

“You mean for a warrior of the Vanir,” Blue said with a forced grin.

Scarlet laughed, as he dragged Blue toward another open door and into a new room. “Aye! That is true. For a Vane warrior. But then again, I still prefer to have a Vane such as Tyr as an ally than some others who are claiming to be allies, but are not.”

Blue’s brow furrowed in confusion. “What are you talking about?”

Footsteps coming from behind made him stop in his tracks and he turned around, Scarlet doing same. From the shadow cast by the recess of the door, the outlines of a man appeared; standing tall, dressed all in black, the sun was behind his back and Blue had to narrow his eyes to see his features.

His eyes opened wide as he finally made out the pale features of the newcomer, glaring at him with aloof and very dark eyes. He shivered.

“I’m talking about him, of course,” Scarlet said gloomily, the loathing very obvious in his voice. “The wretched Loki.”

But to Captain Blue’s eyes, the man Scarlet was talking about, standing there looking coldly at him, had the appearance of Spectrum’s worst enemy.

Mysteron agent Captain Black.

She couldn’t imagine what could be going wrong; but she was getting more worried by the minute.

First, she had witnessed the crash of the SPJ that had brought Captain Blue and Rhapsody Angel from Los Angeles. From her vantage point of view inside the cockpit of Angel One, she had seen everything: the craft going out of control as it was making its approach, the bumpy landing, the landing gear breaking, and the SPJ sliding on its belly across the lower runway, with a trail of flashes as metal scraped against metal. A fire broke out, but was quickly smothered by the automatic foam extinguisher cannons. Then security had come over with pressurised suits and lines, and the SPJ had quickly been brought down into the hangar, where a sickbay emergency crew was waiting.

Worried for Captain Blue and Rhapsody, she had contacted the Control Tower, inquiring what was going on, what was the status of her colleagues. She was told that the rough landing had shaken them a bit and that they were unconscious, but that they hadn’t received any serious wounds. They were both fine. For that, she had been grateful.

But then, her radio went dead. She was unable to make contact with Control anymore, no matter how many times she tried. She waited, fully expecting that this would be looked at and that she would be recalled.

It didn’t happen. On the contrary, other systems in her Angel craft started failing too, one after another, until there was barely anything left working. Nothing responded to any of her commands. Not even the emergency controls that would permit her to open the hatch below the seat – and give her access to the lift that would bring her to the Amber Room, if ever there should be need of it.

She felt lucky that life-support and oxygen were on independent controls, and were still operational – at least for a limited amount of time. Or she might be in worse trouble still.

But aside from that, everything else was dead.

Or rather, as it appeared to be, everything had been remotely disconnected, so she would be isolated and a prisoner inside her own cockpit. And that could only be done from one place on Cloudbase.

The Central Control Room.

She didn’t want to even think this could be right, that the suspicion growing inside of her was true. Yet, when she saw the new craft arrive – a civilian plane – and land on Cloudbase’s main runway, before being lowered down into the hangar, out of her view, and when nearly an hour passed from the moment one of the Angel pilots failed to relieve her at the scheduled time, this suspicion became a dreadful reality.

She was through with waiting; she had to do something. In any case, she could not afford to waste time much longer, before her oxygen ran out. If it had been one of the other girls, she might have been utterly trapped in here, until someone came to free her. But she knew how the craft worked; her curious mind wanting to learn as much as possible about the sophisticated piece of equipment she was operating, she had assisted technicians when they were taking it apart and rebuilding it. She was there when they made security inspections of the craft, as well as the Amber Room chute, the lift, the many hatches securing its access, the elevator seat. She knew how each circuit operated, and she knew what to do to manually change them, in order to gain control for herself.

She might also be able to free the whole craft, and take off. But not knowing what was going on in the Control Room, she dreaded that whoever was there at the moment would press the remote command which would order her craft to self-destruct in flight.

No. She would rather use her knowledge to flee this too-narrow prison and go down the chute to access Cloudbase... And see what was happening.

She had a feeling something sinister was going on.

Chapter 2: Valkyries

Less than an hour later, after momentarily leaving Captain Scarlet who also had to prepare himself, Captain Blue, refreshed and wearing clean clothing, entered the Hall where the ceremony was to be held. He had the surprise of finding it already crowded with people.

It was a vast, stone-built room, with many apertures on the two longer walls, and torches lighting the Hall, so there was barely a dark corner. There were two huge wooden tables, covered with food of all kinds, on each side of the room. The centre of the paved floor was left completely empty, like a large aisle, leading to a dais at the far end of the room where stood a rustic wooden throne adorned with white furs, and set between two shorter tables.

Everyone was laughing and shouting, eating and drinking and having a good time. Most of them were warriors, wearing their most attractive clothes and sporting beautiful weapons, clearly exchanging bad and racy jokes and telling their war-like exploits to each other, if Blue was to believe the snatches of conversation he picked up as he entered the Hall and walked toward the dais. There were also many servant girls, who seemed to be enjoying themselves as much as the men they were keeping company. There was little inhibition displayed as the rowdy warriors pulled the women onto their knees and kissed them, while the girls barely resisted, and then only in a playful way. Such scenes left Blue with a certain sense of bewilderment, as he knew many of these people as reserved and disciplined individuals. He would never have imagined them, even given the opportunity, acting like real barbarians of another age.

Vikings…

Actually, the fictitious image people usually had of Vikings. Unkempt, barbaric, boisterous… and wearing horned helmets.

Granddad Erik would have had a field day debunking those stereotypes. Blue’s grandfather wasn’t only a great storyteller of tales from Norse mythology, he was a genuine fount of knowledge when it came to Viking history. Blue knew no-one who could have bested him in that department.

Already on the dais, he could see Captain Ochre, casually leaning on a huge hammer, and talking with animation to Captain Grey and two other Viking warriors, before bursting into laughter. Just next to him, seated on a bench, Captain Scarlet was already there, eating a whole roast chicken with his hands, without a care in the world. He drank from a large wooden goblet, letting its contents drip on his chin before wiping it off with the back of his hand, and biting into the chicken once more.

Hundreds of years of sophistication down the drain, the perplexed Blue reflected, as he stepped onto the dais, staring with curiosity at his friend, whose ‘stiff upper lip’ and detached attitude had often irritated or disconcerted him. He watched as Scarlet, letting go of his chicken, caught a passing servant girl and pulled her close to him to kiss her cheek and whisper something in her ear. She laughed gaily before pouring ale into his vessel, while he wiped his hands on her already dirty skirt; she quickly ran away from his grip, before he could catch her again.

Yep. I will never look at Paul Metcalfe in the same way from now on.

Earlier, after leaving Blue at his chamber where he had fortunately escorted him – for which the American captain was secretly thankful, because he would never have found it alone – Scarlet had walked to his own place, which was down the same corridor. Blue, following him with his eyes, had seen Anna Preston – the servant girl Gerda in Scarlet’s mind – waiting for him by the door. They had disappeared behind it after exchanging a fierce kiss. Blue couldn’t help but wonder how easy it had been for his friend to let go of the well-bred veneer created by civilisation. Seeing Scarlet, as well as all the other people surrounding him now, and how they were behaving, Blue began to consider that some sayings were true, and that there really was a sleeping beast inside each man, just waiting to wake up.

It was a fascinating observation.

As people started to notice his presence, Blue received many greetings; goblets and jugs were raised in salutation, and congratulations came from all round. His broad shoulders became the target of much vigorous thumping, and he didn’t have enough hands to accept all the drinking vessels warriors were offering him. He wished he knew exactly why they were so pleased with him. He imagined that it could be because he was considered ‘a prince’ among them. Or perhaps it had something to do with ‘capturing a Valkyrie’; it made him feel rather embarrassed to think he was being congratulated for something he didn’t think he had really done. It was also uncomfortable to think that Rhapsody was viewed as the ‘fierce Valkyrie’ they were talking about. He hoped she was as fine as Fawn insisted she was, and that he would be able to see her soon, to actually make sure of that. He couldn’t wait for this ceremony, whatever it could be, to begin.

But ‘King Odin’ was still absent, and Blue imagined that the ceremony wouldn’t start before he arrived. To be truthful, Blue had to admit he was curious to see this incarnation of Odin. He didn’t quite know what to expect, but Fawn had warned him that he would be surprised.

Blue couldn’t imagine Colonel White actually settling comfortably into that kind of role, that of a fierce war-leader of the Vikings. It just didn’t fit in.

In the meantime, standing behind the table on the dais not far from Ochre and Scarlet, where he thought his place should be, he was waiting impatiently, ignoring the goblet he was handed, and scanning the Hall with probing eyes.

At the far end of the dais, standing on his own, and apparently not willing to mix with the rest of the crowd, he found ‘Loki’.

Blue tensed.

Captain Black’s presence in this setting, in the guise of this particular character, had put Blue on edge earlier, and had opened a new set of possibilities that might explain the predicament in which he and everyone else on Cloudbase presently found themselves. The full scale of the Mysterons’ powers was still unknown. As they were even able to control human minds and bodies, as well as matter, in order to recreate life from death itself, they might conceivably be able to warp reality and perception to the point of creating this fantasy world. Before seeing Black, it had not even occurred to Blue that they might be involved. He was wondering now why he had not thought about this eventuality. Of course, he had already been pretty confused up until now, and he was still trying to figure out what had happened to all of them.

It could also be possible that Black’s presence is only part of this fantasy as well, he pondered, turning his eyes in the Mysteron agent’s direction. He could have been dreamt up by any one of us as a non-player character – not even real at all, just like the rest of what we’re seeing and feeling.

Right. But I’ll stay on my toes, nevertheless... Just in case.

It’s quite fitting that he should have the role of the malevolent Loki, all things considered. Isn’t it because of Loki’s many misdemeanours that most of the Norse gods’ problems originated, according to legends? And wasn’t it because of Captain Black’s unreasoned actions that the war between Earth and the Mysterons started?

“Are you suspecting he might be up to something during the evening?”

The question, addressed to him and coming from nearby, drew Blue out of his fugue. He turned slightly to see Scarlet, still seated at his place at the table, but comfortably leaning his back against the wall behind him, looking at him with an intrigued expression. Scarlet gave a brief nod in the direction of ‘Loki’.

“I, too, am suspicious of Loki,” he declared in a low voice.

“He gives me the creeps,” Blue murmured. “Seeing him here...”

“Aye. I could see earlier that it was just as if you had seen a ghost. Well, Loki does generate that reaction from people, I will admit that. Especially when he lurks in the shadows, as he habitually does.”

“Just give me the word, and I will crush him like the maggot he is.” It was Ochre who had now approached to join the conversation, closely followed by Grey. Blue noted that Ochre’s hands were now holding his hammer as if he was indeed ready to strike at Black. He was watching him fiercely.

“I never understood why your king tolerates his presence in Aesgard,” Grey declared with a shrug of his broad shoulders.

“We tolerate you, Lord Tyr,” Scarlet remarked with a mischievous smirk. “Why should Lord Odin not tolerate him?”

Grey huffed disdainfully. “Do not compare me with that Jötunn bastard, Lord Balder. I will not be amused.”

“My aim was not to amuse you.” Scarlet returned his attention to Black, who was now approached by the smiling servant girl Gerda. She offered him a drinking vessel that he accepted with a brief nod. “But you are right to wonder, prince of Vanaheim. The truth is, Odin is honour-bound to Loki, since the day the wretched villain saved his life in Jötunheim, the Land of the Ice Giants, for a reason only known to him. If not for Loki, our lord and ruler would be dead and in Helheim right now.”

Blue’s interest was piqued by this tale. How similar this is to the ‘real story’, he recalled. Conrad Turner had also saved Colonel White’s life many years ago.

“Since then, we are honour-bound as well to Loki,” Ochre added darkly, “and cannot do him any harm.”

“But we are well aware that we should not turn our backs on him,” Scarlet continued. “Though half-Ase himself, he is also half-Jötunn, as you said yourself. We cannot prove this, but we think he is planning Aesgard’s downfall with the Jötnar.”

“As he is planning Vanaheim’s downfall,” Grey agreed. “You should not forget that the Ice Giants are our common enemies, Lord Balder.”

Scarlet scratched his ear thoughtfully, still glaring with obvious displeasure in Black’s direction. The latter briefly exchanged words with ‘Gerda’ in a low whisper, before she nodded in acknowledgement and left. “I also suspect that our sire is keeping Loki close by so to keep his eye on him. Loki’s behaviour might be a good indication of what the Jötnar are up to.”

Grey was watching Scarlet intently; he could not fail to notice the flash of anger burning in the other man’s blue eyes. He smirked, and then said nonchalantly: “I would rather think, Lord Balder, that your animosity to the villain runs deeper still.”

“Whatever do you mean?” Scarlet asked suspiciously, turning a dark eye on Grey.

“Was that not your favourite servant maid who just gave her brightest smile to Loki? Nay, let me rephrase that: The girl could certainly not be called a ‘maid’ nowadays.”

Standing behind them, Ochre permitted himself a chuckle. Angered by Grey’s statement, Scarlet thumped furiously on the table, knocking his goblet over, and jumped to his feet, in the process throwing the bench he was sitting on crashing loudly to the floor. The sound made Blue jump.

“You shall not speak of the girl in such an unbecoming way!” Scarlet roared, facing a still calm-looking Grey. “You will take back those insolent words, Tyr!”

“I will not,” Grey declared quietly. “Is it insolence to speak the truth? Besides, considering the events, my prince, you would be better served to forget about the girl as of now. What is really unbecoming is the readiness in which you are prepared to defend the girl’s virtue. Especially considering she has none.”

“Give me your hammer, Thor!” Scarlet barked, addressing the tall man behind him. “Give it to me so I can split this Vane bastard’s skull open!”

“I will not,” Ochre replied, as calm as Grey. “You would not be able to lift it and you will hurt yourself.”

“Give it to me, I say!”

“Nay. Mjölnir is not yours to wield. Besides, Lord Tyr only spoke the truth: you should forget about the girl. She is nothing to you anymore. If she ever was worth anything at all, as she was probably nothing more than a distraction for you. Now sit down, you fool, you are acting like a drunkard.”

“I am not drunk!” Scarlet retorted fiercely, turning to Ochre. “You know that I cannot get drunk, thanks to the Jötnar!”

“I never meant you were drunk, brother,” Ochre sighed with annoyance. “Just that you were acting like you were.”

Blue raised his eyebrows, hearing the surprising exchange between the two men; again, here was a reflection of the real world: alcohol had little or no effect on Scarlet as well, since his Mysteronisation. But what could this new discovery mean exactly? Why should it be similar, and what else did it hide?

A suspicion was starting to form in his mind, but Blue didn’t have time to deliberate further, as he saw Scarlet step menacingly in Ochre’s direction.

“Have it your way, brother. I will use your thick head, then, and knock it against his, so hard they will both explode – and they will hear the explosion from here to the land of Vanaheim.”

“You are welcome to try,” Ochre answered, rolling his eyes.

An alarmed Blue saw Scarlet still advancing on Ochre, who was now raising his hammer; he stepped forward, and put a firm hand on Scarlet’s shoulder, in an attempt to hold him back and calm him down. “I don’t think fighting amongst ourselves is such a good idea,” he said tentatively.

“I do agree with that,” stated Grey. He glanced in Black’s direction. “Especially not in front of him. That would give him too much satisfaction.”

To Blue’s surprise, his advice had the same effect as adding oil to a fire. Scarlet turned around briskly, literally snapping at Blue, who, faced with the intensity of the anger reflected in his friend’s blue eyes, let go of him and stepped back, despite himself.

“I should have realised the two of you would stand together.” Scarlet pointed an accusing finger at Grey, and then at Blue. “All of this is your fault, brother!”

“My fault?” a stunned Blue echoed.

“Aye! ’Tis true the servant girl means little to me, as Thor said. But if you had not supported Tyr, and stood with him on this mad scheme, I would not be condemned to –”

“ENOUGH!”

The loud, stentorian voice suddenly booming from the other side of the room stopped everyone on the spot and all conversation ceased instantly. Not even a murmur now escaped the crowd.

At first frozen in place, Blue slowly turned around. He had already figured out who had just arrived, commanding such silence with only his presence and obtaining obedience with the authority of just one word.

In the embrasure of the large door leading into the Hall stood a tall man of fierce and imposing appearance, his face framed by long, unkempt, white hair and beard, streaked with silvery shades. He was clad in the finest linen and furs, with a large belt encircling his torso, and bracelets of gold. In his right hand, he was holding a long spear tipped with three sharp points, as if it was his symbol of power – his sceptre.

From the distance, Blue barely recognised him; but there was little doubt who the newcomer was, just from the sound of his voice, very recognisable, despite the annoying lilting accent common to all present.

“Is this the way the heirs of Aesgard behave themselves?” thundered the voice of Odin/Colonel White. He started walking toward the dais, his steps echoing loudly through the now-silent room. “Is this how you should conduct yourself in the presence of guests? And in my presence?! You should be ashamed!”

Blue barely noticed how everyone was bowing at Odin’s passage; he was intently watching the man’s approach, and with each step, having a better look at his face. He couldn’t detach his eyes from it – the expression of his features was implacable, made even more ferocious by the large scar crossing the entire left side of his face, clearly left by the vicious strike of a sharp blade. The eye from that side was obviously gone, and the hollow space it had left was hidden under a piece of leather that acted as a rustic eye patch. The other eye, however, was very much alive, and burning with a vibrant intensity.

“Balder, this ‘scheme’ you are referring to was my idea,” ‘Odin’ continued. “Your brother and Lord Tyr only suggested it, and I decided to go along with it. If it had not been for the greater good of our land, I would never have pursued it. You should know better than to dispute my decisions.”

“Of course, Sire,” Scarlet said, bowing humbly in the presence of Aesgard’s ruler.

“Thor, despite your much vaunted strength, remember that I can still best you in any fight, whether you are armed with that hammer of yours or not!”

“My lord,” Ochre acknowledged with a bow of his own.

“Lord Tyr, you are a guest under this roof, but remember that my patience has limits. Do not ever attempt to try it to the breaking point.”

Grey bowed slightly. “I do apologise for any offence Lord Balder thinks I may have done to him, Lord Odin.” His innocent voice and the choice of his words caused Scarlet to glare at him with irritation.

“Hodur...” ‘Odin’ had finally stopped in front of Blue to look levelly at him. A strong hand fell on the American captain’s shoulder and squeezed it. “’Tis good to see you well, after that dangerous mission in the land of our enemies, my son.”

His voice had definitely softened a little while addressing him, and Blue had to fight not to look too uncomfortable at being called ‘son’ by his commander-in-chief. Imitating the others, he bowed slightly, breaking eye contact briefly.

“I am at your service... Sire.”

He looked up into the ravaged face again. For a moment, ‘Odin’ stared at him, and Blue looked back, waiting with anticipation. The lone, piercing blue eye definitely reflected Colonel White’s indomitable and fierce spirit, but it didn’t take long for Blue to realise that this man didn’t recognise him as Captain Blue, as he had vainly hoped he would. He was looking into the face of a stranger.

He was profoundly disappointed.

It was for White now to break eye contact, as he let go of Blue’s shoulder. He turned around to walk toward his throne, where he sat down heavily. Seeing Ochre and Scarlet follow to stand beside their ruler, Blue followed as well. A servant girl approached respectfully to give a filled goblet to White, who took it and acknowledged her presence with a brief gesture. He watched with a fierce look as Grey came in front of him and bowed to him once again.

“Has your ruler entered Aesgard’s gates, Lord Tyr?” White asked brusquely.

“Aye, Lord Odin,” Grey announced humbly. “Vanaheim’s ruler has come, answering your call, and is waiting your invitation to be presented to you.”

“That is well, then.” White raised his vessel. “People of Aesgard!” he called loudly. “Today is a great day for our land! Today is the day we will see the end of the long-lasting war between Aesgard and Vanaheim! Hail to Victory, warriors! Hail to Aesgard!”

To the shout of ‘Hail!’ and ‘Aesgard!’, everyone saluted and drank deeply from their vessels. Blue did the same, although the bittersweet ale was much too warm for his taste and he nearly choked on it. He wondered about the fact that he could actually taste this beverage. That certainly was another mystery to add to the pile.

He drank slowly, noticing over his goblet that Tyr was politely doing the same. Both put down their half-empty vessels only when the others around loudly lowered theirs onto the tables. A glance on the other side of the dais informed Blue that Black/Loki had barely touched his goblet, but was now looking very interested in what was going on.

Blue had to admit, he was curious to know that too.

“Lord Tyr,” White solemnly announced. “The ruler of Vanaheim is invited to enter the Hall of the Gatherings and be presented to us.”

Grey bowed anew, before standing tall and half-turning towards the large entrance behind him. He made one gesture of his good hand. A small commotion rose from the crowd and Blue narrowed his eyes to watch as a small group of people, dressed in their best attire, finally entered and walked down the aisle, in a dignified fashion, while the large double doors were slowly closing behind.

Marching in the middle of the delegation was a tall man with long, neatly brushed, black hair, and a smooth face looking proudly ahead. By his side was a young woman, in fine but obviously humbler apparel, keeping her head down under a hood that barely hid her long blonde hair and striking beauty.

Blue had no trouble recognising both Captain Magenta and Destiny Angel, as they approached ‘Odin’s’ throne.

White was silently and thoughtfully watching the newcomers, apparently gauging them carefully. Grey came to them as they stopped in front of the dais and took Destiny’s hand to kiss it with deference. Magenta ignored his presence and stood tall, glaring at White, when Grey turned to present them.

“Lord Odin, king of Aesgard, may I present the ruler of Vanaheim.”

White acknowledged the announcement with a brief nod. Destiny saluted him with a curtsy, but Magenta didn’t move.

“Insolent dog,” Blue heard Scarlet mutter behind him.

“Ruler of the Vanir, I welcome you amongst my people,” White declared.

“Lord Odin,” Magenta answered. “I would wish to say that it is an honour for me and my sister to be in your presence.”

White raised a single brow; he failed to realise Blue was doing the same. “Your sister?” he said matter-of-factly.

“Aye. I am Prince Freyr, of the Vanir people. And this is my sister, Lady Freyja.”

“Lady Freyja,” White said with a nod. “The leader of the Valkyries. I have heard a lot about you, my lady.”

“Lady Freyja, whose beauty precedes her wherever she goes,” Scarlet murmured again, but this time with admiration and a little louder, fully intending to be heard. He was heard indeed, both by White, who glared warningly at him, and by Magenta, who shot him a look that was nothing less than murderous.

“I know you,” Ochre suddenly declared, addressing Magenta before the latter could utter another word. “You are not a prince. You are Fricco, the Vane Thief!”

There were new murmurs from the crowd. Blue tensed, waiting for the follow-up. Magenta stood his ground. “That was in another life, Lord Thor. Indeed, I was Fricco the Thief, many years ago.”

“This man cannot be the ruler of Vanaheim, Sire,” Ochre scoffed, turning to the silent White. “He is a cattle thief. He took my livestock, five years ago!”

“I took the two goats which were pulling your chariot,” Magenta corrected, obligingly. “You should be grateful, Lord Thor. I spared you the humiliation from showing yourself further in such a peculiar equipage.”

There was laughter all around and even Scarlet joined in. Ochre, however, didn’t seem to find it amusing at all. He grabbed his hammer, and started descending the dais.

“You impudent bastard, I will teach you to make fun of a prince of Aesgard!”

He stopped in his tracks suddenly, when Magenta unsheathed his sword and took a step back, pointing it at his advancing adversary. He blatantly ignored the Aesir warriors present in the room, who, at the first sight of his sword, drew theirs, threateningly.

“One more step, Prince, and I will run you through!”

“I will break your head first, dog!” Ochre seethed between his teeth.

Before Ochre could take one more step towards Magenta, Destiny walked in front of him and stood between the two men, extending her hands to them, demanding peace.

“Hold!” White called from his throne. All the swords were instantly lowered. “Lord Thor, step back!” White ordered. “Put down your weapon.” Reluctantly, Ochre obeyed and stepped aside. Magenta held his ground. White turned his only eye to him. “Master Fricco – or Lord Freyr, whatever your name is now: I suggest you lower your sword. Unless you want to deprive your ‘sister’ of her most loyal servant.”

“Lord Odin...” Destiny spoke for the first time; she gestured to Magenta to sheathe his sword, and as he finally obeyed, she turned around and removed her hood to face the assembly. A cascade of golden hair surrounded her beautiful face, and everybody, stunned by her fully-revealed beauty, stared straight at her with bated breath. Even Aesgard’s ruler seemed taken aback for a split second.

“So,” White murmured with an appreciative nod, “what Lord Balder said earlier was true. Rumours of your beauty do precede you, Lady Freyja.”

“Lord Odin,” Destiny said, presenting a dignified façade, “Lord Freyr never presumed within these walls to be the ruler of Vanaheim. He was protecting me, as he always does. He is but an emissary for me – a front. As he has been in recent years, thus protecting the identity of the true ruler of Vanaheim from our enemies.”

“And you are not his sister, of course,” White said, musingly. “You are the ruler of Vanaheim.” His voice didn’t seem to indicate that he was suitably surprised. Destiny glared at Grey.

“Lord Tyr informed you,” she accused.

“He did not. He kept your secret to this day… Queen Freyja.” White bowed respectfully to the younger woman. “And this was a secret that I kept myself, though I learned it a long time ago. ’Twas not so difficult to discover, my lady. A ruler must know his enemies, if he ever wishes to defeat them; as Aesgard has defeated Vanaheim.”

“You made use of a subterfuge to defeat us,” Magenta retorted bitterly. “You captured and held our Valkyries hostage, and called upon us to surrender.”

“All is fair in war,” White remarked.

“We were winning,” Magenta declared in turn.

“Then it was all the more necessary for us to make use of the ‘subterfuge’.” White leaned forward, glaring at Magenta. “I would suggest, Lord Freyr, that you keep your accusations to yourself. They will serve you nothing at this point. Furthermore, you are obviously not aware of all the details of the arrangements I made with your ruler, through Lord Tyr.”

“Do not speak of this traitor,” growled Magenta, glaring at Grey.

“At ease, my lord,” Destiny demanded. “When he put himself under Odin’s command, Lord Tyr was but following my instructions.”

“My lady?” Magenta seemed genuinely surprised.

“This war between our two peoples has gone on long enough,” Destiny continued.

“I agree, my lady,” White said with a nod.

Destiny turned to face a discomfited-looking Magenta. “We might have won this war with Aesgard one day –”

“– Or maybe not,” Ochre grumbled under his breath.

“– But we would never have won any war, all by ourselves, against the Jötnar. And that, Freyr, you know as well as I do. Neither Vanaheim, nor Aesgard, can hope to defeat these fiends all alone.” She took Magenta’s hand and squeezed it reassuringly. He looked down, conceding defeat, and apparently acquiescing to her words. Destiny sighed deeply, before turning to face White again. “And so, for the good of both Vanaheim and Aesgard, and in order for us to face our common enemies, and one day defeat them, I have agreed to surrender to Odin’s rule, and have accepted an alliance between our two people.”

“Did we have to surrender to achieve that?” asked Magenta with a frown.

“King Odin would never have agreed to surrender to you, prince of Vanaheim,” Scarlet said sardonically, with a raised brow.

“It does not matter,” Destiny said quickly, before Magenta took the remark as an insult. “The deal is now done. Vanaheim now falls under the rule of Odin, king of Aesgard. Through me, Freyja, queen of the Vanir, all of our land pledges loyalty and obedience to our new ruler.”

“And I, Odin of Aesgard, pledge protection and justice to the people of Vanaheim, ruling the land as I rule my own,” White said softly. “However, Lady Freyja, the deal is not quite done yet. Before all this becomes official, there are still some formalities that must be attended to.” He leaned even further forward on his throne, fixing his one eye on Destiny. “Do your Valkyries pledge their loyalty to me as well?”

There was suspicion in his voice, as if he doubted that fact. Destiny had a short moment of hesitation.

“Lord Odin, it is understandable that the Valkyries are wary of this arrangement between our lands.”

“That much is obvious, Lady Freyja, considering the amount of fighting they did when my warriors... ‘invited’ them into Aesgard and within these walls. One of them even fled to hide within Jötunheim, the land of the Ice Giants, where one of my sons had to ride, in order to find her.” White nodded towards Blue, and then addressed Destiny anew: “I trust you have informed them of their part in this arrangement of ours.”

“I have, Sire.”

“I take it they were not pleased, then.”

“Maybe they had good reasons not to be pleased,” Magenta remarked acerbically. “They probably knew they would be held captive within the Walhall’s dungeon.”

White raised his brow, before turning an accusing look toward the three Aesir princes standing by his side. Blue didn’t say a word, nor did he move, and Scarlet shrugged dismissively. As for Ochre, he grunted loudly.

“The dungeon?” White asked, furrowing his brow in curiosity. “Thor, I left you in charge of this affair. This was your idea?”

“What else could we do, Lord Odin?” Ochre retorted, turning to the older man. “These girls are she-devils incarnate. They would have escaped us, if we had not locked them up.”

“That is an arguable point. But did you have to put them in the dungeon?”

Ochre scoffed. “It seemed to me the safest place to imprison them, my lord. After all, until this deal is done, they are still to be considered as enemies of Aesgard, are they not?” He smiled mockingly. “One of them even threatened to gut me with a blunt knife, if ever the chance was to present itself.”

“A blunt knife?”

“So it would cause me more pain, Sire,” Ochre explained, laughing.

White gave a half-huff, half-chuckle hearing that, before he settled down on the throne, slowly, and turned to Destiny again. “Quite. Maybe it was a wise move, then. Do we have to fear that your Valkyries will turn against us, Lady Freyja?”

There was a flash in Destiny’s eyes at this accusation. “Lord Odin,” she reiterated in defence, “consider what is asked of them and ask yourself how you would react in their place, if you were forced into this venture.”

“Well, the same is asked of me and I have yet to slit my throat...” Scarlet muttered, loud enough to be understood. Everyone within hearing distance burst out laughing, and Ochre gave his ‘brother’ a vigorous thumping.

“Much good it will do you, Balder,” White replied with dry humour. And the remark made Blue prick up his ears in interest.

“Nevertheless,” Destiny continued, as if she had not been interrupted at all. “The Valkyries know their duty, and will perform it, whatever the cost asked of them.”

“What is that cost, exactly?” Magenta asked suspiciously. He obviously had no idea what it was all about. “What is the part they should play in this... charade?”

“This is not a ‘charade’, Lord Freyr,” White retorted. “This is an alliance between the land of Aesgard and the land of Vanaheim. An alliance between our two clans, rendered official by the joining of our royal houses. And as it goes, in those circumstances, such joining has to be made through –”

“Marriage,” Blue realised. The sudden understanding left him in shocked disbelief. The fact that nobody noticed the astonished expression on his features was simply due to the fact that everyone was watching Magenta’s reaction – and the expression of surprise and dismay was far more obvious on his face than on Blue’s. He turned a disapproving glance toward Destiny, while White was concurring with Blue’s declaration with a quiet nod:

“Aye. The three heirs of Aesgard and three Valkyries will be united by matrimony. Thus, the alliance between our two lands will be sanctioned.”

“You sold our Valkyries in marriage to these Aesir savages?” Magenta accused Destiny heatedly.

“Watch your tongue, Lord Freyr,” she answered quickly, before any of the Aesir could react to Magenta’s words. As it was, both Scarlet and Ochre simply shrugged dismissively, as if the insult had no effect on them. White kept silent, watching intensely as the ‘queen of Vanaheim’ turned to her vassal, and with eyes flashing with anger, scolded him: “The three chosen Valkyries are of royal blood, and therefore should be prepared to make the necessary sacrifice to ensure the safety of our land. This is their duty, and they will do as they are required… And I will not suffer you to dispute my decisions.”

Magenta scowled, his eyes blazing with barely contained anger. He then obviously calmed down, giving a deep sigh, and then bowed in front of Destiny, finally acknowledging her ruling. “As always, I’m at your service, my queen.”

“These two are lovers.” Blue heard Scarlet’s lilting whisper in his ear. “Just by the way they fight, you can feel it.”

Blue didn’t care to voice his opinion on the matter. In ‘real life’, there were rumours spreading around Cloudbase about Destiny... Some to the effect that she might be involved with either Magenta or Grey, or others stating that she might still be in love with Scarlet, with whom she had been romantically involved some years ago. There was nothing certain about that aspect of her life. She was always an extrovert girl, and very caring, but also could prove very secretive and personal when she decided to be. Her private life was her own, and she probably figured that nobody else had any business knowing any of it. Aside from the Angels – and even there – Scarlet was probably the person who was closest to her; maybe he would know about her private life, but it was doubtful she would confide in him or that he would repeat whatever he might know. He was far too discreet, and he had too much respect for Destiny and the friendship they shared to betray her confidence.

But in this present setting, it was far different. Perhaps Scarlet was unconsciously voicing something he did know from ‘real life’. In this world, Blue was realising, even if things were different, he couldn’t escape noticing that there were some similarities – uncomfortable similarities – that he would have to investigate further. It made him more and more convinced that the Mysterons might very well be behind this absurd situation.

“Is this settled then?” White’s booming voice enquired, pulling Blue from his reverie. “I wish for this matter to be fully resolved before the night is over. Lady Freyja, if there are no more protests from your vassal…”

“Not a protest, Lord Odin, but a concern,” Destiny answered. “And that is one I share with Lord Freyr. We would like to see confirmation that the Valkyries are well, if you would not mind.”

“Even if I did mind, you would insist in this demand of yours, is it not so, my lady?” White asked with a deep frown. “Nevertheless, I will grant your demand, for I had already decided, long before you asked. By this, I shall show you my good faith.”

He made a grand gesture toward the closed double doors. All eyes turned in that direction, as two guards standing there pulled on the carved wooden handles and opened the doors wide. There was a commotion from the hallway beyond – and a group of Aesir warriors finally entered, straining on long chains, towing and pushing inside three shackled and chained women dressed in dirty and torn rags which had very recently been rich garments.

If, up to now, Blue had been amazed by all he had witnessed, this new scene gave him the worst shock yet. He watched helplessly as the three young women were forced to march towards the throne, dragged and pushed, struggling furiously to get free, and kept at bay from their tormentors, whom they were trying to reach. At least, two of them were struggling with fury, while the third was merely trying to keep up without falling, her long, and now dishevelled, red hair falling into her face, which displayed an expression as confused as could be, looking around her in total dismay.

Blue’s heart missed a beat, as he realised that Rhapsody probably understood far less than he did himself about the situation, considering that she had not benefited from Doctor Fawn’s briefing. He also felt a pang of disgust, for the way she was being treated, along with her two companions, whom he recognised instantly, despite their unkempt outlook, and the ferocious expressions distorting their beautiful, dirty faces. They were Melody, and his beloved Symphony. And the way the Aesir warriors were laughing at their vain efforts to resist was enough to revolt him.

“Lord Odin!” he called over the clamouring laughter of those surrounding him, and turning towards White, who was still seated on his throne, watching the Valkyries approach without a single emotion apparent on his set face. “This is outrageous! Is this a proper way to treat those who will be our allies?”

As he said these words, he could see the look of utmost revulsion displayed on both Magenta and Destiny’s faces change slightly to one of gratitude as they stared at him. He even caught sight of Grey bowing slightly, in approbation to his outburst. He stepped down from the dais, just as the Angels – or Valkyries, as they were called in this setting – were forced to stop in front of the throne.

Rhapsody nearly lost her footing, and, trying to pull away from the warrior she nearly fell onto, bumped into someone who was standing right behind her. She felt strong hands grabbing her arms. When she turned around, it was to gaze right into the pallid face of the man she knew as Captain Black, staring implacably at her. She gave a gasp of horror and surprise and, freeing herself from his grip, backed away to escape him. Her feet entangled themselves in the shackles around her ankles and she fell backward, nearly onto Blue’s legs. He caught hold of her before she reached the floor and pulled her up. He could see the lost look in her eyes and, before she had a chance to push him away, he leaned to whisper discreetly in her ear:

“Don’t worry, Rhapsody, I’m here.”

“B-Blue?” she gasped with relief. She had heard him, despite the surrounding clamour, and he heard her. She looked in confusion at him. “My God, Adam... that’s Captain Black standing there...”

“Don’t worry about him. He’s not what he seems,” Blue murmured again. “At least, I don’t think so.”

“What is going on? Where –”

He frowned a warning as he felt a presence approaching him from behind and the laughter was dying down. “Play along,” he recommended. “I’ll explain later.”

“I don’t understand...” Those were the last words Rhapsody had time to pronounce as her eyes suddenly grew wide with a new surprise at discovering who was now standing behind Blue, with such a totally outlandish appearance.

“The Valkyrie’s reaction is quite understandable,” Captain Scarlet declared, pulling Blue slightly aside to stand in front of Rhapsody. “Aye, our friend Loki is certainly not a reassuring sight.” He narrowed his eyes, looking down with interest at the young woman, who could do nothing but stare at him, open-mouthed. “Her expression is similar to the one you had earlier, Hodur... Lost and confused. What happened to the two of you in those mountains?”

“You savage!” Blue turned around to face the furious Melody, who was now trying to reach him. “What have you done to our sister?”

“QUIET!” White bellowed from his throne, as Melody’s vain efforts to attack Blue were drawing another gale of laughter. Silence followed instantly, and even Melody quietened down. “Both Lord Hodur and Lady Nanna have been through horrendous experiences, during their journey back from the Icy Mountains... Of which, all that we know is that they were attacked by wolves. Although we suspect there was much more to it.”

“King Odin, Lord Hodur does not remember most of his journey,” Ochre said, by way of explanation.

“And neither, it seems, does the Valkyrie Nanna,” White interrupted him before he could continue. “But that mystery will have to wait. What I would like to know now is: who is responsible for this disgraceful display. Who decided to put these women in chains?”

“You mean to say, Lord Odin, that you were not aware of this?” Magenta asked with a deep, doubtful frown. “You did not order the Valkyries to be brought here in chains?”

“I certainly did not. Now, whose bright idea was this? Was it yours, Thor?”

The growl from White was accusing, and ominous enough, but it didn’t seem to impress the red-haired warrior that much. “Not me, Sire,” he retorted with a shrug. “I only admit having them put in the dungeon, but I did not give orders to have them restrained so.”

“Balder? Did you give that order?”

“Nay, my lord,” Scarlet replied. “But it is not difficult to imagine from whom this idea comes, since he was present a second ago... Probably enjoying his latest trick.”

“Loki,” growled White again, almost spitting the name. “This would be quite like him. Come forward, Loki!”

Everyone looked around the room for the culprit; but he seemed to have disappeared, taking advantage of the confusion. Blue could have kicked himself. He had let Black get out of his sight for only a minute or two. He wondered if he had not caused the commotion exactly for that reason.

“I should have known,” White muttered. “As soon as his evil deed was done, the trickster vanished until the next.”

“My lord,” Ochre then said, taking a step forward, “In Loki’s defence, I must admit that it is an inspired and prudent idea.”

He won a withering look from White as well as from Magenta and Destiny, but didn’t seem to care. He smiled mischievously.

“Look how fierce these warrior women are. They would kill any of us if they had the chance.”

“I would certainly kill you, bastard prince,” Melody declared suddenly, pulling to get to him. “Just remove these chains and –”

“Now, Lady Sif,” Ochre said with a mocking grin, walking to stand in front of her. “You already made that promise to me earlier. Do not worry; you will get all my attention later on, in the privacy of our chamber. That is my promise.”

“Why wait so long, my lord?” Melody replied between clenched teeth. “Come right now, give me a sword – and I will give you what you so rightly deserve.”

Ochre raised a brow in mocking amusement. “You would cut my head right off, if I gave you a sword.”

“Aye. And hang it on the saddle of my mare, as a trophy.” Melody scoffed. “That is much more respect than you Aesir dogs presently give us Valkyries.”

Murmurs and chuckles greeted her challenge. White, on his throne, raised an enquiring brow, while Scarlet started laughing out loud. “Why, Thor, it would seem you found a spirit as boisterous as yours! Perhaps too boisterous?” He grinned wickedly, looking in appreciation at Melody, then down at Rhapsody who was still staring up at him in shocked silence. “I wonder if you will be able to handle her… Mayhap I should take her myself. The obviously quieter redhead might be more suitable for you.”

“Not on your life, brother,” Ochre answered before either Rhapsody or Melody could utter what would no doubt sound like an acerbic protest or insult. “And besides, you might learn before long that redheads are quite a handful. As one, I should know.”

“Aye, so you should. ’Tis to be considered,” mused Scarlet. His smile widened, and he raised a mocking brow while glancing in the direction of Blue, who had his eyes set on a silent, but fuming, Symphony. “But I still prefer blondes. The lady Iduna would be to my liking.”

“What are you all on?” Rhapsody whispered, opening eyes wide with astonishment.

Scarlet simply raised a questioning brow, but didn’t reply. He didn’t have time, anyway.

“Try to touch me, you arrogant son of a swine,” Symphony snapped angrily before Blue could react to Scarlet’s obvious tease, “and I promise you will lose something that you –”

“I say ENOUGH OF THIS!” Obviously annoyed by the increasingly chaotic scene, White jumped onto his feet, and hit the floor forcefully with the stave end of his spear. The loud sound echoed throughout the Hall, bringing silence instantly. “I have heard enough nonsense for one evening! Remember where you are! This is the Hall of the Gatherings, not a fighting arena! The next one who utters such foolishness will be thrown into the wolves’ den! And do not think that I would not do it!”

Silence had already fallen in the Hall and nobody dared to answer White’s menacing threat. He grunted with satisfaction and turned to Ochre, Scarlet and Blue now looking at him with attention.

“Princes of Aesgard, it is not for you to decide which of the Valkyries you will be betrothed to. The choice rests with Lady Freyja and myself.”

“And we will choose wisely.” Those were Destiny’s first words since the Valkyries’ arrival a few minutes earlier. For some reason, she had kept quiet up until now, observing the scene with considerable interest.

The Valkyries turned to her, and both Melody and Symphony were glaring at her with obvious resentment in their features while Rhapsody still looked as lost as previously. The nearby presence of the tall barbarian who looked so much like Paul – but who was nothing like him – was making her feel more uncomfortable than she cared to admit.

Fortunately, Adam was there as well. The real Adam and not some strange barbarian look-alike as the others were. And despite the fact that he was dressed like all the others, he was acting in the same way as the old reliable Adam. That, at least, was reassuring.

“Lady Freyja,” White said, stepping down from the dais, “may we rely on your Valkyries’ acceptance of the terms of our agreement or will they dare to disobey you?”

“They will disregard their personal feelings and obey my orders.” There was a flash of warning in Destiny’s eyes as she stared back at Melody and Symphony. “I am their queen, and their leader in battle. They might not like it, but they will perform their duty as it is demanded of them, for the greater good of Vanaheim.” She marked a short pause, before adding promisingly: “...Or I will myself push them into that wolves’ den of yours, Lord Odin.”

There was a short moment of hesitation from Melody and Symphony but then, after exchanging glances, they acknowledged Destiny’s words with a slight nod. Defiance was still apparent in their eyes, but their submission to their queen’s decision seemed enough to satisfy White. He gave a loud guffaw in obvious appreciation of Destiny’s last words and, pushing his spear into Blue’s hands so he could hold it for him, he snatched two goblets from the hands of two nearby warriors and walked meaningfully to the younger woman.

“You are a woman after my own heart, Lady Freyja.” He offered her one of the vessels with a poised gesture and a courtesy that almost – almost – reminded Blue of the man’s real persona. “Let us seal this alliance between our lands with a pledge, and sanctify it with the joining of our two houses.”

“My Valkyries are now your Valkyries, King Odin,” Destiny answered with a slight bow. “And they will obey you as they obey me. They are the best mounted warriors you will ever find in all the combined lands of Aesgard and Vanaheim.”

“Aye, that they are. And as the spouses of my heirs, they will be considered as my daughters. And all of your people are now my people, and shall be treated as equal to any Aesir and given the same protection by my warriors. This I solemnly swear – my queen.” He raised his own goblet to the assembly, and declaimed in a loud voice: “Let it be heard and understood that from this day forward, the lands of Aesgard and Vanaheim are now one land. One people. One force against our common enemies, the fierce Ice Giants of Jötunheim. And when the day comes, we will crush those malevolent fiends, once and for all, and drive them away from our lands and back to the darkness from whence they came! Together!”

There came the potent noise of the banging of weapons, and shouts of ‘Hail Odin!’, ‘Hail Aesgard!’ and even ‘Hail Vanaheim!’ and ‘Death to the Jötnar!’ from all around the room. The warriors sprang to their feet, raising their tankards and swords.

Blue looked around in wonder and almost dread, as the last lacquer of civilisation seemed to completely vanish in that short instant. He could see that Rhapsody was not keen either at finding herself in the middle of such a furious and frantic company, and she stared at him with a pleading look. He gave her a brief nod of encouragement.

But in fact, he didn’t feel as confident as he would have liked to feel, or as he was trying to appear.

Barely an hour had passed since the end of the meeting. Blue was now in his chamber – Hodur’s chamber – pacing around nervously and rehearsing what he had learned so far. What he knew wouldn’t fill a book, and that was exasperating. What was more, although the present state of affairs within this world was starting to make a more comprehensive picture, he was as much in the dark as before as to how and why it even existed.

He wished he could use a pen and a paper to write down his discoveries so far; that would make it far easier to concentrate, but true to form, neither of those two simple and very common objects was on hand here. He’d have to make do without them.

Fact: After a malfunction, all of the personnel on Cloudbase were stuck in a fantasy world born out of a 3D game that was running in the Room of Sleep, transformed into an FX Room for the occasion. What had caused it to malfunction, and why everyone was affected, was still a mystery. Yet, apparently, the incident had caused everyone to forget their real lives and to embrace this new reality, and believe it to be the only one they’d ever known. The effects went as far as to erase everything that they knew before, creating a complete set of memories, knowledge and behaviour that were previously alien to the victims.

A complete brainwash.

Fact: Normal 3D games were played at the subconscious level, by imposing images, sounds and feelings on the players so as to give the appearance of reality. From what Blue knew of those games, it was still very tricky to create suitable and complete realism for some of the human senses. If sight and hearing were easily tricked, touch was a little dodgy, and it could still happen that simple contact with a badly configured ‘wall’ would cause the game to collapse. Additionally, even the most sophisticated game could not render the sense of smell perfectly, and as far as Blue knew, there was no way at all to influence taste in these games. Yet, it was not the case in this particular situation: everything was, or at least seemed as real as in real life itself. A cold wind might make you shiver; dust would make you choke; ale did have a taste and could even make you feel dizzy. Those were not normal conditions for any ordinary 3D game.

Which would imply that this is far more than an ‘ordinary game’.

Fact: This world was apparently loosely based on Norse mythology, except that it had been brought to a more ‘realistic’ level – so to speak – and with some subtle differences. Blue’s memories of those legends were coming back to him slowly, and he did recall now that in some more obscure myths, there had been a mention of a war between Aesgard and Vanaheim. A war that had ended up with the two peoples finally making peace and joining together. But, as far as he could recall, in none of those legends was there any mention of the Valkyries ever being on the side of Vanaheim.

Speaking of which...

Observation: Each of the senior staff members was seemingly ‘assigned’ a key role in this three-dimensional Norse play. For the vast majority of them, and as far as Blue was able to assess, those roles had been given according to each ‘participant’s’ personality, and apparently were reflections of what they were in real life. The Angels, surely enough, had been transformed into the Valkyries, with Destiny, their generally acknowledged leader, becoming Freyja, the first rider of the Valkyries and ruler of the Vanir. Magenta was ‘her brother’ Freyr – or at least, her front, if not actually her consort. Blue remembered that the legends also gave Freyr the name of Fricco. Oddly enough in this reality, while it was an alien detail to the myths, it had been used for a period of Freyr’s life where he was a mere cattle thief, thus making Freyr a ‘reformed criminal’, as Magenta was in real life. Ochre had been transformed into the boisterous Thor, which didn’t seem like an odd choice when you thought of it. Lieutenant Green, the communications officer on Cloudbase, was Heimdall, in Norse myths, the guardian of the entrance of Aesgard – the Bifrost, the Rainbow Bridge, whereas in this setting, he was the captain of the royal palace guard. And Colonel White, in a strange but logical twist of fate, had become Odin, ruthless ruler of all of Aesgard.

As for Captain Scarlet, he had been turned into Balder. If Blue’s returning memory served him right, and if what he had heard so far concerning Balder in this world was any indication, then he knew very well why Scarlet had been given that role.

It would not be coincidence that all these people have been given those very specific roles. I don’t believe in coincidence. It would be far too convenient.

Which would mean that this whole fantasy world has been carefully planned all along... by an outside source.

And Blue had strong suspicions of who that outside source might be.

Clue: the unexpected presence of Captain Black, in the also very fitting role of Loki, renowned trickster and evil-doer of Aesgard legends, could not be a coincidence either.

Conclusion: this whole predicament could very well be the work of the Mysterons.

The more he thought of it, the more Blue became convinced that this was indeed the case. It seemed the best and the most plausible explanation so far.

We don’t know the extent of their powers, but given the proper tools – such as a very sophisticated 3D game, they might very well have the powers to actually carry out such a crazy scheme, mightn’t they? But why would they do that? Why go to such lengths to recreate such a world, and carefully put each of us into these specific roles?

Blue had no idea so far why he was Hodur in this set up, but there was certainly a reason. The Mysterons never did anything without reason. He didn’t know much about Hodur, a rather obscure character of Norse mythology. All that Blue recalled at this point was that he was a blind god and that, indeed, he was Balder’s brother.

And I obviously am not blind, Blue reflected. Unless you consider my mind is, since I have such difficulty remembering these legends I knew so well when I was a kid.

And what if his non-remembering them was the work of the Mysterons as well? They might not want him to access these specific memories, so to hinder his efforts to make sense of their situation, and find a way to escape it.

Blue didn’t know if Fawn knew of Black’s presence. That was doubtful; he felt pretty sure that Fawn would have told him if he had known. This was not information he would have kept to himself, no matter the amount of interruption that might have prevented him from warning Blue.

He had to talk to Fawn; to tell him what he had learned – and to ask him if his suspicions about Scarlet were true. That was probably what he was trying to tell me, before we were interrupted by Scarlet himself.

Pretending that he required the physician Mimir’s help because he still didn’t feel too well, he had asked a warrior to fetch Fawn. But he was soon disappointed when the man returned to him, stating that he could not find ‘Mimir’.

“He’s not in his quarters?” Blue asked, puzzled.

The warrior, whom Blue remembered as a security guard from Cloudbase’s hangar bay by the name of Norris, simply shrugged his shoulders in an indifferent fashion. “I looked everywhere, my lord. It seems that the physician Mimir has disappeared.”

“Disappeared...” Blue repeated pensively, starting to pace around again.

“Maybe he joined the Vanir party who came to Aesgard?” Norris suggested. “After all, he is a Vane himself; he might have joined his people. Nothing would prevent him from doing so now.”

“Maybe,” Blue murmured. Maybe he’s trying to reach Rhapsody? No, she wouldn’t be with the Vanir party. She’d be kept with the other ‘Valkyries’ – at least, until they’re all delivered to their ‘betrotheds’.

Blue knew that both ‘Odin’ and ‘Freyja’, following the last victory toast in the Hall, had retired together in private, in order to discuss the final details of their arrangements, and that they were to reach a quick decision on this matter – tonight.

Blue wasn’t comfortable with the thought that any of the young women would be – quite literally – given to him. He didn’t quite know what he would do when she arrived. Which should be soon now, Blue reflected uneasily. No matter who it was, it would be an embarrassing situation. He rather thought that it would be best if Rhapsody was ‘allotted’ to him. That way, he would be able to brief her on what little he knew. But at the same time, it was driving him crazy to think that Symphony would be handed to either ‘Thor’ or ‘Balder’.

There would be no wedding ceremony – not as such. The agreement between the two rulers was enough to consider the unions as legitimate – and consummation during the nuptial night would be the only rite necessary to validate the marriages. There was no place for fanciness in this harsh world... Things were kept straight and simple.

Think rationally, Adam, this is only a game. It’s all subconscious. Whatever might happen, it won’t be real, so you don’t have to worry about a thing. It wouldn’t be as if Paul or Rick would really be sleeping with Karen, should she be given to one of them as ‘wife’.

Right... If I keep on thinking that, maybe I’ll convince myself...

He shook himself. For now, he had other business to take care of. Maybe that would take his mind off these foolish and pointless concerns. He turned to Norris.

“Keep searching,” he ordered. “Get others to help you. I want to know where Mimir is, and I want him brought to me.”

Commotion from the hall beyond the door interrupted him; Blue turned to the door, in time to see it burst open and two other warriors enter, roughly pulling inside a young woman who, despite the chains restraining her, was struggling to escape them.

Blue’s face paled instantly. That woman between these two men was Symphony. Refreshed, her hair combed and wearing a clean and exquisite, although old-fashioned, gown, she was still the same combative Valkyrie he had seen earlier in the Hall.

And still the same strong-willed Angel I know and love...

Seeing her manhandled by these two unruly warriors made Blue’s blood boil. He took a step forward. “RELEASE HER!” he roared angrily.

“My lord,” one of the warriors protested, “she is a she-devil! Considering her threats earlier in the Hall, we were fearful that she might hurt you.”

“Besides, the lady Iduna would not come willingly,” the other put in.

“You heard Lord Odin’s order earlier!” Blue barked, frowning deeply. “I’m giving you the same order now! Release her from those chains. RIGHT NOW!”

The tone of his voice did not admit any debate; even Symphony seemed to calm down at the sound of it – at least enough to permit the two warriors to finally obey Blue’s order, despite obvious reluctance. One of them picked a key hanging from his belt and unlocked the collar that encircled the young woman’s neck, and then removed the shackles from her wrists. She kept still...

...Until her hand reached for the unguarded knife hanging from the belt of the warrior on her right and swiftly snatched it from its sheath. Blue saw the three men with him trying to reach for her and, fearful that they would hurt her, he moved forward... and stopped almost instantly in his tracks, when he felt the tip of the unsheathed blade suddenly resting against his throat.

Everyone froze where they were.

Keeping his chin up, Blue squinted down to meet Symphony’s glare, looking up fiercely at him, neither her eyes nor her hand wavering.

Which is a damn good thing, because one false move and she could end up killing me.

Do I still dare believe it’s only a 3D-game gone wrong? Blue asked himself. Of course, I don’t... What if Karen kills me, even accidentally? For real?

“Now,” he said carefully, trying not to swallow, “I’m sure you don’t want to do that...”

“Do I not?” Symphony asked coldly enough. The blade slightly pricked Blue under the chin. He grimaced. The minor wound felt uncomfortably real. Blue looked down at Symphony; her whole attitude right now seemed to indicate that she would not hesitate one second to slit his throat. She was serious.

“Take it easy,” he said, trying to sound soothing. A glance toward the three warriors told him that they were watching for the first available occasion to jump on Symphony and restrain her, without risking his life. There was no telling what lengths they would go to, to stop the young woman.

She seemed to have read his mind.

“Tell your men to leave us,” she hissed between her teeth.

“We will not leave this room,” Norris replied harshly.

“You will, if you do not want me to slit the throat of your precious prince!” Symphony snapped.

Blue nearly forgot to mind the blade when he nodded his agreement. The sting under his chin reminded him of it. “Do as she says. Leave us.”

“Lord Hodur –” one of the other warriors started to protest.

“It’ll be all right,” Blue answered carefully. “I’ll handle it. Go. Leave us.”

Symphony watched cagily as, reluctantly, the three Aesir warriors walked back through the door, while keeping wary eyes on her, not knowing what she would do. She gave them a stern glance. “Close the door behind you,” she ordered. “And do not come back before you are ordered to. Or you might regret it.”

“Obey her,” Blue acknowledged. “I’ll be all right. She won’t dare to kill me, I’m her only shield.”

She raised a brow at his statement, but didn’t comment. Slowly, the door closed behind the departing warriors. Forcing Blue to follow her steps, by keeping the blade against his throat, Symphony backed away to the door, and turned the key in the lock, not taking her eyes off her hostage. He followed the gesture with some wariness.

“This way, no-one will come to disturb us,” she announced. She threw the key to the other side of the room, in a casual enough gesture. “You are my prisoner, now, prince of Aesgard.”

“What now?” Blue asked carefully, locking his eyes with hers. “What are your intentions? You’re going to kill me?”

“Kill you? Would I really do that?” She scoffed loudly and came closer, nearly against him. It seemed to Blue that it would be so easy to seize her and disarm her, but the blade still resting against his throat was more than enough deterrent. “You said it yourself earlier, my lord, you are my shield... And shields are meant to protect.”

“I wouldn’t be much of a protection if I was dead, would I?”

“Aye, you certainly worth more to me alive than dead, Lord Hodur... but not only because you are ‘my shield’.”

With that, before Blue could move, she swiftly removed the blade from his throat, put her arms round his neck, and pressing her body against his, tiptoed to reach him and planted a vibrant kiss onto his lips. He nearly gasped – out of surprise, out of breath, and rolled unbelieving eyes as his body responded almost instinctively, if still a little clumsily, and his hands closed on her hips to bring her closer still to him.

When their lips parted, he looked down in total confusion into her eyes, seeing the expression on her beautiful face grow bright with mischief, as she hung from his neck. He was completely speechless.

She smiled and laughed gaily. “’Tis good to see you again, my husband.”

What’s happening to me? Rhapsody Angel was wondering as, escorted by a single Viking warrior who was holding her arm tightly as if to make sure she would not escape, she was marching down a long corridor lit by numerous torches hanging from stony walls, toward what she knew would be the chamber of one of the ‘heirs of Aesgard’.

I’m dreaming. I was hurt when our SPJ crashed on the Cloudbase runway and I’m in sickbay. I’m concussed, and I’m having delusional dreams. I’ll wake up any moment now.

But it all felt too real... The fine linen of the gown she was wearing now, the chill draught piercing her skin, the coldness of the stone under her feet, the earlier heaviness of those chains she had been restrained with and that – mercifully – she was now free of. She was completely at a loss about what was happening and could not think of any logical explanation for any of it.

She had woken up a few hours earlier, suffering from a terrible headache and dressed in dirty clothes, in a room where a man called ‘Mimir’ was tending to her. She had quickly recognised this barbarian physician as Doctor Fawn, despite his outlandish appearance. He had seemed surprised that she remembered him, but they didn’t have time to talk further. As soon as he had confirmed she was physically fine, some fierce-looking Viking warriors had dragged her out of the room and down into a dungeon – a dungeon! – where she was put in chains, and left in the company of both Melody and Symphony.

At least she thought they were Melody and Symphony. They looked exactly like her friends, but didn’t act at all like them, and unlike Fawn, didn’t seem to recognise her as their fellow Angel pilots. They were talking with a strange, lilting accent, calling her ‘sister’, and although they checked her with concern, the questions they asked and the statements they made didn’t make any sense at all. They were called ‘Sif’ and ‘Iduna’, and referred to her as ‘Nanna’. They were ‘Valkyries’; they had been captured by Aesir, and they were to suffer an ignoble fate, worse than death, according to them.

With her head still hurting, and already as confused as she could be, Rhapsody hadn’t really had the time to get over her surprise, never mind try to understand her situation. It wasn’t very long, maybe a couple of hours later, before she saw other Viking warriors enter the dark cell to take them to that great Hall. Melody and Symphony had made a show of resisting as ferociously as they were able to. The disbelieving Rhapsody was merely there for the ride, caught in the action, trying desperately to make sense of what she was now seeing and experiencing.

Amongst all the wide assembly in the Hall, she had seen Cloudbase’s senior staff, barely recognising them in their ancient garments and hiding behind a rough appearance. Ochre, Grey, Magenta, Destiny, even the colonel... All of them, answering to names that weren’t theirs – some of which she recognised as names of gods from Norse myths.

And even Paul, whom they called ‘Balder’, and who, like the others, didn’t seem to recognise her... And that had made her heart ache.

And there was also Captain Black… whom they named ‘Loki’.

She shivered despite herself, remembering his cold touch on her arms when she had stumbled against him. It was as if she had touched a snake.

But was it really him? she asked herself. Was it really all of them? She was beginning to doubt that very much now. Paul would never have stood idle on seeing her loaded with chains and manhandled; he would have done something, intervened and freed her, or at the very least, reacted just like Captain Blue had done…

Captain Blue, not ‘Hodur’, like the others referred to him – the only one to remember her, to actually look like and act the man she knew.

She was hoping that it was to Blue that she was now being taken. Somehow, she trusted that she would be able to learn from him what this whole insanity was about. He seemed to know a lot more than she did, from what she was able to gather earlier. He would tell her exactly who these barbarians were.

Rhapsody’s hopes vanished when, approaching a closed door, she heard half-muffled voices coming from the other side. An argument, by the sound of it, between a man and a woman. The Viking guiding her stopped in front of the door and stood there with her, waiting. Rhapsody glanced up at his face; the man was keeping a neutral expression, but she could see the uneasiness within him, reflected in his eyes. He obviously knew better than to intrude on the couple’s squabble.

“How can you say it is finished, my prince? Do you not know the feelings I have for you? How can you make such a decision?”

Rhapsody’s heart sank when she then recognised the male voice that answered, so very familiar despite that alien accent she had heard earlier:

“This was not my decision,” it was saying with patience. “I have to abide by Lord Odin’s command.”

“This is not only Odin’s command, and you know it. I saw how you were looking at her... You want her. Do you love her more than me?”

“This has nothing to do with love. This is a political matter.”

There was a loud scoff from the woman. “Political?! Since when do you concern yourself with politics, my lord?”

“Be careful, Gerda... My patience is growing thin. I will not allow you to mock me.”

“It is you who are mocking yourself, Lord Balder. This woman... This Valkyrie... She will betray you. Do you not see anything? Are you blind?

“I assure you I do not know what you are talking about.”

“Then you are blind, as well as deaf, Prince of Aesgard. People have been talking... About the woman and your brother.”

“Gerda...” There was a touch of annoyance, as well as of warning in Balder’s voice now, but the woman didn’t seem to hear it at all, as she continued her tirade, relentlessly:

“There is talk about the time they passed together in the mountains of Jötunheim. Together, alone, Lord Balder. Do you not wonder why they claim they do not remember anything at all of that time?”

“I am warning you, woman –” growled Balder.

“... Or is it that they do remember and they do not want to tell anything of what happened there? Do you not see now?”

“Still your tongue!” There was anger now in Balder’s voice as he barked the order. The silence that followed was brief, as Gerda finally kept quiet, suddenly realising that she was treading on dangerous ground. “Still it, before I still it for you,” Balder growled again. “I did not hear any of those calumnious rumours you are talking about, except coming from your heinous mouth, right now. Who told you such lies? WHO put those malicious thoughts in your head? Loki? I saw you talking with him in the Hall. Are you conspiring with him now?”

“Those are no lies, Prince Balder. Nor is there conspiracy. Mark my words: together, they will betray you.”

“SILENCE!” Balder’s furious voice didn’t suffer any reply now. “You are talking about my betrothed... and my brother. Jealousy is making you lose your mind, Gerda, and say things that you will live to regret. As of NOW, you are no longer in my service. You are to return to the Walhall kitchens, where you were working before, feeding meals to the warriors, sleeping in the commune... NEVER to appear before my eyes ever again!”

Gerda gasped loudly. “My lord... You cannot –”

“ONE MORE WORD and you will be assigned to the stables!”

Silence followed, soon broken by Gerda’s low and bitter voice. “So, this is how it ends between us. And I thought you loved me.”

“I... appreciated you, Gerda. But I CANNOT allow you to spill your venom on my brother and my betrothed with impunity. You were the instrument of your own downfall.”

There was another short silence. “Nay, my lord,” Gerda then said sourly. “’Tis your downfall that you have instigated. That, I promise you.”

Those words sounded more like a threat than a prediction. The following second, the door was opened wide and the servant girl walked out with long strides. She gave a spiteful glance in Rhapsody’s direction but did not say anything. Huffing, she passed by; Rhapsody followed her with her eyes. An icy draught seemed to follow her, and Rhapsody shivered. She had seen hatred in the young woman’s eyes – a hatred that seemed aimed at her.

She looks so much like Nurse Preston in sickbay – could it be her?

“The Valkyrie may enter.”

The voice coming from the other side of the open door was now clearer, and calmer, as if nothing had happened. The Viking warrior easily pulled Rhapsody inside the room; she could see little point in resisting. She felt better now; her head felt lighter, and she could think a little clearer. She thought she would be better served by knowing the situation before running away from it, in an unknown direction. She had no idea where she would end up, anyway.

She was brought into the middle of a vast room, brightly lit, well-ventilated with a gentle breeze entering through the large apertures pierced in the wall. There was a small table in front of her, with plates of fruit, two goblets and a jug filled with a dark brown liquid. Against the far wall, there was a large rustic bed, covered with furs. Rhapsody’s eyes were fixed on that bed. She was suddenly wondering if she would not have been better off taking the chance to flee.

“Well, that certainly is an improvement. These garments suit you better than chains, Lady Nanna.”

Rhapsody did her best not to jump, and turned her head towards the darkest corner of the room. Standing there, right next to one of the apertures, through which she could see a clear dark sky dotted with bright stars, Scarlet – or rather Balder – was looking at her, his piercing blue eyes scrutinising her from head to foot. There was a teasing smirk on his lips as he approached with a casual stride.

“But I still say I prefer blondes.” If he thought of making her react, one way or another, he was mistaken. He eyed the guard beside her. “You can go, now,” he told him. “I do not think she will cause me any trouble.”

Stopping to stand in front of Rhapsody, he barely acknowledged the man as the latter bowed to him and, releasing the young woman’s arm, left, closing the door behind him. “You will not, will you?” Balder murmured.

Rhapsody couldn’t answer; she was literally transfixed as she looked into the man’s face. So much like Paul, and yet... it can’t be him.

Can it?

Faced with her silence, Balder grunted. “’Tis really my luck, to be stuck with the quiet one of the lot. I like my women to have fire in them.”

He took one of the goblets on the table, poured some of the brown stuff into it and offered it to Rhapsody. She glanced at it and saw the thick yellowish froth that had formed on the liquid – which smelled terrible. She looked away in disgust, and Balder laughed.

“Suit yourself, Lady Nanna.” Balder drank the contents of the goblet in one large gulp, and then, putting it down, eyed Rhapsody carefully. “I have seen you with much more fire than this before. What happened in those mountains for you to lose your spirit this way?” He raised a brow. “Why did you flee to those mountains to begin with? Is it such an ugly fate to be wedded to a prince of Aesgard?”

He took an apple from the table and offered it to her. She barely looked at it. He scoffed.

“Oh, come on, now! You must be hungry! You cannot have eaten that well in the dungeon?” He bit into the apple and added, his mouth full: “Speak to me, Lady Nanna. Your silence is weighing on me.”

“What would you have me say?” Rhapsody said abruptly.

Balder’s face lightened with a smile as he chewed on the apple. “Ah! At last! Words coming from those lovely lips of yours. And more: I can sense in those words that there is still that old spirit in you.”

“When was that?” Rhapsody asked with a frown.

He swallowed the piece of apple he was chewing. “When was what?”

“You said you had seen me with more fire before... And now, you’re speaking of my ‘old spirit’. So that must mean we met before. When was that? How did we meet?”

“The first time?” Balder shrugged. “Probably on the field of battle, during one of the numerous clashes between your people and mine. I was probably trying to dodge that spear of yours... Lest you actually ran me through with it!” He smiled. “Surely, you must remember this better than me. I probably made quite an impression on you.”

“You’d be arrogant enough to assume that,” she retorted.

“The fire grows brighter now!” Balder laughed, apparently pleased. “There is promise here.” He shook his head. “But I do not assume anything. I can only observe that you cannot take your eyes off me.” He leaned toward her, eyeing her mischievously. “Do not try to deny that.”

Rhapsody flushed violently, before looking down. “It’s just that... you look very much like someone I know.”

“An old lover, mayhap?” Rhapsody raised her eyes anew in time to see Balder shrug dismissively. “Is that why you fled to the Icy Mountains? To escape your fate and still be with him? Well, I say, forget about him. You are mine, now. Legitimately, by the agreement of both our rulers.”

“And if I don’t agree with that?” she asked abruptly.

Balder frowned. “You have no choice. You are a warrior. Honour and duty demand that you obey your ruler, just as I must obey mine.”

“What if I don’t consider... Freyja as my ruler?”

“Well, she is, so it is a moot point to argue.”

“Then I’ll argue this: I’ve a duty to consider that I don’t have to obey unreasonable orders. They can’t be imposed on me. This is my first duty, as a person – and as a soldier.” Balder did not answer that. He was simply looking at her in silence. She raised an inquisitive brow. “You’re thinking that I’m not as quiet as you first assumed... Lord Balder?” she said tentatively.

“Nay. I did not really think so!” He became more serious in the space of a second. “I, better than anyone else, know that an encounter with the Jötnar can scar you for life. And so, I am blaming your present uncharacteristic behaviour on this. The same for my brother Hodur. Because this is what happened to you both, is it not? You encountered those devils?” He offered her what was left of his apple, but she didn’t even deign to look at it. Instead, she was staring at him, wondering what he meant exactly. “Still not hungry, then? That will come.” He took one last bite from the apple and threw it away onto an empty plate on the table.

“You don’t believe what that woman said earlier?” Rhapsody remarked.

He grunted and swallowed his last mouthful. “’Tis unfortunate that you heard those disgraceful accusations.”

“She was talking about me, then.”

He shrugged. “Aye. But those were words born out of jealousy. You should not concern yourself with them. You see that they do not concern me.”

“Why? You trust me that much?”

Balder guffawed loudly, before turning to the table and serving himself another drink. “Do not give yourself too much credit, Lady Nanna. I would never trust you entirely... especially with a knife in your hand! You might be tempted to plant it between my shoulder blades!”

“Gee, thanks,” she muttered in an undertone.

“But I do trust my brother,” Balder quickly added, with a slight smile. “And there is not a more trustworthy man alive.” Draining his goblet in one long draught, he put it down onto the table and turned to face her again. He took her by the hand. “But enough talk, now. ’Tis our wedding night, Lady Nanna. And it is time for us to seal our union and truly be husband and wife, as decreed by our rulers.”

As he was bringing Rhapsody’s hand to his lips, she swiftly removed it, immediately on the defensive. “Didn’t you listen to what I said earlier?” she asked. “I did not agree to this!” She was tempted to tell him that her name wasn’t Nanna, but she saw little point in it. It was more than likely he wouldn’t believe her.

“You persist in this little game of yours?” Laughing, Balder encircled her waist and brought her close to him, before she could even react. “I do not mind. I like a little fighting before love. Your fire will sustain my passion.” He leaned his head to kiss her exposed shoulder. She could feel the roughness of his cheek on her neck. Pushing him away, she freed herself.

“Don’t touch me!” she demanded.

Rhapsody’s irritated expression made him laugh, which only infuriated her further. She took a swing at his face, but misjudged both the distance and the speed of her fist and he dodged her attack easily. In one fluid movement, he slipped under her arm and stepped behind her to encircle her with his strong arms, effectively pinning her arms against her body.

Big mistake, buster... Rhapsody stamped her foot down viciously, bringing her heel down onto Balder’s foot. The thin suede of his boot wasn’t enough to protect his toes and he yelped, relaxing his hold on her just a little. Her head went backwards and hit him squarely on the nose, forcing a loud groan from his lips. This time, he completely let go.

Seizing her chance, Rhapsody attempted to dash towards the door, but just as she was getting out of reach, Balder’s hand closed on her wrist. He pulled her vigorously toward him, then used the momentum, and flung her in the other direction, letting go at the end of the arc.

This time, Rhapsody completely lost her footing and fell down, face first onto the bed. Instantly, she tried to crawl off it, but already, Balder had leapt to her side. He turned her onto her back and sat astride her, pinning her down. She did try to push him away from her, hitting him with closed fists, but he effortlessly caught her wrists on the fly before holding them down firmly against the bed, on each side of her head.

Rhapsody still struggled for a short time, but her attempts to get free were futile; he was just too strong, and had the advantage. She finally stopped and looked up with eyes burning with anger at the man sitting on top of her. He was smiling roguishly, as if he was having a great time. For him, it was simply a game. A game he visibly intended to win.

He leaned down closer, trying to steal a kiss, but Rhapsody avoided his lips; he simply chuckled and started kissing her earlobe instead, before nibbling at her neck, his untidy stubble roughly scratching her tender skin. Teeth tightly clenched, she grunted in protest, renewing her efforts to escape him.

“Let me go, you brute… You’re hurting me.”

This CAN’T be Paul, Rhapsody told herself anxiously. Paul would never treat me – or any woman – that way. This man is only a brutish barbarian who only thinks of taking his pleasure. He just LOOKS like Paul. That threw me off and now I’m in trouble.

Balder stopped kissing her and rose ever so slightly, to look down attentively into her face; she stopped her struggling again, and glared back at him, defiantly.

“Am I really hurting you?” he asked, seemingly concerned.

“What do you think?” she lashed out indignantly.

He frowned, seemingly pondering about what to do next. He looked as if it was the first time he was confronted by a situation where a woman would refuse herself to him.

“Are you afraid of me, Lady Nanna?” he asked in a low voice.

“No...” Although she was trying to present a brave façade and to render her voice as firm as possible, Rhapsody was very much aware that this barbarian would see right through her. Her breast was rising and falling from her rapid breathing and he possibly could feel her heart thumping against his chest. She was afraid, but she also was angry, and very upset that she was now at his mercy.

I swear, he will not find me easy prey.

Before her eyes, the smile on Balder’s face slowly disappeared; he rose on his knees, pulling on Rhapsody’s wrists and forcing her up into a sitting position. She gasped in surprise and didn’t even resist. Her hands still imprisoned within his strong grasp, she looked into his eyes with some apprehension. He wasn’t teasing her anymore; the expression on his face was now more serious.

“You should never be afraid of me, my lady,” he said in a murmur. “You should know that I would never hurt you.”

Rhapsody froze at his words. He sounded genuinely concerned, and suddenly so kind... He sounded just like Paul.

“What did you call me?” she whispered, feeling the hold on her hands slowly release.

“My lady. My...” By the frown suddenly appearing on his face, it was obvious that Balder was having a mental struggle, as if he was trying to grasp an obscure memory. His hand reached for Rhapsody’s cheek and she didn’t even attempt to pull back when he grazed it. “Di –”

Rhapsody’s heart missed a beat, as anticipation grew within her – but the elusive word died on Balder’s lips.

Suddenly, his look became hard and he roughly pushed her down. She fell off the bed, entangled in the furs. Startled by Balder’s apparent change of heart, she looked up in puzzlement, in time to see the servant girl she had encountered earlier literally jump onto the bed with a wild shriek, holding a dagger, and stabbing Balder in the abdomen.

Where did she come from? Rhapsody wondered. She realised that the woman – Gerda – must have slipped into the chamber while she and Balder had been busy fighting each other. Unnoticed, she had crept up on them, keeping quiet until her opportunity came to attack. Balder must have seen her at the last minute – and pushed me out of harm’s way.

But that had left the Viking prince unprotected, and he had now fallen victim to the savage blow of the crazed woman. With a loud grunt, he fell down to the floor, holding the wound.

“I warned you that you had caused you own downfall, Prince Balder!” Gerda spat hatefully. “Now you will die... exactly like the swine you are!”

“Leave him alone!” Rhapsody jumped to her feet, gripping one end of a fur blanket and standing in front of the crouching Balder, who was struggling against his pain and attempting to regain his focus. “I won’t let you kill him!”

“Ah, the Valkyrie now stands to protect her man,” Gerda sneered mockingly. “Do not worry, bitch. You are meant to die as well!”

She lashed forward but Rhapsody dodged and flapped the fur blanket to wrap the exposed arm of her adversary. The knife disappeared under the blanket and Rhapsody gave a sharp jerk, unbalancing Gerda, who stepped forward... right into the trajectory of the Angel’s fist, which caught her on the chin. She fell on her back, losing her weapon in the process.

Rhapsody leaned to pick up the knife, just as the door burst open and four Viking warriors, armed with very sharp spears, ran in. They stopped in shock upon seeing the scene: their prince was on his knees, clearly hurt, and the Valkyrie was standing over him with a bloody knife in her hand. Gerda, lying on the floor, seeing an unhoped-for possibility to exact her revenge on the hatred Valkyrie, gestured wildly in her direction, with an accusing finger.

“Kill her! She attacked Lord Balder! She tried to kill him!”

Rhapsody paled; she stepped back, feeling completely helpless, as the warriors walked menacingly towards her, spears at the ready.

“HOLD!” With a supreme effort, Balder pulled himself to his feet, gritting his teeth against the pain in his abdomen; holding himself as upright as possible with the help of the table, he glared warningly at the Viking warriors. “The first man to touch the Valkyrie will hang tomorrow at dawn!” He gestured toward Gerda. “THAT woman attacked me. Seize her!”

Rhapsody blew a sigh of relief. It didn’t take more than three seconds before the warriors marched on Gerda and pulled her, struggling, to her feet. She stopped resisting when she realised that she couldn’t escape. Balder let go of the table and slowly walked towards her. He stopped by Rhapsody, and took the knife from her hand, gently, as if he didn’t want to scare her away. She willingly let go of it and watched him as he stared with attention at the blade tainted with his blood. His left hand was covering his wound, the blood oozing between his fingers.

After a last concerned look at Rhapsody, Balder approached Gerda and stood in front of her, showing her the knife.

“It is fortunate for you that the lady Nanna was not hurt,” he said implacably. He let go of his wound and presented his blood-covered hand to her. “This was not your idea, I am sure. Who put you up to this?” Gerda kept silence and lowered her head. A low growl of complete anger came from Balder’s throat. “Have it your way, then. Tomorrow, woman, I will deal with you. Under the torture, you will talk. That, I can assure you.” He roughly wiped his bloody hand on the woman’s tunic. “Take her away!” he ordered to the warriors.

“My lord, you are hurt,” one of them remarked. “You should see the physician Mimir. You –”

“I will be all right.” Balder raised his hand to stifle further protests from the four men. “’Tis but a scratch. Take her away, I said. I can no longer bear the sight of her.”

Keeping himself straight and dignified, he watched with cold eyes as the warriors, obeying his orders, reluctantly left the room, escorting the now disheartened Gerda. They closed the door behind them. Rhapsody followed their departure with her eyes, in a way disappointed that she had not been able to take advantage of the incident to run off. At the same time, however, she was unsure of what she should be doing now, especially with Balder standing there, wounded. It was more than a scratch he had received. She could tell just by the look of it; she couldn’t explain to herself why the four men who had just left had not noticed it too and insisted far more that their prince needed to see a physician.

She turned to him, in time to see his knees buckle underneath him; she walked to his side. He had trouble holding himself straight now and was leaning against the table anew. “You’re hurt,” she told him. “More than you pretended.”

“Aye...” he agreed through clenched teeth. “The wretched woman missed you but did not miss me.”

Rhapsody was shocked. “You should see a doctor... a physician...”

“Do not concern yourself with this. ’Tis not the first time...”

Balder made a few tentative steps toward his bed and, almost despite herself, Rhapsody helped by supporting him. He seemed to appreciate this new attitude of hers and nodded his thanks. He lowered himself on top of the bed, groaning with pain.

“I only need a little rest,” he slurred. He grimaced as he turned on his back, his eyes closing.

“You need a doctor,” Rhapsody insisted with disapproval. “I’m going to get –” She moved to stand up, but Balder’s hand kept hold of hers and would not let go.

“Stay with me,” he said in an almost inaudible voice. “Please... My lady...”

That was how Paul affectionally called her. Hearing these words again in Balder’s mouth was almost too much to bear. “Stop calling me that,” she pleaded.

“D – Dianne...”

She stared at him in shock; his eyes were closed now, and his breathing was shallow; his brow was covered with a cold sweat. Instantly, she was by his side, stroking his damp face and hair, looking at him with distress.

“My God,” she whispered. “Paul... It is you!”

“Dianne...” he repeated, this time in a voice so low she had trouble hearing it. “I’m so cold... Can’t feel my legs... my arms... Can’t think... Trapped... Help... help me...”

“What is it?” Rhapsody asked with urgency, feeling he would soon lose his senses. She had noticed that the lilting foreign accent had disappeared to be replaced by Scarlet’s usual voice, slurred, but familiar. “What happened, Paul? What is this place?”

“R – Ragnarok...” Scarlet moaned. “The Twilight... The Twilight of the gods... We must stop... Ragnarok…”

With those last words, he finally gave in to pain and mercifully lost consciousness, leaving Rhapsody with more questions than answers – and a despairing sense of anguish.

Chapter 3: Mysterons

“Wait a minute – you’re saying we’re already married!?”

Seated at the foot of the bed, Blue watched as Symphony, standing in front of the small table, was pouring the contents of a jug into two goblets, her back turned to him. He saw her give a brief nod of her blonde head, before turning around and marching towards him, with the two drinks.

“We have been for the past three months. Are you saying you do not remember, beloved?” There was a look of scepticism on her beautiful face that turned into dismay when she saw his hesitation. She came to sit right next to him, and put the two goblets on the floor, to free her hands, and stroked Blue’s face in concern. “My poor, dearest love... Whatever happened to you and Nanna in those mountains? Oh, those Jötnar – now that we are strong enough, with the union of our two lands, we will make them pay, you will see!” Her eyes were flashing with indignity and anger. Blue took her hand in his, gently stopping her as she moved to embrace him.

“We’ll see about that later,” he said with an uncertain smile. “But right now, maybe if you’d bring me up to date, it’ll help me remember?” She looked at him as if she had not understood what he was saying. Which is probably the case, he realised suddenly. “Tell me about us,” he said instead. “How did we meet?”

“You do not even remember that?” she moaned.

“I’m afraid not,” he answered, a little sheepishly. “But I’m sure it will come back to me very soon,” he added quickly, noticing the disappointment on her face. “If you tell me about it.”

“If it will help you...” Symphony gave a sigh. “I do not know if you remember the battle at the pass of Svartalf, just on the border of the Icy Mountains...”

Of course, Blue couldn’t remember something he had not been a part of, but he simply nodded as she pursued the tale:

“I was leading a troop of Vanir warriors, in reconnaissance on the border, and we clashed with patrolling Aesir soldiers, whom you commanded at the time. It was a glorious battle, and even though you were superior in number, it seemed like our forces were equal.”

Blue raised an eyebrow, hearing the barely-contained arrogance of her statement, but didn’t reply.

“A huge force of Svartalfar mercenaries – those servile slaves of Jötunheim – attacked us,” she said with a loud snort of loathing. “Those cowards were much greater in number and had estimated that we were growing weaker, because we had been fighting each other for some time, and casualties were high on both our sides.

“However, they did not count on the fact that we would combine our strength against our common enemies. We were able to hold our ground. More than that: we actually killed a lot of those bastards and were able to repel what was left of their forces and pushed them back across their border. The Ase troop, however, paid the highest price of this victory: except for you, none of them survived. But they died a glorious death.”

She touched Blue’s chest, right where his heart was. “You were seriously injured, and you had lost your sight, while protecting me from a treacherous blow from behind, despite the fact that I was an enemy of your people.”

“I lost my sight?” Blue said in a pensive tone. Okay... This is how it comes in accordance with the Norse legends. However, there was no story telling how the blind god Hodur had lost his sight.

There was also no existing saga recalling that he did recover his sight, though. To Blue’s knowledge, anyway.

“You were unconscious. We could not leave you behind, at the mercy of the mercenaries who would surely return,” Symphony continued. “And so, I decided to take you to Vanaheim. You were not expected to survive, let alone recover your sight, but Master Mimir, our physician, can perform miracles. He treated your injuries and you got better as the days turned into weeks. Queen Freyja offered you sanctuary at her palace of Folkvang while you recovered. I visited you often, and in the end, even stayed by your side, while you were healing.”

She smiled, as she remembered those fond memories. “You eventually regained your sight, and your strength. Our Lady Freyja did not quite know what to do with you. She was torn between keeping you hostage and demanding a ransom from your sire or sending your head to him as a warning of what would become of our enemies.”

Blue stared at Symphony with unbelieving eyes. They’re all incredibly bloodthirsty in these new roles of theirs! he reflected. Uncomfortably, he stroked the back of his neck. “I’m sure glad she didn’t choose the second option!” he noted with an uneasy smile.

“After you had saved my life, her conscience would not let her do it. And frankly, neither would I. Not only because I was now honour-bound to you, for you had saved my life, but because we had fallen in love.”

“Now it would seem that was a rather awkward dilemma?”

“Aye. But it was you who provided the perfect solution to it; and to all of the problems of your people and mine, at the same time.”

“By marrying you?”

“Not only that, my love, but you convinced Lady Freyja that it would be in the best interests of both our lands to form an alliance that would permit us to fight and eventually defeat the dreaded Jötnar. The battle at the Svartalf Pass served as a proof that by unifying our forces, we would be powerful enough to become a fair match for our common enemies.”

“I guess hard times make unexpected allies,” Blue remarked.

“That is what you said at the time,” Symphony said with a brief smile. “And after all, none of us knows the real reason for this feud between Aesgard and Vanaheim. It happened so long ago, so was it not time to end this war between our peoples?”

“Quite right,” murmured Blue, pensively.

“The most difficult part of your task was to convince Lord Odin of the advantage of your plan. After Lady Freyja celebrated our union, you were sent back to Aesgard, escorted by Lord Tyr. As a token of our ruler’s good faith, he was to put himself under Odin’s command. And of course, submit the proposal to your king, with your help.”

“Lord Tyr is a very brave man to expose himself to the wrath of Aesgard’s ruler,” Blue noted. “I’m guessing Odin wasn’t very happy at discovering I had married a Valkyrie of the Vanir.”

“So you told me, my love,” Symphony said, chuckling. “But you and Lord Tyr were able to show Lord Odin the wisdom of an alliance between our clans. And, if nothing else, despite being our enemy, Lord Odin is known as a very wise man and ruler.”

“He insisted that the Vanir people would officially surrender to Aesgard,” Blue remarked.

“I see the memory is coming back to you, my lord.”

Not really, Blue reflected inwardly. Just an educated guess. He stared curiously at the Valkyrie.

“But if you knew all that,” he pointed out, “if this was already all planned in advance... What was the point of that elaborate scene? Why the show in the Hall earlier?”

“It was part of the deal, my dearest,” Symphony answered. “Freyja accepted Odin’s demand that Vanaheim surrender to Aesgard. But we are Vanir, and we have our pride, do we not? We were not going to let it appear that we submitted willingly. Although, I do have to admit, I did not expect my sisters and myself to be bound in chains. Your Loki will have a lot to answer for! Do not let me get my hands on him!”

“Was it to escape those wedding plans that Rhaps – I mean Nanna... flew to the Icy Mountains?”

“She was on a mission there, but nothing had been seen or heard from her since she left. You volunteered to find her, as a demonstration of Aesgard’s good faith in this agreement between our people.” Symphony smiled thinly. “As I understand, Balder also volunteered, considering Nanna was his betrothed, but Freyja did not trust him entirely. As you are the only Ase she could truly trust, she agreed that you should go.”

“So it was already decided who would be betrothed to whom,” Blue mused. “Again, it was part of the charade.”

“Of course, my love. Would you have run the risk of me ending up in the bed of one of your brothers?” She laughed, seeing Blue’s response in the form of an awkward look. “I have to admit that neither Nanna nor Sif were pleased with the situation, though. You brothers’ reputation precedes them. Especially Balder’s!”

“I bet,” Blue murmured, more to himself than to Symphony.

“You did bring your knowledge of your Aesir brethren to the matching, though,” Symphony continued. “You were confident that Balder and Nanna were perfect for each other, and that Sif’s fiery temper would be a perfect match for Thor’s rowdy manners.”

“Oh, sure, if they don’t kill each other first,” muttered Blue. If they were anything at all like Captain Ochre and Melody Angel, he had no trouble imagining the sparks flying in Thor’s chamber at the moment. Those two were playing a strange game of cat and mouse together, and nobody really knew who was the cat and who the mouse. They stopped just short of getting at each other’s throats. If they had not yet ended up in bed together – and nobody could say for sure if that had already happened – it was certainly bound to happen sooner or later.

I don’t think cybersex really counts in this, though. If something did happen in this world, Blue had no idea what impact it would have on the real world.

“I have told you all that I know so far, and I can see, by the lost look in your eyes, that you are still confused,” Symphony declared after scrutinizing him closely. She leaned down and lifted the two goblets she had previously put aside, offering one to Blue. “Enough talk, then. Here is something that might help you regain your memory... or at least, cheer you up.”

Blue guardedly sniffed the contents of the goblet, remembering how the ale he had drunk earlier in the Hall, even in such a small quantity, had tasted so terrible. The smell of this new drink wasn’t disagreeable at all. He tasted it cautiously. “Cider,” he proclaimed in surprise.

Symphony nodded her head. “Made with the golden apples of my own garden in Vanaheim,” she answered proudly. “My family have tended them for generations, and the cider we make from them is a nectar from the gods. It is said to have healing abilities.”

“Is that so?” Blue said, raising an eyebrow. “How much truth is there in that claim?”

“At least as much truth as there is in Lord Thor’s assertion that the touch of his hammer, Mjölnir, can heal mortal wounds?” That didn’t sound like a positive answer to Blue, who was taking another sip of his drink. Symphony laughed. “When you tasted it in Vanaheim, you told me it was probably what healed you.”

Blue took a larger gulp of the cider. He had never tasted anything like this before. It was truly delicious. Which still bemused him, as it was part of a 3D game and shouldn’t even have any taste at all.

“This will be very popular in Aesgard,” he noted, looking thoughtfully at the nearly empty goblet.

“Aye, I reckon it will...” Sipping at the contents of her vessel, Symphony watched as Blue drained the last of his. Then, she took it from his hand, and put both back down on the floor. “...And enough drinking, now,” she said, leaning toward him and putting her arms around his neck. “I want you to keep a clear head, beloved. We might be already married, but that does not mean we cannot be like the others and consummate this ‘wedding night’.” She started nibbling at his neck, playfully. At first, Blue didn’t react; he was feeling rather hot and slow, and he thought it might be fatigue starting to set in – that, combined with the effect of the cider. He gently tried to disentangle himself from her arms.

“I don’t think it’s –” He stopped, noticing his own slurred voice. His vision was starting to lose its focus and the room was spinning. He blinked several times. “I don’t feel too well...”

“I will make you feel better, husband,” she said, in a purring voice that reminded him very much of Symphony at her most impish. She had no trouble pushing him down onto the bed, as he was quite unable to offer any resistance now. At another time, and in different circumstances, he would have enjoyed himself; but at the moment, he wasn’t sure if it was too wise to pursue this... venture.

And he really didn’t feel too well. He tried to fight off the drowsiness that was threatening to overcome him. A terrible suspicion suddenly formed in his mind.

My God... was the cider drugged?! He didn’t think that Symphony – ‘Iduna’ – would knowingly do him any harm, not after what she had just told him about herself and ‘Hodur’. She truly believed this ‘background story’ to be the truth. She had narrated it, as if she had truly participated in it.

Besides, if she had wanted to, she could easily have slit his throat earlier.

That was logical, wasn’t it?

Snap out of it, Adam! You don’t really expect this whole thing to make any logical sense, do you?

No... there was definitely something wrong here.

“The cider...” he said, almost in a whisper.

“... Is just making you relaxed,” the voice of Symphony told him. It sounded as if it was coming from afar, and he could barely see her face, now hovering in front of his eyes. He screwed up his eyes, grunting with the effort of desperately trying to stay awake.

“Karen...” he moaned, trying to raise his hand to his aching brow. “My... head...”

“Just relax, my love,” he heard the voice of Symphony tell him again, echoing from even further away. “Relax...”

Darkness engulfed him completely and he felt as if he was falling from a vertiginous height as he finally lost his battle to keep awake, the voice still reverberating through his mind.

“This is the Voice of the Mysterons... We will be avenged for your unprovoked attack on our Martian Complex. Nothing will stop the events leading to Ragnarok. Hear us, Earthmen... Your nightmare is not finished. Ragnarok is coming…”

In the darkness surrounding him, as he was trying to draw himself from a very deep sleep, Captain Blue tensed. The ominous words had made their way into his drowsy mind. This was an abrupt wake-up call to reality, if ever he had heard one. He desperately clung to it, and physically and mentally struggled to wake up.

“Relax, Captain... You’re back with us, now. Just take it easy.”

Blue blinked his eyes and he regained his sight. There was an unnatural brightness surrounding him, now... electric light, he observed, as his eyes became accustomed to it, and he found himself staring up at a high ceiling.

He was lying on his back, on a bed – a modern bed, with a mattress – his head elevated on a pillow, and with bleeping sounds coming from a panel embedded in the wall just over his head. An electrode was applied to his brow, and he could feel others on his bare chest. His brow furrowed as his mind cleared and he considered his new situation.

I’m in sickbay, he realised. This is Cloudbase. I’m back.

Next to a powered-down projector, set just above him, he could see a male face, hovering, looking down at him.

“Doc,” he sighed, recognising Fawn. When he tried to push himself up from the mattress, it was to discover that his wrists and ankles were held down by security restraints. He looked up with concern into Fawn’s face. Fear suddenly crept into his mind.

Oh no... not Edward...

“Don’t worry, Captain Blue,” a voice told him. “Your doctor isn’t an agent of the Mysterons.” Blue could see that Fawn’s expression was troubled – even upset. The physician looked up in the direction from which the voice had come. A man came to stand next to him, and Blue’s eyes hardened upon recognising him.

“But you are, aren’t you, Keppel?”

Technician Keppel didn’t answer the accusation; he didn’t even flinch. Blue struggled against his restraints.

“You’re behind all this, aren’t you?”

“How perceptive of you,” Keppel retorted coldly. He shook his head. “I’ll free you, Captain… if you give your word that you’ll behave yourself.”

“And why would I do you that favour, exactly?” Blue asked sharply.

“Because if you don’t, Sergeant Rochester will kill your friends?” Keppel made a gesture, and a second man, wearing a Spectrum security uniform, appeared, holding a gun in his right hand. Blue became alert, and stopped struggling. “Starting with the good doctor,” Keppel added ominously. As he heard those words, Blue saw the gun being aimed at Fawn who looked down at it with anger in his eyes. Keppel casually addressed Blue again: “Is that a good enough reason, Captain Blue?”

Blue swallowed hard and nodded briefly. “I think it is, yes.”

“So do I have your word?”

“You have it. Free me. I won’t try anything against you.”

“Good. I knew you were a reasonable man. Doctor Fawn, if you would, please...?”

Under the threat of the gun, Fawn approached and leaned down to first remove the three electrodes attached to Blue’s chest, and the one on his brow. Then he unfastened the restraints on Blue’s ankles, and then his wrists. The Spectrum captain carefully kept still, mindful of the gun now trained on them both, until Fawn had finished and stepped back. Only then did Blue finally sit up in bed and swing his feet to the side. He grunted, rubbing his neck. His body felt stiff, as if he had slept a long time – much too long.

Well, of course... That’s exactly what’s happened, actually.

Blue looked down at himself. His blue vest was gone, and his shirt had been torn open halfway down to expose his chest, where the electrodes had been attached; he could still see the marks on his flesh.

As he raised his head, he noticed the bunk next to his. Rhapsody Angel was lying on it, her eyes closed, and her breast rising and falling quietly, obviously deep in sleep. She was restrained as he had been, and, through the discreetly opened cleavage of her uniform, he could see electrodes on her as well, linked to the electronic panel over her head. Just above her face, there was a projector, sending waves of multicoloured lights onto her face in a gentle, quiet motion. Blue felt anger rising inside him again, and he turned to face Fawn, with an inquiring look. The latter shook his head and offered a faint, but reassuring smile.

“Rhapsody is quite all right, Blue,” he informed him. “Just asleep... and, I suspect, deeply involved in this idiotic 3D game.”

Blue thanked him with a brief nod. “How are you, Doc?” he asked in concern.

“Frustrated,” Fawn answered, with a frown. “And I also feel quite useless, to say the truth. One minute, I was falling asleep in. ‘Aesgard’, and the next, I wake up here, staring up at the business end of a gun. I reckon they figured I’d already told you too much of what was going on.”

“On the contrary, Doctor,” Keppel retorted quietly. “You actually served your purpose quite nicely by giving Captain Blue the first information he needed, so he would be able to play our little game.”

“You’re telling me you wanted him to be informed?” Fawn replied with a doubtful glance.

“You are behind this,” Blue said. “Of course, you are: you’re the expert in charge of the Room of Sleep technology.” He nodded thoughtfully, seeing the smug expression on Keppel’s face. “But I don’t believe you were able, all by yourself, to trap everyone on Cloudbase in that fantasy world. You don’t have that kind of knowledge… that kind of power.”

“Oh?” Keppel said with a smirk. “You don’t think so?”

“I heard the Mysterons’ Voice as I woke up... I’m sure it wasn’t my imagination.”

“It wasn’t,” Fawn said gloomily. “You did hear them.”

“So I was right earlier,” Blue added, still staring at Keppel. “You are a Mysteron agent.”

Keppel smiled faintly. “There’s little point in my answering that question, is there?”

“It wasn’t a question; it was an affirmative statement.” Blue’s voice was as hard as his features. He glanced briefly in Rochester’s direction; the gun the security guard was holding was aimed straight at him, and his face was implacable. Another Mysteron agent, Blue thought with loathing. He quickly evaluated his chance of taking on the two of them all by himself, without endangering Doctor Fawn. He was interrupted in his reflection by Keppel’s loud scoffing, which compelled him to turn his attention back to him.

“Don’t try anything foolish, Captain Blue. Do you really want to see all your friends and colleagues, all the people living on Cloudbase, die? Because if you attack us, if you even succeeded in subduing or killing us, you’ll sign their death warrant, I can guarantee this. Besides,” he added in a mocking tone, “you did give me your word, didn’t you?”

“You mean to tell me that all these people are in your power?” Blue asked. He squinted doubtfully at the man.

Keppel’s glare was icy. “That’s exactly what I mean, Captain,” he said ominously. “Every single one of them. They’re all in our power.”

“I don’t believe you,” Blue retorted, deeply furrowing his brow.

“I’m afraid he’s telling the truth, Captain,” Fawn then said. “I’ve seen it.”

Blue turned to him. “Doctor?”

“Oh, ye man of little faith...” Keppel declaimed. “So typical of an Earthman. I see I’ll have to show you, just as I did the good doctor.” Sighing, he turned to a nearby TV monitor set on a desk and, with a gesture, invited both Blue and Fawn to approach. It was only two or three steps, and, with Rochester in tow, keeping at a careful distance, his gun trained on them, the two Spectrum agents came to stand in front of the monitor and watched the image displayed on it.

“This screen is linked to the various security cameras onboard Cloudbase,” Keppel explained. “I’m sure you’ll recognise most, if not all, of the locations.”

The screen was divided into four sections, showing different areas of Cloudbase. The engine room, the main hangar, the nurses’ station in sickbay and the radar room were first displayed. Keppel pushed a button repeatedly, and the images flicked through other portions of the base: the cafeterias, the sports centre, the galley, the officers’ lounge, the technicians’ stations, and so on. Blue opened his eyes wide with disbelief; all of those places were displaying the same, incredible images.

People were lying on the floor, or sprawled on seats, or at their stations, seemingly unconscious. There was an eerie mist in every room, ominously floating in the air, and the ambient lighting, in all the rooms, was flashing in a strange motion, that reminded Blue very much of the hypnotic lighting system in the Room of Sleep, and of the lights he had seen flashing over Rhapsody’s face.

As far as Blue could tell, by the flickering of the many lights from different electronic panels, all the computerised and electrical systems he could see seemed to be operational and working in perfect order. Whatever had hit the personnel didn’t seem to have any effect on the material. That reminded Blue uncomfortably of what had happened at several bases of the Frost Line Defence system, more than a year ago. Everyone working in those bases had died, at that time.

This was so very similar, down to that sinister mist. Except for those dancing lights...

“Don’t worry, they’re all alive.” Keppel’s voice made its way through Blue’s brain, seemingly reading his mind. The Mysteron agent flicked through the images one last time, until the screen finally displayed its last four images: the Control Room, which, at the moment, was completely empty; the Amber Room, where he could see three of the Angel pilots slumped either on the sofa or on the floor, apparently deep in sleep; the sickbay Room of Sleep, fully operational, where colour-coded officers could be seen lying on beds. Closest to the camera, Blue recognised Colonel White and Captain Ochre. Blue counted three other officers, but the rapid and irritating flickering of the hypnotic lights made it difficult for him to see who they were or what the colour of their uniforms was. The last image was that of Rhapsody, lying on her bed right next to them, looking so peaceful.

Blue turned furiously toward Keppel. “What evidence do we have that they’re indeed alive?” he asked.

Keppel smirked. “I could give you my word that they are, but I think you wouldn’t find it sufficient. You already know that Rhapsody Angel’s alive. And I can show you the readings from the beds in the Room of Sleep.” He gestured to the third image on the screen. “Look closely. You can see that your colonel’s in good condition. As well as Captains Ochre, Magenta and Grey, and Lieutenant Green.”

Blue pricked his ear, noticing that Keppel didn’t mention Scarlet. He said nothing for now. Instead, he exchanged glances with Fawn who nodded briefly.

“It’s true. The readings do say they’re alive. All of them.”

Blue was watching the screen intently. “What is this... mist... that seems to be all over Cloudbase?” he asked suspiciously.

“Actually, it’s all over the base, except for sickbay,” Keppel corrected. “We sealed all airlocks leading here, you see, so we’ll be perfectly safe. This is gas, as you might have guessed. A very strong, narcotic gas.”

“And this is what you used to knock everyone out.”

“Correct, Captain. It’s true that we could’ve killed them all. Quite easily. By using lethal gas, instead of this one, for example. We had the opportunity. But we didn’t do it.”

“Why didn’t you?”

“It wouldn’t serve the purpose of the Mysterons.” Keppel marked a short pause. “At this point, anyway.”

“How did you get that gas in here?”

Keppel chuckled. “Ah... Captain, you would have me tell you all of my little secrets?” Blue simply frowned in answer. Keppel looked thoughtful for a minute, before giving his answer: “Creating the gas onboard was a little matter, when you have access to all the components necessary. Some of them, you would find in sickbay, others in the hangar bay, the rest, down in weaponry.”

Blue narrowed his eyes. “How did you succeed in getting it all over Cloudbase?” he asked. “And how did you put everyone into such a state? How did you achieve that?”

“How did I trap all of them in this fantasy world, as you put it?” Keppel shook his head. “Oh... through a simple rewiring job within Cloudbase’s various life-support and environmental systems, and computers... addition of special software and programming... Easy enough when you have the natural ability to do it.”

“Easy my foot!” Fawn lashed out. “Captain Blue was right, earlier: you had the help of the Mysterons! And there’s nothing ‘natural’ about this 3D game! The Mysterons simply used its setting and literally ‘created’ that world the others are trapped in.”

Keppel grinned faintly. “The Mysterons have powers you can’t even dream of possessing... Let alone start to understand.”

“I hate it when you Mysteron agents get melodramatic like that,” Fawn muttered.

But Blue was shaking his head dismissively. “You couldn’t have had access to all those components like that, Keppel,” he said harshly. “It’s impossible that you would’ve been able to do so without your efforts being discovered by security or Cloudbase’s automatic safety features.” He nodded abruptly in Rochester’s direction. “Neither you nor this guy could gain all the necessary access codes to all the safety locks you would’ve run up against, looking for those components – let alone to access the life-support controls systems, breach them and send your crap through the vents. And all that, before ‘rewiring’ the environment systems?” Blue stared directly at Keppel. “You had help, all right... But not only from the Mysterons.”

“Keppel smiled again. “You are a clever man. Not much gets by you, does it, Captain?”

“I have my moments,” Blue growled.

“Yes,” Keppel acknowledged. He then shrugged. “I admit it. I had some help to breach the security systems. Some very useful help.”

“How?” Fawn asked suddenly. “To breach that kind of security, you needed to gain access to –”

“The Control Room, of course,” Keppel confirmed.

“Someone from the Control Room helped you?” Fawn repeated, opening eyes wide with astonishment. He could see that Blue had already figured that out, by the grimness displayed on his features. But Fawn was still sceptical. “Who?”

“Who else but the Control Room duty officer at the time?”

Blue paled. “Green?”

“Relax, Captain,” Keppel replied. “You saw Lieutenant Green earlier on the screen, lying on a bunk with the others. And you met him in Aesgard, playing the role of Heimdall, the loyal captain of the guard. Surely, you must realise that your good lieutenant is perfectly safe… That is, for now.”

“Green was at the sickbay Room of Sleep when it all started, helping to transform it into an FX Room.”

The new voice coming from the door made Blue and Fawn turn in that direction. There was a newcomer standing in front of the closing doorway. He was dressed in a dark red uniform and was looking at them from under his cap visor, with cold, unconcerned eyes.

“Lieutenant Burgundy?” Blue said with a frown, recognising one of Lieutenant Green’s usual replacements at the central computer. “You’re in it too?”

“Correct, Earthman,” Burgundy said, approaching with a quiet step.

Blue tensed. He’s a Mysteron agent like the others, he realised. Of course. There could be no other way to explain how faithful Spectrum personnel, like these three men were supposed to be, would turn against their colleagues.

“It was easy for Sergeant Rochester to kill Lieutenant Burgundy, before he could start his duty stint at the main computer,” Keppel explained. “Aside from the opportunity, he was perfect. Burgundy has been part of Lieutenant Green’s team of auxiliaries almost since the beginning. His knowledge of Cloudbase Control is second to no-one’s on base – except maybe Green himself.”

“... And Captain Magenta,” Blue corrected.

“... And Colonel White,” Fawn added obligingly.

Keppel nodded his acknowledgement. “So now you understand how easy it was for us to disable the security fail-safes and gain access to wherever we wanted to go within any of Cloudbase’s systems. We were able to imprison everyone, without anyone noticing it before it was too late. We even blocked Angel One on deck, so she won’t be able to take off and escape.”

“You think you’ve thought of everything, don’t you?” Blue said roughly.

A thought suddenly hit him. Angel One... The craft was to be manned constantly, so that meant that someone was in it when the attack began. The pilot might have realised that something was wrong, and would have been safe from the gas, in the cockpit of her craft. He turned to the screen. There were three Angels there... Destiny, Melody, Symphony... Of course, he realised. Those who were playing the Valkyries in that fantasy world. Harmony was probably the one in Angel One, then. She had not been included in the fantasy.

“Don’t get your hopes up too high, Captain,” Keppel then said. His eyes were fixed on Blue and he probably suspected the Spectrum captain was preparing a plan of action. “We disabled all communications systems. No distress messages were sent. No one is even aware of what happened to Cloudbase, so don’t expect any outside help.”

“Before long, someone’s bound to suspect something’s wrong,” Blue warned. “Cloudbase will fail to report, as it regularly should, or stop answering calls. And then they’ll investigate...”

“By then, it might be far too late for you or your colleagues, Captain.”

Blue was still staring at the screen. “What have you done with the pilot of Angel One?” he finally asked. “And with Captain Scarlet? I can’t see them anywhere.”

“Don’t worry; they’ve been taken care of.”

That sounded terribly ominous to Blue’s and Fawn’s ears. “What have you done with them?” Blue repeated with insistence.

There was a short pause, as Keppel apparently considered his answer. “As I told you, Lieutenant Burgundy blocked Angel One on deck,” he said finally. “The systems are all down. That means the pilot’s trapped inside, unable to do anything.”

“So she’s no threat to you.”

“She certainly isn’t,” Burgundy confirmed nonchalantly. He checked his watch. “… Especially since about half an hour ago, now.”

Blue frowned, not quite understanding what Burgundy meant. “What happened, a half hour ago?” he asked, almost dreading to learn the answer.

“The oxygen in her cockpit ran out, I’m afraid.”

The aloofness with which Burgundy had made this statement horrified both Captain Blue and Doctor Fawn.

“Oh God, no… Harmony...” Fawn whispered, blanching.

Blue turned pale; but his horror was mixed with a good dose of anger. And guilt. He couldn’t believe that he had neglected worrying about the quiet and gentle Chinese pilot up until just a few minutes ago. She had probably died a hideous death, choking until she couldn’t breathe anymore, not understanding what was happening to her, or why it was happening. Blue exchanged a glance with Fawn and could see the shock and grief in the doctor’s features.

As for himself, he was truly repulsed.

“You murderer,” he growled, eyes flashing, and stepped toward Burgundy.

Rochester just needed to raise his gun to stop him in his tracks. Blue stayed where he was, glaring furiously, first at Burgundy, then at each of the other two Mysteron agents.

“Don’t think you’ll get away with this,” he said between his teeth.

“I didn’t think that proffering empty threats was your style, Captain,” Keppel remarked with cynicism. “How disappointing of you.”

“Where’s Captain Scarlet?” Blue asked again. There was still the matter of his friend’s fate to consider. And none of the Mysteron agents had told him yet what had happened to him. What they had learned just now concerning Harmony wasn’t really that reassuring for Scarlet.

Keppel slowly walked away from the monitor. The bastard is taking his sweet time, Blue reflected. He doesn’t look like he wants to tell us.

“We had to take special measures with Captain Scarlet,” the Mysteron finally announced.

“Meaning exactly...?” Blue was now very suspicious.

“If you’re wondering if your friend is alive or not, I’ll reassure you, Captain Blue: he’s very much alive.”

“I want to see him.”

“Unfortunately, Captain, that isn’t possible. You’ll have to content yourself with my word that he’s alive.”

Blue tensed, feeling more apprehensive than ever. Why don’t they want to show us Scarlet? What have they done to him?

Fawn grunted. “How can we believe you?” he snapped, in answer to Keppel’s statement, “Scarlet’s been a pain in the Mysterons’ side since day one of this ‘war of nerves’ they declared against us. You’re telling us you’d pass up the chance of getting definitely rid of him?”

“Do you want proof of what I’m saying?” Keppel retorted. “You’ve both seen him, in that fantasy world. Playing a role.” He smirked. “And believing every minute of it.”

“Just like everyone else,” Burgundy remarked.

“Your friend’s survival – all of your colleagues’ survival – rests in your hands, Captain Blue,” Keppel continued. “They’ll die, if you don’t play our game. Your colleagues are trapped within the fake reality that was created for them, totally unaware of who and what they are...” He tilted his head to the side. “... And of the danger hanging over their heads.”

“What kind of danger?” Blue asked. “What do your Mysteron masters have in mind, this time?”

“You heard the content of their threat when you woke up earlier, no?”

Blue frowned, trying to recall the exact words he had heard. “Something about ‘Ragnarok’...” he muttered.

“That’s the end of the world, according to Viking legends, isn’t it?” Fawn asked in concern.

Keppel ignored his interruption. “If you want to save your friends, it’ll be your task to try and stop Ragnarok from coming to the Aesgard world,” he told Blue. “If you should fail...” He let the rest hang.

“That world will die?” Blue finished, with a deepening frown.

“And your colleagues will die too,” Keppel said. “I mean not only in the Aesgard world. But truly die.”

Fawn scoffed. “This is just a silly 3D game,” he retorted curtly. “Whatever happens in that fake world is purely on a subconscious level. It can’t harm anyone.”

“You mean, it can’t harm anyone physically? Are you so certain of that?” Fawn hesitated. Keppel grinned maliciously, looking at the two Spectrum officers one after the other. “Anyone who dies in this ‘fake world’ will die for real,” he repeated with self-confidence. “For any participant of this ‘silly 3D game’, Doctor, it’ll truly be ‘game over’ – once and for all.”

“We truly are to believe you on this?” growled Fawn.

“So far, Doctor, I haven’t lied to you. They will die, believe me.” Keppel marked a dramatic pause, before adding, in an ominous promise: “Even your oh-so-reliable Captain Scarlet. His relative invulnerability will be of no help in this matter. When his subconscious mind dies in Aesgard, he’ll also die in reality. With no hope of ever returning.” He smiled wickedly. “Or do you prefer to believe I’m bluffing? In that case, you’re condemning everyone on Cloudbase.”

Fawn was about to protest loudly, when Blue put a calming hand on his shoulder to stop him saying something he might regret. It wasn’t really wise to anger their captors, at this point. Not when they were learning much of what was going on. “Let’s not forget this world was created by the Mysterons,” Blue reminded the physician.

Fawn marked a pause. “Quite,” he conceded. “Which is an aberration in itself. Why did they create this world in the first place, and trap everyone in it, instead of killing us all, while we were at their mercy?” He addressed a murderous look to Keppel. “And now they’re giving us a chance to get out of this trap of theirs? Why?”

“Isn’t it obvious, Earthmen?” Keppel said ominously.

“It might be obvious to you,” Fawn rumbled. “But it’s not bloody well obvious to me!”

Keppel sighed and rolled his eyes, like a teacher would when facing a very stubborn pupil. “By making all the personnel on Cloudbase believe themselves to be part of this world, the Mysterons want, before striking the fatal blow, to demonstrate that your much-vaunted ‘advanced civilisation’ hasn’t changed much since its beginning. Deep inside, you’re still the same savage barbarians of centuries past, your life still very much guided by your most basic instincts.”

“That’s a matter of opinion,” Blue growled.

“Try to deny, Captain, that you didn’t feel any surprise seeing how easily your colleagues, even your so-composed colonel, settled into their new roles of brutal and uncivilised Viking warriors,” Keppel said with a wicked smile. “It must’ve been quite a shock to you. Especially considering your own lineage... Your ancestors were Viking plunderers, were they not?”

“I’ll not deny nor admit anything,” Blue retorted. “And that’s a stereotype if ever I heard one. Was my ‘lineage’ the reason why you chose me to take up this ‘challenge’ of yours? Because this is what we’re talking about, isn’t it?”

“Call it what you will, Captain... This ‘challenge’ could very well be the end of all the people living in Spectrum. You stop Ragnarok from happening, and they’ll live. But quite frankly, I doubt very much that you’ll be able to succeed.”

“How much time do I have to ‘stop Ragnarok’?” Blue asked with annoyance, not willing to answer the Mysteron agent’s obvious gloat.

Keppel raised a brow. “How long do you think your friends are likely to survive in this unconscious state, without sustenance, before their health becomes endangered? That is, if Ragnarok doesn’t kill them first.”

“You always like to put pressure on, don’t you?” Fawn mumbled in an undertone.

“Assuming that I’ll accept this challenge,” Blue continued, “What will happen if I stop Ragnarok from happening?”

“If you were to succeed... everybody’ll simply wake up from their induced sleep. Alive and well. Those who haven’t died yet, that is.”

“As simple as that?” a suspicious Fawn asked. “What about the gas?”

“The gas is starting to dissipate as we speak, Doctor. Not that it’s of any use right now. No-one’ll be able to wake up before the end of this experiment, but, if they don’t die before you succeed – if you succeed – they’ll wake. Not that this outcome seems very likely to me.”

“You’re full of optimism, aren’t you, Keppel?” Fawn remarked with disdain. “And we’re to take your word for it, that you will let all of these people go free if Captain Blue succeeds in his mission?”

“You have my word.”

“I don’t trust your bloody word,” Fawn snorted.

“You don’t count, Doctor. The decision is Captain Blue’s alone.” Keppel looked in Blue’s direction. The latter kept silent, glaring at the three Mysteron agents, weighing his options. “Are you up to the challenge, Captain Blue? Are you ready to go back to Aesgard and try to stop this new threat from the Mysterons?”

“It’s not like you’re leaving me much choice, is it?” Blue grumbled.

“Quite frankly, knowing your dedication to Spectrum, it would surprise me if you refused the challenge, Captain.”

“Am I to act alone?” He was looking in Fawn’s direction.

“The only other person who still remembers about the real world and who she really is, is Rhapsody Angel. I’m sure she’ll feel duty-bound to help you.” Keppel shrugged dismissively. “You can always try to convince the others... But I doubt you’ll succeed in making them see the truth. In their present state of mind, it would be a difficult concept to grasp... They’ll think you’re mad.” He glanced at Fawn. “The good doctor won’t join you in this adventure. He’ll be staying with us. In the real world.”

“I’m to be a hostage then, to make sure Captain Blue behaves?” Fawn demanded matter-of-factly.

“You might think that if you wish, Doctor. But I thought you’d like to monitor the health of all your ‘patients’ – while the captain and the Angel are away performing their mission.”

“You’re just planning to play with me, like a cat with a mouse,” Fawn groused. “Watching me squirm, as I watch them all die one by one.”

“Unfortunately for you, Doctor,” Keppel replied, “that’s an eventuality that just might happen.”

“I’d like to discuss this with Doctor Fawn,” Blue firmly demanded. “Alone. Without any of you watching us.”

Keppel stared at Blue with curiosity. Then he exchanged looks with both Burgundy and Rochester, as if asking for their opinion on the subject. Both of the other Mysteron agents shrugged, as if they didn’t care about Blue’s demand.

“I don’t see how it could cause any problems,” Keppel finally said. “In any case, your mission’s doomed to fail. Consider this the last request of a condemned man.”

“Because when Ragnarok comes to Aesgard, I’ll die too, like all the others, right?” Blue asked casually. “Somehow, coming from the Mysterons, that doesn’t surprise me.”

Keppel simply stared at him coldly, not deigning to answer the remark. “Take them to Doctor Fawn’s office,” he ordered his two accomplices, his eyes still not leaving Blue. He addressed the Spectrum agents again: “I give you five minutes, gentlemen.”

Docilely, under the threat of two guns trained on them, both Blue and Fawn let themselves be taken to Fawn’s personal office nearby. They were pushed inside, and the door was closed behind them. They heard the lock being pulled and could see, though the frosted window, the shadow of the Mysteronised men as they stood guard in front of their new prison.

Fawn immediately went to his desk and pressed the command button of his comm box – only to discover that it was dead. He then turned to his computer and tried to access the communication programs. The message ‘Access denied’ flashed on his screen.

“Damn,” he murmured. “Still not working.”

“Still?” Blue asked, raising a curious eyebrow.

“From the moment I woke up until about half an hour before you woke up, they kept me locked in here,” Fawn explained. “I’ve already tried using the comm. and the computer, without any success. Those guys thought of everything.”

“Did they?” Blue picked up a sharp letter-opener lying on Fawn’s desk and showed it to the physician. The latter grunted, while approaching his colleague.

“I doubt this would be much of a weapon to stop three Mysteron agents, armed with guns,” he noted, tapping the blade with his forefinger.

“Oh, I don’t know. There’s a lot you can do with a blade like this one.”

Blue’s hand suddenly took hold of Fawn’s extended wrist, imprisoning it in a strong grip. A surprised Fawn opened his eyes wide with surprise, when he saw Blue pull the hand towards himself, and then bring the blade to the open palm.

“What are you doing?!” he snapped in alarm. “Blue, are you crazy? Stop!” He struggled, but was unable to stop Blue from stoically cutting his hand. Fawn let out a yelp, more of surprise than pain, as blood started pouring through the fresh wound. He pulled hard to free himself, but Blue simply released him. Fawn grabbed a paper tissue from the box on his desk and started to wipe his wounded hand.

“You’re out of your mind!” he snapped again, raising angry eyes at Blue. “What did you hope to achieve?”

“Prove that you weren’t Mysteronised,” Blue replied, shaking his head quietly. “Admit it: it was suspicious that they’d allow me to talk to you in private... without any surveillance. Unless you were working for them. I had to make sure you were on the level.”

“Oh, right! By cutting one of my fingers off and putting my surgical career in jeopardy?”

Blue rolled his eyes. “Don’t panic, Doc. I hardly wanted to cut off one of your fingers. It’s just a little cut.”

“A little cut that can get infected. I’ll have to clean that up.” Fawn examined the wound, grimacing. Blue looked at it too, a smile starting to form on his lips. It was still bleeding. Fawn noticed his expression.

“Well, I hope you’re satisfied,” he growled.

“I am.”

“You’re a maniac, Blue. Besides, this little experiment of yours was useless. You know as well as I do that not all Mysteron agents are retrometabolic. This wound might bleed, but it doesn’t mean I’m not a Mysteron agent if it doesn’t heal.”

“Maybe not. But your attitude sure means it.” Blue’s smile was faint but genuine. He pointed to the injured hand, that Fawn was wrapping in the handkerchief. “If you had been a Mysteron agent, you would’ve used this bleeding wound as proof, and claimed that you were not one. Instead of being your usual self and pointing out that it’s not healing wasn’t really proof, as you just did.”

Fawn glared at him. “Somehow, somewhere in that thick skull of yours, I’m sure that argument makes a lot of sense.”

Blue shook his head and handed the letter-opener to Fawn. “Here. You were right; it isn’t much of a weapon. But keep it anyway. It might save your life, if it comes to it.”

Fawn nodded briefly, and, taking the blade, put it inside his vest, where it would be inconspicuous. “How d’you reckon these Mysteron agents came onboard?” he asked, quickly changing the subject.

Blue shrugged. “The explanation might be very simple. Consider that one of them died accidentally or naturally; he could’ve killed the others, to make them his accomplices.”

“Then they put their plan into motion,” Fawn said, pensively. “Yes... that could be how it went. We did learn that it was Rochester who killed Burgundy.”

“We have less than five minutes, Doc,” Blue reminded him. “We’d better not lose any more time, or someone else might die. We already lost too many – amongst them, Harmony.”

Blue marked a silent pause, looking sombre at the thought of the deceased Angel. Fawn put his good hand on his broad shoulder and squeezed it with empathy.

“They won’t get away with this,” the physician promised. “They’ll pay for her death.”

“I do intend to make them pay for all they’ve done,” growled Blue.

He shook himself. They couldn’t allow themselves to be distracted by their feelings, he reminded himself. There would be time later to mourn...

“What do you make of it, Doc? Do you think what Keppel said is true? If someone dies in Aesgard – will he also die in the real world?”

“You said it yourself: this world is the work of the Mysterons. We don’t know much about many aspects of their powers. Do we dare take the risk and assume they’re lying?”

“We don’t, of course. They might be able to make Ragnarok happen in that world – and then everyone trapped in it will die.”

“What does ‘Ragnarok’ mean, exactly?”

“It’s the ‘Twilight of the gods’, Edward. When Aesgard is destroyed and everyone dies, in a final battle against the forces of evil. In effect, for the Vikings, it meant the end of the world. Exactly like you said earlier.”

Fawn became sombre. “I hate it when I’m right,” he grumbled. “And how does this ‘Ragnarok’ happen? You said – a ‘battle against the forces of evil’?”

“I’m not sure. At the moment, my memories of those legends are… a bit vague.” Blue let out a frustrated sigh. “These stories are part of my heritage; my grandfather used to tell them to me when I was a kid. I should remember more about them, but… Doc, I’m pretty sure that while in Aesgard, the Mysterons made sure that I couldn’t access these memories.”

“I wouldn’t be surprise if they did,” Fawn concurred. “They certainly proved they can manipulate the participants of that insane game of theirs. They could do the same to you at another level, if they suspect that knowledge might give you an edge to better understand what was happening.”

“In any case, I’m just starting to remember more of these stories,” Blue declared with more confidence. “Possibly because at the moment, I’m not under the influence of the game? I’ll all come back to me, given time, I’m sure.”

“If we do have time,” Fawn countered. “What do you recall at the moment?”

Blue stroked his chin, his brow puckered. “There was a catalyst for Ragnarok to happen. It has something to do with Balder, if I’m not mistaken.”

“Balder? You mean Scarlet?”

Blue nodded slowly. “Why do you think Keppel didn’t want to show us Scarlet? Or to tell us what they actually did to him? Don’t you find it suspicious?”

“I found it damned worrying, if you want me to tell you the truth. I just hope he is alive and well. Wherever he might be.”

Blue sighed. “He has to be. For the time being. I think the Mysterons might need him, somehow. To carry out this new threat of theirs.”

“Blue, how can you say that?” Fawn protested. “You know Scarlet would never –”

“I don’t mean willingly, Doc,” Blue interrupted. “I mean he might be the catalyst they need. Like Balder was the catalyst for Ragnarok.” He frowned, as if something had hit him, as an after-thought. “Or was it Loki?”

“Loki?”

“The evildoer of Aesgard. Doc, you won’t believe it. In this fantasy world – it’s Captain Black.”

Fawn stared at Blue in deep silence, with a blank expression on his face, obviously stunned by the news; he finally reacted, by taking a deep intake of breath.

“So, he’s involved in this too, then. We should have known.”

“I’m positive it was Black himself,” Blue insisted. “Not some kind of ‘creation’ of this silly game. He’s in there, with all of us.”

“Which would mean he might actually be somewhere on board Cloudbase too,” Fawn noted.

“I think the same. If he was subjected to the same treatment as all of us.” Blue went pensive. “That would mean he’s probably unconscious like the others... defenceless. Imagine: that would be an ideal occasion to finally capture him.”

“Blue, your dedication’s certainly admirable, but I honestly think our priority should be to free ourselves first,” Fawn commented. “Then we might consider what we’ll do with Captain Black. If he’s indeed here and if we can find him.”

“I’m sure he is,” Blue retorted with conviction.

“We didn’t see him on any of the cameras. If he’s here, they’re hiding him.”

“Like they’re hiding Scarlet.”

“The last time I saw Scarlet, he was in the auxiliary Room of Sleep, in sickbay,” Fawn said thoughtfully. “Where the colonel, Ochre, Magenta, Grey and Green currently are.”

“Those Mysteron agents must have moved him, then,” Blue noted.

“Indeed. You might be right in thinking either Scarlet or Black might be the catalyst to this Ragnarok thing.” Fawn paused. “Or, in the case of Scarlet, could he be the solution?”

Blue offered a faint smile. “Like he so often is, Doc? I wish it was that simple.”

“Well, maybe it’s a possibility to consider, don’t you think? You can try to get through to him in the fantasy world – no matter what Keppel says, he might have lied. Maybe you’ll be able to get him to see reason.”

“I can try... At least I’ll be able to count on Rhapsody’s help as well. Together, we might be able to decipher this insane riddle.”

“And I’ll be stuck here, a hostage, unable to do anything,” Fawn grunted. “They’ll probably lock me in here, like before. If I was free to move about, I could try to find where Scarlet and Black are hidden.” He looked regretfully at his computer screen. “I wonder if I’d be able to access the surveillance cameras from here? That’d make the search easier. And also, if I’m able to gain access to Worldnet too, I’d do some research; to find out all I can on ‘Aesgard’ and ‘Ragnarok’, and then pass the info on to you.”

“I doubt you’d be able to do that, Doc,” Blue retorted. “Our jailers won’t leave you without surveillance. Or they will restrict all your access to the computer databanks.”

“I think they don’t consider me a real threat, Captain,” Fawn snorted derisively. “They left me pretty much by myself earlier. And I might be able to crack the security code they used to lock the accesses. I may not be Magenta or Green, but I know a thing or two about computers. I imagine that their lock won’t be as secure on the cameras and Worldnet as it is on communications. Their main concern, more than anything else, would be that we don’t contact anyone.”

Blue raised a doubtful brow. “Assuming you can do that, how would you be able to contact me, while I’m in that fantasy world? Frankly, I don’t –”

He stopped suddenly, interrupted by sounds behind the door. Someone was unlocking it; their five minutes were obviously up. Quickly, Fawn leaned over his desk and opened the first drawer, removing a small gleaming object from inside, that he swiftly put into his vest pocket. Blue couldn’t see what it was and didn’t have time to ask. The door was now sliding open, and Burgundy and Rochester appeared in the opening, their guns trained on them.

“It’s time,” Burgundy announced icily. “You must come with us, both of you.”

Both Spectrum agents left the office, and under the threat of the two guns, returned to the room they were previously in. Keppel was waiting for them, standing next to the empty bed.

“Why am I here?” Fawn asked as they both approached. “Did you change your mind? Am I to go too?”

Keppel smiled thinly. “No, Doctor Fawn. I know you never were too keen on the ‘Room of Sleep’ technology. This experiment we’re pursuing, as you know, uses some of the same processes. I’m putting your mind at rest.” He paused for a short second. “As a doctor, you’ll make sure your friend’s safe, while we put him under and send him back into the Aesgard world. Then you’ll know the Mysterons are true to their word, contrary to what you might believe.”

“There isn’t much you can say that would make me change my mind about the Mysterons,” retorted Fawn coldly.

Keppel ignored the remark. He gestured toward the monitors set over Rhapsody’s bed, where she was still sleeping; they were beeping steadily. “As you can see, the Angel pilot’s still in good health. There seems to be a little nervousness, as indicated by some of the lines, but then, considering the situation, I think it’s normal.”

“The kid must be thinking she’s going crazy,” Fawn said with a scowl.

“Captain Blue...” Keppel motioned to the empty bed, and Blue felt the muzzle of a gun pressing against his back. “If you would take your place now...”

Blue didn’t really need any incentive, nor did he hesitate further. His decision was made. He sat down on the bed, and willingly laid himself on it, stretching his long body to get into a comfortable position. He only started feeling a little uneasy when he felt the restraints being put back on him.

I feel like I’m putting my head into the lion’s mouth, he reflected. But what other choice do I have but to agree to go?

Following Keppel’s invitation, Fawn himself prepared the electrodes and expertly applied them on Blue’s body. Their cold touch against his bare skin made the American captain quiver, but he didn’t say anything. He was mentally preparing himself for the upcoming experiment.

While Fawn was busying himself under the watchful eyes of Rochester and Burgundy, Keppel was preparing a syringe, taking a blue liquid from a small bottle on a nearby table. As Fawn finished placing the last electrode on Blue’s forehead, Keppel handed him the needle. He took note of the worried look on the doctor’s face.

“Don’t worry, Doctor. This will only put your friend to sleep... and will permit him to smoothly enter the realm of Aesgard.”

“Go ahead, Doc,” Blue said in an assured tone. “I’m ready.”

Fawn nodded, with still a little uncertainty, and leaned over Blue’s forearm. Blue’s eyes were looking upward, and as he felt the puncture on his arm and felt the drug enter his bloodstream, he could see Keppel pushing buttons on the monitor. Multicoloured lights from the projectors above his head started dancing.

The injection was barely finished before Fawn’s hand took his, and Blue felt something cold and metallic that discreetly slid around his middle finger. A ring, he realised. He wondered what it was about, but kept silent. Fawn encouragingly squeezed his hand, and he squeezed back, making the gesture appear as natural as possible.

“Good luck,” Fawn told him in a near-whisper. “You’ll need it.”

Blue briefly nodded, as he watched the projector being lowered, and he now could only see the hypnotic lights. His mind was already fogging.

“See you later, Doc...” he slurred.

Then he fell deeply asleep.

Chapter 4: Jötnar

At first, Blue had the impression that he was falling; but it was very brief, and he suddenly felt something solid underneath his feet, as if he had literally landed somewhere. A spell of vertigo hit him at the realisation that he wasn’t lying down anymore but standing, and he swayed a little. His vision was still a blur, and he had to steady himself against a nearby wall so he would not fall. The wall was cold to the touch and rough – like a stone.

His eyes cleared and he found himself staring down into one of the stony corridors inside the Walhall palace, crudely lit by torches, the flames casting shadows against the walls on which they were hanging. He still felt a little dazed, even strangely euphoric, but otherwise, he was fine. At least physically. He looked himself over; he was back in the garments he’d been wearing as a Viking prince.

Strange... why have I ended up standing here instead of Hodur’s chamber? he reflected inwardly.

And what was he to do now, with the knowledge he had recently acquired?

Before he could even decide on his next move, he heard animated voices coming from behind, and footsteps approaching. He turned on his heels and saw, at the far end of the corridor, a group of warriors walking in his direction. They were talking in a lively manner, although in hushed voices. Amongst them, Blue recognised Green, in his persona of Heimdall, who suddenly noticed him and increased his pace. Blue went to him.

“My Lord Hodur.” Stopping in front of Blue, Green bowed slightly to him, before looking up in concern into his blue eyes. “You have heard the news then?”

“What news?” Blue asked, with an inquiring frown.

“There has been an attack in Lord Balder’s chamber,” Green announced.

“An attack?” Blue automatically tensed. The thought that something might have happened with Rhapsody quickly went through his mind. “Who? The lady Nanna?”

“Nay. The guards who arrived there first found the lady Nanna and the servant maid Gerda in the room, with Lord Balder injured. They thought at first the Valkyrie was responsible, as she was holding a dagger, and Gerda accused her. But ’twould seem that it was the servant maid herself that attacked your brother, and Lady Nanna as well. The lady did not suffer any harm. However, your brother –”

“Balder was injured? Is he all right?” Blue asked in concern.

“He is, of course, and like his usual self, he asked to be left alone.” Green grunted, not noticing the questioning look on Blue’s features. “The servant girl has been apprehended, and taken to the dungeon,” he continued with obvious disgust. “Lord Balder wants her to be interrogated tomorrow. He seems to think that this idea to assault him and the lady Nanna was not her own.”

“She might have been pushed to do this?” a perplexed Blue asked pensively.

“That is what Lord Balder seems to think. But it was probably a fit of jealously on her part, my lord. You know she was a favourite of your brother. She might not have taken kindly to being replaced by the Valkyrie.”

“Maybe...” Blue conceded. “And maybe not. In the meantime, see that she’s not harmed.”

Green tilted his head to the side with perplexity. “Aye, my prince. It will be done. The servant maid has to be able to answer the interrogation tomorrow. She has a lot to answer for.”

Blue didn’t comment. He just didn’t want for any harm to come to ‘Gerda’, and not only for the reasons ‘Heimdall’ seemed to imply. Then he would have to see what this new development was all about. If indeed she had been pushed to attack Scarlet, then he would have to discover by whom.

He had his own suspicions, though.

“Is Balder still in his room?” he asked of Green.

“Aye. Alone, aside from the lady Nanna who stayed with him.” Green sighed deeply, shaking his head. “Your brother takes his gift far too much for granted, my prince. He might come to regret it, one day.”

“Yes... he might,” Blue agreed with a nod, his earlier suspicions about ‘Balder’ turning into certainty in view of what Green was now telling him. “I shall go see if he’s all right then.”

“You know he will be, my lord.” Green thumped Blue’s shoulder in a friendly manner. “But I am sure he will appreciate your visit.” He chuckled. “Less you find him fully recovered already and deeply involved with his new wife!”

After a brief smile acknowledging Green’s comment, Blue left, walking with long strides in the direction of Balder’s chamber.

Seated on the side of the bed, watching over the unconscious warrior prince lying on top of it, and wiping away the beads of sweat forming on his pale brow, Rhapsody Angel couldn’t help the uncertainty and worry growing inside her, as she was pondering on what was happening around her. She wasn’t even sure of the identity of that man lying there, wounded, looking so much like the man she loved. He had called to her with Paul’s voice, said her name, and appealed for her help. Still, he had been acting so uncharacteristically unlike Paul up until the moment he had fallen onto the bed, that she had trouble even conceiving it could be him.

She had no logical explanation for what was going on – aside from thinking she might be going thoroughly mad.

Rhapsody suddenly tensed when she heard a faint knock at the door. She was on her feet instantly, her hand reaching for the first weapon she could find at her disposal – the dagger from Balder’s belt, which he had left on a table nearby. She cautiously approached the door.

“Who is it?”

“Don’t worry, Dianne. It’s me, Adam.”

She blew a sigh of relief. Adam, he had said. Not ‘Hodur’, as the others were calling him. So apparently, he still was the man she knew him to be – and still knew her for who she truly was.

Maybe he’ll be able to explain to me what the bloody hell is going on.

She hurriedly pulled back the bolt and let the newcomer in, closing the door as soon as he cleared it. She locked it again, watching Blue as he turned to her. He was still dressed in the ancient, fur-like clothing, like all the others were, but his face and hair were as they were supposed to be. He gave her a concerned look, and took her by the shoulders, reassuringly.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine, thanks,” she said, presenting a brave façade.

“How about him?” Blue continued, walking toward the bed, to look down at Scarlet. “How is he?”

“Unconscious. Or sleeping, I couldn’t tell,” Rhapsody answered, following close behind Blue. “He’s been… we’ve been attacked. And he was stabbed.”

“I know. I heard. Green told me.”

“Green?”

“Heimdall, actually,” Blue corrected. “He’s the captain of the palace guard.”

“W-what? Heimdall? I don’t understand what –”

“Has he been like this for long?” Blue interrupted. He knelt beside the sleeping Scarlet and took his hand, checking his pulse. It was beating steadily, if a little too fast.

“Two – three hours, I think,” Rhapsody answered. She watched him, as Blue gently examined the wound on the Viking’s torso. Blue nodded with some satisfaction. To Rhapsody’s eyes, he didn’t seem very surprised to find what he did. And what she already knew.

“He’s healing,” she said, stating the obvious.

“So I see,” Blue agreed.

“Like Paul would,” Rhapsody added, insistently.

“Yes.”

Blue’s answer was punctuated with a brief nod. Rhapsody stared at him with perplexity. “Aren’t you in the least bit surprised?” she asked, almost suspicious.

“No. To tell you the truth, I’m not really surprised,” Blue admitted. “I already suspected it would be the case, after what I’ve heard so far... and what I know of ‘Balder’. The one of legend, I mean.”

Rhapsody sighed again and approached, leaning down to his level.

“Adam, what’s going on?” she asked with urgency, for the first time freely using Blue’s first name. “This strange place... These clothes... All these people who look like members of Spectrum but don’t act like them... This ‘Balder’... At first, I thought he wasn’t really Paul, but –”

“You saw he shares the same regenerative powers,” Blue remarked. “The dagger wound’s almost closed.”

“Yes, I saw that,” Rhapsody admitted. “And then something else... He is Paul, isn’t he?”

Blue nodded carefully. “Yes. Yes, he is.”

“I thought as much. He called my name earlier –”

“He what?”

“I thought it was delirium – when he was struggling against the fever from his wound. He called for help using my name. He called me Dianne. His voice was Paul’s... so I knew then he was Paul. My Paul. Not that barbarous Viking prince. I imagine it means that all the others are the people we know too.”

“So subconsciously he remembers?” Blue reflected. “The Mysterons were wrong, then?”

“The Mysterons?” Rhapsody echoed, turning pale all of a sudden.

“It might be because of his unique metabolism,” Blue continued, barely hearing her. “This is almost un-hoped for. Did he say anything else?”

“Yes... He was trapped, he couldn’t move... He said something about ‘Ragnarok’.”

“Ragnarok?” Blue repeated with obvious surprise. “He mentioned Ragnarok?”

“He said we had to stop it... What does it mean?”

“He knows about Ragnarok,” Blue pondered, stroking his chin. “I wonder –”

“Adam, would you please tell me what’s going on?” Rhapsody demanded jerkily. “What happened to Spectrum? To Paul, the colonel, the Angels and –”

“All of Cloudbase,” Blue corrected suddenly.

“Excuse me?”

“Dianne – all of Cloudbase has been affected. Except, apparently, you and me. It’s the work of the Mysterons.”

Rhapsody grew tense, when Blue turned to her; her face became hard, realising he knew something he wasn’t telling her yet. “Captain Blue,” she said warningly, “if you happen to have any idea of what’s going on, you’d better say it right away or –”

“Please, Dianne.” Sensing she was about to lose her cool, Blue took her hands, wanting to calm her down. It did the trick, and he could see in her eyes that she was relaxing – if only a little. “Yes, I know what’s going on,” he confirmed. “I just found out. From the mouth of the one who is behind this.”

“Captain Black?” she offered tentatively. She shook her head, grunting. “Or ‘Loki’, as he’s called here, I believe.”

“No... It wasn’t Captain Black. Either the real one or under his persona of Loki in this world.” Blue sighed. “I’ve been to Cloudbase. I’ve talked with Technician Keppel.”

“The man in charge of the Room of Sleep?” Rhapsody said with perplexity. “But –”

“He’s a Mysteron agent now. He’s behind all this. He’s the one who did this to us.”

“Wait a minute.” Rhapsody shook her head in confusion. “All this is confusing. You’ve been to Cloudbase? But you just said that Cloudbase –”

“I know what I said.” Giving Scarlet a last probing look, Blue got up, compelling Rhapsody to do the same. He looked deep into her concerned eyes. “Now I’ll explain it all to you,” he said, trying to keep his voice as calm as he could. “I might not have the time to explain all the details before Scarlet wakes up, although he looks as if he’ll be out for a good amount of time yet. I don’t know all of it, in any case, so I want you to listen carefully. The fate of everyone onboard Cloudbase may depend on our actions, yours and mine.” He gave a deep sigh. “You’ll have trouble believing all this, I assure you.”

“I can’t believe any of this.”

It took Blue almost an hour to tell Rhapsody about his meeting with Keppel on Cloudbase and what he knew of their present predicament. The young woman had shown her incredulity, almost thinking her companion was going mad. Yet, she couldn’t think of any better explanation for what was going on; unless she was going mad as well.

Her mind almost refusing to absorb and accept the truth, she had a need to sit down at the end of the bed. She had done so heavily, like someone who was so terribly tired; which she was in any case. When Blue had finished his tale completely, he found the Angel holding her head pensively, trying to take it in. He gave her a few minutes, while walking around the room. He checked on Scarlet again, still lying on the bed. He was apparently sleeping very soundly now, his breathing deep and regular, the colour back in his face. The wounds had disappeared completely by now, leaving only unblemished flesh, stained with dried blood. Satisfied that Scarlet would be okay, Blue went to stand next to the window. The wind coming down from the valley was cool and refreshing.

“I need a very stiff drink.” He turned around. Rhapsody let out a deep sigh, and was rubbing her brow. “But I guess getting completely drunk wouldn’t improve anything, would it?”

He offered a bashful, very thin smile. “It would certainly be comforting,” he admitted good-naturedly. “If nothing else... I’d advise against the ale, though. It’s positively awful.”

“The smell certainly is.” Rhapsody looked around in wonder. “So, all of this… it’s only an illusion? How can this be possible?”

“I don’t know if it’s an illusion, in the sense we give to the word,” Blue answered. “Or a dream. Or a subconscious world. Or another plane of existence. It’s real, as real as the Mysterons were able to make it.” He breathed deeply. “Even the air that we breathe. So pure. So vivid. Even these walls,” he said, slapping his hand on the stony surface of the window frame and turning to walk towards Rhapsody. “This furniture, these clothes we’re wearing... Even the meals – and the drinks...” he added with a new smile. He nodded towards Scarlet. “And those thoughts they forced into the minds of our friends. They really believe who they are to be real.” He looked grimly at Rhapsody. “And that ‘reality’ could be as deadly as the one we know. We could all die here if we don’t do something about it.”

“Harmony,” Rhapsody said, shaking her head with sorrow over the fate of her fellow Angel, that Blue had reported earlier to her. “Poor, poor, Harmony… To die that way, it’s so horrible – so cruel.”

“We’ll avenge her,” Blue declared. “We must. The Mysterons must not win this. Keppel must pay for her death. But for that, we must escape this game.”

“I’m still not sure I can accept this, Adam,” Rhapsody replied.

“You have to believe it, Dianne.” He knelt in front of her. “You know as well as I do that the Mysterons have powers we can’t begin to understand. Surely, if it’s possible to trap a whole group of people in a fantasy world like this one, then they can do it.” He lowered his voice: “We’ve no other choice but to play along with their sick game. And we’ve to do this together, if we’re to succeed.”

“I know, Adam. But it still seems so unbelievable...” Rhapsody’s hesitation only lasted one more second. She breathed out deeply. “But you know you can count on me to do my very best.”

“I never doubted it for a second,” he said with a faint smile.

“So… all we’ve to do to beat the Mysterons this time and come back to our own reality is to stop this ‘Ragnarok’ thing?” she asked.

Blue gave an approving nod. “The ‘Twilight of the gods’, according to the Vikings. Armageddon. The end of all things.” He stood up and gestured toward the sleeping ‘Balder’. “As far as we’re concerned, Ragnarok means the game will end, and it’ll also be the end of their world, where all of them are going to die.”

“And if their fantasy identities die in this world, their real bodies will also die on Cloudbase,” Rhapsody said, remembering Blue’s earlier explanation.

“Even Paul,” Blue agreed. “If his subconscious dies, I suppose even his indestructible body would have to follow, wouldn’t it?”

“Or so the Mysterons would hope,” Rhapsody reflected.

“I don’t think Keppel was bluffing, Dianne. Or, at the very least, I don’t want to assume he was.”

“That’s understandable,” Rhapsody agreed. “I don’t want to, either. It’d be far too risky. Explain something to me though: if Balder’s as indestructible as Paul is, how could he be a victim of the Ragnarok too?”

Blue nodded, walking around pensively. “All this is based on Norse mythology,” he said, rubbing his chin. “Balder, Odin, Aesgard, the Valkyries... Ragnarok. This is all part of an enormous play mounted by the Mysterons. They’ve created this world for the sole purpose of this threat.”

“I know a little of Viking legends from my classical studies,” Rhapsody remarked. “But I admit I can’t really call them to mind at the moment – and this is getting a little too complicated. I don’t believe it’s absolutely accurate?”

“No, you’re right. You might have noticed, this world is more or less like an ‘Earthly version’ of Aesgard,” Blue answered. “From what I know of the ancient Norse legends, I recognise some of the setting, and the ‘characters’ of this play. Although I don’t remember that the Valkyries had ever been enemies of Odin. The war between Vanir and Aesir is also part of more obscure myths… I don’t know that subject very well.”

“You seem to know quite a bit more than I do, though,” Rhapsody retorted with a faint smile.

Blue sighed, and came to sit right next to her, on the side of the bed. “Yeah, now I remember them much better than I did even an hour ago. Those were bedtime stories from my granddad Erik when I was a kid, and I read about them later in life. The strange thing is that earlier, even if I could remember some of the stories, I couldn’t access all the details. They were all pretty confused, and my mind wasn’t working properly.”

“Maybe because you were concussed during our forced landing on Cloudbase?” Rhapsody suggested.

“Frankly, that eventually did occur to me.” Blue hesitated. “But also, the answer may be that the Mysterons somehow manipulated my subconscious so I wouldn’t remember.”

Rhapsody frowned in doubt. “They could do that?”

“I’m not sure… But considering their game is currently manipulating everyone else to think they’re Vikings from old myths, I do think it’s a distinct possibility they might have used it as well for that purpose, don’t you think?”

“That’s a rather frightening thought.”

“You tell me. I feel that my mind was somehow… violated. I can’t begin to imagine how everyone will feel as well, when they wake up from this nightmare.”

Rhapsody concurred with a nod. “That certainly won’t be so easy to accept. You’re thinking we’ll be able to wake them, then?”

“We have to, Rhapsody. The alternative is simply too unthinkable. We have to believe we’ll succeed.”

“Then we will,” Rhapsody approved. “So, your memories of these legends your grandfather told you about – you say they’ve improved?”

“Yes. Ever since I woke up on Cloudbase, my thoughts have gradually become clearer. So, I’ll be able to follow our situation more easily, and relate it to what happened in the sagas of the Norse gods.”

“Speaking of which... none of them seem to be ‘gods’,” Rhapsody remarked.

“They’re all obviously normal humans. Except for Balder’s exceptional powers of recovery.”

“Which were part of the legend too, weren’t they?” Rhapsody noted.

“Actually, it was somehow different. For some reason, the Balder of legend was supposed to be invulnerable,” Blue agreed. “He was the only one of the Aesgard gods with that condition. But instead of having healing powers like Paul, Balder’s invulnerability meant that nothing can do him any harm. A rock thrown at him, or a sword or spear thrust at him would not cause him any visible injury. It was as if he had… his own personal protective forcefield around him. Obviously, the Balder character from this game hasn’t got that kind of power. Seemingly, it’s similar to Paul’s. Whether it’s creative license taken by the game’s designers or devised by the Mysterons, we might never know.”

Rhapsody nodded her understanding. “In any case, it would be why Paul found himself in that role.”

“Yes, he would be the obvious choice, wouldn’t he?” Blue scratched his head. “And I’m afraid there’s more. I think that Balder’s relative invulnerability plays an important part in the myth of Ragnarok itself.”

“In what way?” Rhapsody asked.

Blue grunted his frustration. “I’m not sure you’ll like to hear it... But according to the Norse legends, it might very well be Balder’s death that’ll bring about Ragnarok.”

Rhapsody stared blankly at him. “But if he’s as invulnerable as you say –”

“Practically invulnerable,” Blue interrupted her. “That’s my answer to your earlier question, Rhapsody: there’s something – one weakness that can kill him.”

“It’s certainly not electricity,” Rhapsody remarked with dry humour. “Not in this setting.”

Blue shook his head. “No. It’s yew – or mistletoe, depending on the versions of the story. Balder was killed with a weapon carved from it – quite accidentally, as it turned out. During a very silly game that the gods played. They were throwing all kind of objects at him, just to test his invulnerability. Apparently, they thought it was a very entertaining game at the time, until it proved fatal to him.” He rubbed his chin, thoughtfully, while Rhapsody turned a concerned look on the still-sleeping Scarlet. “From then on, the Aesir gods realised their mortality. If the most invincible amongst them was killed by something as insignificant as mistletoe or yew, then what chance did they have against death? The forces of evil also realised then that the Aesir were vulnerable and started making plans to attack and destroy them.”

“And then came Ragnarok,” Rhapsody realised.

“Yeah, in a nutshell, that’s what happened.”

Rhapsody nodded slowly. “In the Hall, earlier, I heard the Aesir and the Vanir mentioning ‘Jötnar’, as being their ‘common enemies’.” What are they?”

“’Jötnar’, the plural for ‘Jötunn’, also known as ‘Ice Giants’ or ‘Frost Giants’,” Blue explained. “Granddad Erik described them as supernatural beings, somehow related to the gods, with whom they were sometimes at odds. In this current setting, they seem to indeed have taken the role of both Aesgard’s and Vanaheim’s bitter and most feared enemies.”

Rhapsody nodded her head again. “Supernatural beings,” she repeated thoughtfully. “You reckon they could represent the Mysterons?”

“That thought did cross my mind. All the clues would point in that direction.”

“And Ragnarok,” Rhapsody continued, “do you think it might happen in this version, the same way it does in the Norse legends?” she asked worriedly.

Blue shook his head. “I would think unlikely that these very mortal Aesir would be silly enough to take the risk of playing that stupid game with their Balder.”

“I don’t know,” Rhapsody retorted doubtfully. “You have seen how they behave, haven’t you? They do seem reckless enough. And quite violent.”

“They do indeed,” Blue agreed, pensively. “But I don’t think I am.”

Rhapsody raised a brow. “What do you mean exactly?”

Blue hesitated a second. “According to the legend,” he said finally, looking directly at Rhapsody, “the one who accidentally killed Balder with that fatal blow... was his own brother, Hodur.”

Rhapsody kept silent, letting the information sink in. Blue was observing her reaction; it was one of complete and unreserved denial. “Surely, Captain Blue, the Mysterons don’t really expect that you’d actually do that!”

“I don’t know what they expect,” Blue muttered darkly. “I do suspect that they sent me here with an ulterior motive, and that this motive could very well be that they’re counting on me to recreate the events of the Norse legends, leading to the coming of Ragnarok.”

“Well, I believe they’re deeply mistaken!” Rhapsody scoffed loudly.

“I’d say the same,” Blue concurred. “I wouldn’t play that part of their game willingly. Of that, you can be sure. In fact, I’ll do everything in my power to avoid being put in the situation where they’d expect me to actually kill Paul – or rather ‘Balder’. But I’ll have to be wary of Loki.”

“Captain Black,” Rhapsody uttered, with a brief nod. “Yes, well... This seems to be a very sensible precaution.”

“Especially when you know that, still according to the legend, Hodur was tricked by Loki into killing Balder,” Blue specified.

“Oh.” Rhapsody reflected upon that new revelation. “Even without taking that into consideration, I wouldn’t turn my back on him at any time,” she remarked coldly. “And I suspect that he might already have started causing trouble in order to bring Ragnarok forward.”

“Meaning?”

“The ‘servant girl’ Gerda, who attacked us?”

“Anna Preston,” Blue informed her.

“I thought I recognised her,” Rhapsody muttered bleakly, thinking back to what the woman had been to Balder in this fantasy world. She shook herself. Now wasn’t the time to let herself be distracted by embittered thoughts. She nodded in Scarlet’s direction. “Anyway... he seemed to think that someone put her up to it.”

“Loki?” Blue asked, raising a brow.

“Well, he didn’t name him in that particular instance – but he did mention his name when he clashed with the woman earlier, before chasing her away. I heard it all through the door.”

“Mmm...” Blue shook his head, pensively scrutinising the young woman. “This can’t be a very agreeable experience for you, can it, Dianne?”

“Because he’s acting like a boor?” Rhapsody said. “Well, I realise now that he’s not really behaving like himself. Nor is anybody else, for that matter.” She paused a few seconds. “But it’s still a very unpleasant situation, I have to admit.”

“I thought as much,” Blue said, gently stroking her cheek. “You’re acting very bravely, Rhapsody Angel. We’ll get through this. And every last one of them will come back to his or her normal self, you’ll see.”

Rhapsody acknowledged the encouraging words with a nod, before giving another scrutinising look towards Scarlet, over her shoulder. “Maybe he can help us?” she suggested.

Blue hesitated. “Keppel told me that none of them would remember the real world as it is,” he noted. “And try as I might, none of them would believe me if I attempted to explain the truth. Yet,” he added in a more buoyant tone, “you told me that after being injured, Paul called your name, that he seemed to be himself during his delirium.”

“Just before passing out, yes,” Rhapsody confirmed. “He also seemed to be aware of his situation... He said he was trapped.”

“And that he was cold and couldn’t move,” Blue said, repeating what Rhapsody had already told him.

“Is it possible that he might have become impervious to whatever the Mysterons have done to the others?” Rhapsody asked in a hopeful tone. “That he’s coming out of it?”

They heard a groan coming from the object of their mutual attention; turning fully around, they saw Scarlet move. They exchanged an expectant glance, before getting to their feet and coming to stand beside the waking man.

“Maybe we’re about to find out,” Blue said wishfully.

They stood over Scarlet for a moment, watching as he slowly recovered his senses. He drew a deep breath, then opened his eyes, looking around with some confusion. Then he looked up to the two people he could see hovering above him. He frowned deeply.

“What are you doing here, brother?”

Blue just had the time to repress a frustrated sigh. Scarlet still had the same lilting, deep-throated accent he had shared with all the others since their conversion into ‘Viking warriors’; he didn’t have that English-accented voice that Blue knew so very well.

He was still ‘Balder’.

“I heard what happened to you,” Blue answered, noncommittally. “Are you okay?”

“You should know the answer,” Scarlet replied, trying to push himself into a seated position. “As always, the same.” Blue gave him a hand, and pulled him up. Scarlet grimaced and reached for his belly.

“Still a little stiff, I see,” Blue commented.

“Please, Hodur, you can save the brotherly concern,” Scarlet grumbled. “You know it will be completely healed before long.” He looked down at the stained and torn shirt with disgust. “Still, another ruined tunic,” he muttered. “And I liked that one.”

That made Blue smile despite himself. Now that was a typical Paul reaction.

“Since you look on your way to recovery, I’d better leave, then.”

“Aye. Do that,” Scarlet replied, raising a hand in dismissal. “Do you not have a wife waiting for you in your chamber? You have been waiting months to be reunited with her. You should not waste your time with me, and go to her instead.”

Blue nodded slowly, looking on as Scarlet supported himself on one elbow, rubbing his injured belly with his free hand. So, it appeared that ‘Balder’ knew about this previous union between Hodur and Iduna. Not that Blue was that surprised; he had suspected that he would know as much, from the hints he had already dropped earlier.

Blue turned around, motioning to Rhapsody to follow him to the door. She unlocked and opened it, and he went out, stopping just after the doorway to address her. “Do you think you can stay with him?” he asked in a whisper.

Rhapsody hesitated. Visions of what had happened earlier that evening came rushing to her mind.

“You want me to keep my eye on him,” she whispered back.

“Yes. Despite what he says, he doesn’t seem quite all right.”

“No, he doesn’t. That was just some Viking misplaced sense of pride talking.”

Blue made a show of appearing offended. “Ouch. That hurts, Dianne.” He chuckled, and then cleared his throat, becoming serious again. “I know how he is – how Balder is, when it comes to women…”

“Oh, you think you know, do you?” Rhapsody replied, raising a doubtful brow. “I did notice.”

Blue frowned in perplexity. “Did something happen?”

She waved his concern aside. “Nothing that I couldn’t take care of, don’t worry.”

“Do you think you can handle him? If you think he might manhandle you, you don’t have to stay. I’ll ask Green – Heimdall, that is – to put a guard in front of his door.”

Rhapsody glanced at ‘Balder’ over her shoulder; he was still rubbing his belly, grunting in discomfort. He didn’t look like he would be causing her much trouble from now on. And in any case, now that she knew he really was Paul, she wasn’t as fearful of him as she previously was. She was confident Paul wouldn’t hurt her.

She offered a faint smile, and nodded while addressing Blue again: “I think I’ll be able to fight off his advances.” He smiled back in answer. “And I’ll try to learn more about... him... and this Ragnarok that we should stop.”

“Any information we might find would be useful,” Blue agreed. “I’ll find out what I can from Karen.... Excuse me, Iduna.” He sighed. “That’ll take some getting used to. We’ll meet again later.”

“Tomorrow, more than likely,” Rhapsody observed.

“Right. Tomorrow. In any case, be careful. And if you ever need any kind of help... Call for me.”

She shook her head. “It’s quite late at night now. I don’t expect there’ll be any more ‘action’ tonight.”

“Wishful thinking,” Blue muttered. “I can do with a little rest. Tomorrow then.”

He nodded his goodbyes, and Rhapsody nodded back in answer, before closing the door, and taking good care to lock it again. Despite what she had just said to Blue, she didn’t want to run the risk of another attempted attack that night. Behind him, she heard Scarlet stir.

“You do not have to do what he asked.”

Rhapsody turned on her heels. Scarlet had changed his position to a more comfortable one, and with a brusque gesture, was tearing the soiled shirt before pulling it over his head and throwing it onto the floor. He then grimaced, holding his aching belly. He tiredly waved towards the door.

“My brother, Hodur... He told you to stay here, did he not? To make sure that I will be all right.” Rhapsody slowly walked back to the bed, curiosity plain on her face, as he continued, quietly: “You do not have to stay if you do not want to. Know that I am grateful that you did defend me when I was down, and that you watched over me while I was unconscious. You are free to go if you choose to. We can talk about us later.”

“I don’t want to leave, Lord Balder,” Rhapsody answered evenly. “I’ll be staying, if you don’t mind.”

He grinned at her. “And why should I mind?”

She raised a composed brow. “Just to watch over you,” she specified. “I have no other interest in you, Lord Balder. And I’m warning you: I will be on my guard, and if you try again what you tried earlier, I will defend myself, much more efficiently this time around. And I will not hesitate to hurt you painfully, if I feel it necessary, knowing it will only be temporary for you. I hope this is clear?”

He chuckled. “Aye. Perfectly clear. You do not have to worry. I give you my word I will not hurt you.”

Rhapsody watched as he raised his hand for the mug of water on the low table nearby, but found himself unable to reach it. She handed it to him. He gave a grateful nod, and drank greedily.

“He’s not really your brother, is he?” Rhapsody asked curiously.

“So now you are interested in me,” Scarlet noted teasingly.

“Don’t confuse curiosity with interest, Lord Balder,” Rhapsody replied, frowning. “It’s not the same thing.”

“Aye. Just curiosity it is, then, Lady Nanna.” He nodded toward the closed door. “You have guessed well. But then again, you must have noticed that there is little resemblance between us, nay? We are not real brothers. We are blood brothers, Hodur, Thor and me. We have been chosen by King Odin as his heirs. We are the champion princes of Aesgard. But surely, you must already know that?”

“Doesn’t that cause any kind of conflict between you?”

“Conflict?” Scarlet repeated, frowning. “Nay. We are as close as brothers can be. Although sometimes we fight, and argue, and we might feel like we would want to kill each other, we would give our life for the others. When the time does come – and may Ymir grant that it will be a long time from now – after Odin’s passing, the three of us will share the duties of the Throne of Aesgard.”

“How do you know Lord Hodur asked me to make sure you’ll be all right?” Rhapsody asked, watching him closely as he drank the rest of the water to the last drop.

Scarlet put down the beaker. “I know how he is. He is constantly watching out for me. Although it is not always necessary, for obvious reasons.” He scoffed loudly, but there was a fondness in his words that didn’t escape Rhapsody. She knelt next to the recuperating warrior. He frowned at her. “Why are you still here?” he muttered. “Are you not afraid of me anymore?”

“I never was afraid of you,” Rhapsody defended herself. “And as I said, Lord Balder, I am curious.” She looked down at his bare chest. There was no sign of injury on his flesh. “I heard about your... healing capacities.”

“You have never witnessed anything like this before, is that it?”

That would be a far stretch of the truth, Rhapsody mused inwardly, thinking back to the frequent times when she had actually observed Paul’s retrometabolism. Even when he was shaving in the morning, and nicked himself, it was always astounding to see the cut disappear in mere seconds.

This Paul would certainly need a shave, she added to herself in an afterthought.

She sat down in front of him, on a small wooden stool, near the table. “How did this happen to you?”

He grunted. “Do you not know the tale?”

She shook her head. “No. The stories I heard about that aren’t clear.”

Scarlet sighed, rising to his feet. “For lack of a better word, it was a gift from the Jötnar.” There was derision in his voice when he said that, Rhapsody noticed. He gave a sigh and added, more evenly: “That much I know. I wish I could tell you more about it.”

He went to the table, picked up the jug of ale, and drank from it heartily, before putting it down loudly.

“That is better,” he gasped. “I was thirsty.”

He looked over to Rhapsody, who was watching him with attention, waiting for the rest of his story. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

“One day, I went hunting in the mountains with Loki, and... we encountered the Jötnar.” He frowned. “I cannot recall most of what happened,” he admitted, taking a few steps towards Rhapsody, the jug in his hand. “I do remember losing track of Loki, and I went searching for him. Then a huge blizzard surrounded me, apparently coming from nowhere. Surely the work of the Jötnar... You know they do evil magic, and use it to torment us ‘poor mortals’.”

His voice was again bitter, but it was very brief, before it returned to normal, and he continued:

“I was struggling against the wind and snow, trying to find my way back to Aesgard. But I was lost. And then I fell... a great distance... into a ravine, maybe, I could not say. That is the last thing I remember. I must have had a bad fall, because from then, it is a total blank.

“When I came to, the blizzard was finished. I was lying on my back, in pain and unable to move, and Hodur was leaning over me. He took me back to Aesgard and then we discovered... this new ability of mine.” He grunted. “My back was broken. I should have died of my many wounds. But I did not. And I recovered. Completely. And ever since that day, I have been able to recover from any wound that befalls me.”

“And you say it was because of the Jötnar that you now have that gift?” Rhapsody said in puzzlement. “But... you didn’t really see them?”

Scarlet laughed. “Lady Nanna, no-one can claim he has ever seen the Jötnar. If I did see them, I cannot recall any of it. They have caused my memory to fail me, obviously.” He paused a second, looking at her, and seeing the doubt on her features. “Who else could perform such a miracle?” he questioned, as if it was an obvious observation. “Loki and I were on their land. We must have encountered them. A raging blizzard, suddenly rising from nowhere, is the sign that they are walking the Earth. You should know that, Lady Nanna. And we were right in the middle of that terrible storm. We must have crossed their path.”

Rhapsody nodded slowly, not committing herself with a spoken answer. “So you encountered the Jötnar...” she said pensively.

“Aye. Loki and I,” Scarlet answered, standing only a few feet from her. “We may be the only humans alive to have done so and live to tell the tale. Although we can hardly say we are actually talking about it,” he added in an undertone. “All there is to know about the Jötnar still remains a mystery.”

So similar to what happened in real life, Rhapsody mused. Those Jötnar – they might indeed be the representation of the Mysterons in this fantasy world. Ever-present in these people’s lives, threatening, and yet of an unknown nature. And the way they interacted with Balder’s life, ‘giving’ him these healing capacities...

He didn’t remember anything of his encounter with them. Much like Captain Scarlet with the Mysterons. She wondered about the fact that they might have forced his body and mind to do something he might not be aware of, like the Mysterons had done with Paul. Perhaps Hodur would know. But as Blue was himself, and not really Hodur, there was little chance he would actually know what it was that Hodur experienced when he found Balder after his encounter with the Jötnar.

And then there was Loki, who had the face of Captain Black in this fantasy world. He must know what had happened, even if ‘Balder’ didn’t have a clue. But something in what Scarlet had just said made Rhapsody wonder if ‘Loki’ would indeed say anything on the subject.

“You mean Loki doesn’t talk about this experience you both had?”

Scarlet shrugged. “He claims that, like me, he does not remember anything about it.”

“‘Claims’... you don’t believe him.”

“A word of advice, Lady Nanna: if you are wise and cautious, you will not always believe what Loki says. Or rather: you will never believe what he tells you. Loki is half-Jötunn. Odin keeps him around for reasons of his own, but we have learned, to our cost, that Loki, like all Jötnar, is not to be trusted.”

Rhapsody narrowed her eyes, pensively. Here again was a similarity with the real world, just like those Adam had already told her about earlier. But this one had a twist, however: while Captain Black had been a trusted man in the past – before becoming the unwilling agent of the Mysterons in recent years – it appeared that it wasn’t quite that way with Loki. Although he still lived amongst the Aesir, they had always regarded him with suspicion and mistrust, and it was highly possible that, just like the Loki of the Norse legends, he was plotting their downfall, a pawn of the Jötnar, just as Black was for the Mysterons.

Or perhaps he was their accomplice... After all, according to ‘Balder’, Loki was half-Jötunn – which seemed bizarre, considering ‘Balder’ also said that no other human aside from himself and Loki had actually lived after an encounter with the Jötnar.

“And so, since that fateful day, you can survive anything,” Rhapsody pondered, addressing Scarlet.

“So far I have,” Scarlet replied thoughtfully. “Though why the Jötnar would give me that wonderful gift is a mystery. That surely was not what they intended. According to Lord Odin, it could only be a fluke.”

“A fluke, right,” Rhapsody mused, watching as he took another gulp from the jug. When he finished, he looked curiously at her.

“You mean to say, Lady Nanna, that you REALLY never heard this story before this night?”

“No, Lord Balder, I didn’t know about it.” Not THIS version, anyway, she added inwardly.

“How odd. I would have thought it would have travelled to the land of Vanaheim. Do you Vanir not know the enemies you meet on the field of battle?”

Rhapsody simply shrugged, and raised a brow, watching as he emptied the last of the ale, and then wiped his mouth again, grunting with obvious satisfaction. Not really as sophisticated as Paul... She wondered if he had gained the same resistance to alcohol as Paul had. It certainly looked as if that horrible drink he had swallowed was not having any effect on him right now.

“Your thirst too seems to have benefited from your encounter with the Jötnar,” she remarked, narrowing her eyes.

He laughed gaily. “Even Thor whose drinking capacity is renowned all over Aesgard cannot now defeat me,” he declared with no concealed pride. “As for my appetite…”

“I bet,” Rhapsody said in an aloof tone. “Your appetite for women too, I reckon.”

Scarlet looked closely at her. “Do I detect jealousy in the lady Nanna’s fierce words?” he asked with a roguish smile.

“The lady Nanna isn’t keen on men who have the habit of forcing themselves upon women,” Rhapsody replied in an even colder voice.

He scoffed derisively and shrugged. “Why would Balder do that when he can bed all the women he wants in Aesgard? I just have to choose amongst those waiting in line in front of my door, each hoping that she will be the lucky one.”

She took a sharp intake of breath. Now that was a remark she would never have expected from Paul; but coming from Balder – well, she had to admit she wasn’t really that surprised.

“I am not of Aesgard, Lord Balder,” she remarked dryly enough.

“Nay. You are a fierce Valkyrie of Vanaheim.”

No, I’m not, she answered inwardly. But she kept herself from saying it out loud. “So you understand that, as I am not of Aesgard, I wasn’t really looking forward to be forcibly ‘bedded’ by you.”

“’Forcibly’?” Scarlet repeated derisively. “I would argue that, my lady.”

“You deny you tried to take me by force?” Rhapsody said with a deep frown. “What do you call my fighting back, then?”

“Foreplay, of course.”

“Foreplay?!” Rhapsody echoed, not believing her ears.

Scarlet shrugged dismissively. “Ot course, fair lady. What else could I imagine it to be? I do not know the love practices of Valkyries; I never bedded one before. But considering your renowned fierceness, I presumed you liked to play it rough.”

“My god… you really are a barbarian!” Rhapsody realised, her perplexity growing. “So it never actually occurred to you that I didn’t want to be with you?”

“Nay. It did not occur to me at all. After all, we are lawfully betrothed by the agreement between Lord Odin and Lady Freyja. You had to do your duty.”

“That agreement was not of my doing,” Rhapsody cut in abruptly. “I didn’t agree to be your...” She searched for the right word to describe what he was thinking her to be, but found it a little too harsh for her liking. “... betrothed,” she finally said, instead choosing the expression himself had used. “Neither Odin nor Freyja consulted with me when they agreed to it.”

She kept on her guard when he approached more closely. He seemed to notice her edginess and carefully sat down at the foot of the bed, at some distance, looking at her.

“Vanaheim was vanquished, Lady Nanna,” he replied. “It is the spoil of the victor to choose the better part of the accord.” He gave an understanding nod. “As I said earlier, you were ordered by the duty tying you to your ruler. ’Tis the same for me, fair lady.” He stretched his arm and reached to delicately stroke her forearm with the tips of his fingers, but this simple light touch was enough to make her shiver.

Or was it what he had just said?

“Indeed, the ‘spoil of the victor’ as you said, Lord Balder,” Rhapsody answered, shooting to her feet, and standing in front of him. “And you so... ‘enthusiastically’ leapt into this duty of yours... And that would make it right in your eyes, even if I do not consent to it? How presumptuous of you! One would think that the noble Balder would not stoop so low as to –” She was interrupted by his loud laughing and stared down at him with a murderous look. “What are you laughing at?” she asked furiously.

“You, Lady Nanna,” he answered, repressing his laugh. “Or rather, I am laughing at what you just said. ’Tis quite amusing. ‘The noble Balder’? Where did you hear that from? Does it come from my brother Hodur, while he was trying to plead my cause to you, as I imagine he tried when he brought you back to Aesgard?” He chuckled, seeing her discomfited, yet still angry, face. “I have been called many things, my lady, but I do not recall ever having been called ‘noble’.”

Rhapsody lowered her eyes, a little embarrassed. “Please, do stop calling me that.”

“Calling you what?”

“Calling me that way – ‘My lady’.”

“Why ever not? You are what you are, Lady Nanna.” Taking advantage of the fact that she had lowered her defences, he grabbed her by the hand and pulled her down to him. Taken by surprise, she nearly lost her footing, but he caught her in his arms. “Does it make you feel uncomfortable? If so, then I will call you ‘my lady’ for the rest of my life, fair Nanna...” He smirked. “...If that would give me some advantage over you.”

Rhapsody was keeping him at a distance, as he looked into her face; almost despite her best judgment, she lost herself in those blue eyes gazing deep into hers. She was fighting hard not to quiver, as she felt herself softening. “The only thing that’s making me uncomfortable,” she said, trying to render her voice as firm as she could, “is the way you are now holding me.”

He raised an amused brow. “Is that so? Then maybe I should always keep you like that... my lady.”

“Lord Balder,” she protested, “you promised –”

“I promised I would not hurt you,” he reminded her. “Am I hurting you, my lady?”

She had to concede he wasn’t. She could feel the strength in his arms, as if they wouldn’t let her go. But strangely, despite what he had just said, she also had the impression that it would now take only one word from her for them to open up and free her.

How easy it would be to just let go and abandon herself to his embrace. It was Paul, after all, even though he didn’t remember.

Maybe if she could make him remember...

“Lord Balder,” Rhapsody said tentatively, “do you recall anything you said to me earlier? After you were injured and you lay in your bed?”

“If I said you were the most beautiful woman on Earth, then I meant every word of it,” he answered, leaning to kiss her neck.

She had to fight hard not to giggle, tickled by his beard, and pushed him back, keeping him at bay again. She didn’t try to escape from his arms, though. “Can’t you be serious for one minute?” she asked with a falsely irritated frown.

“But I am serious, my lady,” he replied with a twinkle in his eyes and a playful smirk on his lips.

Rhapsody nearly rolled her eyes. Now he’s sweet-talking me. Just like Paul would, only he would be more subtle than that.

“Does the name ‘Dianne’ mean anything to you?” she tried again.

He gave a frown, thinking. “That is a Roman name, is it not? A woman’s name?” She nodded in agreement. “I do not recall anyone by that name,” he said, with a shake of his dark head. “As I do not recall any other woman I may have known during my life.”

“You’re going to say it is only me that is important to you now?” she asked doubtfully.

“Aye, woman... That is the absolute truth.” And he leaned for another attempt to kiss her. His lips did succeed in reaching her neck this time.

He really has a one-track mind, Rhapsody reflected. She kept back a frustrated sigh. Clearly, he didn’t remember anything at all, and at the moment, didn’t even seem to want to listen to anything she was telling him. “Stop that, please,” she said in annoyance, trying to push him back again. “You are worse than a vampire!”

“You do not like me kissing your neck?” she heard him ask with an obvious hint of amusement in his voice. “I only seek to give you pleasure, Lady Nanna.”

“Maybe it would be more... pleasant for me, if you would concentrate a little,” she growled.

“I am concentrating,” was the answer the struggling and annoyed Rhapsody heard through what sounded like a mouthful.

“Not on that!” With a boost of strength, she shoved him away again and found herself, panting, looking straight into his smiling blue eyes again. She had the definite feeling that she would not have been able to push him off, if he had not decided to let her. He was still keeping his hands around her, holding her almost at arm’s length. She raised her index finger. “Now try to keep up with me,” she demanded, trying to sound patient.

“Why is this habit of asking so many questions so important to you?” he asked with a frown. “Do you not find it boring? Especially at such a time of night, when there are far more pleasant things to do?”

“What do you dream about when you heal, Lord Balder?” she asked instead, ignoring his remark.

Scarlet grunted. “And yet again another question...” He shrugged dismissively. “I do not remember much of my dreams, fair lady. Most of the time, that is.”

“And this time?” she insisted. “You did dream of something?”

“I dreamt of you.”

Rhapsody sighed, more than a little annoyed. “You are just saying that because you’re trying to seduce me into bed,” she noted.

He smirked. “Aye. And as hard as I try, my lady, you deny me. But this is the absolute truth.”

“Is it, really?” she said, raising a doubting brow.

“Aye. ’Tis true,” he repeated with a brief nod. “I saw you in my dreams. All dressed in white garments... gold trimming upon them... Your beautiful red hair against the background of the Bifrost...”

“The Rainbow Bridge?” Rhapsody said, more as a reflection then a question.

“Aye... the symbol of Aesgard’s power. Except it was adorned with a strange, unknown standard...” Scarlet frowned deeply, as if trying to recall an elusive memory. “It was a scythe… of two golden blades – with no handle.”

Rhapsody froze. “And... did you see anything else – in your dream?”

Scarlet sighed, giving in to the young woman’s inquisitiveness. “Behind the Bifrost, there were the highest peaks of Jötunheim touching the clouds above.” He frowned. “I remember seeing the outline of a huge tree at the top. And high over that tree there was… a white citadel… or rather, a fortress… seemingly floating on the clouds.”

Rhapsody was stunned by his words. Unbeknown to him, Scarlet had described the Spectrum emblem. And that palace in the clouds – could it be an elusive memory of Cloudbase?

To Rhapsody, it looked like an indication that, deep in the recesses of Scarlet’s mind, was the memory of Spectrum – of the real world. She was convinced of it.

He DOES remember! Unconsciously, maybe, but the memory is there. It’s not completely drowned by those pictures, and false memories of ‘Aesgard’ forced into his mind. It’s simply hidden, waiting to be uncovered.

And if she had to believe what she had witnessed earlier when he was lying on his bed, healing from his wound, Captain Scarlet’s psyche was desperately fighting to get free and to regain control over his own mind.

I have to find a way to get through to him, to help him fight off this ‘Balder’ persona, and help him be himself once more.

“Is there anything else you saw?”

Scarlet could see the trouble in the young woman’s eyes, and probably thought it was an indication of her inner confusion. She was confused, indeed, but he was far from imagining what his words had stirred in her. He shook his head over the new question.

“Nay... Not a thing more,” he answered. “All was quickly engulfed in a blizzard. A deep blizzard, which concealed everything from my eyes. Like one of those blizzards, conjured by the Jötnar.” He looked deep into Rhapsody’s eyes again, as if searching for a clue to what she could be thinking of. He was only able to see the disappointment in her features. “Does this mean anything to you?” he asked her with obvious consideration. “Because to me, my lady, it is but a dream. A strange dream, I will grant you, but a dream nevertheless.”

“Do you believe that dreams are the door to other realities, Balder?” Rhapsody asked. “To other truths, that are trying desperately to reveal themselves to us?”

“Aye. Dreams may hold the key to the future.”

“Or to the past... Lord Balder.”

“You are speaking in riddles, woman,” Scarlet grumbled. “I do not understand what you are saying.”

“And if I were to tell you that we’ve known each other before, Balder?” Rhapsody asked tentatively, looking carefully at his features, for any positive reaction he might have to her words. “That we have already met – in another reality?”

“Are you saying that we met in our dreams?” Laughing, he suddenly threw himself back, unbalancing her and bringing her with him. Before she could react, she found herself stretched on her back on the bed, with Scarlet lying by her side, almost on top of her, leaning on one elbow and his other arm surrounding her. He was smiling mischievously. “Now, ’tis a language I understand, Lady Nanna... and like very much.” he murmured, leaning down to kiss her.

Oh no... we’re back at this again! Rhapsody rested her hand against his chest, stopping him in mid-movement.

“Release me this instant,” she ordered briskly.

“I am not holding you,” he answered calmly, and pushed himself up slightly, as if to demonstrate she would be able to escape him easily. “I promised I would not hurt you and I am a man of my word. You are free to go whenever you want, fair lady. The question now would be... Do you really want to go?”

“You are still being presumptuous... Why doesn’t it surprise me?” Yet, despite the harshness of her words, Rhapsody’s voice was less sharp than she wanted it to appear. Scarlet seemed to notice it, as he tilted his head to the side, looking at her probingly.

“Just one kiss, then, Nanna,” he gently asked of her, almost beggingly. “One willing kiss. This, at least, you could give me, if I ask properly, will you not?”

Rhapsody hesitated. Even if she tried to tell him about this ‘other reality’ she had mentioned, would he believe her? It was doubtful. He would think her a madwoman – and maybe would turn away from her, thus annihilating her chances of ever getting through to him and making him see the truth.

On the other hand, if she were to let him know about the two of them, about what they were to each other...

Tentatively, she reached for his rugged, stubbly face. He was Paul, after all – and she was in love with Paul. No matter how she would try to deny it, she would be drawn to him, whatever his appearance.

His hair may be too long, he might be in desperate need of a shave, and his manners may be those of Conan the Barbarian, but there’s definitely a charm within him that I can’t deny.

In fairy tales, a simple kiss would often work to free the hero from the spell he’s under. What harm could there be in trying?

When he leaned down to kiss her again, this time she didn’t stop him. The kiss was surprisingly gentle, very tender at the beginning at least, and became more demanding as her lips and body willingly responded to him. She was aware of that, but there was little she could do to resist this stirring feeling inside of her. Probably, Scarlet was feeling her mellowing to him, as she felt him weighing down just a little heavier on her.

When he finally broke the kiss, very slowly and with obvious reluctance, he looked down into her face, his blue eyes scrutinising her soft features, trying to decipher the emotions they were hiding. His index finger caressed her cheek ever so slightly, and then he grunted with regret, as he was unable to perceive what her emotions were. He shook his head, and she felt the weight of his body lessening reassuringly.

“I asked only for one kiss, Lady Nanna,” he said in a low voice, “and you have consented to give it to me, of your own free will. I am not a miscreant, and I will ask nothing more of you, much to my sorrow. But if it would make any difference, my lady, I would beg for your forgiveness for my earlier behaviour towards you. Because I believe that now, I cannot content myself with only one kiss from you.”

Scarlet had barely finished speaking when Rhapsody’s head shot upwards and her lips met his in a fierce kiss, just as her arms surrounded him in a strong embrace and brought him back close to her. If at first the impetuosity of her gesture surprised him, he quickly got over it, and almost instantly shifted his body to respond to both kiss and embrace with an intensity that matched those of the woman he was now holding so passionately in his arms.

As for Rhapsody, the thought that only one kiss would not be enough to break the spell had just entered her mind.

It might just take much more than that.

Blue felt so very tired when he pushed the door leading to his room – Hodur’s room, actually, he mused inwardly. Even though it had been some hours now since he had ‘taken up the role’, he still had considerable trouble considering himself as this Viking prince, heir of Odin, that everyone around him thought he was. Well, of course, everyone else also thought they were someone else... And he knew he would have very little chance of getting help from them in this mission. He would have to rely only on himself and on Rhapsody if they were to have an even chance to succeed, hoping they wouldn’t get themselves killed in the process before Ragnarok happened. Somehow, and it was the voice of experience telling him this, he wasn’t counting on the Mysterons playing a fair game.

Maybe Rhapsody will be able to get through to Scarlet? he pondered. Maybe he’ll see the truth? And maybe I can do the same with Karen?

He didn’t hold out much hope of that, though. Not after what he had witnessed so far, of how the people he knew so very well were now acting in this fake reality.

Right now, after what he had just learnt from Keppel, and all the events of the preceding day, he thought he needed a good night’s sleep. At least what remains of the night, he recalled. He had no way of knowing exactly what hour it might be. He thought it was probably the middle of the night, around two or three in the morning. It was no wonder he felt so tired.

Must be close to twenty-four hours since I was ‘introduced’ into this crazy game, he reflected. We’ll need to act fast now, before we start losing people... But we won’t be much good if we can’t get a few hours of sleep.

It was surprising to consider that sleep deprivation, like all other feelings, felt so terribly ‘real’ in this world...

He entered the chamber, taking great care not to make a sound. There was still some light in the room. He fully expected Symphony – ‘Iduna’ – to have been asleep for several hours. He didn’t know in what circumstances exactly he had left her, when he had been recalled to the reality of Cloudbase. But if he didn’t miss his guess, and if he had any knowledge of how 3D games worked, judging from those he already played in the past – they had a FX-Room at the family home in Boston – he had been but a ‘player’ temporarily removed from the game, while the program continued running. He was willing to bet Symphony had probably never noticed his disappearance.

And it was probably better that way.

It was only when he closed the heavy door behind him and locked it, not wanting to become a possible victim of an assassination attempt like Scarlet had been, that he instinctively became aware of an impending danger. He ducked. Just in time to avoid a flying earthenware jug that came crashing against the door, just where his head had previously been.

Okay... I made a mistake, then... She’s obviously awake.

“Traitor!” came a furious imprecation. Blue looked up. Symphony was standing next to the bed, holding in one hand a large metal plate, and with the other reaching for a goblet of water that was standing on the table. Her golden eyes were blazing with fury as she threw the plate in Blue’s direction. It missed its target when he sidestepped, and the plate made a loud crashing sound when it hit the wall behind.

“Iduna, wait!”

“You, lying, traitorous lecher!” she yelled at him. “Where were you, at this hour of the night? Out to see another woman?!”

“W-what?” the stunned Blue replied. “Are you crazy?”

“Who is it?” Symphony continued, this time throwing the goblet. The projectile missed again, but Blue was splashed with the water it contained. “How could you do this to me, leave me after we had made love, and go to see another?!”

“Made love...?” Well, the Mysterons sure picked a hell of a time to pull me out of the game earlier. That would have been an interesting experience.

“I will kill that wench!” Symphony shouted again, staring at him with a murderous look. “Tell me who she is!”

“Oh, for pity’s sake, calm yourself!” Blue shouted back. “I didn’t go to see another woman!”

“Liar! Where else would you go, in the middle of the night?” A distraught Blue saw the young woman grab the small, narrow dagger lying on the table – the one she had threatened him with earlier. She moved forward, her furious eyes on the man she was approaching menacingly. “You reek of a woman’s perfume,” she said between her teeth. “You betrayed me when you said you would not!”

“Iduna, please, hear me out...”

It was all Blue could do to evade her expert throws at him, and avoid being gutted by the sharp blade, even using the metal plate he had picked up as a makeshift shield to protect himself. Somehow, he found himself absurdly wondering if his Karen was as adept in the use of a knife as this enraged Valkyrie seemed to be. He reckoned that ‘Iduna’ could even give some pointers to the skilled Captain Scarlet in that particular field. She was liable to either hurt him or hurt herself, if he didn’t stop her soon.

Sure enough, the sharp blade got closer to the point of nicking his bare forearm.

“That’s enough!” Blue growled, his hard-tried patience now completely disappearing. It was time to put an end to this ridiculous fight. He threw away the plate, grabbed both Symphony’s wrists in a strong grip and pushed her back. They tumbled over the bed and to the other side of it and they fell heavily onto the floor. Blue was pinning the still struggling Valkyrie with his full weight; she was still holding the knife. He had little choice but to twist her wrist to force her to let go. She gave an outraged cry.

“You Ase dog! I will kill you for this!”

“Will you calm down!” he barked into her face. “I have not betrayed you! I went to Balder’s room. The perfume you’re smelling is Nanna’s...”

“My sister!” Symphony lashed out in fury, obviously misunderstanding the meaning of what he was telling her. “How COULD you!?”

Blue nearly rolled his eyes. “Oh please, do you have the wrong idea! I went there because there’s been an attack.”

“Nanna?” Symphony stopped struggling instantly. Her voice was now filled with concern. “Was she hurt?”

“She wasn’t hurt,” Blue answered, blowing a deep sigh of relief, upon realizing that he was finally getting through to her. “It’s Balder who was attacked.”

“Balder?” Symphony’s beautiful face transformed into a frown. “Was it Nanna who attacked him?”

Blue shook his head. “No, it wasn’t Nanna. Why would you think that?”

“I told you she was not that keen to be with him.”

“Well, she wasn’t responsible. It was a servant girl, Gerda, who was apparently acting out of jealousy.” Blue sat up, allowing Symphony to do the same. He kept a wary eye on her. “Now, can I trust you not to gut me?”

He fully expected to see her redden, maybe she would even beg for his forgiveness, for having misjudged him, but it didn’t happen. With renewed dignity, she sat on the floor next to him, brushing herself to remove the patches of dust covering her and rearranging her hair, before turning a curious stare at him. He fought hard not to smile at her affected pride. Truly, his Karen was at the moment the true image of savage nobility.

“Was Balder hurt?” she asked him, as if the fight they had just engaged in had little or no importance – which for her, he presumed, really was the case.

“Yes, he was... stabbed by a dagger... But he’s getting better.”

“Yes, of course,” Symphony mused. “After all, he is Aesgard’s invulnerable warrior. The injury he may have received would heal itself, would it not?”

Blue stared at her in silence. So, she knew about that. He wasn’t that surprised. If the legendary reputation of Balder had not made its way by itself throughout the kingdom of Vanaheim, it was quite possible that ‘Hodur’ would have told his wife.

“Yes, it’s healing,” he said after a pause. “Fortunately. Your... sister’s keeping watch over him at the moment.”

“Is she, now?” Symphony asked with a faint smile. “’Twould seem you were right, then, husband: things will turn out well between them. I should not have worried needlessly.”

He raised a curious brow. “I told you that?”

“Aye. Numerous times, my lord.” Symphony shrugged, as if it wasn’t an important subject anymore. Or at least, one that was settled. “You said that girl Gerda was apparently acting out of jealousy. I reckon she was one of Balder’s favourites and was not pleased that my sister would take her place in her lord’s bed... not to mention his heart.”

Blue shook his head. “It seems that there’s a little more than that. At least according to Balder. She might have been... ‘encouraged’ to do this. Your sister was also supposed to be a victim of this attempt. Gerda tried to pin the blame on her.” He hesitated a little, eyeing Symphony carefully. “Iduna,” he started tentatively, “do you have any idea WHO might want this alliance between Aesgard and Vanaheim not to work?”

Symphony scoffed. “NOT the Vanir, I would think,” she said vehemently, as if defending her people from what might sound like an accusation. “Granted, the Valkyries might be irritated to be duty-bound in a matrimonial union with princes of Aesgard, but they know it could only be in the best interests of Vanaheim.”

“So… no candidate within your people.”

“There was discontent, as you well know, husband. In my people as well as in yours. But I cannot think of anyone amongst mine who would resort to murder because of that. Can you say the same of your own people? After all, it was one of your own who made the attack. If her aim was for this alliance to fail, do you truly believe Gerda would side with a Vane, someone she views as an enemy, to do so?”

“Erm… I can’t really argue with that logic,” Blue replied. “However, when sharing a common goal, enemies can become allies.”

“You are overthinking this too much, my lord,” Symphony replied. “This is simpler than you think. There is someone amongst your people who might find benefit from stopping the alliance between our lands. And he may have been plotting our doom for a long time.”

“You’re thinking of Loki,” Blue said with a thoughtful nod.

“Aye. If we can count Loki as being one of yours, that is. With his obvious lineage with the Jötnar, it surprises me that Lord Odin would tolerate him within the Walhall itself. I understand he saved Odin’s life, long years ago?”

“That’s what I heard,” Blue answered, hesitantly, not wanting to go into a story he had no idea about. “How do you know about Loki’s link to the Jötnar?”

“’Tis the stories told in Vanaheim, Lord Hodur. Everybody knows about it: how Loki is a Jötunn’s offspring, how he has inherited their shrewdness, scheming and malevolence, how he keeps spreading strife among your people.” Symphony shook her head. “Many of those amongst the Vane clan who thought the alliance with Aesgard would not be a good thing, thought so simply because of Loki’s presence within your ranks.”

Blue exhaled loudly. Everything seemed to point to ‘Loki’. Not that it was such a surprise.

“If Loki is behind this, if he’s trying to break this alliance,” Blue said thoughtfully, “it might be because if it fails, it would benefit the –” he stopped himself just before saying ‘Mysterons’.

“Aye, it would benefit the Jötnar,” Symphony concurred. “They are the common enemy, of both Vanir and Aesir. They have wanted us all dead since the world began. An alliance between us is a threat to them, and they know it. It is our only chance to defeat them.”

“That’s why this alliance’s so important,” Blue mused. “We can join our forces against the Jötnar when the day comes to face them, at Ragnar –” Before he could finish the sentence, Symphony swiftly covered his lips with her hand. He found himself looking back in perplexity into her now concerned face.

“Never pronounce the terrible word, my lord,” she murmured, shaking her head. “It can only bring misfortune to all of us.”

He gently removed her hand from his mouth. “Is it forbidden amongst the Vanir?”

“’Tis a tacit acknowledgment, husband. I would have thought it was the same in Aesgard.” She gave a sigh. “You might want to interrogate that servant girl, to find if she was really working for Loki, or anyone else, when she attacked Balder.”

“Yes... I will have to do just that,” Blue answered. He finally got up from the floor and sat on the side of the bed, giving a deep sigh. “In the morning. After I have had a good night’s sleep.”

Symphony caught him by the hand, and he looked down at her, as she rose onto her knees. “You know you can count on my help, if ever you need it, my lord,” she told him with a faint smile. “I know ways to make the woman talk.”

Blue almost grimaced. The brutal personae displayed by his friends in this savage world was rather upsetting. They talked about death, torture and gore as if it was for them the most natural thing in the world. He couldn’t really get used to it. He preferred not to comment, and simply acknowledged Symphony’s offer.

Yes, her help could be useful, he mused. But not that kind of help. She could be a precious ally in this mission Rhapsody and I are undertaking.

Now, as far as telling her everything that was going on, that was another question. Did he dare to take her into his confidence, to try to make her see the truth?

He squeezed her hand in his and she came to sit by his side. He hesitated, looking uneasily into her eyes.

“Iduna, there is something that I’d like to tell you... The reason why I... left the room earlier. You see, it’s not at all what you think.”

She looked down at his hand, which was holding hers so tenderly, and squeezed it back. “There is no need for explanation, my lord,” she replied, interrupting him. “I think I understand.”

“You do?” he asked, raising a questioning brow.

“You probably simply needed a walk. I should not have been that suspicious of you. I should have more trust in you.”

“Well, yes... you should. But about the walk... It’s not quite like that –”

“You heard about the attack in Balder’s chamber, and you went to check. I do understand. There is nothing more natural.” Symphony saw the frustrated look on Blue’s face and reached to stroke his cheek. “Is it how it happened?” she asked.

“Something like that,” he admitted, hesitantly. “Iduna –”

“I am glad that Balder is not seriously harmed. And that my sister is now with him. Perhaps their love will grow like ours did?” She looked up into his blue eyes. He smiled thinly.

“I’m sure if you can keep yourself from wanting to gut me every other day, we’ll be able to get along with each other very well,” he said teasingly. “Iduna, please… there’s something important, I have to tell you.”

“Forgive me, husband,” she said in an apologetic tone. “I could not see straight anymore. But when you said that other woman’s name while in my arms earlier -”

“What other woman’s name?” Blue interrupted suddenly. “When did I mention it?”

“Earlier tonight. It probably was the cider, my lord.”

It certainly was, Blue admitted to himself. Never since he had drunk that Mysteronised champagne, a couple of years ago, had he ever drunk anything with that kind of kick.

“What name, Iduna?” he insisted.

“You called me ‘Karen’,” Symphony said with a sigh. She felt him flinch, and she held his hand possessively. “I felt like she had been important to you.”

She still is, Blue thought inwardly, looking with fondness at the Valkyrie who was staring at him with barely concealed concern – and jealousy. “You don’t have to worry,” he told her with a faint smile. “This is exactly what I was trying to tell you. You see, you –”

“I could not help feeling jealous,” Symphony interrupted again, as if she didn’t want to hear what he had to say. “Was she a long-lost love of yours, husband?”

“Please, will you listen to me?” Blue’s patience was waning. “Iduna –”

“I do not know what this Karen means to you now, but I promise you, I –”

“Karen, be quiet!” Lacking any other solution, Blue found himself taking Symphony’s wrists to attract her full attention and shouting into her face. She shut up instantly, forced into silence. Blue exhaled loudly, trying to regain his calm. “I’m sorry, but that’s what I’ve been trying to tell you for the past few minutes. You are Karen.”

She stared into his face, and then chuckled, uneasily. “What?”

“You ARE Karen,” Blue repeated. “That’s your real name.”

Symphony looked at him with confusion plain on her face. “Husband... I do not understand what you mean.”

“Don’t you remember it?” Blue continued insistently. “Karen, please, you HAVE to remember... Spectrum, Cloudbase... the real world...”

“The real world?” She offered a bashful, very forced smile. “Lord Hodur, you are talking nonsense. You probably drank too much cider and ale tonight... The two do not mix well, apparently.”

“I barely drank any of the damned stuff!” Blue replied almost savagely, his hands tightening around Symphony’s wrists, without him even noticing it. “You HAVE to believe me... You have to hear me out!”

Symphony frowned deeply; she struggled to free her hands. “Husband, you are hurting me.”

Suddenly realising how tight his hold on her was, Blue released her. She pulled herself free, and started rubbing her sore wrists, looking at him with concerned eyes.

“Please, my lord, if it is a jest, it has gone on long enough. I do not know any Spectrum, or... Cloudbase. Such strange words… And I do not know who this Karen is. But it is not me, I can assure you.”

“I... I’m sorry, but... I have to make you realise that –”

She put her hand on his lips, like she had done earlier. “Please, Hodur, that is enough. Stop all of this. You sound as if you have gone mad... And frankly, you are starting to frighten me.”

Blue kept silent, only staring at her with a distressed expression. How can I tell her without indeed sounding like a real nut job – at least from her point of view? I’m the one who’s out of place in this setting, not her, not any of the others.

He could see there was little point in him trying to explain the truth to her. She would not believe, would not even listen to him. She was too deeply involved with the scenario forced on her by the game, its influence was too strong; she would not be drawn away from it. Not willingly.

Keppel was right, he thought bitterly. It might be difficult, if not impossible, to make her see the truth.

Not right now, anyway... Maybe later?

There’s no need to alarm her anymore for now. It would only drive her away from me. And I don’t need that. Iduna must remain an ally – even if Karen doesn’t show up.

Blue delicately took her hand off his mouth. He kissed it, and offered her a bashful, apologetic smile, before lowering his eyes. “I’m sorry if I frightened you,” he murmured. “You were right. It was the ale and the cider talking. They don’t mix well indeed. I don’t know what came over me. I –”

“No need to say any more, husband,” Symphony replied, cutting him off. “You have not been quite the same since you returned from the Icy Mountains. Neither has Nanna, as a matter of fact. We all noticed. And we all suspect that this may be because of the influence of the Jötnar.” She tenderly stroked his cheek and forced him to raise his eyes, so he could look at her. She smiled sadly. “They must have done this to you, and erased both your memory and that of Nanna so you would not tell what you both had learned of. ’Twould be their way of working. Maybe in time it will come back?”

“And what were we supposed to learn?” Blue asked with a frown. “Why did Nanna go to Jötunheim, to begin with?”

“Why, she was in search of Yggdrasil, of course,” Symphony answered. “Maybe she had completed the quest when you found her.”

“Yggdrasil?” Blue’s frown deepened. “Iduna, I don’t understand... What –”

A loud banging at the door interrupted him, and he raised his head suddenly in that direction, instantly alert. He heard Green’s voice, still with that lilting ‘Viking’ accent, calling him from the other side:

“My lord Hodur! Quickly, open the door! It is urgent!”

Blue jumped to his feet, as the banging and the calls continued. Just in case, he picked up the blade which was lying on the floor and, in long strides, crossed the distance separating him from the door, Symphony in tow. Unlocking the door, he opened it just a crack, enough to see the dark face of Green, standing on the other side, with, behind him, three Vikings warriors who were looking around expectantly, their swords unsheathed. Green seemed sombre, even a little apprehensive when he addressed Blue next, after a brief bow:

“My lord, I am sorry to disturb you at such a time of night... But I thought it better to at least alert you, since your brother Balder must still be recuperating.”

“Alert me of what?” Blue asked with a concerned frown.

“The servant maid Gerda has escaped from her cell,” Green announced dully.

“What?” Blue opened the door fully. “How? When?”

“We noticed her disappearance just now,” Green answered. “We found her guard wounded and unconscious, and the cell she was detained in empty. Warriors have followed her tracks into the Walhall gardens. She must still be there.” He shook his head. “She cannot leave the palace, my prince. She will not run free long.”

“I don’t want her to be hurt,” Blue ordered sternly. He didn’t want Anna Preston to suffer because of what might happen to her alter ego in this world. He was fully aware that the woman was not responsible for what ‘Gerda’ might be doing. “I want her captured alive, and without any harm, Heimdall. Is that clear?”

“Aye, my prince. The warriors have already been instructed about that. I know the woman can give us useful information.”

Right, there’s that too, Blue mused. “Put guards in front of Lord Balder’s room,” he instructed. “In case she should try to go back there.”

“Already done, my lord,” Green answered. “She will not get to him this time.”

“Perfect, then. I’m joining the search,” Blue announced.

“And I am going too,” Symphony declared. And to Blue, who turned towards her to argue, she added: “I am not staying here alone while that mad woman is on the loose in the palace. She obviously has a grievance against Valkyries, or so it would seem.”

“I doubt she’d go after you,” Blue sighed. “But okay... I mean, all right, Iduna, you can join the hunt. Remember, though: she’s not to be harmed.”

“Aye, my lord,” she said, smiling. “She will not be. One would believe that you are trying to protect the wretch.”

Indeed, I am, Blue reflected as both he and Symphony left the room and joined the guards waiting in the corridor. They followed, as Green led them all towards the garden.

Hiding in thick bushes, in the darkness of the Walhall gardens, Gerda looked apprehensively up at the walkway, just overhead, where she could see a patrol of Viking warriors quickly passing by, spears at the ready. It was the third squad of the kind she had barely eluded in the past few minutes. Every warrior in this wing of the palace was obviously looking for her.

As soon as the patrol disappeared from her view, Gerda left her hiding place and darted towards the farthest and deepest end of the garden. She followed a beaten path between bushes and trees. Branches heavy with leaves lashed at her, thorns and thistles tore into her flesh, stinging her painfully and drawing blood. But she barely stopped running. She couldn’t afford to stay anywhere for very long, for fear of being discovered.

A hooting owl startled her and she turned around, like a chased animal fearful that the hunter was right behind her. She stumbled, missed her step and fell on the path. Panting, she crawled a short distance before getting back to her feet and running again. She felt as if she had been running ever since she had made a show of seducing her guard, and stabbed him with his own knife in order to flee her cell. She barely had time to take a breather.

When she reached the terrace overlooking the valley, at the end of the path, she suddenly realised that she could not go any further. She leaned on the parapet, breathing hard, her heart beating fast, wondering what she could do now. It would only take moments before she was found, and taken back into her cell, and then...

“You are trapped.”

She turned on her heels, gasping. Lurking in the shadows, she saw the silhouette of a man. She could feel, more than really see, the cold eyes set on her. Already, she had recognised his voice, slow and almost cavernous, before he stepped out of the shadows and approached her where she was able to see him distinctly.

“My lord Loki,” she gasped. She fell on her knees, right at his feet. He stood there, like a statue, looking down at her with an icy stare, while she desperately grabbed his legs. She started sobbing: “I failed, my lord...”

“You failed only by half, woman,” came Loki’s answer, in the very distinctive voice of Captain Black. “You didn’t succeed in killing Balder – but that is not a surprise in itself.”

“How do you kill a man who cannot die?” she replied, her eyes flashing with hate and loathing.

“There are ways... Do not worry, he will pay in the end.” Black tilted his head to the side, still looking down at her. “But you did warn him about the consequences of his acts.”

“He did not believe me,” she moaned.

“Yet, you planted the seed of doubt in his mind. Your words will come back to haunt him eventually. Sooner than he realises.” He leaned down and took the woman by the arms, helping her to her feet. “Your only crime, your only failure, was to be discovered.”

“I know,” she whispered.

“You know what will happen to you when the warriors find you again? They will have no pity.”

A flash of fear passed in Gerda’s eyes, at those ominous words. ‘Loki’ was slowly but surely pushing her toward the parapet behind her.

“My lord Loki... I will never tell them anything concerning you,” she said tentatively.

“You would endure torture to protect me?” There was doubt in the deep voice.

She nodded her head briskly. He seemed to consider her answer, just as the lowest part of her back came into contact with the cold stone parapet. She gasped in surprise and looked behind her nervously, to stare down with horror into the empty space of the cliff plunging very deep down into the rocks below, lit by the rays of the full moon.

“The sentiment does you credit, woman...” Gerda turned her attention back to Loki, hope returning to her. But the coldness on his features made her shiver; his hold on her arms became stronger. “...But I’m afraid that is a risk that I cannot take. I am sorry.”

Before Gerda could react properly, Loki gave her a forceful shove, pushing her over the parapet. She gasped, suddenly feeling nothing to hold her anymore, and then screamed in complete terror when she realised she was falling to her death. The cry was brief.

Loki stood on the terrace, looking down into empty space, towards the spot where he knew Gerda had likely crashed. No emotion was apparent on his face; his features seemed to be etched in stone and his eyes as cold as before. He heard hurried footsteps approaching, probably attracted by the sound of her scream.

He tensed suddenly, and raised his head attentively, as a voice, an even darker reflection of his own, suddenly boomed inside of his mind, and addressed him:

“Captain Black… the scene is in motion. You will now proceed to the next phase of the plan.”

“The Mysterons’ orders will be carried out...” he intoned unemotionally.

Captain Black turned around and briskly left the terrace, not wanting to be discovered at the scene of the crime.

In Cloudbase sickbay, Doctor Fawn, wracked with worry over the fate of the Cloudbase personnel he knew were under the sinister influence of ‘the game’ created by the Mysterons, had requested, as nicely as possible, permission to check on them.

Almost contrary to all his expectations, Keppel had agreed to his request, but restricted Fawn to visiting only those people who were already held in sickbay. Although he would have wanted to check everyone on base, despite the huge amount of work it represented, Fawn realised that he already had received far more than he had hoped for, and didn’t insist.

Rochester had then taken him from the room where Blue and Rhapsody were resting and had followed him as he did his round, as he would do with his patients in a normal situation. The doctor was even allowed to enter the Auxiliary Room of Sleep where Colonel White, Lieutenant Green and Captains Ochre, Magenta and Grey were resting. He was satisfied that they all seemed in good health, despite the fact that they were plunged into a very deep sleep from which they would not wake up any time soon. Lieutenant Green and Captain Ochre’s heartbeats had increased slightly over the normal rate, but not to a worrying point.

He wondered what could be going on with them.

Then he went to the Nurses’ station. He checked on Louise Barlow, his senior nurse, who was slumped across her desk, also deeply asleep, not surprisingly. Her breathing was regular and her heartbeat steady, and so Fawn didn’t worry about her. Still followed by Rochester, he entered the first of the nurses’ dormitories – that of the female nurses – where he knew they had been gathered together. He found them, all accounted for, sleeping on their beds. Sighing, he checked on each of them, making sure they were fine. Rochester stood patiently by the door, watching him vigilantly. So far, since the beginning of Fawn’s round, he had not uttered a single word.

As he went from one nurse to the other and reassured himself of their good health, Fawn couldn’t help but ponder that so far, he had not found a single clue to where Captain Scarlet or Captain Black were being held. He was convinced that they probably were very close by, probably in a wing of sickbay that he had not visited. He doubted very much that Keppel would have left them out of his immediate reach. Especially Scarlet.

He had just finished checking on the last of the nurses when he suddenly heard a gasping sound behind him. He turned around, and saw that one of the sleeping women was convulsing on her bed. He went to her side, suddenly alarmed. Rochester quietly left his station by the door and approached too.

Fawn stood over the bed, and watched, with growing horror, as Nurse Anna Preston writhed and gasped on her bed. She had suddenly awakened, and her eyes were wide open, staring at him with a pleading expression, as she tried desperately to catch her breath. Her hands flew to her throat, which was inexplicably compressing. Her face was turning red.

She was literally choking.

Horrified, Fawn knelt by her side. “Anna, please, Anna, calm down...” he urged her. “You have to calm down. Take it slowly... Please, Anna...”

“Can’t breathe...” she gasped in a strangled, nearly inaudible voice. “Can’t –”

“Anna, listen to me, please...” Fawn tore open her shirt, in a hope that it would help her breathing, and helped her into a sitting position. She was panicking, and her arms flailed, as if attempting to grasp the air that refused to enter her lungs. “Anna, please, you have to calm down...”

“Doctor Fawn... Can’t –” Preston caught hold of Fawn’s arm, desperate for his help. She was suffocating. Her eyes went wider still. “Cap-Captain... Black...”

“Black?” Fawn muttered, frowning. “Anna, hang on...”

Anna Preston tried to inhale deeply, but unfortunately, her efforts were for nothing and her throat gave a strangled sound. Fawn fell her hand slipping from his arm and letting go. Her eyes rolled under the eyelids and she went rigid, before falling numbly onto her pillow. Fawn froze for a second.

“Anna...” he called. He checked her now set face and closed eyes for any sign of life. He shook her, but she didn’t move. “Anna!” She wasn’t breathing anymore. He checked her pulse at the neck; there wasn’t any. “My God, Anna –”

“She’s dead, Doctor.”

Fawn tensed, and briskly turned his head in the direction of the still open door. Keppel was standing there, watching him, his expression so very cold and inhuman. Heart pounding with revulsion, and inhaling deeply in an attempt to suppress his righteous desire to lash out, Fawn slowly got to his feet; he could do very little to stop his legs shaking.

“You knew it would happen,” he accused Keppel, giving him a murderous look. “You knew she’d die, and that’s why you permitted me to check on them!”

Keppel tilted his head to the side.

“You needed a demonstration, Doctor,” he answered quietly. “A proof that the Mysterons were not bluffing earlier. Now you know we told you the truth.” He gestured in the direction of Anna Preston’s dead body. “Now you know that when your colleagues die in Aesgard, they also die for real. And if Captain Blue fails in his mission, they will all die.” He nodded his head slowly. “They’re all doomed, Doctor.”

“You disgust me,” Fawn growled between his teeth. He felt Rochester grabbing him by the arm and didn’t even resist when the Mysteron agent pushed him toward the door.

“Take the doctor into his office, now,” Keppel instructed his accomplice. “And lock him up, until such time as we decide his fate. In the meantime, we have work to do. The second phase of the Mysterons’ plan has just begun. And it’ll end with the death of all personnel on Cloudbase.”

Chapter 5: Rings

“You should have informed me!”

Captain Blue made an enormous effort not to cringe. Odin’s thunderous bark of anger would have made a full army of warriors step back in fear. It was vaguely similar to Colonel White’s most furious yell, and Blue couldn’t help but experience the same feeling of apprehension he always felt when he was facing his commanding officer at his most angry. You did not want to cross Colonel White or be in the same room with him when he was in that state. And Blue had the impression it was even more true of ‘Odin’.

The king of Aesgard was presently pacing the floor of his private chamber with long strides, his spear-sceptre thumping the stones at every other step. He was fuming, mumbling into his beard, at the three young men standing in the room, at a safe distance from him, after being told of the events that had unfolded during the previous night.

It was very early in the morning, and Blue had barely slept, even after warriors of the palace guard had told him, an hour after they had gone in search of her, that the servant girl Gerda had been found dead. Blue could not erase from his mind the concern he felt for Anna Preston on hearing the news. There was no way for him to know of her fate beyond this imaginary world, but he had a feeling of foreboding that something awful might have happened to her on Cloudbase.

Scarlet, his arms crossed on his chest, apparently very calm, tilted his head to one side, and raised an eyebrow, following his king’s pacing with his eyes. He exchanged a quick glance with Ochre, who was standing by his right. The red-haired warrior shrugged dismissively; Blue wondered about the huge black eye he was sporting. It was as if the whole left side of his face had been hit with the heavy hammer he was presently leaning on.

Ochre rolled his eyes behind White, without the latter noticing this. They both seemed to think that ‘Odin’, in his present anger, was in no state to listen to any of their explanations. True enough, their ruler was still raving with fury.

“You should have informed me!” Colonel White repeated in his booming voice, continuing his furious pacing. “All this happening during the night, and none of you princes even deigned to tell me?! It is outrageous!”

“Waking you would have served very little, my liege,” Ochre remarked.

“Waking me up would have been the least of your concerns!” White thundered angrily. “I wasn’t asleep. I was busy tending to affairs of the land, as I often do at night, while you young princes selflessly spend your time in taverns, entertaining girls of easy virtue or drinking until you cannot stand on your feet anymore! You’ll learn soon enough that the work of a monarch is never done, mark my words!”

Thor sighed. “My liege… the servant girl was already dead, and Balder was already healing from the wound that she inflicted on him. We did not feel it was necessary to disturb you. We thought it would be better for you –”

“It was not for you to decide!” White roared in his direction. “I am not a crippled old man whom you shall tell what to do! I am still ruler of Aesgard! When something this important happens, I want to know right away. Is that clear?”

“Aye, Lord Odin,” Scarlet and Ochre answered in unison. They both bowed in front of White and Blue thought it best for him to imitate them, which he did, although a little awkwardly. White didn’t seem to take any notice of his hesitation, as he went to sit on the large, fur-covered stool, next to a small table on which were set a beaker and a large vessel. He looked thoughtful, his hand resting on his bearded chin.

“So, the girl is dead, now,” he said abruptly.

“She was found at the foot of the cliff, my Lord,” Scarlet confirmed. “Just below the balcony bordering the palace garden.”

“She jumped to her death, then?”

“There is no way to know for certain, Lord Odin,” Blue remarked. “She might –” he hesitated.

“She might what?” White asked, turning his one brilliant eye on him. He seemed genuinely annoyed by his hesitancy. “Speak your mind, Hodur!”

“Well, it seems rather odd that she would have flown the dungeon to go and throw herself off a cliff,” Blue reasoned. “She could have killed herself in her cell, instead of going to all the effort to escape. She might have been... pushed?”

“Do you have proof of this?” White inquired.

“We found footprints on the balcony,” Blue answered. “Hers and those of a man. It might be she was murdered.”

“By whom?”

“By whoever pushed her to try to assassinate Balder,” Ochre then offered.

“You already have a suspect in mind,” White huffed.

“Of course, my liege. I think it is quite obvious who it should be,” Scarlet remarked coldly. “Always the same suspect in everything that happens in Aesgard that seems a little out of the ordinary.”

“I thought you would say that,” White mumbled. “But you do not have any proof of your allegations. Like every time you present such accusations.”

“Loki is far too clever to leave any proof behind him, my lord,” Ochre huffed.

“We might not have proof, Lord Odin,” Scarlet continued quickly, before White could answer Ochre’s remark. “But I did see the girl Gerda talking with Loki earlier during the evening. I was not the only one. Everybody saw it.”

Ochre concurred with an acknowledging nod. But White quickly brushed this aside. “The girl Gerda probably talked to many during that evening, Lord Balder,” he remarked. “’Tis not proof enough, and you very well know it. I need you to bring me more than that, if you want me to throw Loki into the dungeon. You know as well as I do what everyone is saying at this moment: the girl tried to exact revenge on you because you pushed her out of your bed in favour of the Valkyrie. And to all appearances, she killed herself afterwards. Probably to avoid torture.”

“Or she was killed by Loki so she would not denounce him,” Blue remarked.

“Speculation,” grumbled White, turning his back on them. “Unless you actually have a witness to testify hearing Loki instructing the girl to attack Balder, or seeing him killing her, I cannot act against him.”

“You cannot… or will not, my lord?” Scarlet asked with a furrowed brow. “We all know why you are not willing to have Loki apprehended and put in chains.”

“Do not be insolent, Balder,” growled White. “And do not push your luck. I am not in the mood.”

“I am sorry, my lord,” Scarlet said, stopping himself from sighing.

“But some things have to be said,” Ochre continued in turn, bravely. “We all know the prophecy is holding you back from punishing Loki the way he deserves.”

“The prophecy?” Blue asked with genuine curiosity. “What about it?”

“YMIR’S BLOOD!” White suddenly jumped to his feet, and his hand swiftly grabbed the handle of the beaker full of ale, standing on the table next to him. Without even a pause, he threw the object directly at Ochre. As if anticipating that move, Ochre quickly stepped aside and ducked to avoid the projectile, which crashed loudly against the wall behind, splashing its contents on him.

Blue opened his eyes wide with astonishment at this display of violent behaviour. But neither Ochre nor Scarlet seemed the least bit surprised by it. Ochre was simply and quietly brushing the ale from his shoulder, while stepping forward to take his former place, as if nothing had happened. White was marching on him, angrily.

“You know I forbade anyone to ever make any mention of this prophecy in my presence!” he roared in his most furious and thunderous voice to date. “And that includes YOU, princes of Aesgard! Furthermore, for the last time, you will never dispute my decisions! EVER! It is I who makes decisions in Aesgard! You will do as you please when you have the Throne, but in the meanwhile, it is not for you, my princes, to decide what I should be doing!”

“Of course, Lord Odin,” Ochre said, unfazed by the totally livid expression displayed on White’s face.

“Next time, be sure to come to me, even if I do sleep,” White seethed between his teeth, poking Ochre’s broad chest. That subject, obviously, was not to be forgotten, nor forgiven, for a long time.

“Lord Odin,” Blue then objected with some hesitation, “Your anger towards Thor is unfair. He’s not to be held responsible for any decision made last night. He wasn’t even present when the events unfolded.”

“Aye,” growled White, turning to him. “You were, Hodur. As was Balder.”

“Balder was still recovering from his attack,” Blue retorted courageously. “If someone has to be held responsible, it has to be me.”

“Balder seems to have recovered rather nicely, if my good eye is still able to be the judge of it,” White retorted coldly.

“Aye, Lord Odin,” Scarlet answered quietly. “I have.”

“As usual.” White turned his back on Blue and went to the table, to take the vessel that remained on it. Blue watched with concern as he lifted it, but White simply drank from it, before putting it down again. Gloomy, but obviously calmer now, he went to sit on his fur-covered stool. “As always, my princes, I take note of your concern,” he said, looking up pensively at the three younger men standing in front of him. “Loki will be kept under close surveillance. The minute we have proof of his deception and malevolence, we will apprehend him – and throw him in Aesgard’s darkest dungeon.”

“I would prefer to run him through with my sword, my lord,” Scarlet growled ominously.

“You might have your chance yet, Prince Balder,” White answered, furrowing his brow with annoyance at the irrepressible warrior. “But you will not do so without any proof of Loki’s culpability, and not without my full approval. We are just waiting for him to make the one mistake we need.”

“Aye, Sire. I just hope that this waiting will not be our mistake… and our undoing.”

“You know we cannot do otherwise. And you all know why.”

Scarlet and Ochre nodded their acknowledgement, but Blue had no idea what all this was about.

Was it... that prophecy they were mentioning earlier and which Odin was so obviously concerned about that he had forbidden his subjects to make mention of it when he was around?

“Who should be assigned to Loki’s surveillance, my lord?” Ochre asked. “We need someone we can fully trust.”

“I already thought about someone. What you say of Lord Vali?”

“Vali?” Ochre gave it some thought. “Is he not one of Heimdall’s most trusted lieutenants?”

“Aye, and of royal blood,” Scarlet confirmed with a brief nod. “His family is related to our lord Odin himself.”

“Or so he says,” White retorted with a huff. “His filial relation to my house has yet to be proven, Lord Balder. But he is a loyal son of Aesgard, and will give his life to protect our land. He came highly recommended by Heimdall himself.”

“I agree that Lord Vali is an ideal choice,” Ochre concurred. “But is he not presently patrolling our northern border, to prevent Svartalfar plunderers from entering our country and attacking our most faraway villages?”

“Heimdall has recalled him to the palace,” White answered. “He should be back this afternoon to take up his new mission. That is, if you all approve of the choice.”

“Aye,” Scarlet answered in turn. “I approve of the choice, Lord Odin.”

“And what of you, Hodur?” White asked, turning to Blue.

The latter nodded briefly. “Of course, my lord,” he agreed. Who the hell is Vali? he added inwardly. He had no idea of whom they were speaking, but until he could find out, he thought he should concur with the others.

“That is settled, then,” White said approvingly. “I will send word to Lord Vali that I have a special assignment for him.” He took the vessel from the table and drank a sip from it, obviously satisfied that the subject seemed to have come to a close. Then, putting the vessel back on the table, he wiped his chin with the back of his hand. “’Twould seem obvious that Loki – or whoever else is behind this attempt on your life, Balder – had instructed the girl Gerda to accuse your bride of the misdeed. Mayhap seeking to destroy the still fragile alliance between Aesgard and Vanaheim,” he remarked, leaning back on his stool.

“Might it not be the reason why he... ‘overdid’ the staged presentation of the Valkyries during last night’s ceremony, Sire?” Ochre asked with a deep frown.

“The thought also occurred to me, Thor,” White agreed. “Surely, this alliance between our two peoples does not please our enemies. With that humiliating display last evening, Loki was probably attempting to raise the ire of all the Vanir against us. Not to mention the Valkyries.”

“I know that my… wife... was not very happy about that,” Ochre muttered.

“So we can see, Thor,” Scarlet said with a large smile. “Is that why your face this morning looks like you have been fighting a bull all night long?”

“Close enough, my brother,” Ochre answered with a dismissive shrug. “As I said, she was not happy. This happened before I finally came to an agreement with my bride last evening.”

“What kind of agreement?”

“I will not touch her until she stops hating me, and in return, she will not try to kill me.”

Scarlet chuckled. There was only a thin smile on White’s lips to betray his amusement.

“And when will she stop hating you?” Scarlet asked innocently.

“Never, she promised.” Ochre grinned wickedly. “But I do not concede defeat yet, brother. For her to accept this agreement is proof that she is mellowing towards me. I plan to win her completely to my cause. And no later than tonight, I might add.”

“How? By using your hammer to knock sense into her?”

“There are other ways to tame a shrew, Balder,” Ochre laughed. “I can try to take her by the heart. All I need is a little patience.”

“Patience? You?” Scarlet raised a doubtful brow. “This I will have to see.”

“You might be surprised yet, Balder.”

“I do not have to tell you how important this alliance is for our two peoples, my princes,” White remarked gloomily. “Our very survival in the upcoming battle against the Jötnar and their minions depends upon it. It must not fail.”

“Well then, Sire,” Scarlet replied with a smug grin, “this alliance might not be as ‘fragile’ as you implied earlier. At least, not anymore.”

White raised his brow. “I know you told me the Valkyrie protected you against the attack of the girl Gerda, Balder. Is there more to it that you have not told us as yet?”

“Much more, my lord. If Lord Thor still has... difficulties with his bride –”

“A momentary setback, I assure you, brother,” Ochre interjected.

“... For my part, I can confirm that I have won the lady Nanna to my cause,” Scarlet continued, without taking notice of his interruption.

You don’t say, Blue mused, narrowing his eyes at him.

“I hope you didn’t hurt her in any way?” he asked carefully.

Scarlet looked at him in curiosity. He narrowed his eyes at him. “Why the concern for the Valkyrie, my brother? If you are asking if I molested her, I will reassure you right away: nothing happened between my wife and myself to which she did not consent to.”

Blue nodded, thoughtfully. This is a curious development indeed. But then again, maybe I shouldn’t be surprised. If he was to judge by how things were going between him and ‘Iduna’ – how Symphony’s love was obviously shining through her Valkyrie persona, then it might not be so unexpected that the same would happen between ‘Balder’ and Rhapsody.

“Why am I not surprised that your natural charms would be able to conquer the Valkyrie’s heart, Balder?” White said with dry humour. “Do not play around with her heart, though, my son. You might find that she is made of stronger stuff than a servant girl. And that a Valkyrie does not take it lightly to be deceived.”

“Those Valkyries know how to make you suffer,” Ochre added, grimacing as he meaningfully rubbed his black and visibly painful cheek. “You can take my word for it, brother Balder.”

“I do not intend to ‘play around with the Valkyrie’s heart’, Sire,” Scarlet replied seriously. “I do know the importance of this alliance between Aesgard and Vanaheim. And I know that for it to work, the marriage has to work too. I have every intention of making this happen. I know my duty.”

“Good lad.” White was obviously satisfied with Scarlet’s statement; he turned his attention to Blue. “I do not have to ask how you fare with your own wife, Hodur,” he said. “I know you have waited a long time to be reunited with her.”

“Aye, my lord,” Scarlet concurred with a renewed grin, that was mirrored by Ochre’s own smug smile. “I remember how he could not keep in place, waiting for last evening’s ceremony to happen.”

“And now, he is unnaturally quiet,” Ochre remarked almost mockingly. “We have known you more talkative, Hodur. Did your wife tire you out last night?”

“I would rather think that last night’s events might have disturbed his plans,” Scarlet retorted in defence of Blue, although he took almost as much pleasure as Ochre in seeing the red coming to the blond man’s ears. “Running after a fugitive from the dungeon was probably not the way he intended to finish the night.”

“Indeed,” White said with a furrowed brow. He glared meaningfully at Scarlet, and then at Ochre, before setting his sight on an obviously ill-at-ease Blue. The latter didn’t like that much attention on him at this moment. He watched a little warily as White extended his hand to the vessel on the table and bring it to his lips. White caught the movement of his eyes and raised a brow. “Do not worry, Lord Hodur. I do not hold you or your brothers responsible for what happened last night.” He smiled. There was something oddly mischievous, even cruel, in this grin, which was accentuated by the ugly scar disfiguring his face. “But had I thrown that beaker at you earlier, instead of Thor, I would probably have hit you and knocked you down. You would not have been swift enough to avoid it, considering your present state of mind.”

“My present state of mind?” Blue asked.

“You are still recovering from your ordeal in the Icy Mountains,” White offered. “When you went to find the Valkyrie Nanna?” He glanced at Blue, with an inquiring look. “Unless you are recovered enough and now remember that terrible experience?”

Blue hesitated for a fraction of an instant, before shaking his head. “No, Lord Odin,” he answered. “I’m sorry.”

White simply watched him intently, his one eye shining, his lips pressed into a thin line, barely visible under moustache and beard, while he rubbed his chin thoughtfully. Blue felt uncomfortable under his scrutiny. It was as if White suspected he wasn’t telling the truth, or suspected something else altogether. What exactly, Blue would have had difficulty in saying. He was never really able to read his commander’s mind on his face. But he knew that White was never a fool – and probably neither was this ‘Odin’ character.

For a brief moment, Blue entertained the possibility of trying to explain to White and the others what was really going on, to try to make them understand the truth about themselves, and this fantasy they were presently living. But his vain attempt of the previous night with Symphony made him realise the kind of folly it would be. They would no more believe him than Symphony had. He would appear crazy in their eyes, and his chances of ever stopping the Mysterons’ mad plans would be put at risk.

However, he felt that having a suspicious Odin watching over him would seriously complicate his mission. Added to that, he did need information; there was so much data missing, in order to fully put the pieces of the puzzle together. And the people who would be able to help him seemed to be the very same people he was seeking to save.

“Is there something on your mind, Lord Hodur?” White inquired quietly. He obviously knew something was brewing inside Blue’s head. Something the younger man didn’t seem to be ready to share with him.

The hesitation in Blue was more and more apparent. He noted that both Ochre and Scarlet were now staring at him too, waiting with an almost unnatural patience. Dammit. I have no choice but to say something. Maybe that would put them at ease and I will learn more at the same time. He made a thoughtful, cautious pause, before finally addressing White, if a little awkwardly:

“I might not remember what happened in the Icy Mountains, Sire,” he said, “that is, before the moment Lord Thor and Lord Tyr found the lady Nanna and me...”

“But...?” White said with a raised brow.

“...I do know why the Valkyrie had gone there,” Blue continued.

“Was it not to escape her marriage to me?” Scarlet asked.

“No. Not exactly. She was on a mission.”

Scarlet seemed pleased by the answer. “Ah, I should have known that the fair lady would not consider being my spouse as such a terrible fate.”

“Keep those trivialities to yourself, Balder,” White warned him. “What was the lady Nanna’s mission, Hodur?”

“She was in search of Yggdrasil.”

A sudden silence followed Blue’s words. A flicker passed in White’s eye, before his face became like stone; Blue looked around and noticed that the expression on both Scarlet’s and Ochre’s face had changed. They were still staring at him, but differently this time. They seemed to have become very sombre.

“Are you sure?”

White’s grave tone drew Blue’s attention back to the seated man. He was still wearing a set expression on his face, but the slight frown of his brow was betraying concern. Blue was suddenly unsure if he had taken the right decision to tell them that information. But it was too late to go back now.

If I wanted a reaction, I sure got one...

“Yes, Lord Odin,” he confirmed.

White grunted, obviously displeased by the answer, and glanced at Scarlet. “Not considering being your spouse such a terrible fate, you said, Lord Balder? I would rather say she was looking of a sure way to escape it.”

That remark was certainly an enigma to Blue. What did White mean?

“My lord –” Ochre started.

White silenced him with a swift gesture. He didn’t take his eye off Blue. “You remember that?”

“Not exactly,” Blue admitted. “It was my wife, the lady Iduna, who told me about it.”

“The lady Iduna told you? Willingly? When?”

“Last evening,” Blue continued. He was growing more and more concerned that he might have made a mistake. White had grown even more sombre, and as he slowly rose to his feet, he thoughtfully drained the last of his drink.

“Lord Odin, I am sure there is nothing sinister in this,” Scarlet then said.

White had his back turned to him; he put the vessel on the table, and looked over his shoulder. “You think so, Balder?”

“I do. After last evening, I cannot believe the lady Nanna would want to do us – me – any harm.”

“Sire, despite Lady Sif’s resistance to me, I do agree with my brother’s assessment,” Ochre insisted in turn. “None of the Valkyries means us harm.”

“And what if they had infiltrated us to better strike at us?” White asked, turning to them. “What if the Jötnar were behind this? You know this is their way; how they manipulate people to do their malevolent deeds. ’Tis how they work.”

Blue raised a brow. Just like the Mysterons...

“My lord, if this were the Valkyries’ intention, would the lady Iduna have confided in Hodur and told him of the reason for Lady Nanna’s presence in the Icy Mountains?” Scarlet retorted.

“Then what exactly was the nature of Lady Nanna’s mission, Lord Balder?” White asked in a sour tone. “Why was she looking for Yggdrasil?”

“Because she wanted to find it so Vanaheim could protect it.”

Every man turned around at the clear voice coming from the other side of the room. The door was open and Destiny was standing in the doorway, looking in their direction. She entered the room, closing the door behind her, and strode quietly toward them. She had such an air of tranquil nobility befitting the queen she was supposed to be that Blue felt compelled to bow in her presence. He wasn’t that surprised to realise that Scarlet and Ochre were doing the same, but it was rather perplexing to see that White – Odin – had now stood up and was also bowing his head, even if only slightly, and with a glint in his eye that indicated that he was on his guard.

“My lord Odin,” she said, standing in front of him, “I can assure you that there was no duplicity on the part of Vanaheim in accepting the alliance Aesgard offered us. For our people, it is also a question of survival, and we cannot afford it to fail any more than you can.”

“So, you were listening at the door, Queen Freyja,” White remarked, without, however, a single note of reproach in his voice.

“’Twould seem as well I did too, considering you are starting to entertain doubts about Vanaheim’s good faith, my lord.” Destiny paused briefly, looking up to meet White’s inquisitive stare. Her eyes didn’t waver, even though he stood an impressive and menacing full head above her.

To Blue, the scene gave the impression that if Odin had wanted to, he could easily crush her delicate body with his bare hands.

“Yggdrasil has as much importance for the Vanir as for Aesgard, Lord Odin,” the young woman continued with assurance.

“You sent Lady Nanna to protect it?” White asked, his voice remaining calm, but still suspicious.

“To find it, so our people would be able to make sure it was safe, my lord. Considering what Yggdrasil represents for us, for this world, the Jötnar would like nothing more than to destroy it. They are the only ones who would gain anything by this action. They know that with Yggdrasil gone, the human race, their most hated enemies, would surely follow its path to nothingness. We cannot – must not – lose it.”

Blue was listening attentively; this bit of information was beginning to sound really interesting.

“Then I reckon we should be thankful to you, my queen,” White said, taking Destiny’s hand, “for having the foresight to protect our very existence – all of us. My apologies for ever doubting you, even so slightly. It will not happen again.” He lightly kissed the back of her hand, before looking into her eyes again. “Did the lady Nanna find Yggdrasil?”

“I do not know.” Destiny looked meaningfully in Blue’s direction. “For she suffers the same ailment as your son Hodur and does not seem to remember anything of her voyage to the Icy Mountains.”

“Aye,” Scarlet said in turn, wanting to confirm Destiny’s statement. “That much I can also say, Sire.”

“It would surprise me if she had found it,” Ochre then noted, leaning on the handle of his hammer. “No-one knows where Yggdrasil might be, nor the path leading to it. Neither man, nor woman – or Jötunn, which is a good fortune for us, else they would destroy it.”

“That is where you are wrong, my son,” White said gloomily. “There are some of us who do know where Yggdrasil is. Those of us who gave their left eye for the knowledge...” He turned his gleaming blue eye to stare in the direction of Blue and Scarlet whose attention was focused on him. “And there are those of us who might have discovered it... but cannot remember it.”

As he pondered White’s puzzling comments, Blue wondered if he was talking about him...

Or about Scarlet, who was standing by his side.

“What the devil is ‘Yggdrasil’?”

Captain Blue shrugged at Rhapsody’s puzzled question. They were meeting alone together in some remote part of the palace garden, away from prying eyes and ears, where Blue had reported to the young woman everything that had been discussed during his earlier conference with White and the others. She was seated on a large white stone, watching him pace back and forth, like a lion in a cage, as he made his account. He stopped walking and came to stand in front of her.

“From what I can recall, ‘Yggdrasil’ was the name of the World Tree. A huge tree which is supposed to shelter all the known worlds and link them together. In the Norse mythology, there were nine worlds, including Aesgard, the world of the men, possibly Vanaheim, and all of the ‘dark worlds’, such as Jötunheim, the world of the Ice Giants – and Hell itself. Or what the Vikings regarded as Hell, anyway.”

Rhapsody frowned. “You’re telling me that I, as Nanna, I was searching for that tree?”

“I don’t know if Yggdrasil’s supposed to be a tree in this setting.” Blue sat down next to her on the stone, pensive. “What I know is that the mythological Yggdrasil will be destroyed at the end of the world. Its roots are being gnawed at by serpents – probably a representation of evil. A demon of some kind is supposed to set it on fire at Ragnarok, thus launching the destruction of all things that exist.”

“I can understand why the Vanir wanted to protect it, then,” Rhapsody mused. “If indeed Yggdrasil’s a tree and means for this world the same as it does in mythology.”

“I suspect that even if it’s not a tree, it does mean something similar to these people,” Blue mused.

“What about Paul’s dream?” Rhapsody then noted. “Or rather ‘Balder’s dream’? The one I told you about earlier?”

“Where he was seeing a huge tree on top of a mountain, and over it, a fortress resting on clouds,” Blue recalled. “I was just thinking about that.”

“This palace he saw might very well mean Cloudbase. I don’t know, maybe Yggdrasil’s somehow linked to Cloudbase in this world… or even might be its? That could also mean that the Mysterons are really trying to destroy Cloudbase. Of course,” Rhapsody mumbled as if as an afterthought, “we don’t need a crystal ball to work that one out.”

“That’s a possibility, yes,” Blue admitted. “And that might explain one of Odin’s reflections. He said that no-one knew where Yggdrasil was, except those who might have discovered it but cannot remember. He could have been talking about the two of us. But he might have been talking about Balder too. Balder could have discovered Yggdrasil during that fateful hunting party with Loki.”

“And the Jötnar would have erased that from his memory?” Rhapsody asked in a puzzled tone. “Why?”

“I don’t know. I’m just contemplating a few possibilities. I might be way off track.” Blue frowned thoughtfully. “I’ve also got the impression that Odin himself might know where Yggdrasil is. It’s something he said, which was quite obscure. I wonder if he meant losing an eye to acquire knowledge of where Yggdrasil could be – or losing an eye to acquire knowledge from it, just like in the legend.”

“I don’t understand,” Rhapsody admitted.

“In the Norse legend, in order to acquire wisdom and knowledge, Odin sacrificed one of his eyes to the World Tree and hanged himself from it for nine days. As you can see, the number ‘nine’ has something of a spiritual meaning for the ancient Vikings. Now I don’t know how faithful to that part of the legend this world might be... but there’s definitely something to check here. If Odin indeed knows where Yggdrasil is, he obviously wouldn’t tell.”

“To protect it.”

“Most probably. And he doesn’t seem eager to share that information with anyone, either Vane or Ase. Mind you, considering what he said about the Jötnar and how they manipulate people, I don’t blame him. What he described sounds suspiciously like the Mysterons’ way of acting.”

“Perhaps we’re getting it all wrong,” Rhapsody thought aloud. “Perhaps Yggdrasil’s an opening of some sort. Once destroyed, all the dark forces, including the Jötnar, would come rushing through that opening and destroy this plane of existence.” She frowned. “That does sound rather metaphysical, doesn’t it?”

“Perhaps. But anything’s possible. I’m also still wondering about that prophecy that they mentioned during the meeting. Apparently, it’s connected to Loki. Odin seemed particularly fearful of it and that certainly says something, considering he doesn’t seem like the kind of man to frighten easily. I can’t recall anything from the legends. Perhaps this is something specific to this world?”

“This prophecy, whatever it might be, could be of tremendous importance to this case, Captain,” Rhapsody remarked.

“I know. We can’t dismiss any clue we find. However, I’m wondering if the Mysterons are not trying to send us in a number of wild goose chases, to confuse us, so we wouldn’t know what to look for exactly.” Blue shook his head, mildly irritated by the thought. “You understand I couldn’t really ask a direct question about either Yggdrasil or that prophecy during the meeting. As Hodur, I’m meant to know about all that already. I’m afraid I already look suspicious enough in Odin’s eye already, because of this ‘selective’ memory loss I’m supposed to be suffering from. If I’d asked too many questions, like what exactly Yggdrasil is, I believe I’d look even more suspicious.”

“What exactly can Odin suspect?”

“I don’t know… Maybe that the Jötnar are somehow manipulating me? It’s just... the way he was looking at me.” Blue shrugged again. “There’s something on his mind, I’m sure. I just wish I knew what it is. Odin is an intense man. In retrospect, possibly as intense as the colonel. Never sleeping at night, using that time to attend to ‘affairs of the land’…”

“Sounds just like the colonel, really. Actually, could the colonel be remembering something?” Rhapsody asked with hope. “In the back of his mind?”

“We can only hope. But until I’ve sufficient evidence that any of them remember about the real world, I’m not trying to tell them about it. I already tried with Symphony last night and the results were less than satisfactory.” He glanced in Rhapsody’s direction. “How about Scarlet?”

She shook her head in frustration. “I don’t think I had any more luck with him than you did with Symphony,” she answered. “And I did try hard to make him remember.” She hesitated, suddenly wondering if she should say more, or even if she had said too much already.

But Blue had understood what she meant. The thin smile on his lips confirmed it, and she blushed ever so slightly. “You don’t have to explain how you exactly tried, Dianne,” he said. “I think I get it. You tried the ‘princess and the frog’ approach with him, didn’t you?”

“Only I went further than a simple kiss. Without any success.” Rhapsody sighed in frustration. “You know, everything seems so real in this world. It’s really amazing. I thought that maybe –”

“It would jog Paul’s memory?” Blue charitably finished for her, as she hesitated to continue.

“It does sound stupid, said like this, doesn’t it?” Rhapsody asked.

“No... it works in fairy tales and legends. And since this world is based on just that...” Blue’s smile widened a bit, out of sympathy for the slightly embarrassed young woman. He gently patted her shoulder. “I think it was worth a try.”

“Rather seems like a wasted effort,” Rhapsody mumbled. “God, I hope I’m not shocking you,” she added with an apologetic smile.

“I’m not shocked at all,” Blue replied reassuringly.

Rhapsody narrowed her eyes at him, suspiciously. “Not only you don’t look shocked, you don’t even look surprised at all,” she noted. “Why is that?”

“Well, actually…” Blue cleared his throat. “As a matter of fact, Scarlet – Balder, that is – did mention something during the meeting earlier. That led me to think something might have occurred between the two of you last night.”

“He did what?” Rhapsody retorted with outrage. “Oh, tell me he didn’t, Captain... in front of the colonel?”

“Er...” Blue was hesitant now. And that was enough of an answer to Rhapsody who groaned loudly.

“I will never be able to face the old man now... What will he think of me after that?”

“I don’t think you should concern yourself too much about that,” Blue retorted, still hesitantly. “There’s nothing to tell us that he or anyone else will remember any of what happened here, once they wake up.”

“You remembered when you found yourself back on Cloudbase yesterday evening,” Rhapsody reminded him.

“We’re the only ones who know who we really are in this game. It might be different for us. Besides, none of the others are acting like their usual selves. And the colonel’s bound to take note of that if by any chance he does remember. He’ll probably not think anything of it once everything’s back to normal.”

“It’s still rather embarrassing,” Rhapsody said.

“Don’t forget we’re all playing a role here. Nothing’s truly real.”

“Perhaps not, but all we’re experiencing does feel real. Even that feels real.”

“Is that so?” Blue said musingly. “I’m wondering if I shouldn’t have considered that solution with Karen.”

Rhapsody punched him in the shoulder. He winced, but gave a short chuckle at the same time.

“You men are all alike!” she accused him, half-teasingly. “Don’t tell me nothing happened during your wedding night! Your ‘wife’ dropped by my chamber earlier and what she said about you… Well, let’s just say ‘Iduna’ was very pleased that her ‘brave and loyal Hodur’ had been returned to her.”

“Would you believe nothing happened at all?” Blue retorted.

“Yes, well… you would say that,” Rhapsody said doubtfully.

“Really, Dianne, I’m not kidding: the whole time Iduna said she was with her husband, I was on Cloudbase, facing Keppel and his cronies. That may sound odd, but the whole thing was planted in Karen’s head. For what purpose, I wouldn’t know.”

“This game’s truly for adults only,” Rhapsody said morosely. “So maybe other such interactions could also be only planted memories as well.” She was thinking that Paul would have a lot of explaining to do and a lot to answer for when they eventually escaped this strange world. She might not feel as magnanimous then as she felt right now. For example, as hard as she was trying, she couldn’t expunge from her mind the vision of Gerda being so close to Balder... That certainly wasn’t a ‘planted memory’.

And that reminded her of the poor woman’s final fate.

“Adam,” she murmured, lowering her eyes, “what do you think happened to Anna Preston?”

He shook his head, sadly. “I wish we knew,” he answered quietly. “I hope she’s okay. But evidently, there is no way for us to contact Cloudbase and check it out.”

“Think again, Captain Blue.”

The faint, male voice seemingly coming from nowhere made Blue raise his head in surprise and check around. There was no-one in sight. He addressed a look at Rhapsody who had straightened also, with the same look of astonishment on her face.

“You heard that too?” he asked with a frown.

“I certainly did,” she answered. “It sounded like Fawn.”

“Nice of you to recognise me,” the faint voice said again.

“Doc!” There was no mistake now. Blue jumped to his feet, turning around, and looking for the still-invisible doctor. “Where are you? We can hear you but –”

“You can’t see me, I know. NOT surprising. I’m not there, Blue.”

“Then where –”

“I’m merely contacting you from Cloudbase,” Fawn interrupted. “Look at your finger. Remember I slipped something onto it just before you left?”

Blue raised his left hand and stared at his middle finger. A polished, silver ring was shining around it; he had all but forgotten about it.

“A communicator,” he stated in a surprised voice.

“Of course, a communicator,” Fawn replied, a little more clearly this time. “What did you think it was, a token of my affection?”

“How can it be working here?” Rhapsody asked in puzzlement, leaning even more closely to examine the communicator/ring. “I mean, this is a piece of technology – a pure anachronism in this barbarian world.”

“This ‘barbarian world’ is still a computerised game,” Fawn explained. “And as such, it’s technology as well. I managed to tap into the computer source generating the Twilight of the Gods game, and I synchronised the signal into the communicator. In truth, I would say I was able to open a window to the world you are presently in, using Captain Blue’s subconscious as my connection.”

“If you’re using Captain Blue’s subconscious – how come I can hear you as well?” Rhapsody asked with a frown.

“Look at your finger, Rhapsody.”

She complied, raising her left hand – and saw that she had on her middle finger a ring similar to Blue’s.

A faint smile crossed her lips. “That’s very clever, Doctor. I mean, I know you’re good with computerised equipment and electronics, but I didn’t know that your field of expertise included communication devices.”

“It doesn’t exactly. But desperation can lead to miracles, my dear Rhapsody. I hoped that I would be able to make this work when I gave it to you, once I had the chance to slip it on your finger, and then to Blue’s. I’ve struggled for hours after that to find the right frequency. I had reception first: I could actually hear you, about five minutes before finding how to transmit and finally be able to talk to you.” There was an obvious tone of satisfaction underlying Fawn’s voice. “I call them ‘The Nibelung Rings’. I think I would make Lieutenant Green proud – or even Captain Magenta, for that matter. Of course, I have no doubt it would have been far easier for them than it was for me.”

“Don’t sell yourself short, Doc,” Blue said with a smile. “That’s great work you did. We’ll be able to keep tabs between us on what’s going on. We’ll just have to make sure Keppel and his accomplices won’t discover any of this.”

“Useless recommendation, Captain. I’ll be very careful. I suggest you do the same from your end. Of what we know, at least Captain Black’s part of the game. And the Mysterons might be monitoring.”

“S.I.G., Doctor.” Blue glanced briefly in Rhapsody’s direction before asking the question that he knew was foremost in both their mind. “Doc – how’s Anna Preston?”

There was a short silence. “I’m sorry, Captain,” was Fawn’s sad reply. “I regret to report she died last night.”

“I was afraid you would say that,” Blue said, closing his eyes in a silent prayer for the young woman. Rhapsody lowered her gaze.

“She woke up all of a sudden, and started choking,” Fawn continued in explanation. “She couldn’t breathe anymore. What happened over there? From what you said earlier, I’m guessing her character died as well?”

Briefly, Blue reported the incidents leading to the servant girl Gerda’s death, and proceeded to explain the later events, including the meeting he was part of early in the morning. He finished by relating his and Rhapsody’s latest discoveries.

“I’m sure they wanted me to witness her death,” Fawn said gloomily. “The Mysterons set her up as an example of what will eventually happen to the others if we fail to counter the Mysterons’ plans this time.”

“Then we must not fail,” Rhapsody replied insistently. “We have to succeed. To avenge Anna Preston... and Harmony,” she added with a catch in her voice.

They were all in agreement. Although they were all saddened by Harmony Angel’s and Anna Preston’s demise, they knew that they couldn’t let their feelings get in the way of trying to find a way to escape and save everyone else. If anything, the death of Anna Preston was providing them with further data as to what would happen if they were to fail. It seemed evident now that the Mysterons were not bluffing: anyone would die for real on Cloudbase if he/she was to die in this fantasy world.

“I’ve been locked in my office since Anna died,” Fawn continued. “But I’m left pretty much to myself. That’s why I was able to work on the computer and then that communication link with you. I’m going to help you as much as I’m able to, over here.”

“Just be careful not to get caught, Doctor,” Blue remarked.

“Don’t worry about me. Considering the latest events, you’d better worry about yourself.”

“Aside from Preston, how’s everyone else on Cloudbase?” Blue asked.

“All right, as far as I can tell. I imagine it’s the same on your end?”

“Yes, everyone’s all right. But I don’t know for how long. I suspect that, as we are speaking now, the Mysterons are making plans to destroy us all. We must act fast now, Doc, before someone else dies, and if we don’t want to all share Anna Preston’s fate, and Harmony’s.” Blue marked a short pause. “Doc, we’re a little short on information here. Are you able to check the databank library, or even Worldnet, for information on Norse mythology? We need to learn all we can on the subject. For example, this prophecy that the others mentioned concerning Loki doesn’t ring any bells.”

“I’ll try to find what I can. Unfortunately, the use of Worldnet is restricted right now. No doubt part of Burgundy’s security measures to prevent us from contacting the rest of the world.”

“I’ve no doubt his firewall is effective,” Blue remarked. “Trying to crack it would be a waste of time.”

“I saw a rule book of the Twilight of the Gods game that Scarlet was reading before this mess started,” Fawn mused. “I obviously don’t have that book to hand, but maybe the same information can be found in the program databank?”

“That’s a good idea, Doctor,” Blue approved. “Anything you can find could be useful to provide the key to this puzzle.”

“You might be right in thinking that Scarlet might be that key, Captain.”

“Yes. Him... and/or this Yggdrasil thing we told you about.”

“It does seem like it could be an important clue,” Rhapsody agreed. “Especially if it’s somehow representative of Cloudbase. That is… if I interpreted Captain Scarlet’s dream correctly.”

“I actually succeeded in accessing the surveillance cameras a few minutes ago, and I’ve been looking around for Scarlet. So far, I haven’t found a trace of him.”

Blue exchanged a new glance with Rhapsody. He could see the worry on her face. A worry that mirrored his own.

“He’s got to be somewhere on Cloudbase,” Blue said. “He’s a participant in the game after all. I don’t think they would have taken him off base.”

“They’re hiding him somewhere,” Rhapsody concurred, trying to conceal her nervousness. “That must mean he’s indeed important to their plans.”

“That’s what I figured out myself. But I haven’t finished searching. Wherever he might be, I’ll find him, Rhapsody. I know you’re worried about him.”

Rhapsody gave a frown at Fawn’s words. “Of course, I’m worried, Doctor,” she answered carefully. “But I also worry about you. I hope you’ll be careful in your search.”

There was a very audible chuckling sound, just before Fawn continued: “Rhapsody, I know you mean every word you just said – but I also know for certain that you will NEVER feel as worried for my well-being as you feel for your boyfriend’s.”

Rhapsody opened her eyes wide. “Boyfriend?” she repeated in surprise. “Doctor, how do you –”

“I’ve known for a long time about you two, but I don’t think now’s the time to discuss this,” Fawn suddenly interrupted her. “We’ve kept this link open long enough. If we want our contacts to remain inconspicuous, we should keep them to a minimum, and short in time.”

“I agree,” Blue added quickly, dismissing Rhapsody’s frustrated look of disapproval. “Unless we want the Mysterons to intercept them.”

“I’ll contact you when I’ll have any further development here. If you want to reach me, tap three times on the ring. It’ll trigger the comms link. Fawn out.”

“S.I.G. Doc. Captain Blue out.”

Blue lowered his hand and looked up at Rhapsody, who now seemed pensive. “Well, now this is good news,” he reflected. “We have a direct link with the real world. With a little luck, we’ll know what’s happening there. And Edward will make sure to be as good as his word, and help us any which way he can.”

She nodded slowly. “I’m not so happy that he seems to know about Paul and me,” she remarked. “Were we as transparent as you and Karen are, Adam?”

He rolled his eyes, smiling faintly. “I should feel offended by that remark. And yet I just know you’re right. And no, you were not ‘as transparent’ as we were. At least, I don’t think so. Probably Fawn’s a better observer than some?”

“Let’s just hope so,” Rhapsody said, answering with the same kind of smile.

A snapping sound on their right made them raise their heads in alert. Blue jumped to his feet, looking with trepidation in the direction of which the sound had come, his hand on the handle of his sword. From behind a thick copse of bushes, he saw a tall silhouette emerge. He relaxed slightly when he recognized Scarlet, who was now looking at them with attentive eyes.

“Here you are, brother,” Scarlet said quietly in his lilting voice. “And you as well, my wife.” He took note of Blue’s hand on the sword, and narrowed his eyes. “You seem nervous, Hodur.”

“Just a bit, I have to admit,” Blue answered, his hand falling to his side. “After all, a woman was killed last night in these very gardens. Not far from here, actually.”

Scarlet narrowed his eyes at them. “What are you doing over here, all by yourselves, the two of you?”

“Hodur just said it... husband,” Rhapsody answered quickly enough, jumping from the stone to stride to Scarlet’s side. She took his arm and linked hers to it. “We were looking for clues about the murder.”

“Ah.” Scarlet seemed to ponder the revelation. “I see Hodur told you about our earlier meeting with Lord Odin?”

She flashed him a big, charming smile. “Wouldn’t you have done the same if you had found me first, Lord Balder?” she remarked innocently. “Knowing that I could help you find the assassin out?”

He simply gave her a puzzled look, obviously wondering if she was leading him on. He didn’t answer, but smiled in turn, affectionately tapping her hand linked to his arm, and drawing her closer to him. “A woman should not concern her pretty head with such thoughts of ugliness,” he retorted, almost condescendingly.

“Say that again and you’ll find yourself in big trouble... my lord,” she shot back between smiling teeth.

He laughed. “I believe I already am in trouble, my lady,” he answered. “Just by giving my heart to you.” Still smiling, he steered her in the direction he had come from and gestured to Blue to follow. “Come, brother. Leave this investigation to the palace guard. We have other things that demand our attention.”

“I’m right behind you,” Blue answered. He followed, a few steps behind the couple, his eyes riveted on Scarlet’s back, thoughtful.

Was it his imagination, or had his friend actually sounded and looked suspicious?

On ending the communication with Captain Blue and Rhapsody Angel, Doctor Fawn had turned his attention back to his earlier search through Cloudbase’s multiple surveillance cameras. His computer screen was flicking through them, as he looked desperately for any clue or indication of where Captain Scarlet could be hidden – or even Captain Black, for that matter. Blue was convinced that the renegade Spectrum officer was also somewhere on base, in order to take part in this ridiculous charade they were all involved in. For his part, Fawn himself wasn’t that sure about that theory.

Since the death of Nurse Preston, and from the minute he had been brought back to his office and left alone, Doctor Fawn had not been able to sleep and had relentlessly worked on his computer. Their enemies obviously didn’t consider him that much of a threat. That they hadn’t killed him yet could mean that they either regarded him with contempt, or that they had further plans in store for him. In which case, Fawn didn’t propose to do nothing but stay around waiting for them to act. He knew that not only his life was in jeopardy, but also all those living on Cloudbase, all those 500-plus people who were presently stuck in a digital fantasy life, with no suspicion that they were even in danger of dying.

Fawn’s thoughts were haunted by Anna Preston’s death, which he had witnessed first-hand. If he was able to have his say in this, she would be the last victim of this game.

He was fighting against tiredness, desperately keeping his drooping eyelids open and riveted on the screen that was still flicking through the various areas of Cloudbase. Nothing much was happening. Every room and corridor was either empty or occupied by unconscious people, some of them sleeping in the most awkward position. Fawn felt for certain that when this craziness was finished, sickbay would receive a lot of visitors complaining about backaches or sore necks. That was nothing to compare to dehydration and malnutrition, should this game drag on in time. He grimaced, thinking of the job awaiting his staff.

Something suddenly caught his eyes on the screen which was now flicking so rapidly, that if he had blinked, he would have missed it. He had to click back four or five times, more slowly, to find the picture that had attracted his attention.

A Spectrum security guard was standing to attention in front of a closed door. He was very much awake and alert to his duty. Fawn narrowed his eyes. Yet another Mysteron agent, guarding this door... and what else, exactly?

Fawn rubbed his chin thoughtfully, feeling annoyed at the growth of hair scratching under his fingers. I might have found it, he thought, his eyes not leaving the screen. This guard wouldn’t be at that door, if there wasn’t something important behind it. It could be Captain Scarlet – or Captain Black.

IF Captain Black was indeed onboard, that was.

The very recognizable sound of his door sliding open made Fawn swiftly raise his eyes to see Rochester stride into the room, an implacable expression on his face. Instinctively, Fawn pressed the button to turn off his computer. Without so much as a pause, Rochester walked swiftly to him, and backhanded him violently, sending him sprawling onto his seat which started rolling away from the desk. It bumped into the wall behind and stopped.

“What were you doing, Doctor?” Rochester asked, rounding the desk and walking the few feet separating him from Fawn. “Up to some dirty tricks?”

Half-stunned by the slap, Fawn shook his head. He could feel a salty taste in his mouth. Grunting, he tested his mouth with his hand; Rochester had split his lower lip. He glared furiously as the man glanced at the computer’s empty screen, and pressed the button to power it up. Almost without thinking much about it, his left hand slid into his overall pocket, in search of a handkerchief to wipe the blood from the corner of his lips. His fingers came into contact with a cold, metallic handle. He froze instantly, and kept his hand in his pocket, trying to look inconspicuous.

“Not as dirty as your own Mysteron tricks,” he answered acerbically. “Or don’t you like it that we fight back?”

“On the contrary: we like it very much.” Leaving the computer, Rochester turned his complete attention to Fawn and slowly drew his gun. The doctor became suddenly alert and froze on his seat as the man approached even closer to him. “It makes it much more interesting to kill you.”

Fawn’s jaws clenched. His fist closed around the object in his pocket, attempting to surreptitiously get it out, and wondering if he would have time to use it. If he could only goad Rochester to come sufficiently close...

“I knew it. You’re only a sadistic, murdering scum,” he replied defiantly. “Interplanetary or not – you’re like any other scum we can find, here on Earth.”

Rochester smiled evilly, playing distractedly with his gun. “Oh, dear Doctor… if you only knew the truth.” Rochester cackled, and raised his gun, pointing it directly at Fawn’s heart. “Too bad you’ll die before learning it.”

Rochester was nearly at point-blank range; he would not miss at this distance. Fawn’s heartbeat increased; he felt for certain that his time was up, and that he would not have the opportunity to defend himself. He could even see Rochester’s finger gently caress the trigger; in a second, he would pull it.

But then, right when he thought he would die, he heard a dull thudding sound and saw Rochester shuddering and then making a further step closer. Now or never, Fawn thought, not even questioning himself on what was happening, only realising that Rochester was just within his reach. He would not have another chance. His hand flew out of his pocket faster than he thought it could ever be possible for him and he struck, driving the sharp end of the letter opener Blue had left him as deep as he could into the man’s chest. He knew exactly where to strike, right under the ribcage, to reach the heart.

Rochester grunted in pain, and then his eyes glazed over. He slowly folded up and fell to his knees – revealing behind him, to the eyes of the amazed Doctor Fawn, a petite figure, standing at the ready and watching him with attentive and cautious eyes, a large electric torch in her right hand. Fawn gasped in surprise, as the already dead Rochester fell face first and his brow banged against the edge of the desk, before his body sprawled to the floor.

“Harmony!” Fawn whispered in disbelief. “It can’t be!”

Quickly, Harmony closed the door behind her and approached him, stepping over the fallen Rochester, a smile of relief on her lips. “Hello, Doctor... I am glad to see I arrived in time.”

Blue and Rhapsody had followed Captain Scarlet beyond the limits of the gardens, and into another section of the Walhall’s grounds. They were approaching a small field just outside the palace’s walls, where they first heard sounds of battle – metal clanging against metal and grunts of effort. They exchanged glances of worry as they neared a small group of people, surrounding two combatants and watching the swordfight with interest. Amongst them Blue and Rhapsody easily recognized Symphony, Captain Grey and Captain Magenta. As for the two fighters, there was no mistake about who they were: the tall body of Captain Ochre, his face framed by his unusual flamboyant hair and beard, and the petite and dark form of Melody Angel were easily recognizable in this setting.

“Our brother bragged earlier that he will win his Valkyrie by winning her heart,” Scarlet said with a sigh, as he shook his head in a daunted way. “’Twould seem the best way to do so is still by fighting with her.”

“They’ll hurt each other with those swords,” Rhapsody reflected, nevertheless watching with fascination as her two friends exchanged blow after blow. “We should stop them.”

“My lady,” Scarlet said, laughing with amusement, “Even I would not put myself between these two during their courtship.”

“You call that ‘courtship’?” an incredulous Blue repeated.

“Of course it is, husband.” Symphony had left her position next to Magenta to run to Blue and lock her arm around his, steering him towards the fight. “Is it not how we did it ourselves? How romantic this is!”

“If you say so,” Blue mumbled, without committing himself.

He barely took note of Scarlet, standing between him and Rhapsody, and suddenly encircling the young woman’s shoulder with his arm in an almost protective – or possessive? – gesture. “Besides,” Scarlet remarked with a grin, “I can safely say we do not need to fear for the girl’s safety. Thor is not using his hammer. The sword is not his weapon of choice, nor his speciality. It is not as if he could hurt her seriously.”

Melody, in the middle of her fight, heard him well enough to take umbrage at his remark. “Aye, Lord Balder,” she said between two deep breaths, as she parried off a rather violent blow from Ochre’s sword. “But even with his hammer, I could still seriously hurt him.”

Ochre was against her the next second, their swords and eyes locking as they tussled. He was much heavier than her and was obviously intended at using that advantage to push her back, nearly bending her back to the breaking point.

“I like this dance of ours, my lady Sif,” Ochre said with a crooked grin. “’Tis the closest our bodies have ever been, even counting our wedding night.”

She clenched her teeth, eyes glaring and stepped aside quickly, unlocking the swords.

Ochre fell face first onto the grass. Scarlet, Magenta and Grey guffawed loudly, while Symphony cheered her approval. Blue and Rhapsody watched with concern as Melody stood menacingly over the fallen warrior.

“Need I remind you, Lord Thor, that there was NO wedding night?” Melody savagely drove her sword into the ground, barely an inch away from Ochre’s head. She glared defiantly at him. “Not last night, nor any night before – and you will have to do better than that if you wish for it to ever happen!” That said, she turned on her heels, head held proudly high, and left the field, with long, furious strides. Her departure was followed by Ochre’s loud roar of laughter, as if the whole situation amused him greatly. Scarlet stepped forward to help him to his feet.

“She’s furious,” Rhapsody noted.

“Obviously,” Blue concurred. He was beginning to wonder if this adventure in the land of the Vikings would not be transformed into something much deeper between Ochre and Melody when they came back to reality. Sparks were literally flying between these two.

“What a woman!” Ochre declared, brushing the grass off his clothes and smiling with satisfaction. “Is it a wonder I love her so?”

“Be careful that she does not plunge a dagger into your heart while you sleep,” Scarlet retorted, the smile on his face removing the seriousness of his words. “You might love her, but I am not that sure she does love you.”

“In fact, I am sure she does not,” Magenta remarked stoically.

“You two know nothing of her true feelings,” Ochre answered obstinately. “She is warming to me.”

“How can you tell, Prince Thor?” Grey asked, with a brow raised in scepticism.

“She has accepted my invitation for a hunt, this afternoon,” Ochre victoriously proclaimed.

Scarlet slowly nodded his head. “You are sure you want to hand her a bow, brother? ’Twould seem like a dangerous move.”

Ochre shrugged dismissively, not deigning to answer.

From an opening in the stone wall, Lieutenant Green appeared and saluted them formally, hitting his chest with his clenched fist. “Hail, my lords,” he said. “And ladies,” he added courteously, bowing to both Symphony and Rhapsody.

“Brave Heimdall, what brings you here?” Scarlet asked, approaching him.

“Lord Vali has returned from the northern borders and requests permission to meet with our princes and their ladies, before undertaking his new mission.”

“Aye. That would be only fair that a member of the royal lineage of Aesgard should meet the royal princesses of Vanaheim,” Scarlet agreed. “Where is Lord Vali?”

“Right here, my prince.” Green stepped aside and motioned to someone standing in the shadows behind him to approach. All eyes were riveted on the new arrival who advanced into the sunlight.

Blue tensed suddenly, and he heard the faint gasp of Rhapsody, who was only a couple of feet away from him. Both felt the same sensation of shock as they recognized who ‘Lord Vali’ actually was.

Before them, the man clad in the same Viking attire as the others, his face half-covered with a shaggy moustache and a scar across his right cheek...

... was Lieutenant Burgundy.

Chapter 6: Abduction

“Is it really you... or are you a Mysteron agent?”

Doctor Fawn was scrutinising Harmony with suspicion. The petite woman was crouched over Rochester, checking if he was really dead. Reassured that it was the case, she got to her feet.

“So it is the Mysterons’ doing, then,” she commented. “I thought as much.”

She took a step forward; Fawn backed away, only to find himself with his back to the wall.

“Keep away from me,” he warned threateningly.

She smiled, trying to appear reassuring. “I don’t blame you for being distrustful, Doctor,” she said quietly.

“Damned right I am,” Fawn mumbled. “Burgundy and Keppel told us you were dead. That you suffocated inside Angel One’s cockpit once your oxygen ran out. And then you showed up, very much alive and apparently saving my life. What am I to think?”

“I escaped,” she answered simply. “Before I ran out of air. But it is an advantage if the Mysterons think of me as dead.”

“How did you escape?” Fawn asked suspiciously. “You were trapped in the cockpit. As I understand it, Burgundy blocked all commands. You couldn’t get out.”

“Or so he believed. I know all there is about the Angel craft, Doctor. All its specifications, all its security features. I knew how to bypass whatever jamming features had been set, get the belly hatch open, and access the chute beneath. I simply climbed down to safety from there.”

“You climbed down to the Amber Room?” Fawn asked with a doubtful frown.

Harmony chuckled. “I could have, but I didn’t dare go that far. I realised that, under the circumstances, the Amber Room might be under surveillance.” She paused for a moment. “I used the first maintenance hatch I found. It’s a good thing I am so small. I ended up in the repair bay. From there I made my way through the corridors, avoiding cameras and security systems.” She nodded slowly. “It was Burgundy’s doing then? I knew that could only be done from the Control Room. It was during his shift he did it, after the Mysterons took control of him. I understand now.”

“Right,” Fawn said gloomily. “You would say that now. How am I to know it’s not all an act?”

“It is really me. I can assure you, I’m not a Mysteron agent.” Seeing that Fawn still seemed wary of her, she pointed to Rochester, lying at her feet. “Didn’t I just save you from him, and kill him in the process?”

“Uh-uh,” a still doubtful Fawn retorted. “With Mysteron agents, that doesn’t prove anything. How did you get here, avoiding detection? All surveillance cameras are under enemy control.”

Harmony sighed. “I played hide and seek with every camera and security device I knew of to avoid being spotted. I’m very good at that.”

“So you say,” Fawn replied harshly. “I still don’t believe you.”

She tilted her head to one side, thinking. “Isn’t there a way for me to prove to you that I’m the real me? Isn’t there an X-ray machine nearby we can use that will show you I’m still human?”

“X-rays are not commonly used these days, you know that. Although we still use the term now and then, out of habit. No, we –” Fawn suddenly stopped in the middle of his sentence as something occurred to him. He slapped his forehead with his open palm. “God, I must be more tired than I thought, or very upset to have forgotten about that.”

He rounded his desk, managing to keep clear of Harmony, and strode to his cabinet, fishing the key out of his pocket. He unlocked it, mumbling against his own foolishness, and opened the door, under the curious eyes of the Angel pilot standing behind him.

He produced a medium-sized, red device, hanging from a strap that he put around his neck before turning to Harmony. She needed only a glance to know what this thing was and what he was doing.

It was a Mysteron detector.

“If I had remembered about it sooner, maybe I could have avoided Captain Blue injuring me,” Fawn mumbled.

“Pardon me?” Harmony inquired, rather surprised to hear that Captain Blue would hurt the good doctor. Unless he was a Mysteron agent himself, of course... Fawn simply shrugged at her question. He pointed the detector in her direction; she didn’t move when he pressed the command button.

It didn’t take long for a picture to pop up from the top of the machine; still keeping an eye on Harmony, Fawn took it and checked it. Harmony saw a smile slowly spreading on his lips.

“Do you believe me now?” she asked, finally approaching him.

“I’m sorry if I was suspicious, Harmony,” Fawn apologised, putting the device on the desk. “But with the Mysterons, you know we can’t take anything or anyone for granted. And since we were told you died...”

“There is no need to apologise, Doctor.” She smiled kindly. “It was perfectly understandable that you should have doubts about me, considering you were surrounded by Mysteron agents who were keeping you prisoner. Doctor, I wish to understand... how has this happened? While trekking across Cloudbase, I only found people unconscious, everywhere. Obviously, something unexpected had knocked them unconscious. Then I saw a guard awake, and followed him through here and –”

She stopped, suddenly noticing that Fawn didn’t seem to be listening to her at all. Instead, he was looking at the picture he was holding in his hand, brow furrowed in deep absorption.

“Is something wrong?” she asked a little warily. “Did I not just –”

“Nothing’s wrong with you, Harmony,” he reassured her quickly with a shake of his head. “That is... if this detector isn’t defective... which I suspect isn’t the case,” he mused, lowering the picture and glancing at the detector sitting on his desk, the frown deepening on his brow.

“What do you mean, Doctor?” a curious and slightly confused Harmony asked.

In answer, Fawn handed her the picture. She took it and looked at it, still wondering what he was babbling about.

The picture, the proof that she wasn’t a Mysteron agent, showed the X-ray image of herself standing in front of the office door. It was almost a full-frame shot, and at first, Harmony couldn’t see exactly what Fawn had found wrong with it.

She suddenly opened her eyes wide with astonishment when she realised what it was.

In the picture, just behind the X-ray of herself, she could see the body of Rochester slumped on the floor...

... showing an X-ray image just like herself.

She turned around, looking at the man lying dead on the floor behind her, looked back at the picture as if to make sure it was the same, and stared at him again.

“That’s impossible,” she said, as her mind registered the information – and the full extent of what it meant.

“On the contrary, it’s quite possible,” Fawn declared, compelling her to turn her attention to him. He was leaning against his desk, and was also looking thoughtfully in the direction of the dead body. “How else could the Mysterons actually be able to take over Cloudbase – if not with the help of at least one human agent?”

“What the hell is he doing here?”

Rhapsody Angel, standing by his side, hissed between her teeth the same question Captain Blue was asking himself. They were both watching warily as Ochre and Scarlet were walking toward the newcomer to welcome him. In the true spirit of his character, Burgundy bowed in front of them, before they clasped hands.

“You want to bet he’s here to make sure I play the game as I’m supposed to play it, and kill Scarlet?” Blue answered with a whisper.

“I’m not betting,” she answered quickly in the same fashion. She glared venomously at Burgundy. “Because I’m fairly sure you’re right. It wasn’t enough we had to be wary of Captain Black, now we have him to contend with as well.”

“Don’t worry,” Blue replied. “Whatever his plans, there’s nothing he can do that’ll make me do what his masters want. I can assure you of that.”

“You are right to be suspicious of Lord Vali, my prince.” The voice coming from Blue’s right caused him to turn in that direction. Symphony was standing there, obviously having just come back to his side. Blue wondered how much she had heard of his conversation with Rhapsody.

Visibly not enough to make her suspicious he might be losing his mind, like the night before, as she continued, nodding in Vali’s direction: “If I remember correctly, this is the man who came searching for you in Vanaheim, after the incident at the pass of Svartalf, is it not? And according to what you told me, his was the strongest voice against the union of our two peoples.”

“Er...” To tell the truth, Blue didn’t know how to answer this. He was mystified. Was this already part of the plot on which the game was based, or had the Mysterons suddenly changed the rules to fit their plans?

“Nay, Lady Iduna,” Grey suddenly said from behind. He too had approached the group, and was looking with suspicion in Burgundy’s direction. “Lord Vali was against the union of our two peoples only because he could not be betrothed to a Valkyrie himself...” He smiled cautiously, “... Namely, you.”

“Pfah!” Symphony replied with disdain. “Even if I was not already married, this so-called ‘prince’ would not even stand a chance!” She touched Blue’s forearm lightly. “Keep a cautious eye on him, husband. He might hold a grudge against you.”

“No kidding,” Blue muttered under his breath. He made a mental note to ask Doctor Fawn to look up Vali’s name, and see what part he played in the Aesgard legends. He couldn’t recall having seen it anywhere. Somehow, he had the impression that it could be vital information.

Escorted by both Scarlet and Ochre, with Green following close behind, Burgundy was coming in their direction. Blue tensed, ready for anything. But the newcomer simply stopped a mere three steps in front of him and bowed slightly.

“Hail to you, Prince Hodur,” he said courteously – and, Blue noted – in a lilting accent. “And may I offer you my sincerest congratulations to you and your spouse, the fair lady Iduna?” He only offered a glance in Symphony’s direction, but she turned her eyes away, feigning to ignore him.

Blue responded to the bow with a curt nod of his own. He was perplexed; Burgundy had the same accent as all the others. Of all the people playing the game, he had noticed that only Rhapsody and himself didn’t share that accent; he had gathered it was because, unlike the others, they were not really under the influence of the game and remembered who they were. He didn’t know about Black – he hadn’t had the chance to hear him at all in this setting.

But exactly what was the deal with Burgundy/Vali right now?

“And this is, I believe, the lady Nanna?” Burgundy took Rhapsody’s hand before she could even react.

“My wife, Lord Vali,” Scarlet presented.

“A fitting lady for you, my prince.” Burgundy brought Rhapsody’s hand to his lips. She made an effort not to shiver when he lightly touched her fingers.

His lips... They’re so cold.

She removed her hand, swiftly enough to make him understand that she wasn’t letting herself be impressed nor deceived by his amiable behaviour. She thought she saw a bright glow in Scarlet’s eyes, if ever so briefly.

‘Vali’ straightened up. “Please accept my apologies, my princes, for missing the ceremony last night,” he continued nonchalantly. “But as you know well, I was busy patrolling the northern borders of our kingdom.”

“Did those dogs of Svartalfheim cause you any trouble, Lord Vali?” Scarlet asked in a detached enough voice.

“Nay, my prince. Except for some isolated bands of brigands, they are keeping rather quiet. ’Twould seem that Svartalfheim men are very cautious now, since their encounter with the combined forces of Prince Hodur’s troops and those of Lady Iduna.”

“Need we more proof that the alliance between our peoples’ forces is for the best, then, Lord Vali?” Grey asked. “As you may recall, you were not entirely in agreement with this decision.”

“I can admit my mistakes, Lord Tyr,” Burgundy answered suavely. “And I should never doubt our lord Odin’s decisions. He is, after all, usually right.”

“He is always right,” Ochre corrected with assurance.

“However, let us not be over-confident, brother Thor,” Scarlet remarked. “This alliance does not mean we are totally safe from our enemies. On the contrary, now they will feel more threatened than before and they will take whatever steps they deem necessary to protect themselves – and eventually destroy us.” With a twinkle in his eyes, he drew his sword. “That is why we must be vigilant and keep our skills sharp. Your sword, Lord Vali!”

A distraught Captain Blue watched as a faint, cruel smile spread across Burgundy’s lips and he slowly drew his sword. A quick glance at Rhapsody’s ashen face told him she shared his concern. What if this was it, then? What if Burgundy himself was set to kill Scarlet in this world? Would the indestructible man survive in the real one this time?

Can I take the chance? Blue wondered.

Almost without thinking, he took one step forward –Only to see Burgundy turning to him and throwing him his sword, hilt first. A surprised Blue clumsily caught the weapon, and just avoided cutting himself with the blade.

“It would seem, Lord Balder,” Burgundy said quietly, “that your brother would like to take my place and duel with you.”

“Hey!” Blue protested, glaring angrily at Burgundy. “I never –”

“Aye, Vali,” Scarlet said with a smile, not hearing Blue’s objection. “Lord Hodur does need training. We do not want his skills and reflexes to rust so he becomes easy prey for the heathens. Guard yourself, brother!”

Scarlet lunged forward, attacking Blue with his sword. Taken by surprise again, this time by the suddenness of the assault, Blue only had time to parry. Blade loudly clashed against blade, only an inch away from Blue’s face. It was a good thing he had good reflexes, or he would, at the very least, have received a scarring blow.

He forcibly pushed Scarlet’s sword away from him – and Scarlet at the same. His face ashen with anger. “That was NOT funny!”

“Good reflexes, my brother,” Scarlet retorted, smirking with satisfaction. Not far from him, Burgundy was also sneering in a similar fashion, but his smile had something sinister to it. “Would you care to continue the joust?”

“That’s enough!” Just as Scarlet was preparing to reiterate his attack, Rhapsody stepped forward and put herself in front of Blue. Symphony did the same, only a second or two later; the two women were now standing between both men, glaring angrily at Scarlet.

“Just what the HELL do you think you’re doing?” Rhapsody snapped at him. “You know as well as we do that he’s not in top shape!”

“It is a good thing that he has indeed good reflexes,” Symphony said in turn. “You could have hurt him seriously.”

Scarlet frowned, his smile fading instantly. On his face, there was exasperation and displeasure in his features at the women’s untimely intervention. He lowered his sword.

“Do you honestly believe that I would willingly hurt him?” he asked coldly. He addressed a reproachful glance at Rhapsody. “That the lady Iduna would seek to protect her man is to be expected, but that you, my wife, would also do the same –”

“I only wanted to stop you making a grave mistake,” Rhapsody cut in quickly.

“Do you think me careless enough to put my own brother’s life in danger? I know my own strength and skills, woman.”

“But you’ve obviously lost sight of his,” Rhapsody reiterated obstinately. “He still needs time to recover.”

“He also needs to get back into shape to face the battles ahead! The sooner, the better.” Scarlet glared at Rhapsody and then at Blue. “And I will have to add, my lady, that you seem to have recovered enough fire for the both of you. After all, you did share the same harrowing experience as my brother in the Icy Mountains. And I still wonder... what exactly happened there.”

“We don’t remember,” Blue answered swiftly.

“Or so you keep saying,” Scarlet replied dryly.

“We genuinely don’t remember, Lord Balder,” Rhapsody repeated. “When we find out, we’ll make sure to tell you.” She didn’t like the underlying suspicion she could hear in Scarlet’s voice.

Scarlet narrowed his eyes. “Will you?” he seethed in a low voice. “Was there more to that journey than you are willing to let on, the both of you?”

“What do you mean exactly?” Blue asked abruptly.

“That is enough.” Ochre stepped in front of Scarlet and looked him squarely in the eyes. “We do not need these pitiful quarrels between us, brothers and sisters,” he said in a poised and reasonable tone. “It would give too much pleasure to our enemies if they should see dissension amongst us.”

Hearing this remonstrance, Scarlet hesitated a second, before exhaling slowly and deeply. He sheathed his sword, his eyes still on Rhapsody. “Aye, brother Thor, you are right,” he admitted. “There should be no quarrels amongst us.” He grinned, addressing Blue. “But you will need training, Hodur. And soon. And if it reassures your lady, and mine, I promise I will go easy on you.”

“Why should you be the one to train him?” Rhapsody asked with a frown.

“Is this worry I detect in my wife’s voice?” Scarlet answered with a chuckle. He obviously wasn’t willing to say at whom he assumed this concern was aimed, but it was easy to guess his inner thoughts. “Do not fear, Lady Nanna... Who better than me to train him, indeed? In his present state, if he becomes clumsy with a sword, he might accidentally hurt me. But I will be able to recover without any trace of it left on my skin. As you well know.”

Rhapsody blanched. Oh no... Could this be how the Mysterons intended it to happen? She glared furiously at Burgundy who was watching the scene quietly. By the smug expression she could see on his face, she became more convinced than ever that he had just that in mind, when he intentionally caused the altercation between Scarlet and Blue – by handing that sword to the latter.

The manipulative bastard...

“Lord Vali should go about his business, my brothers,” Scarlet then said, and Rhapsody wondered if he had noticed her uneasiness towards the man in question. “You were mandated to keep an eye on Loki, Lord Vali. I trust you will be up to the task?”

“Of course, Prince Balder,” Burgundy confirmed obsequiously. “That is, as soon as we find out where Lord Loki has disappeared to.”

“Disappeared?” Blue asked with a concerned frown.

“Aye, my prince,” Green confirmed with a brief nod. “It would appear that the villain is nowhere to be found at the moment. Nobody has seen him since last night’s ceremony. My warriors are still searching for him.”

“Is it not proof enough that Loki is indeed guilty of wrongdoing?” Scarlet noted, not without dissatisfaction.

“I’m afraid this will not be proof enough for our Lord Odin,” Ochre answered.

Scarlet shrugged dismissively. “Nevertheless, it is obvious to me that Loki is guilty. I need but one excuse to run him through with my sword and be done with him once and for all.”

“But the prophecy –” started Green.

“... is nothing but old maids’ gossip,” Scarlet interrupted him. “Spread by Loki himself to preserve his miserable life from our liege’s righteous justice. You will join the search, Lord Vali, and when you find Loki, you will watch his every move.”

“My intentions exactly, my prince,” Burgundy replied with a slight bow.

“We will fall on him like hawks, the moment we have confirmation of his malevolence,” Scarlet pursued with a sinister glow in his blue eyes. “And then, nothing, not Odin’s protection, nor the so-called prophecy, will stay my hand. This, I vow to you. Loki will finally meet his well-deserved fate.”

“Harmony’s alive? That’s wonderful news!”

Not long after everyone had departed the field, Blue had returned to his chamber. He had watched warily as Burgundy left with Green, to, as he pretended, join in the search for the missing Loki. Rhapsody had left with Scarlet, and Symphony had joined both Magenta and Grey, while Ochre announced that he had to meet with ‘his wife’ for that hunt invitation he had mentioned earlier. That left Blue to himself, with the opportunity to contact Doctor Fawn on Cloudbase. His chamber seemed to offer the best privacy and safety to do so.

As soon as he had contact with Fawn, he reported Burgundy’s presence in the fantasy world, and expressed his concern at what the Mysterons’ intentions might be from there. Then he heard the doctor’s news about Harmony, and his first reaction was one of relief and joy.

Then, of doubt.

“You’re sure she’s wasn’t Mysteronised?” he asked, stopping his pacing in the middle of the room.

“Positive. I can confirm one hundred percent that she’s not a Mysteron agent. She’s our same, good old Harmony. Don’t ever tell her I said that. She might not appreciate being called ‘old’, especially considering I’m a good ten years older than she is!”

“Rhapsody will be so pleased to hear she’s okay,” Blue pursued. “She was very upset when I told her that Harmony was dead.” He stopped, realising what the doctor had just said. “Wait, Doctor… She’s not with you at the moment?”

“Actually, no. She’s on a mission right now.”

Fawn explained the latest developments. How Harmony had come into his office just in time to save his life, after having escaped from Angel One’s cockpit and the death planned for her by Burgundy. Then he told of his earlier findings on his computer, just before he had been interrupted by Rochester.

He didn’t mention his discovery of Rochester being human. That would only serve to raise more questions, to which none of them had answers yet; they had little enough time to lose as it was right now. There would be time enough to discuss it later on, when the situation was resolved.

“As soon as I mentioned that door and that it might hide Scarlet behind it, Harmony volunteered to check it out. She left a few minutes ago.”

“I hope she’ll be careful,” Blue said. “We wouldn’t want to lose her now that we found her alive and well.”

“Don’t worry about Harmony,” Fawn reassured him. “If there’s anyone who can successfully pull off a mission like this, it’s certainly her. She’s like a shadow, that girl. With her Ninja-like skills, she’ll be able to avoid detection and find out what or who is behind that door.”

“You don’t fool me, Doctor. I know you must be as concerned about her as I am.”

“I try not to think about my worries too much, Captain. Or I wouldn’t be able to do anything at all.”

“Good point. Do you know where that room is?”

“I had trouble finding it again, after we dealt with Rochester. Harmony and I lost precious minutes going through the surveillance cameras again. But we did find it, eventually. If I’m not mistaken, that door is in the R&D department. Probably one of the laboratories there. It was rather difficult to say. You see, although I’ve been able to hijack the camera system, I failed to also access the program needed to tell me which camera I’m looking through.”

“R&D?” Blue repeated with a puzzled frown. “Why would they keep Scarlet there?”

“If indeed he’s there...” Fawn answered gloomily. “But if he is, I shudder to think what they could have done to him in such a place. There are too many instruments there they could use to harm him – indestructible though he might be.”

“Doc, he must be alive,” Blue said softly. “Or he wouldn’t be here in this fantasy world.”

“Yes, you’re right. We must stay positive. Anyway, we’ll soon know. Harmony has a headset communicator. She’ll contact me with the results of her investigation, as soon as she has any.”

“Meanwhile, we have to concentrate on the new problem we have here,” Blue continued. “Mainly, Burgundy’s presence. It would seem he wants to take a more active role in this dangerous game. Despite the fact that he talks with the same accent as the others and appears to be as completely overcome by his character as they are, I suspect he’s fully aware of who he really is. I’m sure it’s all an act.”

“Yes. He would need to be in control in order to carry out his mission,” Fawn agreed.

“This name he took, Vali... It isn’t familiar to me. Can you look it up, Doc?”

“I’m just checking as we’re talking, Captain. Fortunately, I don’t need Worldnet for that. Cloudbase has a rather extensive library on our Intranet. It won’t be long now... Here it is.”

There was a short pause, during which Blue imagined that Fawn was reading the information he had discovered. When he found that the doctor wasn’t coming back fast enough, Blue called him back:

“Doc? Doctor Fawn, did you find something?”

“Yes, I did,” Fawn answered, sombrely. “Did you say that Burgundy seemed to want to take a more active role? Boy, you don’t know how right you are!”

“So?” Blue asked impatiently. “Who’s this Vali character?”

“Well, according to legends... it seems he’s destined to kill Hodur.”

Blue rolled his eyes. “Oh, great...”

“... To avenge the death of Balder,” Fawn added.

“Better and better,” Blue mumbled. “If I understand his strategy correctly, he’ll make sure I kill Scarlet, then he’ll kill me afterwards.”

“That might be his plan, yes. I suggest you be extra-wary of him, Captain Blue.”

“Unnecessary advice, Doctor. I already am. Officially, he’s to ‘keep an eye on Loki’. But I’m betting he’ll rather join forces with him and stab us in the back. I’m keeping my eyes wide open. Rhapsody too. Have you found anything on that prophecy concerning Loki?”

“Not yet. But I’m working on it.”

“We are too. We’re just hoping that we’ll find out before it’s too late.” Blue paused a second. “We’d better end this communication, now.”

“Agreed. I’ll contact you shortly with more news.”

“S.I.G. The same here, Doc. Good luck and be careful, please.”

“To whom are you talking, brother?”

Blue had just cut contact with Fawn when the voice suddenly rang out behind him. He nearly jumped out of his skin, and turned on his heel. The door was wide open; Scarlet was standing in the doorway.

He must have opened that door very quietly, Blue mused.

“Balder. I didn’t hear you come in,” he said, evading the awkward question.

“Obviously.” Scarlet entered, and approached slowly. “So... to whom were you talking, just now?”

“Nobody, of course... Just thinking out loud. Do you see anyone here but me?” Blue gestured around to emphasize his point. He received nothing more than a doubtful glance from Scarlet. He cleared his throat. “I was just wondering out loud about the prophecy – you know?”

“The prophecy,” Scarlet repeated, slowly nodding his head. “Yes, I heard you say the word. Do not tell me you are worrying about that nonsense also?”

“Actually...” Blue continued a little awkwardly, “I was wondering about... exactly what it means?”

“What?” Scarlet scoffed. “Either you are jesting, brother, or you lost more than we suspected in your journey to the Icy Mountains!”

“And what if I did?” Blue asked with a raised brow. “Lose more than you think, that is.”

Scarlet sighed, and lowered his head. “You are wasting my time with trivialities, brother,” he replied. “What are you hiding from me? Or is it that you are trying to avoid the question that you know will soon come from me?”

“Pardon me?” Blue was genuinely surprised by the remark.

Scarlet raised his head, looking at him with gleaming eyes. “Where is she, Hodur?” he asked softly.

Blue frowned. “Where’s who?”

“My wife. The lady Nanna,” Scarlet explained, approaching closer.

“Was she not with you?” Blue asked. “I seem to remember you left the field together.”

“Aye. We left together. But we quarrelled and we departed from each other’s company. Now I cannot find her anywhere. So… I thought she had come to see you.”

“What did you quarrel about?” Blue stopped and did a double take, and his frown deepened, at the realisation of Scarlet’s second statement. “Why did you think she’d come to see me?”

“The answer to both your questions is the same, Hodur,” Scarlet said meaningfully. “And I should think it would be obvious to you.”

He stopped in front of Blue, only a foot away from him, and glared coldly at him.

“I am not as foolish as you imagine,” he said angrily. “And neither am I blind.” Fast as lightning, his hand grabbed Blue’s left wrist and lifted his hand to eye-level. “This ring, brother,” he said between his teeth. “My wife is wearing the very same. Did you exchange tokens, the both of you? While you were alone in the Icy Mountains?”

“WHAT are you talking about?” Blue lashed out, roughly removing his hand from Scarlet’s grip.

“You know very well what I mean,” Scarlet replied brusquely. “What did happen to the pair of you in those mountains, Hodur? Why did you go after the Valkyrie in the first place? I remember you insisted on going in my stead, when I volunteered. What was it, brother? One Valkyrie princess was not enough for you? You had to put two of them in your bed?”

“Are you totally crazy?” Blue exclaimed, the accusation finally sinking in.

“I think not!” Scarlet pointed an accusing finger at him. “You claim you do not remember what happened in the mountains. That is rather convenient. Are you telling the truth? I would not know for sure, but what I do know is that you seem to perfectly remember your feelings for a woman who is now your brother’s wife.”

“You ARE crazy!” Blue snapped back. “I don’t harbour such feelings for D – for Nanna. How can you imagine such a thing?”

“I should have seen it before,” Scarlet said between his teeth, without hearing him out. “I had it before my eyes. I was warned, but I chose not to listen.”

“Who warned you?” Blue demanded suspiciously.

“That is enough, Hodur!” Scarlet lashed out. He sprang at Blue, before the latter could react, and roughly took him by the collar of his tunic. Blue found himself staring into his friend’s furious face. “You WILL tell me where my wife is!”

“I don’t know where she is!” Blue replied.

“You are lying!” Scarlet accused, raging. “You will leave her alone from this moment on, brother, or I swear it to you, I will make sure you will!”

“Now this is enough,” Blue said warningly. “Stop this, please. I don’t want to hurt you, but –”

“YOU, hurt me?” Scarlet cackled, a cruel smile playing on his lips. “Brother, if you think you can best me, you are sadly mistaken.” He pushed Blue away, with such force that the blond man stumbled and had to struggle to stay on his feet. Scarlet started walking around him, pointing a warning finger at him. “Now, for the last time: WHERE IS MY WIFE?”

“For the last time: I don’t know! Listen, if you can’t find her, maybe there’s reason for you to worry. We have to join forces and look for her –”

“I am worried,” Scarlet growled, interrupting him. “But, by Ymir’s blood, I will be damned to Hela’s realm, if ever I join with you to search for my wife, treacherous brother!”

“Paul, please, make sense! How can you believe a word you say?” Blue almost implored, calling on his friend’s real name in the hope of making him listen. It wasn’t to be the case, unfortunately; he watched with alarm as Scarlet drew his sword, seemingly ignoring his pleading.

“You leave me little choice, Hodur,” Scarlet said, playing with the sword and slowly advancing on Blue who was backing away as many steps. “Mark my words, you will tell me where you hid my wife, or I swear to you, I will slice the flesh from your –”

As Scarlet was nearly on Blue, he was alerted by a faint sound behind him and turned quickly on his heel – not quickly enough, as a huge earthenware jar came crashing right onto his skull. Il just missed his face as, by a last reflex, he turned his head the other way to avoid it. The blow was strong enough to knock him out almost instantly, while the jar shattered with a loud crash. He fell down on the floor, with a loud huff and sprawled there, unconscious.

Symphony Angel, standing over him, drew the dagger at her belt, her eyes glaring dangerously. Her intentions were obvious. Blue jumped over the prone body and caught her raised wrist.

“No!” She looked up to him inquiringly, eyes still flashing. He nodded towards the door. “Close it,” he ordered hurriedly. “Before someone comes.”

She agreed with a nod of her own and strode to the door; she looked outside to make sure there was no-one around and pushed the door closed and locked it, before coming back to Blue. The latter had crouched over Scarlet, and was checking him over. There were cuts on the left side of his face, and a huge bump was starting to form under the hairline, but his vitals were strong. Blue drew a sigh of relief.

“Thank God, he’s okay.”

“You do not want him dead?” Symphony asked, standing over them.

“No, I don’t want that,” Blue said patiently, raising his eyes to meet hers. “Why would I want to kill him?”

“Did he not want to kill you himself?” Symphony asked with a perplexed frown. “I came just in time to hear his accusations.”

“I hope you trust they were not true?” Blue asked, eyeing the dagger. He did remember the jealousy scene of the previous night and wasn’t eager to repeat it right now.

“I do not know. ‘Less you swear it to me.”

Blue sighed. “I swear to you that there’s nothing between Nanna and me, and that I love only you.” He paused. “When this is all over, I’ll prove it to you,” he added, with a faint smile.

She seemed satisfied with the answer. “Then I believe you.”

“Thank you,” Blue sighed again.

“What came over your crazy brother, then?”

“He’s not crazy,” Blue replied. “He’s been manipulated. We all were.” He stroked the ring on his finger, thoughtfully. “They must have known. They knew it would give cause for Balder to suspect us. They were counting on it raising his jealousy and causing a conflict between us. A conflict that might end with his death – and the coming of Ragnarok.”

“I do not understand most of your words,” Symphony said softly. “But I do understand, however, that there is conspiracy going on. Our enemies seek to destroy you.”

“Us,” Blue retorted, getting to his feet. “All of us, Iduna. We’re all in danger.” He turned to her. “Do you know how to make knots?”

Her eyes flashed. “I am a Valkyrie. I tame myself the horses I ride, dear husband. I should know how to restrain them, do you not think?”

“Well, instead of a horse, I want you to restrain him,” Blue said, pointing to Scarlet. “Securely. And you’d better gag him too. He may not be very happy when he comes to, and I wouldn’t want either for him to attack you or give alert until I come back.”

“And where are you going?” she enquired as he strode to the door.

“To search for Nanna. He said that he couldn’t find her anywhere. That worries me. I’m just hoping I can find her so she’ll help me make him see sense. Balder’s room’s as good a place as any to start looking for her.”

“So, I am to stay here and watch over him?” Symphony said. She nudged the still body lying on the floor with her foot. Scarlet didn’t make a move.

“I won’t be long,” Blue reassured her.

“And what if you cannot find Nanna?”

Blue unlocked the door and stood still, his hand on the handle, puzzling over the question. He didn’t answer it and simply shook his head. “Wait for me,” he demanded instead.

She grumbled her acknowledgement but Blue didn’t wait to hear if she had anything else to say. He had opened the door to quickly depart, taking great care to close it behind him.

When Doctor Fawn had told Harmony in detail exactly what was happening on Cloudbase, and what was the others’ predicament, and that only the doctor, Captain Blue, Rhapsody and now herself were aware of what was going on, the young woman knew that it was her duty to join in her colleagues’ attempt to foil the Mysterons’ evil plans. The four of them were the only chance everyone onboard Cloudbase had of surviving, using all their skills and wits, all their capacity and strength to achieve what at the moment seemed like an impossible goal.

Captain Blue and Rhapsody were stuck in the fantasy world, struggling to find a solution from that end, while Doctor Fawn, from behind his computer, was looking for clues and information that would help them. The two teams were keeping contact with each other by an ingenious communication device connected directly to the subconscious mind of both Blue and Rhapsody. Harmony couldn’t help but smile at the doctor’s cleverness in creating such a device. Truly, she reflected, desperation could lead to miracles.

When Fawn continued his tale with his and Blue’s suspicions concerning Captain Scarlet being the key to free everyone, and finally mentioned his discovery of a guarded door in what he presumed was a section of the Research and Development department, she knew exactly what she had to do.

She had to go and check what was behind that door.

With her particular skills, keeping out of view from the security cameras didn’t prove that difficult for Harmony Angel, despite Doctor Fawn’s assertion that she would not be able to constantly evade them. She had argued that from the moment she had escaped Angel One’s cockpit to enter Cloudbase, up until the moment when she had finally found him, she had been skilful enough to avoid them all. Of course, Fawn still had objections. He claimed that she had been incredibly fortunate, and repeating that feat a second time would be next to impossible, and too damned dangerous for her to get caught, and even killed when discovered. That did not deflect Harmony’s resolution.

She took almost an hour to finally reach the R&D Department, going through corridors which were otherwise unused except for maintenance robots, slipping under cameras, hugging walls, and crawling, with all the dexterity of a Ninja master. She addressed a silent prayer to her Japanese uncle Toshiro, her beloved sensei, who, by his teachings, had patiently honed within her the skills she was so expertly using today.

She was right at the corner beyond which Doctor Fawn expected the suspicious door to be. Keeping close to the wall, she leaned her head round the corner and checked, cautiously.

“Bingo,” she whispered, in emulation of her occidental friends.

She could see the door, about ten metres from where she was standing, with the Spectrum guard – a probably Mysteronised Spectrum guard – standing before it, rigidly and vigilantly.

There was no way for her to get past him without being apprehended, or him having time to alert his accomplices.

“Harmony?”

She leaned back into her corridor, pondering what next to do. The voice from the small receiver in her ear was a murmur that she alone could hear; she adjusted the tiny mic attached to it and backed away a few steps to hide in a nearby maintenance cabinet. She closed the door on herself.

“Hearing you loud and clear, Doctor,” she answered in a whisper. “Go ahead.”

“Captain Blue just made contact with me from the fantasy world,” Fawn told her.

“Are there new developments there?” she enquired.

He quickly told her. She sighed, closing her eyes. “I hope he and Rhapsody will be careful of that traitor,” she murmured.

“He actually said the same about you when I mentioned your mission,” Fawn replied. “I think I successfully reassured him that you’ll be doing okay.”

“Without showing your own concern, Doctor?” she said with a smile. “That might be quite a performance.”

“What is your present position?”

“I’m hiding in a maintenance locker, a few steps from the corridor where I saw the guard and the door you told me about,” she explained.

“I can see him too, on the camera. You won’t pass him that way, I’m afraid.”

“I already figured that out, Doctor.”

Harmony opened the door a narrow crack and looked around, brow furrowed, looking for a solution. Her eyes rose to the ceiling and fell on the maintenance trap, leading into the air vents and power ducts.

I wonder...

She closed the door and reported to Fawn: “Doctor, I may have found a way in. I can use the power ducts within the ceiling and crawl my way above the guard and into the room, without being seen.”

“Harmony, will you actually be able to FIT in that narrow conduit?” There was doubt in the good doctor’s voice, and Harmony smiled.

“I am slim enough,” she answered quietly. “I’m sure I can squeeze in. If maintenance robots can, I can too.”

“You’ll be crawling amongst electricity cables, Harmony,” Fawn insisted. “Maintenance robots are insulated, in case of electrical short-outs or bare wires. You, on the other hand, will be more vulnerable. If you touch the wrong cables, you could get a hefty shock.”

“I’m ready to run the risk.”

“Of course, you are, Harmony.” The doubt was still there, but there was now fondness as well in Fawn’s tone. “It’ll be a tight fit, but you’re the smallest of our Angels, and you probably are the only one who’d be able to do it.”

Harmony kept herself from chuckling. Any of the other Angels could have taken umbrage at the remark.

“I take it as the compliment it’s meant to be, Doctor.”

“Be very careful, please.”

“S.I.G.”

After making sure the way was still clear, she left the cabinet. The corridor in which she was standing was narrow enough for her to brace feet and hands against opposite walls and heave herself toward the trap over her head. Then, wedging her body between the walls as best she could, she used her hands to free the flap. It came easily, along with a cloud of dust that nearly made her cough. So far, she had successfully worked silently enough not to attract attention from the guard standing at his door. It would have been embarrassing to alert him with something as silly as a sneeze.

Pushing the flap inside the opening, she then slipped inside the conduit. There was enough space for her to turn around and explore her surroundings. That direction, she reflected, turning her head to her left. She looked into the conduit opening before her; there were rows of intricate cables and pipes of all sizes running all the way into the narrow vent, and disappearing into the darkness beyond.

This will indeed be a tight fit, she acknowledged. She mentally evaluated the position and distance of the room she was to enter. She sighed. This would be a long and harrowing venture.

Carefully, she put back the flap onto the opening, to remove traces of her passage, before starting her progression into the semi-darkness, slithering amongst pipes and cables, and holding her breath so not to inhale the dust that now assaulted her.

Captain Blue strode down the corridor, constantly looking over his shoulder to make sure he was alone. Fate seemed to be with him and he reached Balder’s chamber without encountering anyone.

The door was wide open and Blue entered.

“Rhapsody?” he called.

He received no answer. Feverishly, he looked around. The large room was empty and the only movement in there came from the wind blowing the curtains open.

“Dammit, Rhapsody, where are you?” he mumbled under his breath. “This is no time to play hide and seek.”

He walked to the windows and looked outside into the garden below, in case he would spot her there. No such luck, he thought with irritation. He turned around, and his eyes were suddenly attracted by something lying on the floor, beside the leg of the table. It was a wooden stick, one end of it charred and still smoking. Puzzled, Blue approached, and crouched down to pick it up. Curious, he thought, coming to his feet and looking towards the fireplace in the wall, a good ten feet away from him. How could this have ended up here?

Then he saw something else, on the table next to which he was standing, weighted down by a heavy jar. It seemed to be a piece of yellowish paper... He lifted the jar and picked up the paper.

There were black words on it, and Blue realised that they had been hurriedly written with the half-burnt stick he was currently holding. He fully expected them to be runes of some sort – in this setting, it certainly would not be surprising – but he was rather perplexed to discover they were English words. He read.

His heart missed a beat.

“COME JOIN US AT YGGDRASIL. ALONE.

OR THE WOMAN DIES.

BLACK.”

“Oh no,” Blue groaned. “No wonder Scarlet couldn’t find her.”

He angrily crumpled the paper in his hand. Damn. It’s a good thing he didn’t find this paper. He would have rushed to her rescue.

And right into a trap, Blue was sure of it. Whatever Yggdrasil might be, wherever it was, he just knew that something bad was awaiting Scarlet there.

They’re using Rhapsody as bait. They want Scarlet there for their plans to work. Blue was convinced now, more than ever, that his friend was the key to end this game. Whether that key would save them all or be their ultimate destruction only depended on who was holding it.

I sure as hell won’t tell him about this ultimatum, Blue reflected, glaring murderously at the ball of paper. I won’t let him go and play the Mysterons’ hand.

But I simply cannot leave Rhapsody in Black’s hands.

It’s up to me now.

He needed to inform Fawn of these new developments. He tapped three times on his communication ring, as the doctor had instructed him and put it close to his mouth to talk into it. “Captain Blue to Doctor Fawn. Do you hear me?”

He received no answer.

He called again, frowning: “Fawn?” Still with no answer, he tapped on the ring again. “Hello? Doctor, are you there?”

Still nothing. That was concerning. What the hell does it mean? It’s like there’s no contact anymore with the real world.

Blue quickly pushed the question aside, as he became aware of someone entering the room through the still opened door.

“Have you found something?”

He turned on his heels at the sound of that voice. Symphony was standing in the doorway; she closed the door behind her and walked towards him.

“What are you doing here?” he asked. “Didn’t I tell you to stay in the other room?”

“And watch over Balder? Yes, you did. But since when do I blindly follow your orders, Hodur?”

“You never did,” Blue sighed.

She smiled thinly. “Do not concern yourself for your brother. He’s well tied up, and will not be going anywhere.”

“That’s perfect. Because it’s imperative that he’d stay at the palace.” She gave him a look of inquiry and he explained: “Nanna’s been abducted by Loki. He took her to Yggdrasil and set up a meeting with Balder there.”

Symphony was visibly shocked by the news. “Ymir’s Head,” she murmured. “What does he want with her?”

“Bait, of course. To attract Balder into a trap. But in his present state of mind, I doubt that Balder will be able to face danger as efficiently as he should.”

“You mean he is too angry at the moment to think clearly,” Symphony remarked. “With you.” She nodded her understanding. “And even if he should listen to you, the news of his wife’s abduction might send him in a berserker rage. He will rush recklessly to her rescue, on his own, and might not be careful enough when he’ll face Loki. That could be a fatal encounter.”

“And he made it very clear earlier that he doesn’t want my help,” Blue confirmed.

“But is he not invulnerable?”

“I’m not sure how invulnerable he is,” Blue said thoughtfully. A suspicion was forming in his mind. He marked a pause, hesitating before asking the next question. “Iduna, Do you know anything about the Ase prophecy regarding Loki?”

She gave him another curious look. “I know it is the reason why Lord Odin is so lenient toward him,” she answered.

“Do you know exactly what it’s about?” Blue inquired.

“You should know about it yourself, Hodur,” she remarked, with perplexity at his question. “After all, this prophecy comes from within your own people.”

“I don’t have time to explain,” Blue cut in suddenly. “Let’s say I forgot about it during my misadventure in the Icy Mountains, okay? Now, what is that prophecy about?”

She sighed. “From what I heard, it came from the mouths of the Jötnar themselves,” she finally explained.

“What does it say?” Blue demanded again.

“‘Death will come by the evil trickster, and by his death, the one who walked with the Ice Giants in turn will bring the end of all things,’” Symphony intoned.“I do not believe in it myself, but I think the prophecy could not be clearer.”

“The evil trickster – Loki,” Blue said thoughtfully.

“Of course, Loki,” Symphony said, lifting an inquiring brow. “Do you know any other person whom this description fits like a glove?”

Blue nodded. “And what of the rest of the prophecy?”

“Obviously, it means that if Loki was to die, Ragnarok will come about,” Symphony said, shaking her head. “That would be why Lord Odin is protecting him so.”

“So you think that ‘the one who walked with the Ice Giants’ is Loki, then? That the prophecy is about Loki’s death?”

“Who else would it be, since he is himself half-Jötunn?”

“What if it was about someone else, to whom Loki should bring death?” Blue asked more insistingly. “One whose special gift came from the Jötnar – the Ice Giants?”

Understanding downed on Symphony. “You are thinking of Balder.”

“It’s all clear now,” Blue muttered under his breath. And fitting with what I know of the legend, yes. This is indeed Balder’s death that this prophecy announces. By Loki’s hand, obviously.

And in the wake of his death, everything, and everyone, in Aesgard and Vanaheim will be destroyed.

“So, what are we to do?” Symphony asked, seeing him so silent and thoughtful.

“I’ll be going after Loki myself.”

Symphony’s eyes flashed. “You will do this? And save Nanna from his clutches?”

“That’s the general idea, yes,” Blue reasoned.

“Why should it be you, husband?” she asked. “Why do you wish to take that responsibility?”

“There’s more at stake than just Nanna, Iduna. If the prophecy is correct, everyone’s fate may be in the balance.” Blue sighed. “Please, don’t tell me you’re jealous again! I thought you understood that –”

“Aye. I do understand. I am not jealous, Hodur. I am concerned.” Symphony put a hand on his chest, tenderly. “If you so insist to play the hero, you do not have to do it alone,” she remarked. “Let me help you.”

“You will be helping me,” Blue said with a faint smile. “But by staying here and keeping an eye on Balder. And if possible, when he comes round, trying to explain to him that I’m not his enemy.”

“At least, if you will not have me,” Symphony insisted, “ask someone else to go with you.”

“I can’t,” Blue retorted obstinately. “Loki probably waits for Balder to come after him alone. If he sees an entire troop going after him, he might get suspicious and kill Nanna. No, it’s better I go alone. That way, it’ll be easier to follow his trail inconspicuously.”

“You do not even know the way to Yggdrasil,” she insisted. “How will you know where to find it?”

“I don’t have to know exactly where it is,” Blue reasoned. “Obviously, Loki knows. I just need to find Loki’s trail and follow it.”

“If Loki indeed knows where Yggdrasil is, it is curious that he did not share this information with the Jötnar,” Symphony reflected. “It is said that destroying Yggdrasil will hasten the world’s destruction.”

Curious indeed, Blue approved inwardly. “Yggdrasil is on their territory, isn’t it?”

“Aye, within the Icy Mountains of Jötunheim.”

“But even though it’s in their backyard, the Jötnar don’t know where exactly?”

“Nay. It is said Yggdrasil is hidden in a dark, secret valley, accessible only to those who know its exact location. If the Jötnar knew where it is, they would destroy it.”

“Mmm...” Blue was thoughtful. Or they know where it is but are unable to reach or destroy it. Or maybe they need something – some specific circumstances – in order to do so. “I have to start the chase somewhere,” he said. “Can you give me an indication of where Thor and Tyr found Nanna and me, when we returned from the Icy Mountains?”

“It is quite easy to find,” she answered. “Cross the Bifrost and go directly North. It is beyond the low plains. You will find yourself at the edge of Fenrir’s Forest, which borders Jötunheim. I will show you the way.”

“Stop trying,” Blue said with a smile. “Just give me the directions I need. I’ll be able to find it.”

Symphony nodded and sighed. “Look for a large black stone, as big as a bull, next to a wild stream. When you have reached that position, you will find a nearby path. ’Tis the only safe path to cross the Forest, towards the Icy Mountains, and that will be the one Loki will have taken. You will find his trail easily from there.”

“Thank you.” Blue leaned toward her and gave her a grateful kiss. She hung from his neck, and the kiss deepened, longer and with more passion, as he took her into his arms.

“I have to go,” he murmured into her ear. “Stay with Balder – watch over him, please.” This is more important that you can imagine, he added inwardly to himself. “Promise me?”

“I will,” she confirmed. “I give you my word. Just be careful, my love.”

“I’ll come back,” he said with a new smile. “That’s my promise.”

They left the room together but went each their way, Symphony slowly walking back to their own chamber, and Blue taking the other direction in long strides, in order to leave the palace and head for the stables, where he would take a mount for his journey. She watched him until he disappeared from her view, even though she had reached her door and was standing in front of it, her hand on the handle. She didn’t feel right letting him go all by himself; she felt her duty was to go with him, and stand by his side during the upcoming battle she knew he would face.

But she had foolishly given her word.

Sighing with annoyance, she pushed the door open and entered. Angry with herself, and with Hodur’s determination, she slammed the door shut, without looking back.

Pah! I should forget my promise and follow him, she thought savagely. He still talks crazy words and is not ready to face an adversary like Loki. He needs someone to back him up!

She was so engrossed with her own thoughts that she had not noticed the presence standing behind the door, waiting for her. She became aware of it as she caught a shadow on the floor and turned around. She only got a glimpse of the person standing there, before something heavy suddenly hit her over the head. Stars danced in front of her eyes at the violence of the blow and she crumpled. She was unconscious even before hitting the floor.

“Sweet dreams, Symphony Angel,” a cold voice she couldn’t hear told her sarcastically.

Lieutenant Burgundy, in the guise of the warrior Vali, gave but one glance at the woman lying at his feet, making sure that way that she was properly knocked out. Satisfied that it was the case, he threw down what remained of the heavy and broken earthenware mug he had used against her and stepped over her prone body, before walking towards the bound and gagged figure lying at the foot of the bed, also unconscious.

Slowly, Burgundy crouched in front of Captain Scarlet, unsheathing the dagger hanging from his belt. Thoughtfully, he played with the blade, and then looked down at the still face and closed eyes of the man lying there, defenceless, totally at his mercy.

He held the blade to Scarlet’s throat for a moment, before shaking his head and moving it down to the bound wrists.

“Wakey-wakey, Captain,” he murmured mockingly, as he started slicing through the ropes tying Scarlet up. “I really can’t wait to tell you what’s been happening while you were sleeping.” A smile started tugging at his thin lips. “I can’t wait to tell you that your ‘estranged wife’ and your ‘dear, loyal brother’ have finally run away together.” He chuckled evilly. “Isn’t it lucky for you that I know exactly where you’ll be able to find them? I’m sure you’ll find the information interesting.” He cut through the last knots as his smile transformed into a very cruel and cold sneer. “... And the Mysterons will see the ‘prophecy’ accomplished, and their act of retaliation completed!”

Crawling and slithering through the dust-infested duct indeed proved to be an irksome experience for Harmony Angel. Her body was covered with dust, and her hands and face had sustained a few scratches, but she had successfully managed to progress towards her aim, as silent as a shadow, and so slowly that it seemed to take an eternity.

When she saw the raw light appear through another flap in the floor of the duct, just up front, she knew that she had reached the end of her journey.

She crawled the last short distance and leaned over the flap to peer through the tiny ventilation holes. The room looked like a fully lighted and operational laboratory. She listened carefully for any sign of life. All she could hear was sounds of bubbling; no breathing of any kind, no walking, no indication that someone was inside that room.

With much care, she pulled on the flap; it disengaged with a dull sound, that echoed through the vent. She grimaced, hoping that it didn’t attract anyone’s attention. Still no sounds came to her ears from the room below; nobody had heard.

Harmony slipped her dust-covered head through the opening and cautiously looked around. Her earlier assessment that there was no-one around was confirmed; the room appeared empty. All she could see was electronic devices lying on a table, a huge wall of computers on one side of the room and a large tank filled with a bluish fluid, the surface of which was half-covered by a white froth bubbling steadily.

Harmony lowered herself through the opening, hanging from her hands, and let go to drop the remaining distance to the floor. Dirt covering her from head to toes flew everywhere upon impact and she dusted herself off in annoyance. I have to tell maintenance to send a vacuum robot inside those vents, she reflected inwardly.

She looked around; her attention was mostly drawn to that huge aquarium-like tank. It was such an unusual device to find in a place like this, she thought. R&D being the domain of Doctor Lavender, she didn’t imagine that the austere and serious-looking scientist would have any interest in taking care of fish... In any case, not in such a huge tank.

From where she was, she could only see one end of the tank, where cables were attached, connecting it to the nearby computers. The rest of her view was blocked by a control desk, on which a dark screen was showing dots, lines and numeric data, constantly changing second after second.

Curious about exactly what the tank could be, Harmony approached, and noticed the sheer size of it: about seven feet long, three feet wide and four feet deep. As she drew closer, she saw a series of cylinders were also mounted against the tank support. She started noticing sounds which added to the bubbling fluid inside the tank, beeping from the control desk, the hissing of a pump, just at the limit of her hearing, and –

She stopped in her tracks as the tank came fully into view and she finally saw what it contained. She gasped in horror, and took one step back, her hand to her mouth.

Oh no...

A tall, practically naked man was completely immersed in the blue fluid, fastened by restraints on hands, ankles and torso, which held him down nearly at the bottom of the tank. The coloured fluid lent his skin a disturbingly ghostly tinge, giving him the aspect of a dead, still body, floating in the middle of that tank like a biological specimen in a fluid preservative.

And in truth, Harmony first thought he was dead. Then she noticed, over his closed eyes the mask strapped over his mouth and nose, which until that moment had been hidden by the eerie movement of his dark hair. She took note of the long plastic tube running from that mask to a pump surmounting one of the cylinders mounted against the tank.

No... Not exactly a pump, she realised almost instantly.

A respirator.

She could see it working, and that faint hissing sound she could perceive was coming from it; it was the hissing sound of pumped air, like a steady breathing.

As steady as the beeping coming from the control desk.

She slowly walked around the tank, looking on with revulsion. Many sensors were attached to the still body inside, probably sending data to the computer to which this tank was linked. Harmony now checked for any sign of life, wanting to make sure that the man was indeed alive.

She saw tiny air bubbles, escaping from the mask, and that his chest was moving, just very slightly.

But the closed eyes and motionless face, ghostly-looking in that strange fluid, were a clear indication that the man was deeply unconscious.

“What have they done to you?” she murmured with distress and compassion as she leaned against the thick glass. She noticed how cold the surface was. “Captain – Why put you in this... thing? This is too horrible...”

She didn’t expect an answer from Captain Scarlet. The only one she received was the steady beeping coming from the control desk. Detaching her eyes from his still face, she straightened up and looked over into the tank and the bubbling fluid. Except for the bluish colour and the froth forming at the surface, it seemed to be similar to ordinary water.

What could it be, exactly? she mused. Those bubbles are not caused by heat, obviously, so maybe some kind of chemical reaction? It can’t be toxic. His skin doesn’t appear more damaged than it would be after a prolonged soak in regular water.

Harmony decided it would safe for her to test it herself. She rolled her sleeve halfway up and, tentatively at first, put her hand into the tank. It was very cold to the touch of her fingers, almost icy, but the texture was that of water, so she plunged her hand deeper still, trying to reach Scarlet. She only succeeded in brushing his shoulder slightly, before she started feeling a tingling sensation in her hand; the sensation quickly propagated up her arm to her elbow. She quickly removed it from the tank.

Her whole forearm felt numb now, and she had barely any feeling left in her fingers; she almost couldn’t move them. Shaking her hand for the sensation to return, she grunted in annoyance, now having an idea of what this strange liquid was.

This is revolting! How could they treat a human being this way?

Disgusted, she used her communication device. It was time to make her report.

“Doctor Fawn?” she called into the mic.

The physician answered almost instantly. “Harmony, thank God! I was beginning to worry about you.”

“No need, Doctor. I’m perfectly all right.”

“Have you entered the room?”

“Yes, I’m inside,” Harmony answered. She was unsure how to continue.

“Did you find Scarlet?” Fawn asked again.

“Yes… yes, I found him.” Harmony swallowed hard. “You were right. He is being kept captive in here.”

“So he’s alive as we suspected, then?” Fawn continued quickly. “He’s all right?”

“He’s alive, yes. I… I can see him breathing.” Harmony swallowed hard. “He doesn’t seem in pain, but I’m not sure if he’s... all right.”

“What do you mean?” a concerned Fawn inquired. “Of course, he must be unconscious right now, Like all those trapped in that fantasy world.”

“He’s unconscious, yes… But it’s not quite like the others.” With apprehension, Harmony looked at the prisoner inside the tank. “I will need you, Doctor,” she said, a new catch in her voice. “We have to free Captain Scarlet from this thing they have put him in. I don’t know if I can do that myself, without running the risk of putting him in jeopardy.”

“What thing?” Fawn asked with concern. “What’s going on, Harmony? You’re worrying me, girl! What is that ‘thing’ you say they put Scarlet in?”

Harmony couldn’t bear looking at the tank any longer. Closing her eyes to the cruel sight, she swiftly turned around and walked towards the other part of the room. “They put him in – I don’t know how to describe it correctly – some kind of a glass coffin, filled with a strange blue fluid.”

“What?!”

“He’s unconscious, and restrained in there, hooked up to some kind of breathing apparatus that keeps him from drowning. Doctor, you must come down here and –” Harmony opened her eyes at that moment, and then gasped aloud, as something new was suddenly revealed to her eyes.

Hearing that sound provoked Fawn’s even more concern.

“Harmony, what is it now?” He asked hurriedly. “Are you okay?”

“Yes,” she breathed into the mic, her eyes riveted to what she had just discovered. She had not seen it until now, as it was mostly hidden under a huge electronic device, casting a large shadow over it. She cautiously approached, barely daring to breathe, unsure of what she should do, or if she should even be there. She stopped in her tracks and exhaled her relief slowly, realising she was safe.

But she still felt nervous...

“Doctor,” she announced carefully into the mic, “there’s something else.”

“What?” an agitated Fawn asked. “What have you found, Harmony? What can be even worse than what you described before?”

“Actually, I didn’t find something, Doctor. I found someone.” Harmony took another step and looked closely at her discovery.

Another man was in the room, sleeping on a reclined padded seat under the electronic device, feet elevated and eyes closed, breathing regularly. Or rather, she corrected herself inwardly, he was unconscious too, like Scarlet, though he was obviously settled much more comfortably.

And like Scarlet, there were sensors on his forehead, and on his chest, under his open black shirt, sensors which were attached to a control desk by his side. Just over his head, inset into that device which loomed over him, there was a screen, which was sending a gentle, multicoloured play of light onto his face – a deathly pale face, covered with a stubble indicating that he had not shaved for days.

The sight of this man, unconscious though he was, was enough to send a shiver down Harmony’s spine.

“Harmony?” Doctor Fawn called, worried at not hearing from her. “What... WHO have you found?”

“Doctor,” she answered slowly, “you won’t believe me – and please, don’t be alarmed when you hear this – but I have Captain Black here, in front of me!”

Chapter 7: Pursuit

Symphony Angel didn’t remember ever waking up with a hangover similar to the one she presently had.

Her head felt as if it weighed a ton, although the inside of her skull seemed filled with cotton so thick, she had trouble thinking straight. In fact, it hurt just to make the effort to think. And it hurt even more just trying to move any part of her body. Her mouth was so dry, she even had trouble swallowing.

She was lying on her back, on a hard surface, and she could feel her muscles were stiff. When she attempted to open her eyes, she closed them immediately. Too bright... too damned bright, she cursed inwardly. What the devil did I drink last night? WHAT did I do exactly? I can’t remember.

Her eyelids finally obeyed her mental command, and she blinked repeatedly, to chase away the too-bright light and the fuzziness filling her vision. She groaned in pain, and slowly brought her hand to her head. Just that movement was pure torture.

Her vision cleared finally, and she found herself staring at the high, rounded ceiling of the Amber Room. What was more, she was lying on the floor, not that far from the door.

What? she thought with a frown. I fell asleep here?!

That wasn’t like her at all.

What the hell happened?

She slowly raised herself into a sitting position, holding her head and keeping it down, until the pain in it, and the sudden nausea that had hit her, eventually subsided.

She vividly remembered the strangest of dreams... she was back in the time of the Vikings, and she was a warrior princess of some sort, captured by the enemy, but betrothed to their prince. Adam was that prince, of course, and there were all sort of intrigues in the palace. Everyone she knew on Cloudbase was there, all with a role to play, and –

Even Captain Black was there, as the villain of the story. She shivered almost despite herself.

How strange that I can recall all the details so clearly! she mused.

Truly, what an odd dream that was...

There was a strange sensation, nagging at her. It was something that she felt she should remember, but was elusively escaping her. It was hidden behind all those details, those ‘memories’ of that bizarre dream which seemed so terrifyingly true, as if the events had actually occurred for real. But that was impossible, of course – That couldn’t possibly happen?

She heard her stomach whine, obviously demanding food. Her free hand reached for her belly, as if trying to calm it. Yes, she did feel hungry, very hungry, and she had such a terrible thirst. Her throat was completely dry. It was as if she had not eaten or drunk for many hours... or days.

Hold on...

Suddenly, she remembered, as her mind slowly started to clear, although her headache persisted. She raised her head suddenly – too suddenly for her own good. She looked around the Amber Room with alarm, recollection of what really happened before that dream coming back to her in waves.

Her sudden feeling of wariness confirmed itself when she saw Destiny Angel, half lying on the couch, and Melody, sprawled across the steps, not that far from her. Both of them looked asleep.

No... unconscious...

Unconscious – like I was.

I remember now. There was gas filling the Amber Room...

That sensation of drowsiness I – we – felt...

A trap!

And then... nothing, except that stupid dream.

“Oh, my Lord...” Symphony muttered. She swiftly dragged herself to Melody, closest to her, to check if she really was only unconscious. The pulse in her wrist was beating strong. As for Destiny, she was definitely alive; Symphony could hear her snoring lightly.

She got to her feet, and felt light-headed. She staggered toward the water fountain, and poured herself a first cup, that she gulped greedily, before taking a second, then a third. At the fourth cup, her thirst finally seemed to be assuaged, and she sighed with satisfaction.

She then checked her wristwatch. According to it, they had been sleeping only a couple of hours.

No, wait – The date had changed...

Two days!?

“Oh, my LORD!” Symphony repeated more forcefully. “That can’t be possible!” She turned on her heel swiftly – Damn that blasted headache! – and staggering, went to the door in long strides. She remembered everything now: the news that Captain Blue and Rhapsody’s SPJ had crashed on the runway, minutes after she had started her shift in the Amber Room; the concern she felt that they might be hurt; the voice of Lieutenant Burgundy over the comm, telling her to relax, that both were perfectly fine and had been taken down to sickbay to treat minor injuries and slight concussion; her desire to leave her station and go up to sickbay anyway, in order to check on her fiancé and friend…

And then that blasted gas that had hit them.

She had tried to reach the door, but crashed to the floor before she could. Her last thoughts had been of a driving determination to call the Control Room, to give the alert, but the only thing she had been able to do was to raise her hand toward the comm box right next to the door, without reaching it; she was too far away.

Reaching the door now, she pushed the control button, but the door refused to slide open.

Locked.

“Goddammit – What the hell’s going on here?” Symphony lashed out. She slammed the comm box button. “Symphony Angel to Control Room! Spectrum is Red! We’ve been under attack in the Amber Room. The door is locked. Please, unlock it immediately!”

There was no answer. Symphony frowned. The comm. seemed to be working, and there was always someone in the Control Room. What was happening?

“Amber Room to Control Room! This is an emergency! We’ve been hit by gas! My watch says it was TWO DAYS ago! How is it possible that nobody noticed!?” As the comm. kept silent, the doubt slowly making its way into her mind became certainty. “Is there anyone up there to answer me?” she asked, trying to keep her voice from shaking with concern. “Colonel White? Lieutenant Green?” The name of the last person in the Control Room she had talked to before losing consciousness came to mind. “Lieutenant Burgundy?”

But no-one answered.

Oh no... Don’t tell me this attack was not only against the Amber Room – but all over the base!

Her heart started racing. She had no way of knowing if everybody else was indeed unconscious – or worse, dead. She could only suspect that something terrible had happened.

She tried to contact different locations all over Cloudbase – Sickbay, maintenance, officers’ lounge... There was no answer anywhere.

“This can’t be happening...” she whispered to herself. “I can’t be the only conscious person onboard...”

And if I am?

Okay, girl… don’t panic. What’s the protocol if something like that should happen?

She punched an emergency code into the comm.

“Symphony Angel to Spectrum Headquarters, London. Spectrum is Red! Cloudbase has been under attack. We –”

She stopped herself when she suddenly realised that there was static coming from the speakers. She tried another code, in order to contact another ground base. It was the same.

Great. Connections to ground seem completely disabled. As if something, or rather SOMEONE, has messed around with the radio system to isolate Cloudbase. On purpose, obviously.

It appeared to be a huge, well-organised assault.

Maybe it’s time to panic now…

No. That wouldn’t achieve anything. There’s something more constructive I can do.

“I have to get out of here,” she said to herself, turning her attention to the control panel embedded in the wall next to the door, with fierce determination. “I have to open that damned door and find someone – anyone. And they’d better come up with good answers to the questions I will ask them… or there’ll be hell to pay!”

The Spectrum sentry standing guard in front of the R&D room where Captain Scarlet was imprisoned pushed the command button and the door slid open in front of him. He stepped inside the room, slowly, his weapon at the ready, his gaze attentively wandering around. Keppel was so concerned that an inadvertent move with the machinery might put the whole operation in jeopardy that he had instructed the guard to take his station outside the door, and to keep his surveillance checks inside to a minimum.

The prisoner was still inside the tank, as he had been since the start of the operation. However, he was now agitating himself, struggling feebly against his restraints, as much as his drug-fuddled mind and body would allow. There was a lot of air bubbles escaping from his respirator, but it was well strapped on and there was no danger of it falling off. So, the guard thought, this must be the sound I heard through the door. He had come to investigate, only to make sure everything was still in order.

The guard walked fully inside the room, still looking around carefully. He went to check on Captain Black; satisfied that he was still sleeping deeply in his comfortably reclined seat, he turned around and went straight to the computer controls. He checked the data displayed on the screen; as far as he could see, everything was normal, the information barely having changed at all, except for showing that agitation the captive was presently experiencing. There was nothing to indicate that Captain Scarlet was even close to awakening from his enforced sleep.

The guard approached the tank and closely examined the prisoner’s features through the glass. He was frowning, and shaking his head from side to side, but the eyes were closed.

He stopped agitating himself, and one last look at data on the computer screen informed the guard that he had calmed down. The guard was under strict orders not to touch any of the very sensitive equipment in the room, under any circumstances, and to call Keppel directly should there be any abnormality. Since it wasn’t the case, there was no need to disturb him.

The sentry glanced one last time at Scarlet and grinned wickedly. Still living in that dream world then, he told himself.

He turned around, and took his first steps towards the door to leave; he had barely left the console when he heard a faint, splashing sound and felt the floor to be slippery under his feet. He looked down.

Where he stood, the floor was covered with a thin layer of water. Probably all that splashing about by the prisoner, the guard thought. Some water got spilled, obviously. But as he looked down, he realised something odd, and crouched down to look closer; this water didn’t seem to have any blue tint in it. He tentatively tested the water with the tip of his fingers; he felt nothing. Looking toward the tank, he discovered the puddle he was standing on wasn’t even reaching the support.

If not from the tank, where’s this water coming from, then?

As he was slowly coming to his feet, something brutally hit him from behind, right between the shoulder blades. There was a loud zapping sound, and he went stiff, his mind blacking out instantly. He sprawled on the floor with barely a sigh. He never noticed the petite form of a woman that had sneaked up behind him, like a spectre coming from the shadows.

Harmony Angel stood over the downed sentry, holding with both hands the electric baton she had used to knock him down; uncertainly, she crouched down and checked his pulse. There was none. The maximum voltage in the baton, combined with the water she had quickly spilled earlier on the floor in order to trap the man had been sufficient to kill him.

Good.

With a grimace, she put the baton aside. When she had discovered it earlier, lying on a table, she had no doubt what their enemies intended to do with it. Considering Captain Scarlet’s vulnerability to electricity, they certainly intended on using it to keep him under control. Perhaps even kill him eventually, while he was still kept defenceless in that watery casket. The mere thought was revolting to Harmony, which had made her decision to use it against the guard rather easy to take; she felt no remorse about it at all.

She took the handcuffs hanging from the man’s belt and swiftly shackled him, just to be on the safe side. She wasn’t that sure if he was a Mysteron or not, but if he was, and if the voltage in the baton just happened not to be quite enough to kill him, there was a chance he could revive and cause trouble. This way, he would be contained.

Harmony rose to her feet and activate her radio, turning to the tank in which Captain Scarlet was imprisoned.

“Doctor Fawn, the sentry has been neutralized. Thanks for the early warning.”

“Is he dead?” Fawn asked her.

“For the moment he is, yes,” she calmly replied, as if it was the most natural thing to say.

“Is Scarlet’s condition still stable?”

“He was agitating himself earlier. I suspect it was the reason why the guard came inside. He must have heard something from the other side of the door.” She marked a short pause, looking toward the tank. “I had hoped Captain Scarlet would wake up, but unfortunately, it didn’t happen. He’s grown quiet now. Like before.”

“All right. I guess we’ll have to worry about that later. For now, it’s time for part two of the operation. I’ll contact you shortly.”

Harmony sighed. She didn’t like Doctor Fawn taking so many risks. He certainly wasn’t trained like she was to face the kind of danger she was accustomed to. But the two of them were the only people onboard able to do anything to counter the enemy’s plan right now, and it wasn’t as if they had any choice.

“S.I.G.,” she answered, glancing at the dead sentry. “Be careful, Doctor.”

One of them had awakened.

How could it be possible? thought Technician Keppel.

He was standing in the same room where the restrained Captain Blue and Rhapsody Angel were sleeping under the hypnotic multicoloured lights. A third bunk had been placed next to Blue, where Lieutenant Burgundy, free of any restraints, was also sleeping under the same lights, having joined them in the fantasy world to participate in the last phase of the game.

All seemed to go according to plan, and everything had been normal thus far, except for a small agitation from Captain Scarlet, reported by the computer – agitation that didn’t last very long, though, before everything settled down again.

However, the computer’s security features soon started beeping again, having detected a similar kind of activity, from another participant – a similar agitation, but with a different outcome: one of the ‘players’ was leaving the game.

Checking on the computer data, it didn’t take long for Keppel to discover exactly from whom it was coming. Now, he was watching on his monitor screen, as the recently awake Symphony Angel was working to open the door from the Amber Room, in order to get out.

Something must have happened to her in the fantasy world to initiate her awakening, Keppel pondered. He made a quick check of the game data, to reassure himself that it was not a general occurrence. No, she was the only one. Nobody else was about to escape the game.

First Scarlet, and now this. For Scarlet, he wasn’t worried, even though there had been two or three alerts in his case. With the special measures taken to keep him under, there was not a chance in hell he would escape. Keppel, however, couldn’t quite explain what could have occurred in the Angel’s case. She was a normal human being, with nothing exceptionally special about her, nothing which could have led Keppel to suspect she would be able to tear herself from the game.

Unless – could it be because...?

He shook his head. The chance of that occurring again with other players was there, but since the game was nearly done, it was an unlikely risk.

No matter, he thought grimly, as he looked at Symphony’s efforts on the screen. He would not permit that woman to sabotage his plan. He was too close now; the game would be finished soon, and everyone would die at the end.

As for Symphony Angel, as she was no longer a part of the game, there would be need of a different approach to secure her demise.

He pressed the communication command on his computer. “Petrie, this is Keppel. I need you to go immediately to the Amber Room.”

He didn’t receive any answer. He frowned. “Petrie?” he repeated into the comm. “Do you hear me?”

He was about to check the man’s post in front of the room where Captain Scarlet was held on the screen, when he heard the door behind him slide open. He glanced briefly over his shoulder, and in the semi-darkness of the room, he saw a man dressed in the black and white uniform of a Spectrum security guard stepping through the opening.

“Ah, Rochester,” Keppel casually said, turning his attention back to his screen, as the man approached him from behind. “You arrived just in time. There’s a situation in the Amber Room that needs your immediate attention. I tried to reach Petrie to take care of it, but he doesn’t answer my call. I –”

Keppel stopped suddenly, when the screen then displayed the door in front of which he knew Petrie should be standing. The post was deserted, and the door closed. He frowned.

Damn that man. What is he doing? I told him not to leave his post unless told to.

“Where’s Petrie? How come he’s not –?”

“Still wondering why your man doesn’t answer, Technician Keppel?”

Keppel turned around. the ‘Spectrum guard’ was now standing only a few feet behind him, his gun drawn and aimed at him. He looked up to meet the guard’s face, and suddenly realised it wasn’t Rochester at all.

“Doctor Fawn,” he said without apparent emotion or surprise, as Fawn removed the white cap from his head, to toss it aside. “Where’s Rochester?”

“Dead,” Fawn answered bluntly. “Like you soon will be if you don’t do as I say.”

Keppel slowly nodded his understanding. “You’re more resourceful than I thought.”

“Back off,” Fawn ordered sternly, motioning with his gun. “Slowly. And keep your hands where I can see them.”

Keppel obeyed docilely, stepping back from his screen, his eyes set on Fawn. “I’m not armed, Doctor,” he said, spreading his empty hands in front of him as if to emphasise the point.

“But you’re too close to that console for my taste – and to Captain Blue and Rhapsody Angel.” He waited as Keppel backed away a few more steps, his gun indicating the direction he wanted him to go. “That’ll be far enough.”

Keppel stopped and watched as Fawn approached the console in front of which he previously stood. The doctor only glanced at the controls, then at the screen; he flicked it once and saw the Amber Room, where Symphony, fully awake, was busying herself opening the locked door.

“If I understand correctly, there seems to be a little glitch in your system, Keppel?”

“I don’t know what you mean,” Keppel said, shrugging dismissively.

“Oh yeah? How come she’s awake, then?

Keppel didn’t answer, and simply stared back, as Fawn activated the mic of his headset.

“Fawn to Harmony. I took possession of Sickbay. Stand by for further instructions in a few minutes.”

“Harmony.” Keppel shook his head in understanding. “So, she survived.”

“No thanks to yours and Burgundy’s efforts,” snapped Fawn.

“We obviously underestimated her – and you, Doctor.” Keppel shook his head. “But your efforts are useless, I assure you.”

“You think so?” Fawn growled. “I’m not so sure about that. We found the room in R&D, where you’re holding Captain Scarlet captive in that tank.” Fawn spat the last word with obvious disgust. “We also found Captain Black there, asleep, apparently hooked up to this computer game of yours. We’ll find a way to stop this madness, now that we’re back in control of the base.”

“Are you really in control, Doctor? Oh yes, you have Cloudbase, but the game is still on. You don’t have ANY idea how to stop it.”

“I suppose you’re the only one who can do that, is that right?”

“It’s not I who’s stating the obvious, Doctor. And if you think I’ll help you…” Keppel smiled cruelly. “… you’re deeply mistaken.”

“We’ll see about that,” Fawn said, levelling the gun at Keppel.

The latter narrowed his eyes. “Are you really prepared to do whatever it takes to force me to help you?” he asked. “You, a doctor, who are honour-bound to save lives, would make use of that gun and shoot another man down? It’s well known across Cloudbase that you hate firearms...”

“I do. But if it means saving other lives...” Fawn let the rest of the threat hang, ominously.

“I see. It seems I wouldn’t be the first man you’ve killed today, then. This is Rochester’s gun, isn’t that right? You took it from his dead body? How easily you humans resort to violence to obtain what you want. First Rochester –”

“Spare me your patronizing hypocrisy,” Fawn snapped angrily. “Yes, Rochester’s dead, but it was self-defence. He had come to kill me. You would have expected me to roll over and play dead, without fighting back?”

Fawn wasn’t prepared to admit just yet that he wasn’t sure if it was he or Harmony who had delivered the killing blow to Rochester. He assumed that, just maybe, Keppel would be more amenable if he believed that the doctor was indeed able and ready to kill if there was a need for it.

“Besides,” Fawn added, glaring meaningfully at Keppel, “I believed at the time that he was a Mysteron agent. That makes a damned difference, don’t you think? Since he was Mysteronised, the man was already dead anyway. But he wasn’t a Mysteron agent. That, I discovered afterwards. He was as human as I am myself.”

“So, you killed one of your own,” Keppel said quietly. “What a shock it must have been for you then. Yes, I imagine it makes quite a difference that you had killed a human being, instead of a Mysteron replicate. Isn’t that so, Doctor?”

“And what are you, Keppel?” Fawn shot back. “Are you a Mysteron agent or a normal human being? I heard you call us ‘Earthmen’ often enough, and speaking of us with the same disdain an agent of the Mysterons would use. I also heard you supposedly speak in the Mysterons’ name.”

“You know the Mysterons are behind this operation.”

“Yes. I did hear their threat. But are you yourself a Mysteron agent? I have some doubts about that. I’m starting to think you want me to believe you are a Mysteron agent.”

Keppel smiled thinly. “And on what do you base your ridiculous assumption, Doctor?”

“Let’s start with the details with which this attack on Cloudbase had been so scrupulously planned. It takes time to prepare an offensive like this one. Days… weeks... to carefully lay your traps, to install your programs on the computer mainframe, to put in place the various pieces of equipment you needed… to set up that contraption Harmony discovered in the R&D room. Because of your job, and with your status as chief technician, you have access to the R&D Department. You work there often, isn’t that true? So, you also had access to that particular room. A room, I might add, that DOESN’T HAVE an operational surveillance camera inside of it, or else you’d be keeping an eye on it during the whole operation. And you would also have used it already, to make sure that Scarlet is very well where he is and won’t escape.”

Keppel scoffed. “I don’t need a surveillance camera to know that. He’s hooked to enough sensors which register his status at all times, and I can see that status here, on my computer. He’s still very deeply unconscious, unaware of his surroundings and playing the game exactly as he should. There’s no chance for him to free himself, and to step out of that tank all by himself.”

“I’ve already figured that part out. But why doesn’t that room have a camera, I wonder? Is it because you disabled it yourself weeks ago, to make sure no-one would notice what you were preparing in there? I believe you have the skills to somehow disrupt any security features that would have alerted Cloudbase Security that one of their surveillance cameras wasn’t working as it should. When you finally took control of Cloudbase, and the game was in motion, I think you didn’t have time to reactivate that camera. You were now too busy monitoring the progression of this stupid game of yours, with a skeleton crew composed of your accomplices. So, you put a guard in front of the door instead, firmly believing, like you’re still thinking now, that Scarlet would never be able to escape anyway.”

“You read too many detective stories, Doctor. You seem to believe all this rubbish of yours.”

“A good friend of mine once told me that reading ‘detective stories’ is a good exercise to keep your mind alert and to keep an open mind about such ‘rubbish’, as you call it. I know I’m right, Keppel. You definitely took a great amount of time to set up this whole operation, behind our backs. If you had been a Mysteron agent during that time, you would surely have been exposed as such, at one point or another During a standard security check, for example. But you were never found out. And so, the only explanation is… you must be human.”

Keppel looked down, in a thoughtful way, apparently pondering Doctor Fawn’s words. Then, the smile on his thin lips broadened, and he chuckled.

“All right, Doctor, I admit it. You found me out. You’re right: it definitely took a human to prepare this down to the last detail without being discovered. A Mysteron agent would never have been able to do it, that’s true.”

Fawn became pale with anger. It was one thing to suspect he was right, but another thing altogether to have confirmation of it from the mouth of Keppel himself.

“Traitor!” he growled. “You really disgust me... you, a human being, a member of Spectrum, you’re working freely for the Mysterons, following their orders. Why, you dirty –”

“I think you can spare me the insults,” Keppel retorted coldly. “That would really be beneath you, Doctor. Besides, what difference could it make for you to know why I did what I did? My reasons are my own. I don’t have to answer any of your questions.”

“Perhaps not. But you will tell me how to stop that absurd game of yours! And how to wake everyone without risking any permanent damage to them. I warn you, if you don’t cooperate –”

“You will shoot me?” Keppel interrupted sharply. “Back to this, are we, Doctor?” He chuckled again, and shook his head. “Your threats are meaningless,” he reiterated. “And you’ll never be able to wake them. Not by yourself, and not in time to save them all. You wouldn’t know where to start.”

“I already know that Captain Scarlet is the key to the problem,” Fawn replied. He hoped to have a revealing reaction from Keppel. The latter simply stared at him, very coldly, for a brief moment.

“So what if you think you found that out?” he finally asked with a shake of his head.

“I’m right again, aren’t I?” Fawn asked insistently.

Keppel sighed, without really caring to answer. “That won’t help you at all, Doctor. I made very sure that attempts to try to prematurely wake any participant of the game – especially a key participant – would cause that person to die. The player has to wake up normally, all by himself, at the end of the game. Otherwise... the awakening could be too much of a shock. Remember Anna Preston?”

“I’m not about to forget her, you murdering scum,” Fawn seethed.

“Of course, if the game’s allowed to follow its course, your friends might have a chance to survive. It’ll all depend on Captain Blue: if he succeeds in defeating the program, as he hopes to. It’s a fair game, Doctor. Your colleagues have but one chance.”

“And you made sure this chance will be infinitely thin, of course.”

“Of course. what would be the aim of the game, if it wasn’t the case?”

“Captain Scarlet is indestructible, you know that,” Fawn remarked.

“You think the rules don’t apply to him?” Keppel asked with an evil grin. Seeing the doubtful expression on Fawn’s face, he shook his head, in a thoughtful way. “Whether you believe he’ll be safe or not, it’s up to you. But I have to warn you that in his case, there’s an added bonus: if there’s any attempt to wake him up, and he dies, Cloudbase’s senior staff, as well as everyone else trapped in the game, will be condemned to follow him in death.” Keppel made a dramatic pause. “That’s just to make the game more interesting.”

“You’re sick, you know that, Keppel?” Fawn snapped back. “I was right. Scarlet is the key to resolve the game, or else you would not have given him that much attention.”

He glanced at the monitor screen. “How about Symphony? How come she woke up, then?”

“Oh that...” Keppel shrugged. “It’s an insignificant glitch in the otherwise perfection of the game. Something that’s unlikely to happen again, I can assure you.”

“Really now? You are dismissing that possibility rather quickly, Keppel.” Fawn paused a second. “Is the game over for her, then? Why is she alive, in that case?” He narrowed his eyes suspiciously. “And what if I attempt to wake all of them, despite your claims it would kill them?”

Keppel dismissed the barrage of questions with a wave of the hand. “Alternatively, you can always try to wake any of them up, as you suggest. That is, if you want to take that risk. You might have a chance, after all. But like you said earlier, it’s infinitely thin, and if you don’t proceed carefully enough...” He let the rest of the explanation hang into a dramatic silence, before continuing: “Anyway, the game will be over soon. It has entered the last level. It’s only a matter of time now. If you want to do something, you’d better act quickly. But as I said, I’m the only one who knows how to wake them all safely. And hell will freeze over before I do it.”

“That’s what we’ll see,” Fawn replied. “I just need a good dose of truth serum from one of my cabinet drawers, and you will gladly give me all the help I need!”

Keppel tutted quietly. “That’s highly unethical, Doctor Fawn – but I do believe that if you’re desperate enough, you’ll do it. But unfortunately for you, you won’t get that chance. You see, I, too, I’m desperate enough.”

With a measured movement, he put his hand into his pocket, and Fawn suddenly became very anxious. He cocked the hammer of his gun, and extended his hand, taking aim at Keppel. But he was hesitant to kill him; he needed him alive. And Keppel knew that.

“Why so nervous, Doctor?” With a cold expression on his face, Keppel slowly drew out a small gun, and the edginess in Fawn mounted several degrees.

“Drop that!” he ordered forcefully. “Drop that, or I’ll shoot!”

“Perhaps you will.” Keppel put the barrel of the gun to his own head, his expression becoming blank. “But I expect you might not have the courage to kill me. Don’t worry: I’ll do the job for you.”

“Keppel, you –”

“The Mysterons will reward me for my sacrifice.”

Eyes wide with growing horror, Fawn saw Keppel’s finger pressing the trigger.

“NO!!!! Don’t –” His shout was drowned by the loud detonation and almost instinctively, he averted his eyes, so not to see the man putting the bullet into his own brain. He heard the dull thud of the body as it hit the floor, and almost despite himself, he muttered a quick prayer for the dead man’s soul.

Then he turned around, breathing deeply, trying to calm his rapidly beating heart. He approached and looked down in dismay at Keppel’s body, now lying at his feet, his right hand still clutching the smoking gun, his blood splattered all around the place. There was a bitter taste in Fawn’s mouth as he considered the man’s final solution, to avoid being forced to help him. Despite what he had said, there didn’t seem to be any desperation on Keppel’s face as he had pulled the trigger – only a certainly that he had to do what needed to be done.

“Damn it,” Fawn murmured.

He considered Keppel’s last words and gesture: ‘The Mysterons will reward me for my sacrifice.’ Indeed, what sort of reward could Keppel expect to receive from the Mysterons, a race of alien beings that had sworn to destroy all life on Earth? Surely there was nothing to expect from such as them. They used and discarded their own agents without a single second thought. They would do the same with any human beings naïve enough to accept any deal with them.

There’s something to investigate here, Fawn reflected. Questions to answer...

For now, he had little time to ponder on the subject. Keppel was dead, but there were other lives to save. Fawn only had to look in the direction of the still-sleeping Blue and Rhapsody to be reminded of that. He didn’t want to spend more time than he already had; according to Keppel, they were racing against time now.

They at least had an advantage. The base was theirs again. Now they would be free to act – and act quickly. Dismissing the dead man’s body, he returned to the console, re-holstering his own gun. He determinedly pressed the comm box button and manually tuned it to the Amber Room.

“Symphony!” he called forcefully.

He knew his voice had boomed around the entire Amber Room, when he saw the young woman on the screen, still working on the door, suddenly jumping in surprise and stopping to turn around and gape at the loudspeaker.

There was an edge to her voice when she quickly answered his call: “Doctor Fawn! What the devil’s going on around here? Where are you?”

He blew a deep sigh. “In sickbay. How long for you to get that door open? I’m not sure I’d be able to override the controls from here.”

“I… Not long now, a few minutes,” the obviously confused Symphony answered. “Can’t you alert someone to come open it from the outside?”

“I’m afraid we can only count on ourselves right now,” Fawn answered. “You, me, and Harmony. And do whatever we can with what we have.”

“What? What do you mean, only the three of us...?”

“We’re the only ones awake on Cloudbase at the moment.”

The confusion in Symphony reached a new level. “Doctor, that doesn’t make any sense!”

Fawn sighed again, finally regaining a normal breathing rate. “Symphony, please, you have to trust me. It’s not really easy to explain, but I promise, I’ll try and do my best – but later on. For now, I need you to get out of there as quickly as you can and get your butt up to R&D.”

“R&D? Why?”

“You’ll meet Harmony there,” Fawn answered, his voice returning to its normal coolness. “I need you to bring something back to me... And I need you to be quick about it, Symphony. At the moment, time’s of the essence, if we want to save everyone else on Cloudbase!”

“My Lord Odin!”

Odin pulled on the reins of his horse upon hearing the call coming from behind him and turned around, imitated by Freyja. Who in the name of Ymir could be troubling their quiet ride in the plains surrounding the city? The monarch of Aesgard intended to show the magnificence of his kingdom to the queen of Vanaheim, and had given orders not to be disturbed during this pleasant task, lest it was for an emergency.

They both saw Heimdall, the captain of the palace guard, and Vali, coming their way from the gates of the city, pushing their mounts hard to reach them. Having heard the urgency in Heimdall’s voice, they waited for them; when both men stopped their horses next to theirs, Heimdall barely took the time to get his breath, before addressing Odin again:

“My king, something happened within the walls of the Walhall that we feel you have to be aware of. Your heirs –”

“What happened?” Odin asked, suddenly alert.

“Heed what Vali has to say.” Heimdall turned to his companion, inviting him to continue. Vali cleared his voice.

“I found Lord Balder in the stables earlier, hurriedly preparing his horse,” he explained. “He was mad with anger. He told me he was going after Lord Hodur and Lady Nanna. He told me they had fled the palace together.”

“What?” Odin growled, his brow furrowing.

“He said that they were lovers, that they had been since they met on the Icy Mountains.”

“Hodur and Nanna – this is madness,” Freyja protested. “Hodur has but one love, and this love is Iduna. I watched their love grow during Hodur’s stay at my palace of Folkvang. There is no greater love between two people. Hodur would never betray that.”

“Nevertheless, my lady,” Vali continued. “Balder believes otherwise. And they did leave the Walhall together – for whatever reason.”

“Why would they have done that?” Odin asked roughly. “If they are not guilty of what Balder accuses them of –”

“They must have a reason of their own,” Freyja insisted. “I know Nanna. She never acts without reason.”

“And neither does Hodur,” Odin replied. “I do think the accusation false, but I would like to know who put such foolishness in Balder’s mind.”

“I do not know, Sire,” Vali said humbly.

“It could only come from Loki,” Heimdall remarked carefully. “Who else but that scoundrel would pour such lies in someone’s ear?”

“Loki,” repeated Odin thoughtfully. “Yes, that would be like him... But to what purpose would he have done that?”

“Maybe just to stir trouble, my liege?” Heimdall suggested. “As he often likes to do?”

 “And what reason could have compelled Hodur and Nanna to leave the palace together?”

“That I do not know either, my lord,” Vali continued. “But what I do know is that Lord Balder left in turn, a few moments ago, and went after them. There was desire of vengeance in his eyes.”

“My king,” Heimdall added, “I fear for Lord Hodur’s life. I am concerned at what Lord Balder will do, when he finds them.”

“My lord Odin,” Freyja remarked, “’Tis obvious that there is conspiracy here. against both your sons, and the lady Nanna. Loki seeks to destroy them.”

“Aye, ’twould seem obvious.” Odin mused. “’Twould also seem I waited too long to deal with Loki. Perhaps it is time that I do something about it.” He turned to both Vali and Heimdall. “You said Balder just left the palace, Vali. What direction did he take?”

“The direction Balder believed Lord Hodur and Lady Nanna themselves took: towards the Icy Mountains, my liege.”

“Ymir’s beard...” Odin turned around toward the direction Vali was now pointing to him, beyond the plains, to the North. He could see the dark line of Fenrir’s Forest, standing like a barrier on the horizon; over the high and dark trees, there was the almost eternal mist that hid the foot of the mountain chain. And above, the threatening peaks of the Icy Mountains, which marked Jötunheim, the domain of the Ice Giants, cold, and deadly...

“Yggdrasil,” he murmured, under his breath. “Great tragedy could ensue from all this, of such a scale that it might cause untold disaster.”

“My lord Odin,” Freyja replied, hearing him, “you do not think –”

“I do not think anything,” Odin interrupted her, “except that my sons are acting like fools again, and that I must intervene. I have to find them before a tragedy happens.” He turned to Heimdall. “Where is Thor?”

“Out in the Northwest woods, my lord, with Lady Sif. They are hunting deer together.”

“They would not be expected back before late tonight, then,” Odin grunted. “Go and fetch them, Heimdall. Explain to Thor what has occurred and tell him to ride towards the Icy Mountains. I will leave a trail behind me, so he will be able to find me – at Yggdrasil. His assistance will not be too much to help me make these two fools see sense! And they will see sense, by Ymir, even if I have to knock their two heads together for it!”

“You know where Yggdrasil is, Lord Odin,” Freyja remarked. It was more of a statement than a question.

“You do not appear surprised that I do, my queen.”

“I am not. I suspected as much. I trust you well enough, Sire, to know you have your reasons to keep this secret.”

“My lord,” Vali then said, “if you would permit me, I will go with you. The road might be perilous, with plunderers from the North and savage beasts of the forest... You cannot go alone. Another sword, and a strong arm, will be helpful to you.”

Odin pondered the suggestion, before finally nodding his agreement. “Aye, Lord Vali. I accept your gracious offer. You will come with me then.”

“Will you also need my help?” offered Freyja in turn.

“Nay, Queen Freyja. As Vali just said, ’tis a dangerous journey leading to Yggdrasil, as your Valkyrie Nanna probably discovered herself a few days ago. ’Twould better for you to stay at the palace and await our return. One of us must stay behind to lead our people. I promise you: no harm will come to Nanna. I give you my word.”

“I believe in your word. I always did.” Freyja straightened up on the saddle to look as levelly as she could into Odin’s features, narrowing her eyes, and furrowing her brow in a thoughtful way. “Somehow... it always was as if I’ve known you for a long time – even before we met – and instinctively known you were a good man.” She shook her head. “Do be careful, Sire.”

He simply nodded his acknowledgement and pulled on the bridle to turn his mount. A second later, he was riding away, Vali by his side, towards the faraway forest, the eyes of both Heimdall and Freyja following them.

Heimdall reached for the young woman’s hand, resting on the pommel, and squeezed it reassuringly.

“I am concerned for him too. But I know he will be all right.”

“I just hope he knows what he is doing.”

“Do not worry. He usually does.” Heimdall frowned and shook his head. Why did he have this feeling of already having had this conversation with someone else? Images flashed into his mind – that of a large, brightly-lit room, where stood men with smooth faces, looking like Balder and Hodur, wearing strange coloured-garments... the first one in red, the second in blue...

“Not always...” said the red-clad man, edgily.

The image disappeared as quickly as it came, and Heimdall shook his head anew, trying to dismiss it. He turned his horse. “I will escort you back to the palace, my lady,” he announced to Freyja, “before going in search of Lord Thor.”

“Do not lose time on my account, Heimdall,” she replied with assurance. “Go ahead and find Thor. I can find my way back to the palace alone.” She gave him a faint smile. “And I am certainly able to defend myself on the way over, if an enemy tries to attack me.”

“Nobody would DARE to attack you, Lady Freyja,” Heimdall protested. “No enemy would come so close to the walls of Aesgard. All Aesir warriors would cross the Bifrost bridge, to protect your life with their own.”

“Well, then... what is there for me to risk?” Freyja said quietly. “Go now, and do not waste any more time.”

“Of course, my lady...” Heimdall answered, almost stammering. “I will do as you request, then.” He turned his mount around and pushed it towards the Northwest, with barely a last glance behind him as he rode away.

Freyja watched him depart, then looked again in the direction previously taken by Odin and Vali, a thoughtful expression in her eyes. All she could see of them and their horses now was two small, grey dots, slowly disappearing towards the horizon. She knew Odin was riding towards unsafe territory, almost without care, and with only one warrior to protect him if he should encounter danger.

The woman who believed she was queen of Vanaheim gave a thoughtful nod to herself, suddenly taking a decision, and turned her horse towards the gates of the Bifrost.

She had to find Tyr and Freyr, and entrust them with the most important mission of their lives.

Captain Blue was aware that he was probably pushing his horse too hard, as he rode along the treacherous trail Captain Black and the captive Rhapsody previously followed.

He had first crossed the dark forest of Fenrir, filled with all manner of dangerous and hungry beasts – like wolves the size of which he remembered from their first encounter in the snow-covered plains, a few days ago. They would not hesitate one second to attack any imprudent traveller that carelessly ventured into their domain. They didn’t come after him, but he just knew they were there, watching him. He could actually smell their beastly and savage scent, and that could only mean they were very close, but decided to remain invisible. He didn’t see even a single tail of those famished beasts, nor hear a single sound from them. In fact, the only sounds he heard at the moment, were the hammering of horseshoes on the beaten ground, the heavy breathing of his mount mixed with his own, and the wind, gusting and whistling through the trees surrounding him.

Like a frigging ghost forest...

The trail was easy enough to follow. As Symphony had told him, it seemed like it was the only path he could actually use to cross the sinister forest towards the mountains.

After what seemed like an eternity for him, he emerged from the darkest part of the woods and entered a clearing. He finally found himself at the foot of the mountains; he blew a deep sigh of relief.

He turned around nervously when he heard the howling of a multitude of wolves echoing behind him. It was as if they were taunting him somehow, telling him that they had known he was there, that they had been with him all the time – that they only chose to let him go, for now.

They’re only wild animals. I’m crazy to think they can envision any future plans for me, Blue admonished himself. That wouldn’t be normal behaviour for animals.

But then, he could hardly say that there was anything really natural about his present predicament. After all, he was living a fantasy, a game, in a world suggested to his mind, and which only existed because of a program installed inside the belly of a powerful computer.

He turned to face the new trail in front of him; it climbed up the side of the mountain, to enter a wide but dark gorge. Looking past it, Blue could distinguish a hill, but was unable to see anything else beyond that. This gorge seemed treacherous enough, and probably could provide many hiding places for whoever might want to ambush him. But did he have any choice but to continue?

As he was about to push his horse forward, a metallic flash caught his attention, and he squinted his eyes. Set on a large flat rock, just at the opening of the passage, there was a small, shiny ring. He approached it on his horse and only needed to extend his hand to take it.

He didn’t have to examine it long to discover what it was.

It was Rhapsody’s communication ring; the same he had on his own finger.

Black was obviously showing him the way.

If he has hurt her in any way...

Thoughts of how Black had once taken Symphony hostage and taken her to the Culver Atomic Centre where he exposed her to radiation came back to Blue’s mind. The anger he had felt then came back to him as well. He swore he would not let Black do any harm to another Angel again.

He tried once again to use his own ring, tapping on it as Doctor Fawn had instructed him in order to make contact with Cloudbase.

Nothing. Again.

That wasn’t that much of a surprise. Since the beginning of his journey, he had tried numerous times to contact Fawn to tell him what had occurred since the last time they talked, and he had been unable to make it work. He made another attempt, using Rhapsody’s ring this time, but without success either.

It was as if someone had disabled the device, in order to isolate them again.

ONE guess who’s responsible for this.

With a frustrated grunt, Blue pocketed Rhapsody’s ring and kicked the flanks of his horse, compelling it to move forwards into the sinister gorge opening in front of him.

“Damn,” he muttered, cursing the failing communication device. “I sure wish I knew exactly what’s wrong with that blasted thing...”

“Damn! I sure wish I knew exactly what’s wrong with that bloody thing!”

In sickbay, Doctor Fawn was going through the commands of his computer console, frantically trying to re-establish contact with Captain Blue’s and Rhapsody Angel, still trapped in the fantasy world. Communication, he had discovered with alarm a few minutes ago, was now impossible. He could only hear static, much like what he heard whenever he tried to use the comm to reach the world outside of Cloudbase.

So far, his efforts to reach either Blue or Rhapsody had been fruitless. As a result, he had been unable to tell them that the enemy agents who had taken Cloudbase over were now all neutralised and that the base was back in Spectrum’s hands. More alarming yet, he couldn’t learn what was going on in the fantasy world. As far as he knew, things might have taken a turn for the worse recently. And since Keppel had told him before dying that the game was nearly over, it could very well be the case.

Not that we would have been able to do a lot of good anyway, but at least we would know!

When he heard the door of the room sliding open behind him, he edgily turned around, his hand flying to the handgun by his side, but he soon realised that he need not worry: Symphony Angel had entered, and was walking towards him, with a small piece of paper in one hand, and an apple in the other.

Fawn relaxed, and inwardly admonished himself; he hated that fear reaction he had just had – hated that the primary thought to come to his mind at the first sound was to use that bloody gun he was currently carrying. He loathed weapons with a passion, and kept a gun in the drawer of his desk only because it was a necessary safety measure, considering his rank as Cloudbase chief medical officer. The bullets were in another drawer, though, and he never felt the need to load the thing. The only situation in which he would really have need of it had actually presented itself the previous day, when he had been locked in his office, after he had awakened from the fantasy world. But of course, his captors had made sure to clean out the drawers before locking him in.

“I have the results of that analysis you asked for, Doctor.” Biting into her apple, Symphony stopped in front of Fawn and handed him the paper. This had to be the best apple she had ever ate, she was thinking, as Fawn swiftly took the paper. Truth to tell, she was so famished that anything would taste heavenly in her mouth at the moment. She had grabbed the apple from a basket full of fruit on the reception desk, at the entrance of sickbay. She now regretted not having picked up the whole basket.

While Fawn was reading the paper, Symphony, still chewing on her piece of apple, looked around, uneasily. Keppel’s body was still on the floor, a short distance away. Fawn, obviously, had far more important things to busy himself with than to tidy up the room. She swallowed her mouthful, a little uneasy at the morbid sight, and turned her back on it.

The Angel pilot approached the three bunks on which Blue, Rhapsody and Burgundy were still deeply sleeping. She glanced at Burgundy with a murderous glare, before turning her attention to her two friends, watching their quiet and set features. She glimpsed at the data displayed on the monitors over their heads, but was unable to make out what the information displayed on them meant. She shivered, almost despite herself.

Suddenly feeling less hungry, she put the apple onto the console next to her.

“Still not awakened?” she asked, hugging herself as if she was very cold.

“No,” Fawn confirmed, as he continued to read. “And unfortunately, I’ve been unable to re-establish contact with them, thus far. I suspect Keppel might have discovered the communication link I established between us and disabled it. It might take time to re-establish it again and that’s time I’m afraid we don’t have. I will be with you in a minute. Give me time to analyse these results, please.”

Symphony nodded her assent in silence.

She still could barely believe what was happening. Less than an hour ago, after successfully opening the Amber Room door, she had gone directly to R&D, as instructed by Fawn. She found Harmony there, standing in front of an open door, waiting for her with a Mysteron detector she had found stored in one of the department’s lockers. Once she had made sure Symphony had not been Mysteronised, the Chinese pilot had relaxed and had allowed her into the room.

Symphony was astounded to find Captain Scarlet, unconscious, and captive in what looked like a suspension tank. Captain Black – of all people! – was also there, obviously unconscious as well, and Harmony was standing guard in the room – holding a handgun that she apparently had taken from a Spectrum guard lying dead on the floor.

Following Fawn’s instructions that he gave her through the comm link, and with the renewed promise that he would explain the exact situation to her when there was enough time, she had then used a test tube to take a sample of the liquid in which Scarlet was immersed. She had then quickly made her way to sickbay. There, her surprise and shock rose another few degrees, when she finally met Fawn, clad in the uniform of a security guard. He took her into a room in which she then discovered Captain Blue – her Adam – and Rhapsody Angel, both deep asleep in bunks, hooked to computer controls, and under powerful spots that cast multicoloured, moving lights over their faces. By their side, there also was Lieutenant Burgundy sleeping on another bunk.

She had reluctantly obeyed Fawn, when he had sent her to the laboratory next door where she used the auto-analyser to check the sample she had brought back from R&D. While she was busying herself with the new task, Fawn opened a channel through the comm and explained the situation to her, as succinctly but precisely as he could. He didn’t go into too many unnecessary details, but he said enough for her to understand that they were all in a fine mess, and that everyone onboard Cloudbase could die soon if the three of them couldn’t find a quick solution.

It also came as quite a shock for Symphony to realise that those strange memories she had – that oh-so-vivid dream of a savage, Viking-like world – were actually far more than fleeting recollections of just a dream. No wonder she could remember those details so clearly, as if they were real events! That was because they were as real as the Mysterons and Keppel had made them for that fantasy world: as real as life, love, sex and death, which could be as final there as it was in the ‘real world’.

It was a game, she now knew, that they were all involved in, and in which everyone had been able to interact with each other. Maybe not as freely as they would hope – they were all acting rather out of character in some aspects of that game.

Which made some of the memories of what had happened there so... awkward.

Dear God, if I remember all of this so clearly, then I suppose everyone else will when they wake up? Oh... That will be so embarrassing for all of us!

Fawn having lost contact with Blue and Rhapsody, Symphony told him everything she remembered of her last memories of Aesgard, as soon as he had finished his explanation – how ‘Balder’ came to believe that his brother was having an affair with his wife; how she herself stopped him attacking Blue; how Black finally kidnapped Rhapsody, apparently hoping for Scarlet to pursue them – but how, instead of Scarlet, Blue went after them, leaving ‘Iduna’ in charge of the unconscious ‘Balder’.

And finally, how she had been knocked unconscious. Before losing her senses, Symphony did recall that she had seen Burgundy hitting her. That was when she had left the game, waking up in the Amber Room.

That revelation served to confirm Fawn in his suspicion that Burgundy probably remembered who he was, and wasn’t possessed by the game. As an agent of the Mysterons, he was more than likely in full control of himself, and was therefore free to act as he saw fit. Symphony grew concerned when Fawn told her that his presence in Aesgard was more than probably an added strategy, in order for the game to proceed in the direction intended for it by the Mysterons. His character was that of the man who was supposed to eventually kill Hodur – the part played by Captain Blue.

She was now standing next to Blue’s bunk, while Fawn conducted his analysis. The doctor had told her it was impossible to wake the participants of the game, because they might very well die in the process. Or so Keppel had claimed. But what about Burgundy?

She glared at the sleeping Mysteron agent with murder in her eyes.

“What if we killed him?” she coldly suggested. That was certainly tempting enough, considering he was helpless right now.

Fawn glanced at her over the piece of paper he was reading. “I would advise against that,” he said, returning to his reading. “What if Keppel had installed some kind of failsafe in the program, for that eventuality? Who knows, if we kill Burgundy, or Black for that matter, that might cause someone else to die – if not all of them.”

“You think Keppel would have done that?” Symphony asked with a frown.

“So far, he certainly demonstrated he was twisted enough to think of every eventuality. I have no doubt he considered that one.” He reached the end of his reading, and then nodded his head slowly. “Right. That’s exactly what I suspected.”

His eyes were still fixed on the piece of paper she had brought him. Symphony approached with curiosity, as he pressed a button on the comm box embedded in the desk. “Harmony, you still there?”

“Of course, Doctor.”

“I have the results of the analysis of this stuff they put Scarlet in.”

“What is it, Doctor?” Symphony asked with a frown.

“Believe it or not, it’s water. But it’s been heavily spiked with a type of particularly strong anaesthetic, that can be absorbed by the nervous system through the skin. It’s so potent that the effect would be almost instantaneous.”

“No wonder my hand felt so numb when I tried to reach Captain Scarlet,” Harmony reflected. “But why would they put him in there?”

“As you well know, Scarlet’s metabolism makes him very resistant to drugs and poison of all kinds,” Fawn explained. “They would need powerful stuff to keep him unconscious long enough, and to actually have him under the complete influence of that idiotic game. Constantly pumping him full of drugs might not have seemed a convenient solution; they would have to make sure the flow would always be constant, and even then, his body might eventually ‘adapt’ itself to the drug, and he might regain enough strength to eventually fight it off. They probably thought that immersing him in that stuff would deaden him completely. And with the right apparatus, keeping him alive and breathing, he might sleep for as long as they wish, without interfering with their plans.” Fawn grunted in distaste. “They prepared this very well, I’m afraid to say.”

“Shouldn’t we get him out of that water trap, then?” Symphony said with a frown. She was desperate to do something – anything – to find a solution in order to resolve the situation.

“I don’t know if we can without major problems.”

“Doctor?” Symphony asked with a frown.

“Keppel said that any attempt to try to wake a participant might have consequences... It might kill that person.”

“Surely, that doesn’t apply to Scarlet?” Symphony suggested.

“In his case, it’s even worse: should an attempt to wake him up kill him, it might kill everyone trapped in the game. Now I’m wondering if perhaps, Keppel had not rigged Scarlet’s tank somehow with some kind of device that could kill the others if we wake him.”

“Could Keppel have been bluffing?” Symphony asked.

“Perhaps. But do we want to risk calling that bluff? I told you he was twisted enough to think of every opportunity.”

“I’m not sure we should implicitly believe all of what Keppel said,” Symphony retorted. “And even if he told the truth, don’t you think we should try anyway? We have to do something. We can’t sit around, waiting until this game ends by itself. Somehow, I’m about sure that in that case, it’ll end badly.”

“I’m thinking the same as you, unfortunately,” Fawn said sombrely. “No matter how hard Blue and Rhapsody try to win, they’re more likely to lose. The Mysterons have heavily loaded the dice. So yes, we should try something from our end. But what? We shouldn’t rush in, with all guns blazing. We have to carefully plan this.”

 “Captain Scarlet’s not subjected to the same treatment as the others,” Symphony remarked. “Okay, all of them, they’re obviously under the spell induced by the game’s programming. But while the others are kept unconscious by machinery, Scarlet’s been put under chemically. And that would be your department, Doctor.”

Fawn nodded pensively. “You might be right,” he concurred. “Him, I might be in position to help. Much better than the others, in any case.” He turned to the comm box. “Harmony? What can you tell us about that tank?”

“I don’t know HOW we can do it, Doctor,” the Japanese-Chinese pilot answered. “That is, without touching him. I know we still can put on gloves, to keep the drug from affecting us, but he is connected to so much equipment... And so is the tank. We would need to know how to disconnect all these contraptions.”

“But since he’s indestructible...” Symphony started again. “What if we simply break the glass?”

“There’s a lot of electrical cables connected to the tank. I can see wires even in the thickness of the glass. I’m afraid that if we were to break it, we might electrocute him.”

“I see,” Symphony answered. “He’s as vulnerable as us to high voltage electricity. That might put him at considerable risk, then.”

Fawn addressed the comm box again: “Harmony, can you see any apparent destructive device, bomb or anything of the kind, which might be connected to Captain Scarlet or the tank?”

“There doesn’t seem to be anything like that,” Harmony answered. “As far as I can see, that is. We’ll have to make a thorough check to make very sure of this, though.”

“Of course. Because there is one thing I am sure of: Scarlet IS the key to end that game. One way or the other. That might be another reason why he’s in that tank. He’s essential to it.”

“Adam seemed to think the same,” Symphony said with a pensive frown. “He said that if Balder dies, Ragnarok will come. And everybody else will die.”

“Like in the Norse myths. And the game seems to be set for Balder to be killed – soon,” Fawn said sombrely. “Unless Blue somehow succeeds in foiling the game, or unless we find a way to stop everything from here. Mmm...”

Pensively, the doctor turned toward Symphony and looked at her intently. She became awkward under the intensity of his stare. “Why are you awake?” he said in a thoughtful tone.

“What do you mean?” she asked, on the defensive. “Doctor, if you think I’m in league with Keppel… Harmony checked me out with a Mysteron detector.”

“That’s not it,” Fawn cut in. “I know you’re no Mysteron agent, and I know you’d never get yourself involved in Keppel’s plan willingly. You were as much of victim of it as we all were. No, what I mean is... How come you’re awake? Keppel obviously didn’t think one of his ‘participants’ would wake on his or her own. He was about to send someone to the Amber Room. I’m betting, to get rid of you.”

“Charming fellow,” Symphony deadpanned.

“He said that your waking up was just an insignificant glitch, unlikely to happen again. He sounded rather insistent on it. I wonder now how much of it is true?”

“Of course, he might have lied so you wouldn’t explore this avenue,” Symphony remarked, nodding slowly.

“Yes, it’s a possibility. But it still doesn’t tell us how you woke up. If we were able to recreate the conditions under which that happened –”

“It might still mean waking up everybody individually, Doctor,” Symphony remarked. “And unfortunately, once we’ve figured out how to do it, we might run out of time to save everyone.”

“You might be right, of course. But we can’t dismiss any possibility, can we?”

Symphony sighed. “Well, as I said before, the last thing I do remember from my stay in the game is that I was knocked unconscious.” She shot a vicious glare at Burgundy, sleeping in a bunk, right next to Blue. “And his was the face I saw before losing consciousness.”

“Then you woke up in the Amber Room?”

“With the grandfather of all headaches, a complaining stomach… and vivid images of what I thought was all a dream.”

“You were knocked unconscious, and you woke up,” Fawn murmured pensively. “In my case, I fell asleep in Aesgard, and woke up here. Blue told me he had the same experience. And Scarlet... according to Rhapsody, when he was injured in Aesgard, he started recollecting memories of his real life before losing consciousness.”

“Didn’t you tell me he got restless earlier in that tank?” Symphony asked.

“Yes,” Harmony said though the comm. “Just before we took Cloudbase back from the enemy – about an hour ago.”

“Around the time I woke up?”

“Yes, approximately,” Fawn said.

“Could it be...?” murmured Symphony. “Doctor, not long before I was knocked out, the same happened to Scarlet – well, Balder, as he’s known in that game. I – er – that is, my character knocked him out.” She offered a brief sheepish smile, before continuing: “Could that be related?”

“There’s certainly a link here.” Fawn stared at Symphony again. “Do you remember ever sleeping in Aesgard?”

“I can’t recall…” Symphony said with hesitation. She frowned, thinking. “I’m not sure… It doesn’t seem to me, no...”

“Mmm…” Fawn stroked his chin, thoughtfully. “Blue mentioned something to me earlier – just a note in passing, which didn’t seem worthy of interest: apparently, Odin never sleeps. Possibly, none of them ever does.”

“You mean to say, Doctor, that when they’re unconscious or asleep in this fantasy world they might wake up here?” Harmony asked.

“It’s a distinct possibility, yes.”

“Well, I’m afraid it doesn’t do us any good then,” Symphony retorted. “I can’t see how we could render them all unconscious or put them to sleep in that game from here.”

“Agreed. We have to find a solution to wake them up. All at once. Symphony was right earlier, if we wake them individually, we might run out of time to save them all.” Fawn sighed in frustration. “If only we knew what is going on right now in Aesgard! It might be vital information for us! But since I lost contact with Blue and Rhapsody, it’s impossible to know what direction the game has now taken, and how much time we have left.”

“Doctor Fawn,” Harmony then said, “Earlier, you said that Keppel told you that if Captain Scarlet dies as we attempt to wake him, everyone else will die…”

“That is what Keppel said, yes.”

“And you are thinking that Captain Scarlet is the key, that he is essential to the game,” Harmony continued. “What if the reverse is true? What if we succeed in waking up Captain Scarlet, without risking his life and those of anyone else, maybe this game will stop?”

“If he wakes up,” Fawn said pensively. “That is, before he is killed in Aesgard. Then yes, maybe the game will be over. And maybe everyone else will wake too, proving that he’s indeed the key to the end of this game. But as long he’s soaked in that stuff, he will sleep, and won’t wake up by himself.”

“And we don’t dare remove him from that tank,” Symphony added. “Because it might mean killing the others. We’re at a dead-end.”

Fawn was silently thoughtful for a few seconds. He then snapped his fingers. “Unless...” He looked down at the paper he was still holding in his hand. “Maybe we can introduce a counter-drug to neutralise the effects of that stuff he’s submerged in.”

“He might wake up by himself, then? And that would mean the others won’t be at risk of dying?”

There was hope obvious in Harmony’s voice through the comm. and Fawn could see that the same hope was now reflecting on Symphony’s face. “A natural awakening,” he said. “That’s what Keppel said it takes for the player to leave the game safely.”

Symphony nodded. “And if we’re right in thinking Scarlet’s the key…”

“Then everyone else might wake up too,” Harmony finished.

“Endgame. We win.” Fawn said in a low voice. He quickly took his decision. “Right. It might work. There is still a risk, but do we all agree to try this?”

“I do,” Harmony answered quickly.

“We do have to try something, don’t we?” Symphony agreed in turn. “You’re in charge, Doc. Go ahead.”

“Harmony, you stay with Scarlet and monitor every change to his condition – if any. Symphony, you stay here and keep an eye on Keppel’s computer. Do try to see if you can contact Blue and/or Rhapsody again.”

“S.I.G.,” said Harmony.

“S.I.G., Doctor,” Symphony echoed. Both women’s voices implied that they were satisfied to actually be doing something.

“I’ll be in the laboratory,” Fawn continued. “The auto-analyser results should be more than enough to find a proper counter-drug. I’ll make sure to tell you of any results. Let’s keep the communication open between us, shall we?”

With that, he walked briskly to the door, followed by Symphony’s now hopeful eyes.

The winds were blowing strong and the snow lashing hard by the time Blue emerged from the gorge. It had led him to the middle of the Icy Mountains territory. His mount had trouble advancing in the deepening snow, and was protesting, but he was pushing it forward, toward the top of a high hill, not wanting to lose the trail. He didn’t know how far away he was from his destination, but he expected that Black might be watching out for any pursuer.

This falling snow, he realised, might be useful to him, by hiding his identity long enough so he would be able to approach Black before the latter realised he wasn’t the quarry he was waiting for. But at the same time, Blue couldn’t forget what ‘Balder’ had said to Rhapsody, concerning those snowstorms and strong winds, suddenly bursting out without anything to previously announce them.

A raging blizzard is the sure sign that the Jötnar are walking the Earth.

So they were probably nearby, watching, looking on as their plan was unfolding.

Not the Jötnar.

The Mysterons...

As he was approaching the top of the hill, there was a sudden gust of wind; Blue’s mount reared up and nearly threw him off its back. He clung to the bridle and patted the animal’s neck, trying to calm it down. Still nervous, the horse snorted, and refused to take a further step, despite Blue’s encouragements.

“You won’t go any further, will you, old girl?” Blue gently told the beast. “All right, you gave the most you could, I believe.”

He dismounted, patting the horse again, and looked forward, gauging the ground he would still have to walk.

His eyes opened wide when he saw, beyond the hill and through the falling snow and blowing winds that almost hid it, a huge dark form rising up to the skies.

A tree. So big and so dark, that it hid the horizon from his view... With branches so wide, it cast a huge shadow on the land beneath them...

Yggdrasil.

“No wonder the Vikings thought it was supporting the world,” Blue murmured.

He had reached his goal. He had found Yggdrasil. Not that far from where he was standing, unseen, Captain Black was waiting with his hostage his trap laid out.

There was no turning back now. He had to move on.

Leaving the horse behind, Blue continued on foot.

Odin was still riding in Fenrir’s Forest when the winds and snow arose. With determination, almost savagely, the king of Aesgard pushed his protesting mount forward, not allowing it a moment’s rest. He knew far too well what would be the price to pay if he did not arrive on time to stop the tragedy he foresaw ahead... A tragedy, he suspected, schemed for by the Jötnar themselves, who had obviously used Loki in this evil conspiracy to destroy humankind.

Odin was admonishing himself for a fool for not seeing before what was so blatantly obvious now. If he still had any doubts of that, they had left him as soon as the first high winds had started to blow. Surely, this was the work of the Jötnar, and they were now there to make sure their plan would not fail.

Or to stop him from intervening.

Odin did not intend to let them win; he had fought them too long and too hard, protecting his people against them, to permit the Jötnar to finally win over them all.

“We must make haste, Lord Vali,” he said in a strong voice to carry above the wind, “if we want to catch those two fools before they kill each other. Perhaps we should –”

He stopped in the middle of his sentence, realising that Vali and his horse were no longer with him and that he was riding all alone. He stopped his mount and looked toward the trail behind him.

“Vali?” he called.

He received no answer but the loud murmur of the wind, and could not see any trace of his companion.

It was as if he had disappeared into the forest.

Ymir’s Blood – where could he be? Odin had no time to waste waiting for him, or searching for him. He turned back on the saddle and spurred his mount forward.

His horse reached the edge of the wood; without so much as a pause, Odin urged it into the sinister gorge he knew would lead him to the Icy Mountains. He rode through the gorge at breakneck speed.

He was emerging from the gorge without even slowing down when suddenly, coming from out of the shadows, a huge black form emerged, leaping straight at him, growling with fury. Odin just had the time to see it coming: a wolf, a huge one, who had obviously chosen him as its prey. In a frantic move to avoid the fangs aimed at his throat, Odin veered his mount, which received the full weight of the oncoming predator.

There was a brief, frightful neigh as the horse fell down into the snow, dislodging Odin from its back. He rolled away, to avoid being crushed under the weight of the animal. Then he stumbled to his feet, unsheathing his sword, his only eye searching around for his opponent. He found it right away, standing atop the fallen and dead horse, baring teeth covered with blood, and with a fury in its red eyes matching that in Odin’s single eye.

It was the largest wolf Odin had even seen – and he knew exactly who it was. They had met before, in the king of Aesgard’s most nightmarish dreams.

“Fenrir,” snarled Odin. “I thought I recognised your vile odour and your dark coat!” He stood in a defensive posture, as the wolf’s ears moved at the sound of his voice. “So, you are doing your Jötnar masters’ bidding and trying to prevent me from reaching my sons? Come forward then, you evil beast... Your hide will be mine to wear.”

He saw the black wolf licking its lips, without even moving from its spot, looking at him with what seemed like intent interest. As it made a tentative step to climb down from the dead horse, Odin followed him with both eye and sword.

He felt more than he saw the other wolf coming from his right flank, leaping at him. He slashed, almost blindly, and stopped the wolf in mid-jump. he felt an intense satisfaction when he heard the dying yelp of the new attacker, and it fell at his feet, dead, and reddening the snow with its blood.

Odin’s victory was short-lived. Through the whistling of the raging winds, he could hear dull growling coming from all sides; he looked around, turning on himself, carefully, keeping his guard up. A multitude of red eyes were fixed on him, slowly approaching his position, encircling him in a tighter circle at each step. Wolves, all around... Seven, eight, nine... A dozen of them, not counting the gigantic black beast, who was just stepping down from the horse’s carcass. All of them were growling savagely and baring sharp teeth, ready to attack him at any time and to tear him apart.

They had trapped him; he had nowhere to run.

A bitter expression passed in Odin’s single blue eye as, after a quick evaluation of the forces against him, he turned to stare squarely at the black wolf.

“Hellish pawns,” Odin muttered under his breath, “do not think I will be easy prey. Come now – and let us join Hela’s domain together!”

Glaring fiercely, the black wolf gave a brief bark. Odin never saw the wolf coming from his blind side and pouncing savagely at him. It landed on his shoulder and bit deep into his flesh, driving him down with its weight. Odin roared in pain and fell down, rolling to get rid of his attacker, and slashing wildly with his sword. His fall gave the signal the other wolves were waiting for.

With growls and barks of victory, they closed in on the man who now didn’t have a chance to escape them, while the huge black wolf sat down on its haunches and looked on, waiting, licking its lips in anticipation of the upcoming feast.

“Do not tell me, Lord Thor, that you lost the trail again!”

Crouched down in front of his horse, and examining the ground, Thor nearly rolled his eyes at Sif’s statement. The dark-skinned young woman was just standing behind him, holding the bridles of both their mounts in one hand, and their bows in the other, looking down mockingly at him. It was the second time since they had entered the forest that they had lost the trail of their quarry, and it did not seem that Sif would let Thor forget anytime soon that he was the guide to their hunt party.

“Nay, my love,” he answered quietly from his crouched position. “I did not lose the trail again, like you imply. I just discovered that we are not the only hunters after that deer we’re chasing.” With his hand, he invited her to take a closer look and she bent down next to him. “See these prints, my lady? Do you recognise these?”

“Of course, I do,” she replied. “Wolf prints.”

“Aye. A big male,” Thor confirmed, rising to his feet slowly, imitated by Sif. “And he is just in front of us...” He took his bow from the young woman’s hand. “Maybe it is Fenrir himself... ’Twould make a good trophy on my chamber wall.”

“On our chamber wall, Lord Thor,” Sif corrected him.

“OUR chamber, my lady?” Thor repeated with a crooked smile.

“It is our chamber… but not our marital bed, my all-too-optimistic prince.”

Thor chuckled, thinking there might still be hope after all for him to win his Valkyrie’s heart before the end of the hunt.

He returned his attention to the set of prints he was surveying, as Sif continued:

“I doubt it is the dreaded Fenrir. These prints are not big enough for the Wolf King. Nevertheless, you are right: this is a big wolf. So big that only a fool can expect to kill this beast without aid.”

“And you will join in the fray, Lady Sif?” Thor asked, turning to her, sparkles in his eyes.

She put an arrow to her bow, lifting her chin defiantly. “Try to stop me, Lord Thor, and I will put this shaft through your heart instead of the wolf’s hide!”

He chuckled. “It never crossed my mind to stop you, Lady Sif. We will continue on foot, and leave the horses here.” She made a step forward, but he put a hand on her shoulder – gently – to halt her advance. “However, I will insist on passing first,” he said in a careful but firm voice. “That way,” he added quickly, seeing she was ready to protest, “you will be able to cover me... and avenge me if the wolf should have my head before I have his.”

He put an arrow to his own bow and walked first into their new quarry’s trail, Sif following close behind, a brow still raised in defiance. “What makes you think I will make the effort to cover you?” she said under her breath.

Thor did hear her – as she intended, he was sure – but he simply smiled. There was little point in responding to her remark; he knew the threat was empty.

In silence, they slowly walked through the forest, following the trail, and looking around for any sign of close danger. The prints suggested that the wolf was hunting the deer alone, but as they both knew, a lone wolf was a rare occurrence in these woods; they always travelled in packs. This wolf’s pack could be nearby, for all they knew, getting ready to attack them at any moment they chose.

A cracking sound in front made Thor stop, and he gestured to Sif to do the same. He narrowed his eyes to see through the branches half-blocking his view. Something grey was moving between the trees, a few yards ahead.

“Here is the beast,” Thor murmured. “Do you see it?”

“I see it,” whispered Sif, behind him.

Thor could hear her bow creaking, as she was bending it, ever so slowly. He did the same, putting a knee down onto the ground to free her target line. From this distance, he could see the wolf was big – not as big as Fenrir, of course, but still, a force to reckon for. One arrow might not suffice to kill a beast that size. If they only injured it, it might escape and run away, or worse, charge and attack them.

It was still half-hidden behind the trees; they had to choose the right moment to let go of their arrows.

“Wait for my signal, my lady,” he said in a whisper, closing one eye to take aim. “We must not let this beast escape us.”

He had barely said the words than he heard a whistling sound and felt the wind of Sif’s released shaft grazing his ear. Then there was a dull and violent thud, not that far away from the knee he had put to the ground. Out of surprise, he let go of his own arrow, and it lost itself in the woods; it passed way over the wolf’s head and he saw the animal, suddenly alerted that danger was nearby, take off and disappear into the darkness of the forest.

But Thor was now barely giving any attention to the fleeing wolf. He had noticed the feathering of the arrow leaning against his thigh, in an angle suggesting that it had been released while it was pointed in his direction, and had barely missed him. His free hand swiftly drew his dagger and keeping his position on the ground, he twisted around, toward Sif standing behind him. When she saw the dagger in his hand, aimed at her in a defensive way, the Valkyrie made a step back, her face remaining stern.

“What are you doing?” she demanded, frowning in anger at his gesture.

“Do not tell me that this shaft was released accidentally!” Thor accused her forcefully.

She scoffed. “Of course, it was not an accident! What makes you think I will tell you the contrary?”

“Then you were trying to kill me! But you missed!”

Her frown deepened. “I did not try to kill you – and neither did I miss. Do care to take a closer look at that arrow, my lord... and where it landed. If you have the courage to take your eyes off me for just one second, that is!”

Thor hesitated, before finally responding to her challenge and lowering his gaze carefully. He looked down to where the arrow had struck. He opened his eyes wide with incredulity.

“Ymir’s beard...”

He could see a black snake, its mouth wide open with its sharp teeth sticking out, so very close to his bare knee. The point of the arrow had driven itself into the back of its neck, pinning it to the ground and killing it instantly.

“A Midgard serpent,” Thor said, getting to his feet, and sheathing his dagger. “Its bite is mortal.”

“Yes,” Sif confirmed with some bitterness in her voice. “Even for a big fool of a man like you.”

He looked at her, apologetically. “You saved my life, my lady.”

She scoffed, letting go of her anger. “I cannot believe you thought I would kill you!”

“Well, you keep saying that you would,” he remarked, reasonably.

“And you actually believe I would do it?” Sif frowned. “Frankly, Lord Thor, I would have thought that you knew me better than that!”

She turned around with an exasperated grunt and walked away swiftly. Thor gave chase, reaching her in three long strides and caught her by the arm, forcing her to face him.

“Unhand me, you brute!” she shouted, her eyes flashing.

He smiled, not obeying her order. “I will not. Not until I apologise to you, and hear you say that you love me.”

“I am not in the business of telling lies.” She gave a deep sigh, trying to regain her calm. “But I do accept your apologies.”

“That will not be enough, my lady... For now, that is.”

“You will have to content yourself with that, Lord Thor. You will wait a long time before I agree to tell you the words you wish to hear from me.”

“Nay,” he replied obstinately. “I have been waiting for too long now already.” He frowned, as if he was trying to recall something, nagging him in the back of his mind. “Years, it would seem to me,” he added thoughtfully. “It is time we come clean with each other.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” Sif asked, frowning in turn. She did not try to step back when he approached her and leaned toward her.

Thor shook his head, and took her into his arms, drawing her close to him. She looked up to him, not reacting. “Just kiss me,” he whispered, his breath caressing her lips. “And I believe everything will be clear from there...”

She was obviously subdued by his words and his gentle manners and her lips were reaching to meet his. They were about to meet, but a sudden strong wind rose, and the long, plaintive sound of a horn was heard coming from a distance.

That broke the magic spell between them, and they turned around, looking in the direction the call seemed to come from.

“What is this?” Sif asked, putting a hand on Thor’s chest.

“Heimdall’s horn,” he grumbled. “It is a call for help.” The sound was heard again, this time longer, more insistent. “And it does not come from Aesgard,” Thor added, regretfully detaching himself from Sif. “Come. Let us go back to the horses.”

“Lord Thor, this wind –”

“I know, my lady.”

Thor looked fiercely in the direction from which the wind was blowing; he could see huge clouds forming in the sky, not that far away from them, partially hiding the mountains beyond.

“The Jötnar are walking the earth,” he said sourly. “And they are close by.” He shook his head, his features growing dark, as he gently took Sif by the arm and guided her towards their mounts, while Heimdall’s horn was heard a third time in the distance. “’Tis not a good omen, my lady. I fear something grave might have happened.”

As he was making his approach to Yggdrasil, Blue could hear the savage howls of wolves, somewhere not so far behind him, echoing through the mountains. It sounded like the beasts had found something to feast on, and he hoped that it wasn’t the horse he had left behind. The thought had barely entered his mind than he shook it away with determination, trying to remember that this horse was not real enough for him to be concerned about. It was just a ‘tool’ in this imaginary game, no more real than the winds whistling into his ears or the snow lashing in his face – or even the wolves he was hearing.

But those wolves certainly can be deadly, he reflected, and it’s better they keep their distance. I have enough on my plate right now without having to concern myself with them!

He had walked past the first, higher hill, and continued his journey, into knee-deep snow into a wide, snowy plains of smaller mounds, his eyes riveted on the goal he wanted to reach. Finally climbing the last of the mounds, slightly higher than the others, he stopped there, and looked out, as he was finally able to get his first proper look at Yggdrasil in its entirety.

The trunk was enormous, but somehow undersized compared to the hugeness of the branches overshadowing it. All around it, there seemed to be a small forest of bushes of dead twigs. As Blue came closer still, he realised that these bushes looked as if they were an integral part of the huge tree itself, climbing and crawling plants attached to the trunk or clinging to the lowest branches above, and rising to almost entirely cover it. Branches and climbing plants were intertwined into an intricate pattern, so very dense in some places, that it looked as if it was fusing with the trunk – which added to its massive appearance.

Blue resumed his walk, climbing down the small hill towards the tree. The winds had calmed down a little, and the layer of snow under the tree was far thinner, even non-existent in some places, as the branches overhead offered an effective protective roofing to the ground they shadowed. Blue slowly walked around the complex outline of undergrowth surrounding the trunk, still marvelling at the sheer size of the tree. There were barely any leaves on the lower branches, and it was a little too dark to see clearly above, but it was obvious that it was not all the same plant. There were two varieties, as far as he could see. The tree itself and some kind of parasite plant. He took one twig from the tree between his fingers and looked at it closely. Then he looked at the other plant, examining the tiny leaves that adorned it, noticing the distinctive shape...

Good Lord...

Understanding suddenly dawning on him, he made one step back and, horrified, looked up to stare at the tree, with wide opened eyes. He could see the same shape of leaves... bigger, heavier, over his head.

Everywhere surrounding him...

And the tree itself. It was...

Blue’s jaw tightened with anger.

No wonder they wanted Balder to come over here! he reflected bitterly. We had it all wrong about this tree.

A cry made itself heard, barely noticeable over the wind and he raised his head in the direction it was coming. Just a little lower down the mound, in the direction he was previously following…

“Over here!” came the call again. “I’m over here!”

Through a rank of twigs, Blue could see a patch of red hair, floating in the wind. He blew a deep sigh of relief and hurried in that direction. Taking his dagger off his belt, he rounded the ‘bushes’ and came in front of Rhapsody Angel, who was tied up against a large limb of the huge tree. Her pale face reflected her deep worry at the sight of the dagger; but then, she saw who her saviour was and sighed with relief, offering a faint but grateful smile as he approached her.

“Are you all right?” Blue demanded quickly as his dagger cut through the ropes binding her hands. When he touched them, he noticed how cold they were, and that she was shivering uncontrollably.

“J-just shaken, really,” she answered. “It was a l-long and harrowing journey. The c-cold didn’t help.”

Blue wondered how much the cold was actually responsible for her trembling. He cut through the restraints on her ankles and she got to her feet… Only to fall forwards, unable to stand. Expecting this to happen, Blue was ready, and caught her before she hit the ground. He effortlessly gathered her into his arms. She looked exhausted.

No surprise there...

“Don’t worry, I’m here,” he reassured soothingly.

He took her further amongst the bushes, closer to the trunk of the huge tree, to a place more protected from the winds, and sat her down there, on the dry ground. Then he took one of her feet between his hands. They were icy.

“How long have you been tied up there?”

Rhapsody shook her head. “I wouldn’t r-really know... Seemed like an eternity. It’s a g-good thing you arrived when you did. I was about to give in to the cold.”

Blue looked around. “Where’s Black?”

“I don’t know. He tied me up there and went away right after that, without telling me anything. He d-disappeared over that hill.” Rhapsody pointed in the general direction where she had last seen Black, but her arm was shaking so much that she had trouble keeping it up. Taking pity on her, and thinking that she was more than probably suffering from exposure, Blue quickly removed the fur coat from his shoulders, before sitting down next to her and drawing her body close to his, in order to give her some of his own warmth. Holding her tight, he wrapped the coat around the both of them, and held it tightly.

“You need to warm yourself up,” he said, starting to rub her hands vigorously. “You’re as cold as a block of ice. Draw your knees up, under the cover. Put your hands between your thighs... Keep them close... Like that, yes.” She was docilely obeying his instructions, and tiredly leaned her head against his shoulder. Her teeth were chattering inside her mouth.

“Tell me what happened,” he asked her, wanting as much to keep her mind in focus as to learn what he could of her misadventure. He didn’t want her to fall asleep, as she was threatening to do.

She shrugged under the fur. “I had a fight with P-Paul – well, Balder – shortly after leaving the field earlier. You c-can’t imagine the accusations he made about you and me, and what c-could have happened when the others found us two days ago...”

“Oh, I can imagine,” Blue answered, rubbing her shoulders energetically. “He made the same accusations to me. Please continue, Dianne.”

“I was so angry that he would t-think such a thing of us that I forgot there and then that he wasn’t really himself, and was simply acting the part forced on him by this stupid game. I left him and walked away.”

“And returned to your chamber?”

Rhapsody nodded. “Black was waiting for me there – with Burgundy.”

“Burgundy too?”

“Yes. They forced me to follow them to the stables. Black had a knife; I didn’t dare give the alert or resist. They tied me to a horse. Burgundy stayed behind and Black took me with him. We rode out of Aesgard, without anyone noticing us. Throughout the whole time it took us to get here, he didn’t say a thing, Adam, not a single word about what his intentions for me were. And I tried to talk to him, to get him to speak... it was as if he was mute and deaf. That silence was scarier than any threat he could have made… I was so afraid.”

“I can believe that,” Blue said, sympathetic. “You said that when you finally arrived here, he tied you to this tree and left you alone?”

“Yes... I was already so cold and tired, I was really unable to resist him at all. I kind of imagined he was using me as bait, to attract Paul to this place.”

Blue raised his eyes, looking up at the branches hanging over their head. “Yes. He obviously wanted him to come here... To this tree.”

“Yggdrasil,” Rhapsody confirmed with a brief nod.

“You noticed what kind of tree it is?”

She nodded again. “A yew tree,” she answered. “A giant yew tree. I’ve never seen one this big before. And... I also noticed what kind of plant is covering it.”

“Mistletoe,” Blue confirmed. “And as we know, ‘Balder’ is vulnerable to either yew or mistletoe.”

“Or both?” Rhapsody offered.

“In any case, one of these plants or both could kill him,” Blue said sombrely. “We were wrong about the tree, but right about Balder, Rhapsody. They don’t want to destroy the tree. They want to use it to destroy Balder, and bring Ragnarok.” He made a thoughtful pause, before continuing: “The prophecy they were all so wary of, it mentioned the death of ‘one who walked with the Ice Giants’, bringing death to all things. The Aesir assumed it was about Loki.”

“But it was about Balder,” Rhapsody realised. “He walked with the Ice Giants… when they gave him his invulnerability.”

“Yes. And now, they want to use this tree, to kill him.”

“The Mysterons want to use it to kill Paul,” Rhapsody pointed out. “Adam, if he comes here –”

“He won’t.” Blue shook his head. “He’s safely at the palace, where I left him trussed up and under Symphony’s guard. I found the message Black left for him and I came in his place. I just knew it was a trap laid for him. I guess I was right.”

“You left him trussed up?” Rhapsody repeated with perplexity. “What on Earth happened?”

“I told you he threw to me the same accusations he did to you,” Blue explained. “He came to my chamber, in a fit of jealousy. And he was rather – er – hostile towards me. I’m guessing those crazy ideas had been planted in his mind. Not only by this game, but also by someone else. TWO guesses who it could have been.” He sighed. “Anyway, to cut a long story short, Symphony – well, Iduna – helped me subdue him. And then I came after you myself.”

“You’re a good friend, Captain Blue,” Rhapsody told him with a fond smile.

“Rather, a good ‘brother’,” Blue replied with a smile of his own. “Let’s just hope that we’ll be able to make Balder understand that his suspicions were wrong and that he’s been manipulated into believing them, just to put him in conflict with me.”

“So you would be forced into fighting each other, giving you an opportunity to kill him.”

“It seems it was the plan all along, isn’t it?” Blue looked at her closely. He had noticed her teeth had stopped chattering for some time. “How do you feel now?”

“Much better,” she admitted, with a nod of her head.

“Then we shouldn’t stay here much longer. I don’t know where Black is, but I’m pretty sure he’s lurking around. And I don’t know about you, but I’m rather nervous just thinking he might be watching me from the shadows, maybe getting ready to attack.”

“I’m with you on that.”

“Let’s find him ourselves then.”

Blue got up, leaving the coat around Rhapsody’s shoulders, and gently helped her to her feet. She stumbled, still a little unsure of her footing and clung to him so not to fall down. They stepped out of their refuge.

It was at this exact moment, that an angry, rumbling voice made itself heard, that literally caused Blue’s and Rhapsody’s hearts to skip a beat and drove them to look up toward the small mound at the foot of which they were standing.

“And so, my treacherous brother, I find you at last, in the gallant company of my loving wife, in the cosiest love nest you could find for the both of you.”

They saw the tall figure of Balder/Scarlet standing just on top of the mound, his drawn sword in his right hand, and a merciless and cold expression on his now dark features. They blanched, suddenly realising the doom that had befallen them.

They had fallen into the trap and it was now closing on them.

“Oh no...” murmured Rhapsody.

Before she or Blue could say anything more, Scarlet had leapt from his perch, viciously throwing himself at Blue.

Chapter 8: Yggdrasil

Doctor Fawn entered the room in R&D, carrying a pile of blankets from sickbay and clutching in his hand the small glass phial containing the antidote he had prepared in his laboratory, with the help of the auto-analyser. Harmony, seated on a stool, stood up upon his arrival, and watched as he came to a sudden stop in front of the tank in which Captain Scarlet was imprisoned.

The doctor’s eyes widened with astonishment and untold outrage. Up to this moment, he had not actually seen the tank, and the whole contraption put in place for Scarlet. He had only received Harmony’s and Symphony’s reports of what they had seen themselves. Already, the whole idea of it had angered him; seeing it was a totally different thing. It didn’t take long for him to let go of his full indignation.

“What a barbaric set up!” he lashed out. “I can’t believe they would hold a human being against his will in such horrible conditions! We have to get him out of this thing, as fast as possible.”

Harmony walked to him, nodding her agreement; he handed her the blankets she had requested he’d bring to R&D. If they were to wake Scarlet up, she had thought he would need something warm and cosy to dry himself with and wrap into when he got out of that awful tank. The solution in which he was immersed was as cold as ice.

She watched as Fawn carefully inspected the equipment - all the wires and cables connected to the tank, the electronics and the life-support device. He nodded his head in understanding, and Harmony reflected that he probably grasped most of it much better than she did herself.

He made a stop in front of the seat in which Captain Black was soundly sleeping and observed him for a moment, thoughtful.

“What about him?” he asked scornfully. “Has he shown any sign of waking up?”

Harmony shook her head. “No sign at all, and according to the monitored data, he’s not about to wake up any time soon.”

Fawn nodded his satisfaction. Black seemed as deeply asleep as everyone else he had seen on Cloudbase so far. He considered it the safest course of action not to touch any of the equipment to which Black was linked. It was far better to leave him alone...

... for the time being, anyway.

Returning to his inspection of the tank, Fawn asked Harmony for the injection gun he had seen on a nearby table. She quickly went to fetch it and handed it to him. He swiftly screwed his phial onto it, changed the needle for a new one he had brought along, and gently pressed the trigger, removing all the air from the needle. He looked at Harmony.

“Shall we proceed?” he asked.

“Do we have a choice?” she replied. “As you said yourself, we have to get him out of this tank. And hope that at the same time, it will serve to resolve the situation for the others.”

He nodded. “If waking Scarlet up is indeed the way to stop that game, this would be the solution,” he said, indicating the gun. “I’m just hoping that we’re not making a mistake that might cost many lives.”

“Will that be enough?” Harmony asked, pointing at the small phial, and looking with curiosity as Fawn turned to examine the tank apparatus again.

He nodded, as he introduced the needle into a valve on one of the transparent plastic tubes attached to the tank. He squeezed the trigger gently, slowly injecting the fluid into the tube. “This is highly concentrated,” he explained to the young woman. “Yes, I think it should be enough to counteract the effects of this drugged bath. In fact, it will change the chemistry of the drug, and dissolve it completely from the tank. But it will work slowly. It has to, for Scarlet’s awakening to be as smooth as possible. I know he’s supposed to be indestructible, but I don’t want to be overconfident that his relative invulnerability will keep him safe from psychological and emotional ailments. Scarlet is still very much human in that respect, as much as you or me. Plus, we have to take into account what effect a brutal awakening might have on the others as well. I still remember Keppel’s threat.” Once the phial was empty, he put the hypo-gun down on the table and sighed. “Right. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see now.”

“How long will it take?”

“I don’t know,” Fawn admitted. “An hour... Less... The counter-effect will be gradual, but when it comes down to it, it might be up to Scarlet’s unique metabolism and how it’s fighting against the drug. I’m hoping, just like you, that it won’t take too long.”

A beeping sound from the comm box interrupted him before he could continue; then the edgy and urgent voice of Symphony was heard through the speaker: “Doctor Fawn, you’d better come back quickly!”

Fawn moved to the comm and pressed the button. “What is it, Symphony?”

“Something’s going on... The computer just started bleeping, and keeps giving alerts about one of the participants.”

“Who?”

“Colonel White, Doctor,” Symphony answered promptly. “I checked the data. All his vitals are going down.”

“Damn!” Fawn muttered under his breath. “He’s in the Sickbay auxiliary Room of Sleep. I’m on my way to check him.” He strode towards the exit, turning one last time to quickly give his last instructions to Harmony, pointing at Scarlet: “Stay here and watch him. Monitor every change, and inform me if anything happens. One way or the other. AND... keep an eye on Captain Black, in case!”

“You can count on me, Doctor.”

Fawn was already out, before actually hearing Harmony’s swift reply.

Although valiantly fending off the wolves’ attacks, Odin’s strength and determination finally failed him, and he fell under the number and the sheer savagery of the beasts; his thick, heavy clothing offered some protection against fangs and claws, but it wasn’t very long before the wolves tore into it and bit into his flesh, drawing blood, sending them into a renewed frenzy. Seeing their prey down in the snow seemed to give them courage to confront the sharp sword he was still holding, and to press their assault, nipping at any undefended part they could find, keeping the man down.

The sword finally escaped Odin’s hand when teeth viciously sank into his forearm; he now found himself defenceless. It was all he could do to protect his throat, head and chest with arms and legs against the relentless assaults. In a desperate last attempt to get back on his feet, he stumbled again into the snow – and stayed there, barely able to offer any further resistance.

Miraculously, the wolves’ attack ceased then.

His mind fogging and tinted with red, Odin faintly registered a large black mass of fur slowly coming at him, snarling, sharp teeth bared in a huge, foaming mouth. He was vaguely conscious that it was Fenrir finally approaching to deliver the death blow. He couldn’t even move anymore; his eye closed tiredly.

The black wolf leapt, and was about to victoriously tear into the downed man’s neck when, out of nowhere came two arrows which struck it in the flank. It yelped in pain and backed away, missing Odin’s body by an inch when it fell down on its paws. Another series of arrows rained on its companions, forcing them to back away as well from their prey.

From beyond the gorge, two riders came swiftly at them, roaring with such fury that the wolves quickly fled. That didn’t save one of them from being trampled under the hooves of the first horse, while its rider let go of a new arrow against another beast. The second rider, discarding his bow in favour of his spear, charged the black wolf who was limping away. The two arrows in his flanks had hurt it, but it obviously still had enough life in it to evade the spear and snap angrily at the rider.

“Lo, Helheim’s offspring!” Tyr jumped off his horse, using his one good hand to steadily hold the spear aimed at the black wolf now facing him. “This time, vengeance shall be mine! I will repay you for the hand you took from me!”

“Do not waste time with the beast, Tyr,” Freyr called to his companion. He stopped his horse next to Odin and swiftly dismounted to check on the injured man. “Let it go. We have far more pressing business to attend to.”

“Aye, it may be so,” Tyr replied grimly. “But this assault on Aesgard’s liege will be Fenrir’s last sin, Lord Freyr. This I swear!”

He had not noticed another wolf, standing nearby, preparing itself to pounce at him; a new arrow, coming from the gorge, struck the beast in the chest, killing it instantly before it could reach its target. The animal falling dead at Tyr’s feet provided a moment’s inattention that the enormous black wolf used to its advantage. Fenrir leapt forward, fangs bared, ready to tear its opponent apart. But Tyr was ready for it, his feet well planted on the ground. He sidestepped and his iron fist thrust forward – right into the wide-open jaws of the wolf.

“Try to eat THAT hand, hellish beast!” Tyr snarled. His fist crushed teeth and jawbones, forcing a gurgling sound from Fenrir. The large wolf fell to the ground, blood pouring from its huge destroyed jaws, offering its flank to the mercy of the spear that Tyr, disengaging his iron hand from between the broken jaws, finally plunged into the wolf’s heart with a howl of victory. There was barely a sound from Fenrir, as it finally died at its vanquisher’s feet.

At the same time disgusted and satisfied, Tyr let go of the spear and turned his back on the beast, seemingly not taking any interest in it now that it was dead. From out of the gorge, a third, slim rider appeared, riding a white horse, and Tyr went right to them. He bowed his head as he helped the rider down.

“My thanks to you, my queen,” he said as Freyja handed him her bow. “You saved my life, with this last arrow.”

“How is Lord Odin?” she asked, directing her steps towards the fallen man. “Have we arrived in time?”

“He still lives,” Freyr answered as both Tyr and Freyja lowered themselves to his level. “We did arrive in time, my lady.”

“’Twould seem you were right about Lord Vali, Queen Freyja,” Tyr remarked, looking around, obviously in search of the missing warrior. “He is nowhere to be seen. He has disappeared, leaving Lord Odin to his fate.”

“I remembered that Vali was not happy that Iduna had been betrothed to Hodur. I thought he might be part of some conspiracy against him, and even that he was an accomplice of Loki.” Freyja huffed her disgust. “I feared he might even turn his sword against Lord Odin himself, if he were to be alone with him.”

“He did far worse than that,” Tyr grumbled. “Delivering him to Fenrir’s brood... I could not think of a worse death.”

Freyr had carefully turned Odin on his back, and laid his own fur coat on him, to keep him warm. While doing that, he examined the injuries the older man had suffered. He didn’t like what he saw and grunted. “He is seriously injured, Queen Freyja,” he announced, looking up to the young woman. “’Tis a miracle that we arrived when we did, or the wolves would have killed him.”

A moan coming from the injured man attracted Freyja’s attention and she knelt by his side. Gently, she lifted his head and cradled it on her knees, mindful to avoid the wide bleeding gash from his cheek. He muttered something that none of them could grasp clearly.

“If we do not tend to his wounds soon, I do not think he will survive,” Freyr continued.

“He must live,” Freyja said fiercely. “We cannot leave him to die.” She leaned over the injured man who, groaning again, was moving slightly. “Lord Odin, stay still. We will take care of you.”

Odin’s one eyelid fluttered and opened tiredly; he looked at her concerned face with a haggard expression. His lips trembled as he attempted to force words out of them.

“D- Destiny...” His voice was a barely audible whisper, and it was all he managed to say, with this first and last effort. It sent a twinge of pain to his head, his face contorting, and his eye closed again.

“What does he mean by that... ‘Destiny’?” Tyr asked with a deepening frown. He was interrupted by the sound of a horn, coming from the distance beyond the gorge they had just crossed, and all of them raised their heads.

“Heimdall!” Freyja cried hopefully. “He must have found Thor and they are coming this way. Lord Tyr, go to them and bring them back here. We might still have a chance to save Lord Odin. But you must make haste, before it is too late!”

Running back to sickbay in a record time, Doctor Fawn went directly to the auxiliary Room of Sleep. He barely waited for the door to open to stride right in. Squinting against the pulsating coloured lights, he looked around to find the bunk on which Colonel White was resting. The unnerving, throbbing lights made it difficult for him to see, so he savagely punched the control button by the door, killing the effect instantly, and selected normal lighting instead. At this point, we might as well stop the light effects. We have nothing to lose, anyway.

He went to White’s bunk and checked on the data displayed on the control panel over the head of the bed. The readings Symphony had reported from Keppel’s computer were repeated here, and seemed to indicate that White’s condition was deteriorating quickly.

“Damn,” Fawn repeated in echo of his earlier reaction. “Damn, damn, damn, DAMN!” He sat down on the bed, and made a quick physical assessment of the Spectrum commander, cursing all through it – against that blasted stupid game, against Keppel, against the Mysterons... against the whole set up that was keeping all his colleagues from waking up and coming back to the ‘normality’ of their already unusual lives.

“Come on now, Charles, you’re not going to do this to me, are you?” he muttered, checking the pulse in White’s wrist. It was far too fast for his taste and neither did he like the irregular way his heart was beating. Even White’s breathing had become laborious. So far, the symptoms didn’t look like anything that had happened to Anna Preston, but Fawn could read the signs. They were not good at all.

Fawn unzipped the colonel’s white tunic, tore open his shirt, and started massaging his heart, hoping that whatever efforts he could make would be enough to actually make a difference.

“You’re not dying on me, do you hear?” Fawn reiterated, leaning over his commander and addressing him with as commanding a voice as he could muster. “I will not let you do that, Charles!”

He heard a beeping sound from the comm box.

“Doctor Fawn?”

“I’m in the auxiliary Room of Sleep, Symphony,” Fawn answered without stopping his treatment. “I’m tending to Colonel White. What is it?”

“Something else new on the computer’s data...”

Fawn nearly groaned, hearing the concern in the young woman’s voice. “What now?”

“Nearly all readings on the Spectrum senior staff are changing, Doctor. They all increased suddenly. Nothing to indicate that they are dying or anything like that, though. It seems to indicate that they are… anxious. Like if they were all going through some kind of upsetting or distressing experience.”

“Something is definitely up, all right,” muttered Fawn. “I do hope it’s not related to our attempt to wake Scarlet up – that it didn’t bring something bad down on all of them.”

“Scarlet’s data have risen the same as the others, sir. If slightly higher. Maybe that has nothing to do with what you did, but… something is definitely happening.”

“It might simply mean that the game is going into the next and maybe final level. Keep monitoring, and inform me if there’s other changes.”

“S.I.G.”

“Harmony!” Fawn called forcefully.

“I heard Symphony’s report, Doctor Fawn,” the Chinese pilot said over the comm.

“No change in Scarlet yet?”

“No, Doctor. He’s still unconscious. But the computer here gives me the same data about him as the one Symphony is monitoring: his subconscious seems to be experiencing some kind of traumatic event… and the scales keep rising.”

“Let’s just pray that he’ll wake before they reach the critical stage,” Fawn grumbled. “Keep checking on him.”

“S.I.G.”

“Now, Charles,” Fawn said, addressing White again. “You’ve always been a fighter. You’ll NOT let a stupid computer game kill you. Whatever’s happening in that bloody place, you’ll keep on fighting! You’ll live, damn it, to tell me what the hell’s happening over there!”

Blue’s back hit the ground roughly, the air expelling from his lungs. The viciousness of Scarlet’s attack was such that it had driven both men down. Scarlet let go of his sword, obviously preferring to confront his opponent with his bare hands, and was kneeling astride him, keeping him down under his weight. Blue had trouble fighting him off. His friend was like a man possessed, his grip like steel, and his fists like hammers, each of his punches connecting painfully.

At first, when he had seen him dump the sword, Blue had entertained the hope that Scarlet didn’t really want to kill him – perhaps hurting him badly enough to punish him for whatever he imagined he was guilty of. But seeing the mad way in which his friend was now hitting him, it was painfully obvious to him that Scarlet wouldn’t need the sword at all to finish him off.

He was quite capable of killing him with his bare hands if he wanted to.

Blue somehow found enough leverage to push Scarlet off, sending him flipping over his head. That obviously took Scarlet enough by surprise to compel him to let go. He fell roughly onto his back and Blue took the welcome opportunity to quickly scramble to his feet. He staggered away from his friend, who was already getting up too.

“I don’t want to fight you!” Blue said, gasping, presenting a calming hand towards Scarlet. “Please, I don’t want to hurt you!”

“It is too late, brother!” Scarlet snapped, his eyes flashing with anger. “You already did hurt me! Now I want to do the same to you!”

“Paul, listen to me... This is not you talking! This is not you acting like this!”

“I do not have to listen to you!” Scarlet raged. “Come and fight like a man, coward!”

As if he had decided that Blue wasn’t moving fast enough, he launched himself at him again, without any warning, and tackled with the force and the rage of a charging bull. Blue didn’t have time to protect himself, and his stomach suffered the worst of the blow. Scarlet used the momentum to push him back, and Blue thought he would fall down again. Instead, his back roughly came into contact with the trunk of the Yggdrasil tree. The impact sent a wave of pain throughout his body, and he heard an audible crack; something had given way – a rib, most likely. At least, it felt like it.

Scarlet pressed the attack and brutally shoved Blue’s head against the trunk. Blue saw stars, and gave a loud moan; he could barely stand up, and was threatening to slide down the bark of the tree. One last punch into his injured side finished weakening him and his knees buckled. Then Scarlet grabbed him and threw him into the clearing where they had started the fight.

Blue slid down the slight slope into a flip, and landed none too gently on ground covered with dead twigs of mistletoe and yew; that left scratches and splinters in his beaten body, forcing a grunt of pain from his lips. Moaning, he stayed there, sprawled on his side, scarcely able to move, stunned between consciousness and oblivion, and fighting to get his focus back.

Through a fog, he could see the victorious Scarlet, standing at the top of the slope, and looking intently at him.

Scarlet gave a snort of contempt, before slowly walking down toward his fallen enemy. Passing by his dropped sword, he leaned down to pick it up.

“You are not as big and strong as you imagined you were, are you, my brother? And you thought you would be able to hurt me!” He walked threateningly toward Blue, a grim determination on his face, as he toyed with the sword. “Now it is time to end this game... dear brother.”

“Oh no...”

Still monitoring the data from Keppel’s computer in sickbay, Symphony Angel was suddenly interrupted in her task when she heard soft moaning coming from one of the three bunks behind her. She only needed a glance to realise it was Blue who had started agitating himself. She was off her seat and next to in a split second.

“Adam?”

She could see his face, showered with sweat, and frowning as if making a violent effort; his jaws were tight and he was grunting, fighting against the restraints of his bed. Symphony thought it was a blessing that he was strapped down, or he would probably fall off the bed and hurt himself.

Was he in pain, or was he just trying to wake from that forced sleep of his? Symphony couldn’t say, but she didn’t like the readings on the control panel over his head; they were going off the scale – far higher than those of Rhapsody, whose sleep was also restless. As for Burgundy… the creep’s data remained very steady; as steady as his rest.

“Doctor Fawn?” Symphony called. The communication channel had been kept open, so she knew that the doctor would hear her from the Auxiliary Room of Sleep. “Something is going on with Blue! The readings have changed again.”

“I can’t leave Colonel White’s side for now, Symphony. He’ll go into cardiac arrest if I can’t stabilise his condition. Is there any indication that the same is happening to Blue?”

“No...” The best she could, Symphony tried to read the information on the control panel. “No, but it’s like whatever he’s experiencing in that fantasy world has worsened, somehow. And he’s getting restless.”

“Harmony to Sickbay,” the voice of the Chinese Angel then said over the comm. She had obviously heard her colleague’s information. “The same is happening to Captain Scarlet here. He’s starting to agitate himself in the tank. More than earlier. Perhaps he’s breaking free?”

“Keep monitoring, you two!” Fawn instructed. “Symphony, you have training in first aid. If it should come to it, will you be able to attend to Blue?”

She hesitated. “I’ll do my best, Doctor.”

Do I have any choice? she added inwardly to herself.

She leaned toward Blue and stroked his damp brow, gently brushing aside the sweat-matted fringe of blond hair.

“Hang in there, Big Blue,” she whispered. “I’m staying here. Whatever is happening, you have to fight it – and come back to me, safe and sound!”

“You are deluding yourself, my dear.”

The calm and sinister voice, so close behind her, froze Symphony on the spot. She turned around to gaze, with untold surprise, into the pale face of Technician Keppel, very much alive, standing over her and looking at her with a very cold expression. The side of his head was covered with his own blood, but underneath that blood, the injury caused by the bullet he had put in his brain seemed to have disappeared completely. He had his gun in his hand, aimed at her, and his other hand was resting on the communication control. He had just turned it off, by the flick of a button.

She paled, understanding that Fawn had been wrong about Keppel earlier.

“You’re a Mysteron agent after all,” she whispered.

He smirked at her. “Of course, I am. Did you think the Mysterons would really leave a simple human to direct this operation?”

With that, without any warning, he struck at her, hitting her violently over the head with the gun. She didn’t have time to react to avoid the blow, and fell down to the floor with a gasp, between the two bunks occupied by Blue and Rhapsody.

Keppel looked down in contempt at her prone body. The side of her head was bleeding where he had struck her. She was either unconscious or dead. In any case, she was quite unable to put up any opposition to him. He could always use the gun to make sure she would not, but the shot might attract unwanted attention. Fawn was still nearby after all, and he had shown already he was a force to contend with. Besides, it seemed like it would be a waste of time. He had more urgent things to attend to.

He put the gun aside and came to stand in front of his computer, before looking at Captain Blue, who was still stirring in his sleep.

“Dear Captain Blue,” he said with an evil smile, as he keyed a command into his computer, “You’re about to experience the full power of the game. You’re the main hero, after all. So it’s time for you to fully look the part!”

“That’s enough!”

Up until now, Rhapsody had kept away from the fight, watching it unfolding with growing concern. But now, seeing that Scarlet seemed determined to kill his best friend, she thought it was high time for her to intervene. Swiftly, she stepped in front of her fiancé, blocking his way to the barely-conscious Blue.

Stopping, he frowned deeply, and growled, “Step aside, woman!”

“No! Not until you hear me out!” Rhapsody defied him.

“No more talk!” yelled Scarlet. “I have had enough!” He pointed to Blue in an accusing way. “’Tis the second time today you take his defence, Nanna. If this is not proof enough that you two are lovers –”

“Lovers?” Rhapsody rolled her eyes over the accusation. “Oh, please! How wrong can you be! Don’t tell me you give credence to what Gerda told you? You were right the first time – Loki put those accusations in her mouth, and then into yours! You would give credit to Loki’s words?!”

“Loki has nothing to do with this. Lord Vali exposed both of you!”

“Vali is Loki’s spawn,” Rhapsody replied, insistently. “Haven’t you worked that out yet?”

“Did you and Hodur NOT run away together?” Scarlet accused.

“We most definitely didn’t! You have absolutely no idea what really happened! Loki abducted me! He came after us,” Rhapsody pointed to Blue. “To stop you from falling into the trap Loki was laying for you! So instead of trying to kill him, you should actually thank him!”

“A likely story,” Scarlet retorted, scoffing. “I do not believe a word of it! Lies! Lies! And only lies, I’ve heard from you and from him since the beginning! If what you say was true, Loki would be here! I do not see him! But I see the two of you!”

“For God’s sake, don’t you realise what this place is – the danger it represents to you?” Rhapsody persevered, gesturing around.

“Aye. And you think that scares me!?” He pointed to the huge tree with his sword. “I know this accursed tree means death to me! I know you have been looking for it, when Hodur went in search of you. And now I found you here, standing by it! With him! Did you plan to attract me here? Did you plan to kill me, with my brother as your accomplice?” He swallowed hard and looked at her painfully and then spoke softly, with a catch in his voice: “My lady Nanna… did you ever have any love for me at all?”

Rhapsody stared back at him disbelievingly, with a deeply hurt expression. “How can you say something like that?” she whispered.

“Easily!” Scarlet replied shakily. “I imagine you and my brother together! The two people I love most in the world! How can you do this to me? How can you betray me like this? How can you be so disloyal to me?” He glared murderously at Blue. “But now... now it ends!”

He made a step forward toward Blue, attempting to go around Rhapsody to get to him. The young woman sidestepped to keep between the two of them.

He scowled at her. “I told you to step aside, woman!”

“No!” she shot back, inflexibly. “You have to listen to me!”

“NO! Neither to you and nor to him! The time to talk is done! Now is the time to act! Get out of my way, Nanna! I do not want to hurt you!”

Rhapsody didn’t like the murderous flash in Scarlet’s eyes. To her, he looked like he genuinely intended to seriously hurt or even kill Blue. And the latter, as far as she was able to judge, was obviously having trouble regaining his focus at the moment. He would be defenceless.

She had to keep Scarlet – Balder – busy, until Blue was back on his feet. Then together, they would attempt to make Balder see sense, and to reason with him. She certainly could use his help… because for now, she wasn’t making any progress at all.

Furthermore, she was upset, so very upset and hurt that he would entertain such thoughts and make such terrible accusations against Blue and herself, and didn’t seem inclined to listen to her.

Of course, it isn’t Paul who’s having those thoughts. It’s that proud Viking prince Balder. Paul – her Paul, the true one – would never think such things. With Balder, however, it’s another, different story: he was hot-blooded, bellicose, bloodthirsty and violent, easily giving to jealousy and murder, like the true barbarian he is.

And suddenly, she understood why her attempts to get to him were not working: she was trying to reason with Balder as if she was trying to reason with Paul, as if she were trying to reach Paul that way. But Balder was nowhere near as rational as Paul was, far from it. That was a big mistake she was making and it was obvious now that she would never be able to reach through to her fiancé that way.

And that realisation made her suddenly change tactics; she needed a more direct approach toward Balder and make him react to her somehow, before he did something he – and Paul – might regret.

As he made another step forward, she gave him a violent shove that barely made him step back, but obviously surprised him.

“You’re a fine one, accusing me – us – of disloyalty towards you!” she snapped angrily. “I keep telling you, we did nothing wrong. You’re the disloyal one, thinking so badly of us! But I shouldn’t be so surprised: it’s in your nature after all to be disloyal, so you would expect anyone else to be as bad as you!”

“I?” Scarlet said in disbelief. “I am disloyal? Explain yourself, woman!”

“No, you should be the one explaining, mister!” Rhapsody answered back. “Explain why you act so hurt over my supposed betrayal, considering how fickle you are yourself with women?”

He blanched, and stared at her with a strange expression on his face, obviously startled that she would speak to him in such a way. “What –”

“You heard me, you cretin!” Rhapsody lashed out again, pushing him once more, this time more forcefully, and this time able to make him back off a step. “You’re nothing but a philandering scumbag, who thinks of nothing but taking your pleasure with the first available girl, then moving on to the next bed!”

Whatever cold anger he felt towards her suddenly transformed at that moment; he stood over her, almost threateningly. “How dare you speak to me like that?” he spat with irritation. “Do you not know who I am, and what you are to me? I am Balder, Prince of Aesgard! And you are my wife! As such you owe me respect and loyalty!”

“DON’T tell me of respect! I’m showing you the same respect you’re showing me, Prince Balder!” Rhapsody said scornfully, looking up defiantly at him.

“Oh, I see... Because of a few past escapades, you would repay me in kind with my own brother?! Is that the game you are playing?!”

“Few escapades!?” Rhapsody scoffed. “That’s a rather elegant way of describing it! I have a feeling that there were more than a few.”

“What I did in the past,” Scarlet growled, his eyes flashing, “is in the past. I do not have to answer to you about this. We were not even together at the time.”

“Are you telling me that, the day before our wedding night you didn’t sleep with that woman Gerda?”

This time, Scarlet hesitated. “I did not know you at the time,” he said, his voice slightly calmer. “I thought I was only doing my duty as prince of Aesgard by marrying you. I did not expect that being with you would stir so deep feelings in my heart. You should know these feelings I have for you.”

“I don’t think they run very deep, these feelings, if you think so little of me. How can you even imagine I would have an affair with your own brother? This is the lack of respect I’m talking about. I’m offended that you would even think I would do a thing like that! How many times do I have to tell you that there is nothing between your brother and I?”

Scarlet didn’t reply and contented himself with glaring at her, his jaws tight and his eyes flashing. She was still looking at him with defiance. It was all she could do to keep herself calm; already, she could feel her emotions threatening to overwhelm her.

“What’s the matter, nothing to say in your defence now, oh mighty prince?” She pushed him again; he barely moved. “What will you do now? Send me to sleep in the stables, like you did with that poor Gerda?” Tears were prickling her eyes, tears of rage and desperation – and of distress, as she didn’t know how long she would be able to keep it up before crumbling down in front of him. She gave another shove, and he still didn’t budge. “Or will you use that sword of yours and kill me after you kill Hodur?”

“Kill you?” By the look on his face, the very idea seemed to shock him. “How can you think I would be able to do that?” he protested. “You are my wife.”

“Whom you’re accusing of having betrayed you with your brother!” Rhapsody hit him in the chest with her closed fist. “And you’re about to kill him.”

“Nanna, you should know that I would never hurt you.”

“It’s too late for that!” She barely realised now that she was using the same words he used earlier with Blue. Angrily, she punched his chest again, twice, the tears now showing on the brims of her eyes. “You’re hurting me more than you can imagine. Worse than if you ran me through with this sword!”

“Stop it,” he demanded.

“You’re nothing but a barbarian,” she continued, not hearing him out. “A savage who regards me as just a possession!”

“That is not true.”

“... Who is ready to kill his own brother just to remove an obstacle between himself and the object he thinks is his. Well, I have news for you, buster –”

“That is enough,” Scarlet said warningly.

“… You DO NOT own ME!”

“THAT’S ENOUGH, I SAID!”

With the last shouted words, Scarlet took a threatening step toward Rhapsody and raised his sword arm high, seemingly ready to strike. She gasped and stepped back to evade the coming blow, closing her eyes and looking away at the same time. Her foot slipped on the uneven and slippery ground. She fell back, and as she did, Scarlet caught her by the wrist, reacting just in time before she fell to the ground. She slipped forward and he pulled her up, bringing her roughly against his chest, and he kept her there, forcefully.

Resting against him, her heart hammering inside her chest, Rhapsody did not dare look up, in fear of seeing the sword coming down on her. If I wanted a reaction out of him, I just got it, she told herself inwardly. That was certainly not what she expected. She couldn’t believe he would raise his weapon on her – that he would strike her. But now, he was holding her so tight it was hurting her. Obviously, he didn’t want her to escape her fate. She kept her head down and her eyes closed, breathing hard, waiting for death to claim her.

This is definitely not Paul. Paul would never hurt me. This harsh barbarian could NEVER be the man I love...

The sword never came down. She heard a dull sound, as if something had been dropped to the ground.

“D-Dianne?”

The whisper Rhapsody heard just over her head, brushing against her hair, made her heart miss a beat. She opened her eyes; between hers and Scarlet’s feet, she could see his sword, lying in the snow. She swiftly looked up to the man who was holding her so tightly.

Scarlet was looking down at her with a lost, almost horrified, expression on his face. He was shaking his head, his brow furrowed, as if attempting to decipher what was happening to him.

“Paul?” Rhapsody murmured, hardly daring to hope that it was really him this time.

He shook his head again; There was a guilty flicker in his blue eyes, as he raised a trembling hand with uncertainty, and caressed her cheek.

“I – I heard you,” he said in a murmur. “It’s horrible… That sword… To think I might have…” He swallowed hard. “I’m sorry…”

The voice, at that brief moment, devoid of that lilting accent, was Paul’s. Hope flared in Rhapsody’s heart. She raised her own hand to graze his face and she smiled fleetingly. “Oh, Paul… It is you… I knew you would emerge to protect me...”

Her hope died almost instantly.

A shadow suddenly came into view from behind Scarlet, leaping like a panther toward him, with a roar of anger, sword drawn and ready to strike. Alerted to the presence, Scarlet scarcely had time to push Rhapsody away from him, sending her sprawling onto the ground, and to sidestep to avoid the low blow that would surely have severed his right leg if he had not reacted in time. In a fluid movement, he picked up his sword and parry the next brutal attack. The violent impact struck sparks from the two swords as they locked together. Scarlet brought them up swiftly, to find the face of his opponent only an inch away from his own, distorted in complete rage.

Rhapsody gasped in shock, identifying the clothes, but scarcely recognising the features of the man now clashing with Scarlet.

Blond, untidy, long hair fell on his neck and across his face, which was half covered with a short but unruly beard of the same colour; bushy eyebrows, the left one crossed by a short white scar, surmounted pale blue eyes ablaze with fury – but unmistakably familiar.

“Unhand the woman!” Blue roared into the face of Scarlet. “I swear to you, I will not let you hurt her again, my brother!”

A sinking feeling of doom hit Rhapsody as she noticed in Blue’s voice that same lilting accent she had heard from all those who were possessed by the game.

Locating Thor, Sif and Heimdall had been rather easy for Tyr, as they were on the same trail he had first followed earlier with Freyja and Freyr, while looking for Odin. Once he had joined with them, he guided them back, riding to the spot where they had found the king of Aesgard.

As soon as they arrived, Thor jumped off his horse and strode purposefully towards the scene, eyes wide with something akin to horror at the sight of a wounded Odin lying on the ground, being tended by Freyja, while Freyr stood guard over them. He crouched near the young woman and made a quick assessment of his king’s injuries.

They were bad.

He checked around, and noticed the bodies of the wolves surrounding them, a huge black beast lying not that far away, its skull crushed and its side pierced by a spear. He looked up to Freyja.

“Fenrir?” he murmured.

She nodded. “The foul beast led his pack against Lord Odin,” she answered in a low voice. “If we had not arrived, they would have devoured him alive. ’Tis a miracle that he is still alive.”

“He will still die if we do not tend to him, however,” Freyr noted grimly.

“That is why you are here, Lord Thor,” Freyja added.

“Me?” Thor asked with surprise. “I am not a physician, my lady. We would need your Master Mimir to tend to him.”

Tyr stood over him, holding Thor’s hammer in both hands; he presented it to its owner. “Mimir is too far to be of any help, Lord Thor. You may not be a physician, but is it not true your weapon is imbued with the power to heal?”

“We realise you are more accustomed to use it to strike at your enemies,” Freyja added, as Thor took his hammer, with an unsure expression on his face. “But it is time today to use it differently... and show us if the legends are true.”

“They are.” Sif had knelt beside Thor, and her confident voice caused him to look in her direction. “I am sure they are.” She put an encouraging hand on his stooped shoulder; he noticed the sheer gentleness of her gesture, and it filled him with assurance.

He nodded in Odin’s direction, took his hammer by the handle and brought it closer to the wounded man.

“Take his hands, and put them on the hammer’s head,” he instructed Sif and Freyja. “And pray to all the gods you know that it will work.”

Sif obeyed, gently taking Odin’s blood-covered hands between hers and putting them on the hammer head, which now rested on his chest. She shook her head in dismay. “His hands are cold as ice, my lord Thor,”she said. “I am afraid he is close to joining Hela in Helheim.”

“Not if Mjölnir can do anything about it, my lady,” Thor muttered. “I am not ready yet to take the throne of Aesgard.”

He took a deep breath and then closed his eyes and lowered his head, seemingly concentrating on the task at hand. Within seconds, the head of his hammer started to glow. Gasping in surprise, Sif removed her hands.

Everyone watched as the glow of pure white light enlarged and enveloped Odin’s hands. Sif looked up in wonderment into Thor’s face. He wasn’t moving, and beads of sweat were forming on his brow. She squeezed his arm comfortingly.

“Truly, what you are doing now surpasses all your exploits on the battlefield,” she said in a low voice. “The magic of your hammer may yet save our king’s life.”

“It may be a pointless effort, my lords and ladies,” Freyr then remarked quietly.

He was standing just over Thor and Sif, and the latter raised an inquiring – and annoyed – eye to him. Freyr wasn’t even looking down. His head was raised, and he was scrutinising their surroundings, his eyes narrowed with attention.

There was a low, but still audible curse from Heimdall, as in turn he discovered what was attracting Freyr’s attention. He unsheathed his sword.

Everyone looked around then.

From the side of the hills to the edge of the gorge, they could see shadows of men, standing in wait, all looking in their direction. An army of dozens of them, all around, seemingly unbothered by the strong winds and snow that were lashing at them.

Just waiting patiently.

Slowly, Freyja rose to her feet, a grim expression on her face.

“We are surrounded,” she stated coldly.

“It looks like we fell into a trap, my queen,” Freyr commented.

“All of you, form a circle,” Freyja ordered. “Around Lord Odin. We must protect him, while Lord Thor tends to him.” As the warriors obeyed her and unsheathed their swords and prepared their bows – except for Thor who stayed by Odin’s side – the Vanaheim queen turned a determined expression toward the enemies that had trapped them.

“Prepare to do battle,” she announced with grim determination.

“Adam! Stop it!”

Rhapsody’s protests fell on deaf ears as, in complete dismay, she watched the two men – best friends in life, almost brothers – trying to kill each other in front of her eyes. She could scarcely believe the change which had operated within Captain Blue. He was now totally possessed by the character he was meant to play in this lethal game.

Nothing so far had led them to suspect that the events would evolve in that direction… although truthfully, Rhapsody told herself, it was an obvious conclusion for the Mysterons’ plan to succeed. Blue would never have willingly played their game and killed Scarlet as they wanted him to do. The only way for that to be achieved was indeed to suppress his real personality and to replace it with that of ‘Hodur’, the Viking prince he had now become, fighting with ferocity and rage, fully intent on destroying the enemy he was now facing.

As for Scarlet, if his real persona had emerged for a brief instant when he had held her in his arms, contrite and confused, it had now totally dissolved once again, and ‘Balder’ had reappeared almost instantly under Hodur’s attack.

Both men were exchanging savage blows with their swords, each delivered with fury and strength behind it, and parried with equal force and determination. No quarter was asked, and none given, and neither one of the opponents seemed willing to surrender or retreat. It was obviously a fight that was meant to end with the death of one of the two warriors.

“Stop it, you two! You will kill each other!”

Rhapsody rose to her feet, and followed the two warriors, as they moved around the clearing that served them as a battlefield. She had to find a way to end this fight, before one of them got hurt or killed. Each blow made her heart pound with dreaded anticipation. It could only be a question of time before one of the two men would make a mistake that his opponent would use to his advantage.

“Captain Blue, Captain Scarlet – stand down!” she called forcefully, hoping that the call of their Spectrum codenames would reach the two men. It was as useless as when she had tried to call to Paul earlier, she realised. They were both ignoring her calls. But at the same time, she noticed, they were trying to keep away from her. They were obviously both ensuring that they did not accidentally hit her during their fight.

This spurred into her a sudden and desperate move. The second she saw both opponents pushing each other away, she quickly stepped into the middle, disregarding the danger she could put herself in, before they would rush to each other once again.

“Stop this madness!” she demanded forcefully, extending her hands toward each of them. “You are playing their game! The Jötnar or the Mysterons, whatever you call them! They want you to kill each other!”

If there was but a faint hesitation in Scarlet’s eyes, there was none on Blue’s part. Obviously deciding that nothing would stand in his way, he rushed forward, and brutally pushed her aside.

“Get out of the way, foolish woman, before you get killed!”

Rhapsody fell roughly to the ground again. Scarlet only gave her a glance, and the hesitation disappeared from his eyes. With a roar of anger, he precipitated himself once more on his opponent: “Do not EVER touch HER!”

It was impossible for Rhapsody to decide if Scarlet wanted to avenge the harsh way she had been treated or if he just wanted to get at Blue for touching his possession. Either way, the result was the same: he narrowly avoided the blade of Blue’s sword as it slashed over his head and, letting go of his own weapon at the last possible second, he violently tackled Blue and seized him with both arms around his midsection. They both tumbled down to the ground. The strategy worked and gave him the advantage.

“No...!” Eyes wide with horror, Rhapsody saw Scarlet, now kneeling over Blue, unsheathing his dagger. With his free hand, he was keeping Blue’s armed hand down under his knee, and was preparing to stab him in the chest. With his free hand, the blond man caught his wrist as he struck, and kept it away from its target.

Both men struggled for seconds, trying to break away. Rhapsody got to her feet and swiftly approached, again with the intention of stopping the fight. That was when Blue finally jerked his knee up and caught Scarlet in the groin, making him flinch. Then Blue let go of his sword and used both hands to get hold of Scarlet, and forced him to roll over. They both hit Rhapsody, who was too close to avoid them, and knocked her to the ground once more. Her head hit a root, half-stunning her. For a brief instant, Scarlet looked in her direction, with concern in his eyes.

“Nanna…”

It was his downfall.

Now sitting with all his weight on Scarlet’s stomach, Blue took advantage of his position and violently hit his opponent on his exposed temple with his free fist, not letting go of the hand that was still holding the dagger. The rage within Blue, his desire to destroy his adversary, was such that he didn’t hold back. It was with intense satisfaction that he heard the grunt of pain coming from Scarlet’s lips and saw him wince.

With a cruel smile, Blue grabbed a rock lying on the ground nearby and raised it. Scarlet did try to avoid it, but he was just a second too late. The rock hit him just over the cheekbone; stunned, his head fell back, and he finally let go of his dagger.

Blue picked the weapon and looked at it intensely. A dagger was not enough to finish Balder off; because of his invulnerability, it would only stop him temporarily. He glanced around, and his eyes fell on a piece of dead branch lying just within reach; one end of it was shaped like a jagged, sharp stake...

A piece of yew wood… Balder’s weakness against death itself.

Blue swiftly picked up the piece of wood. He was still pinning Scarlet down with his weight, gripping his throat and pushing his head back. His opponent, unconscious, was now at his mercy, defenceless against the killing blow. With a roar of victory, Blue raised his arm high in the air, the jagged point aimed at his enemy, ready to strike a forceful blow.

“ADAM! DON’T DO IT!”

Coming from nowhere – or so it seemed to Blue – Rhapsody, who had regained her senses just in time to see the tragedy about to unfold, suddenly appeared nearby, shouting with all the strength of her lungs. The stake went down like a flash... And abruptly stopped, a centimetre away from Scarlet’s throat.

Panting hard, Blue – Hodur – was looking down with blazing eyes at the helpless man sprawled underneath him.

Balder, his brother… his enemy. The man he was fated to kill. The stake was now pricking his neck and Hodur would need to give only a strong shove to thrust it into his throat and kill him – definitely. He blinked in annoyance, faced with his own hesitation.

What am I he waiting for?

Don’t do it...

The voice was coming from inside his head now; a man’s voice this time – his own voice, calling to him, attempting to tell him something.

What trick is this?

He grunted, trying to ignore that voice, struggling to push it away into the recesses of his mind. His hand holding the stake was trembling, as if fighting with a life of its own to go down and finish the job started.

I should kill him – be done with him. I will not have to share the Throne of Aesgard with him. Nor the woman.

But he is… my brother.

DON’T do it...

“Adam...”

The whisper was not from inside – but nearby again. A female voice... He glanced briefly to his side. Standing there was the Valkyrie princess he was trying to protect…

Nanna.

No... That is not her name.

Rhapsody...

Dianne…

She knelt beside him, hesitant to touch him, almost afraid that even the slightest contact would break the spell that seemed to have frozen him. She could see he was battling with himself, a part of him – Hodur – wanting nothing more than to kill Balder, while the other – Adam – would not let him.

“Adam, do you hear me?” she said very carefully.

Hodur blinked, beads of sweat falling into his eyes, which had a vacant expression. “Who is this Adam you are calling to?” he asked with a stressed voice, not turning his head to her.

“It’s you. You’re Adam,” Rhapsody answered, still as cautiously. “Please, remember… Don’t play their game. Don’t kill him and let them win.”

“Them?” he enquired, still struggling and still not looking at her. “Do you mean… the accursed Jötnar?”

The Jötnar… the enemies of all humankind. Those who wanted to destroy them all, to destroy the world... and who were planning to start with Balder...

The woman by Hodur’s side slowly shook her head. “No, not the Jötnar,” she said.

“Not the Jötnar,” he repeated. “Those… others.”

Rhapsody nodded. “You know their name.”

His lower lip twitched and he gave a brief nod. “The… Mysterons,” he said, his voice still that of Hodur’s.

A moan coming from Balder made him look down. he saw his brother slowly recovering, shaking his head from side to side. Hodur’s hand trembled again.

Now, before he recovers completely. I should kill him while I still have the chance.

No... you can’t kill him...

I can’t… He’s my brother.

He’s your friend…

My… friend? Hodur looked down at the defenceless man lying underneath him. His eyes widened with recognition.

Scarlet…

Paul... Oh no...

God... I came so close...

His mind splitting with a searing pain, Hodur/Blue closed his eyes and exhaled sharply. His trembling hand suddenly let go of the stake, as if it were a branding iron, and it fell to the ground.

He moved off from Scarlet and crawled on hands and knees to a small spring he could see three feet away from him. When he reached for the so-desired and needed water, his fingers only grazed an ice-covered surface. He grunted with annoyance and hit it once with his closed fist. The ice was thin enough, and he was able to take a handful of the water running underneath. It was very cold, and he drank from his hand, greedily, before splashing his face, in an attempt to regain his senses.

Crouched down over the spring, he looked down with glazed eyes at the image the disturbed and dark surface of the water was returning to him; bushy beard, unkempt hair, falling freely all around his face... Only his eyes were familiar, in the image of this stranger reflected in the troubled water. He frowned deeply, as the undulations he had caused slowly dissipated...

... And the image changed. He finally recognised his own face, looking back at him. No beard, shorter hair, surmounting a very pale, confused and almost sick-looking face.

Still crouching by the spring, Blue hugged himself with his arms, and shivered, thinking of what he had just experienced.

“Adam, are you all right?”

Rhapsody was next to him again, and was wrapping her arms around his shoulders. She could see the distress on his face – the face of the Adam she knew, who had apparently succeeded in fighting off the influence of the game to the point of regaining his whole persona. Why he had been able to do so, she couldn’t even imagine.

That would be something to think about later on.

“You’ve done it, Adam. You beat them. You beat the Mysterons.”

Blue shuddered, and shook his head; he looked like a man in shock. “I nearly didn’t, Dianne.” He swallowed hard. “Now I know how it is for them. The total freedom... the absence of any restraint... only the desire to give in to your most basic and instinctive needs... Then that hunger for battle and for blood... The berserker rage in me... It was so strong... I nearly killed Paul. I wanted so much to kill him.”

“You were not in control,” Rhapsody reassured him. “You were not responsible.”

Blue shook his head again. “None of them are. I’ve only been able to fight this because I –” He stopped, unsure. “… I don’t know, maybe it was because I already had the knowledge that we were living in a fantasy world – that nothing was real, least of all the role I was playing.”

Rhapsody nodded in understanding. “The Mysterons underestimated you. You’ve proved stronger than the game programming. You’ve won, Captain Blue.”

“Yeah...” he murmured. “But it’s only the program I beat. We are still stuck here.”

Rhapsody didn’t have time to provide an answer as, right at this moment, a fully conscious Scarlet appeared in their line of vision, standing by them, a sword in each hand. Blue didn’t react to his presence and so, didn’t even have time to try and avoid the kick that pushed him off-balance. He fell on his back, nearly between Rhapsody’s arms, barely avoiding sprawling into the spring. When he tried to get back up, it was to be stopped by the tip of Scarlet’s sword; he had extended his right arm and was pointing it under Blue’s throat. Leaning on his forearms, the blond man looked up, to see the sheer cold determination in his friend’s eye.

He was still Balder.

“You two are controlled by the Jötnar,” Scarlet accused them sombrely.

“You’ve got it all wrong,” Rhapsody answered. She was kneeling beside Blue, keeping him half-risen, but like him, didn’t dare move a muscle.

“She’s right, Paul,” Blue said in turn. “We’re not. But you most certainly are. You, and everyone else. She and I... we’re the only people here who are not being controlled.”

Scarlet’s brow furrowed. “Why do you keep calling me by that name - Paul? I do not like it. Stop calling me that,” he grumbled.

“But it’s your name, Paul,” Rhapsody said. “Try to remember... Please, you have to break free. Don’t you remember earlier? You called me Dianne. That’s my name.”

He grunted, dismissing the assertion with a shake of his dark head. “You are speaking nonsense, the both of you.”

“No, we’re speaking the truth,” Blue replied. He made an attempt to rise, but Scarlet defensively moved the tip of the sword closer to his throat, making him stop in his tracks.

His features grim, Scarlet threw the other sword onto the ground next to his downed opponent.

“You spared my life earlier when I was at your mercy. Now I am doing you the same courtesy. Pick up your sword and get up. We have a fight to finish.”

“No,” Blue answered, slightly shaking his head.

Scarlet took a step forward, pressing the tip of the sword even closer. “Pick up your sword and get on your feet,” he seethed.

“No,” Blue repeated in a firm voice. “I won’t fight you. Dianne was right earlier, don’t you see? We’d be playing the Mysterons’ game. I won’t do that.”

“I will kill you where you are if you don’t defend yourself!”

“Then you’ll have to do it.” Blue’s voice was calm and resolved, as was the expression on his face, as he looked Scarlet squarely in the eyes. “Because I won’t be picking up that sword and I won’t be fighting you, and run the risk of killing you. If you want to kill me, go ahead. I won’t do anything to stop you.”

Scarlet seemed to ponder his words, but was still obviously reluctant to believe him. He took another step forward, and Blue felt the blade pricking his chin. Although apprehensive that his friend would thrust the sword forward and plunge it into his throat, Blue kept his head high, not lowering his gaze, burning beads of salty sweat falling into his eyes.

Scarlet broke eye contact for a brief instant, to glance in Rhapsody’s direction. She was looking at him expectantly, still not daring to move, her hand resting on Blue’s shoulder. Her eyes were telling of her inner apprehension.

Scarlet narrowed his eyes at her and spoke softly: “Tell me truthfully, my lady – whom do you love?”

A thin smile played on Rhapsody’s lips. She relaxed, feeling a certain form of relief hearing him calling her ‘my lady’.

“You only,” she answered simply, almost under her breath.

Suddenly making his decision, Scarlet swiftly removed the sword from Blue’s throat and extended his free hand to him; he grabbed him by the arm and pulled him a little roughly to his feet.

“I must be as mad as the both of you to even listen to what you have to say,” Scarlet grumbled in an irate tone, frowning deeply.

Blue finally let out a deep breath, and grinned, as Rhapsody, still smiling, was slowly getting to her feet and coming to stand by him, to look at Scarlet approvingly.

“Thanks for not killing me,” Blue said ruefully, squeezing Scarlet’s hand, which was still holding his.

“Would I kill my own brother?” Scarlet’s voice was abrupt, but there was obviously more feeling hiding behind it. He looked at Rhapsody. “So, you say my name is really Paul, and yours is Dianne.” She confirmed with a nod. “That is a lovely name. I remember you mentioning it, on our wedding night.” Scarlet turned to Blue, but didn’t dare looking him straight in the eyes. He still had trouble keeping the doubts and resentment out of his mind. He frowned at him. “I heard my lady call you Adam. Would that be your name then?

Blue smiled and nodded as well. Let’s not confuse him with mention of codenames just yet, he thought inwardly. “That’s a good start,” he told Scarlet. “If you remember our real names –”

“I did not say I remembered,” Scarlet interrupted. “Nor that I believed you. Your words make little sense to me. But I will listen to you because...” he hesitated for a brief second, turning his attention to Rhapsody. “... I feel that you both believe what you say, so maybe there is some truth behind it. Maybe the Jötnar are indeed responsible. This reeks of their work.”

“Not exactly the Jötnar,” Rhapsody corrected him. “At least, that’s not how we call them.”

“Aye. I heard you say the name.” Scarlet turned to Blue again, looking squarely at him. “Tell me about these ‘Mysterons’, then.”

“I don’t know if we really have the time for a full explanation,” Blue said hesitantly. “You see, we’re –”

He was interrupted in mid-sentence, well before he was able to explain how urgent their situation was.

With his eyes hovering just over Blue’s shoulder, Scarlet had seen the silhouette of a man in the distance, a number of yards away, just atop the slope – a man all dressed in black, bending a bow in their direction. Scarlet acted quickly and pushed Blue aside, stepping in front of him and Rhapsody and presented himself as a shield, his arms extended.

“NO!!!”

There was a whistling sound, and a dull thud as the released arrow struck Scarlet right in the chest; he grunted in pain and fell backward, right into Blue’s arms.

“Oh no...” Blue murmured, eyes wide with horror. This can’t be happening. Not now, as we were starting to get to him!

He heard Rhapsody’s fearful gasp, as he held on to Scarlet, stopping his fall to the ground. He quickly scanned the area, from where the arrow seemed to come, and saw the dark man standing on the hill just in front of them, his bow in his hand. Blue’s expression became hard.

Captain Black.

“Loki,” Scarlet murmured, clenching his teeth.

“Let’s get to cover!” Blue ordered.

He and Rhapsody pulled Scarlet behind one of Yggdrasil’s huge roots, covered by thick bushes of mistletoe. Then, taking the wounded man under the arms, they gently lowered him down, causing him to wince and moan in pain. Still conscious, Scarlet was looking down at the arrow protruding from his chest, with some kind of astonishment in his eyes. He grabbed the arrow in his trembling hand, and snapped it in two, before anyone was able to stop it. He let out a brief yelp, and then looked at the piece he was holding.

“Yew,” he said between two laboured breaths, “freshly cut from a tree...” His fingers opened tiredly and let go of the shaft that Blue took from his hand to examine. Scarlet leaned back, and blinked his eyes to clear them of the sweat falling from his brow, before looking up at Rhapsody who was gently putting his head on her knees. He could see her pale face staring down at him, tears at the brim of her eyes. “You were telling the truth earlier... about Loki...”

“Did you still have any doubt, you idiot?” Her words sounded harsh but her voice soft. Scarlet could detect the concern behind them. He smiled sadly.

“That’s where he disappeared to after he left you here,” Blue said, addressing Rhapsody. “He was making this arrow with a twig, while waiting for Paul to show up.”

“It missed the heart,” Rhapsody realised with some hope, carefully checking the injury.

“Yeah, but this stuff seems like poison to him. Look how quickly it’s acting,” Blue retorted, noticing Scarlet’s pale features and his sweat-covered brow. He removed his fur cloak to cover Scarlet with it, keeping clear of the piece of shaft still stuck in his chest. “How are you feeling?” he asked softly.

“Not... good,” Scarlet answered tiredly. He was fighting to keep his eyes open and not succumb to the darkness threatening to surround him. Rhapsody took his hand into hers and brought it to her lips, to gently kiss the fingers. They were already cold.

“Fight it off, please,” she requested with a catch in her voice. “We’ll help you.”

“Hang on,” Blue said in turn, patting Scarlet’s shoulder encouragingly. He glanced around and saw one of the swords lying nearby. his attention returned to the top of the slope where he had seen Black standing. There was no-one there at the moment, but quite probably, Black was on the other side now; there were no traces in the snow indicating he had walked down in their direction.

A blaze of anger passed into Blue’s eyes as a cold determination came to him, and he picked up the sword.

“Stay with him,” he told Rhapsody. “And wait for me.”

“Where are you going?”

“To get Black... Loki,” Blue added for Scarlet’s benefit. “If there’s someone who can tell us how to escape from this insane place, it’s him. And I fully intend to make him tell me.”

“And if he refuses?” Rhapsody asked.

There was a short silence from Blue, before he finally answered: “Then I’ll make damn sure that if we’re to die, he’ll die with us.”

He was about to get up, when Scarlet swiftly caught his arm, with barely enough strength to hold him down. Blue turned an inquiring look toward him.

“Loki is a dangerous foe to face,” Scarlet said, with urgency. “I am not worth being killed for. I was a bad brother and a bad husband to ever doubt you both.” He nodded toward Rhapsody. “Take her with you and escape... wherever you have to go. Do not risk your life needlessly.”

“Let me decide if you are worth risking my life for or not,” Blue retorted. “As it is, I strongly disagree with what you said. You might not be yourself right now, but you’re still my best friend, and I know you would do the same for me, if the situation was reversed.”

“Aye,” Scarlet croaked, wincing against a tingle of pain. “Maybe I would. Maybe...”

Blue glanced in concern at Rhapsody. Scarlet’s voice was growing weaker by the second. He could see in the young woman’s face that she was wondering the same thing as he was: if Scarlet were to die from that arrow wound here, would he die for real this time, in the real world? And would the prophecy accomplish itself and all of them follow him in death?

“Besides,” Blue added, seeking to give some encouragement to the fallen warrior, “even if I did follow your advice and take Dianne – Nanna – away from you... I don’t think she’d follow willingly.” He smiled sadly. “I might be in even greater danger than facing Loki.” He squeezed Scarlet’s hand reassuringly, before getting to his feet. “Wait for me, both of you.”

“Where do you think we would go?” Scarlet asked in a jest attempt, following with his eyes as his friend departed.

The next second, Blue was gone, rounding the enormous root behind which they were hiding. Scarlet turned an enquiring look toward Rhapsody.

“So... you still have feelings for me?” he asked.

She nodded her head, almost dejected by his question. “Of course, I do. They’ve never changed. I love you with all my heart. I can’t believe you even doubted it for one second, and that you thought I could be interested in any other man than you.”

“Aye...” he whispered, sadness passing into his eyes. “Then I am as stupid as you implied earlier.” His teeth were chattering, and his eyes threatening to close again. “I am cold...”

Rhapsody squeezed his hand. “Listen to me,” she said urgently, “you will not give up on me, do you hear? I don’t want you to fall asleep… You will stay with me. I know this is not the first time you died, but this time... this time might be different. You might not come back.”

“I do know that...” he slurred tiredly.

“Then you will fight, okay? Fight as hard as you always do. Not only for me, but for everyone else. If you die, we might all die too. Do you understand?”

“I... understand.” Scarlet blinked, trying to keep focus on the voice calling to him. “I will try my best... my love...”

But despite the promise of his words, Rhapsody could also hear and see that he was weakening very fast.

He was dying. And she wondered with deep concern and sorrow if he would hold long enough for Captain Blue to get to Captain Black – and find a way to get them all out of the game and to safety.

Chapter 9: Ragnarok

Her brows puckered with concern, Harmony Angel was watching as Captain Scarlet thrashed about inside of his watery prison, more and more violently as the seconds were passing by. The data on the computer screen had gone wild, but the vitals were still strong, if a little erratic, with breathing rate and heartbeat higher than they should be.

And then suddenly, the data changed, and the vitals started going down; The numbers on the screen went from green to red, either increasing or decreasing, while the heartbeat definitely slowed down. Harmony glanced at the tank, to see that Scarlet, while still fighting against his bonds, was growing increasingly weaker.

Something is happening, Harmony thought. Whether it was good or bad, she couldn’t say for sure, as she was quite unable to successfully read the data from the computer and their complete meaning. She needed to inform Fawn, and tell him about this. He might know what it meant.

“Harmony Angel to Doctor Fawn. There is development in R&D concerning Captain Scarlet.”

As she started making her report to Fawn, she failed to notice the door sliding silently open behind her to let a quiet shadow slip inside the room and take cover behind a bank of computerised instruments…

Blue climbed the hill as fast as he could, sinking almost knee-deep in snow with each step. He couldn’t spot any trace of Black anymore, as far as he could see. He suspected that his target could be lying in the snow, just on the other side of the hill, ready to stand and to use his bow again to shoot straight at his upcoming pursuer. In other circumstances, that would have worried Blue, but he figured that Black would lose precious seconds to get his footing in the thick snow, in order to shoot accurately. And that would give Blue enough time to plunge down to safety, and avoid the upcoming arrow.

On the other hand, he could simply wait until I show up at the top of the hill, Blue reflected. And then I’ll be an easier target for him.

Very carefully, he crawled the last yards to the top of the hill; but when he reached his destination, it was to discover that Black was not there.

The only sign that Black had previously been there were traces in the deep snow; first those of a man, which then led to larger ones, that seemed to have been left by a horse.

Raising his head in the direction they were heading, Blue saw the man on his mount, riding away, toward a nearby hill, and too far for him to reach him on foot.

Blue got to his feet and let out a frustrated cry. He couldn’t believe that his enemy had escaped him... And with him, maybe the only chance they had of leaving this God-forsaken place.

Then, from nearby, a contemptuous voice rose over the whistling wind:

“The plot thickens, doesn’t it?”

Blue turned on his heels; standing just a few yards from him was Burgundy, looking at him with his arms crossed on his chest and a sardonic smile on his lips. The man had obviously been lying in the snow, out of view, and had just waited for this moment to stand and show himself.

Upon seeing him, Blue completely lost it and jumped at him with fury. Burgundy didn’t even make a move to escape.

“You… BASTARD!” Blue shoved the point of his sword into the snow to free both his hands, and took Burgundy by his collar and pulled him up, nearly lifting him off his feet. He was unable to wipe the smirk off the man’s face. “Where is Captain Black going?!” he shouted into Burgundy’s face, holding him so tight his knuckles were completely white.

“Calm yourself, Captain,” Burgundy advised, remarkably calm, his voice devoid of the lilting accent common to all the other participants of the game. “And please, excuse Captain Black. He’s been called away on a mission.”

“I knew it!” Blue hissed, pushing Burgundy away from him. “You were playing it all along. You’re just like Rhapsody and me. You are yourself in these settings. You’re not ‘Vali’!”

“Did you ever doubt it?” Burgundy inquired. “Surely, Rhapsody must have told you about my involvement in her kidnapping?”

“She did, yes,” Blue continued, pointing an accusing finger at Burgundy. “And Black – he’s like us too, of course. He never was Loki. Always has been Captain Black, all along. Planning, scheming... following the plan of his masters – the plan of the Mysterons.”

“Of course,” Burgundy answered simply.

“And you came to participate in this game,” Blue realised, “just to give Black a helping hand.”

“Yes,” Burgundy admitted again. “In the guise of the warrior Vali... and as you probably know by now, Captain –”

Burgundy suddenly unsheathed the sword by his side and slashed the air in Blue’s direction. Fully anticipating his move, Blue took a step back, avoiding the blade; in the same move, he reached for the hilt of his own sword behind him, and pulled it out from the snow, before pushing Burgundy’s with it.

“According to legend, Vali’s destined to kill Hodur,” Burgundy continued, putting himself on guard, a thin smile appearing on his lips. “It’ll be my pleasure to fulfil this prophecy – by putting an end to your life!”

Blue presented his sword, holding it with two hands, his face grim with determination. “You’ll find I’m not as easy to kill as you imagine, Lieutenant,” he announced defiantly.

“Don’t over-estimate yourself, Captain,” Burgundy said with a chuckle. “I’m quite proficient with a sword. I was an Olympic-level champion, but I missed participating in the 2068 Games because for the three previous years, I’ve been too busy working on Cloudbase’s communication system, instead of properly training.”

“So you’re saying you’re rusty?” Blue said, raising a brow. “Lucky me, then.”

Burgundy laughed. “Unlucky you, rather! I’m far from rusty – I’ve picked up fencing again and trained a lot these last years, when I was human. I’ve fenced with Rhapsody Angel, even with Captain Scarlet, who are quite the experts themselves. They might be a match for me…” His smirk widened. “… but I don’t believe I ever saw you in the fencing hall, Captain Blue.”

Blue put himself on guard, not even deigning to answer. From the corner of his eye, he could see Black, stopping on top of the next hill, to dismount from his horse and stand there, his back turned on them.

He was drawn out of his temporary distraction, when Burgundy came into attack, and he parried, rather clumsily, the next strike against him.

He would need to keep his mind on the fight, if he wanted to survive.

“What are they waiting for to attack?”

Standing in a circle around the wounded Odin, their weapons at the ready, Aesir and Vanir warriors were looking expectantly at the multitude of armed men surrounding them in a vast, but close ring from which they knew there was no escape. None of their foes had made a single move so far. They indeed seemed to be waiting. For what exactly, the defenders would not be able to say.

“We are at their mercy, Lord Heimdall,” Freyr said. “They can take all the time they want.”

“They just want for us to sweat then?” Sif remarked between her teeth.

Tyr spat on the ground with loathing. “It is too cold to sweat,” he remarked, with a near-chuckle. “I reckon they are simply waiting for a signal from their leader.”

Freyr nodded his assent. “I think you are right, Tyr. They are Svartalfheim men. Unable to think for themselves.”

“Jötunheim’s minions,” Freyja noted. “Then the Jötnar are behind this.”

“Of course, they are, my queen,” Freyr said. “They used Vali to lead Lord Odin into a trap. They probably orchestrated the wolves’ attack.”

“Are you saying Vali was the instrument of the Jötnar?” Heimdall asked with a growl. “That he himself led our liege here and left him to die?”

“’Twould seem so, brave Heimdall. You know that it is not beneath the Jötnar to use mere mortals to do their bidding,” Freyja remarked. “It is probably Vali himself who told Balder about Hodur and Nanna... And we still don’t know what happened to those two – or to Balder, for that matter.”

“I smell Loki’s doing in all this,” spat Heimdall.

“And you would probably be right at that,” Tyr replied. “’Twould be like the villain to manipulate all of us like that... All for the Jötnar’s benefit.”

At this point, Thor got to his feet, leaving Odin’s side, and stood between Freyr and Sif, holding his hammer firmly in his hands.

“How is Lord Odin?” Freyja asked him with concern.

He shook his head, before answering grimly: “I did all I could for him, Queen Freyja. I believe I was able to buy him a little time. But whether he lives or dies now will depend on him.”

“And on them,” Sif added, nodding towards the line of warriors surrounding him.

“Them, as well,” Thor agreed, addressing a faint smile to Sif. “It will be an honour, my lady, to fight beside you.” She answered only with a smile – a faint, but genuine smile that went right to his heart. He looked around and nodded to everyone, Vanir and Aesir alike, surrounding him. “To fight beside all of you,” he added quietly. “And to die by your side.”

“Aye,” Freyr added with a grim smile. “We will surely die, but we will take many of our enemies with us beyond the doors of Helheim.”

There were approving murmurs all around.

Up on the hill surmounting the scene, they saw a lonely, dark figure appear on a horse; they tensed suddenly, realising that the leader of their foes had arrived. Now the attack against them was imminent.

Heimdall’s sharp gaze did not leave the lone rider for one instant. He watched as the rider stepped down from his mount to stand very casually beside it, looking in their direction. Heimdall narrowed his eyes at the newcomer. He thought he recognised...

His eyes grew wide.

“Loki...” he whispered under his breath.

And all of a sudden, pure rage took hold of him, and a roar emerged from his throat, as he lunged forward, holding his spear for the attack.

“LOKI!!!!!!”

His unexpected action took everyone by surprise, and though many shouts from the Vanir and the Aesir called for him to come back, he didn’t hear them. He was running, directly towards the man standing on that hill... beyond the enemy line – which had started moving forward.

Behind him, the rest of the Aesir and Vanir readied themselves to dearly defend their lives.

Doctor Fawn blew a deep sigh of relief as he checked once again the data displayed on the control panel over Colonel White’s head. The vitals had stabilised to a normal rate. He checked the pulse in his patient’s wrist just to make sure; it was beating regularly, if a little slower than usual. The breathing was easy and regular too.

“You must have an iron-cast heart, Charles,” he muttered, getting to his feet. “You’re out of danger – at least for now,” he added for himself.

If only I knew what’s going on in that insane game right now.

He turned his attention to the comm box, thinking that now he could safely concentrate on other matters. He had to check on Scarlet first; the latest report from Harmony, a few minutes ago, was causing him some concern.

“Harmony, how is Captain Scarlet now?”

“He has calmed down considerably, Doctor,” the voice of the Chinese Angel announced. “All the readings are lower.”

“Vitals?” Fawn asked with a frown.

“For now, lower than when I previously called you. But still within normal range. Although only just.”

“I don’t like it,” Fawn muttered. “Colonel White is out of danger. I’m on my way to check on Scarlet, now.”

“S.I.G.”

“Symphony?” Fawn called again.

There was no answer from the comm. Fawn’s brows furrowed. It had been some time since he had heard from Symphony. He went to the comm. controls.

“Symphony, do you hear me?”

There was still no answer. Fawn noticed that the contact with the room where Symphony was standing guard over Rhapsody, Captain Blue and Lieutenant Burgundy had been cut from the other end.

Why would Symphony cut the feed? the doctor asked himself in wonder.

And then a suspicion came to his mind.

Oh no... And what if...? Keppel?

His mind raced. If he had been wrong assuming Technician Keppel was human and not a Mysteron agent able to regenerate, then something might have happened to Symphony. And that would not be the only problem, he realised.

I did not check him with the Mysteron detector. I took his word as Gospel’s truth that he was human. He could have lied to me. And if he did…

He might be wrong again… A simple accidental rupture of communication might explain Symphony’s radio silence.

Right. Do I dare take that risk?

Fawn pressed the comm box button for a direct access to the R&D room where Harmony was watching Scarlet.

“Harmony, I might be delayed a bit,” he informed her.

“Something still wrong with Colonel White, Doctor?” Harmony asked with concern.

He hesitated, wondering if he should tell her. He decided against it. Someone might be monitoring their radio exchange. “I’ll explain later,” he answered briefly. “Just keep close to Scarlet, until I arrive.”

He barely waited for her answer and strode out of the auxiliary Room of Sleep, directing his steps towards the sickbay reception desk, behind which he knew he would find something of which he might have need.

From his vantage point on the hill, Captain Black had a perfect view of all the dramas unfolding around him, and was still at a safe distance not to be implicated in any of the action.

On the North side of the hill, just under the shadow of the huge tree Yggdrasil, he could see Rhapsody Angel tending to a dying Captain Scarlet, while a short distance from there, Captain Blue and Lieutenant Burgundy were locked in a frantic battle that could only end with death for one of them. It was a duel that, obviously, the more expert Burgundy was winning.

Towards the South, just before the gorge leading to the edge of Fenrir’s Forest, there were the Aesir and Vanir defenders, grouped around a fallen Odin, and besieged by an army of Svartalfheim warriors.

Soon, it would all be over and the Mysterons would have won this round – perhaps, a very important round, that could decide the outcome of the War of Nerves. Indeed, if the Spectrum senior staff was wiped out, along with all personnel onboard Cloudbase, Earth would be left without sufficient defence.

Somehow, that thought didn’t trigger any particular feelings within Captain Black – no satisfaction, or elation of any kind for a job well-done. If anything, the little part of himself that was still human, hidden in the far recesses of his mind, could only feel sorrow and despair over the doomed fate of old friends and colleagues. And also, a bit of selfish hope that his masters would perhaps, finally, permit him a little rest – or even free him.

His conscience would never truly allow him to be free, even if they did let him go, which he knew would never happen. Somehow, that was his punishment for all these unspeakable acts they forced him to do.

That flicker of a thought disappeared from his mind as quickly as it came, and Black turned cold, unfeeling eyes towards the scene unfolding not far from the opening of the gorge. As if he had given a mute message, the Svartalfheim men slowly started to move forward, towards the trapped men and women they were surrounding.

Black saw one of the defenders peel off from the defence line and charge the attackers, a spear in his hands. He narrowed his eyes, wondering which one it could be, that had seemingly decided to be the first to die.

It didn’t really matter; they were all condemned anyway.

They would all die shortly.

For the nth time, Blue parried Burgundy’s new attack; it was obvious the man had not lied earlier, and that he really was a very efficient fencer, far better than Blue.

So far, Blue had succeeded in keeping clear of the sharp blade, but he grew frustrated at not being able to hit his opponent, and his moves were clumsy. That frustration was wearing him out, and caused him to make mistakes. He realised that as soon as the tip of Burgundy’s sword cut through his shirt, grazing the flesh underneath, and drawing blood. Blue slashed his weapon up, forcing his opponent away and took a step back himself, carefully keeping clear of another attack.

“You are growing weaker, Captain Blue,” Burgundy taunted him. “Your earlier battle with Captain Scarlet has tired you out. You’re moving too heavily, without any style.” He pointed his sword toward Blue. “I just need to be patient and I’ll have you. I have control of the fight, you see.”

“You think you have!” Blue snapped, keeping his distance.

He knew he was heavily outmatched. So, the best course of action was to use his wits. Mysteron agents usually liked to brag – surely, Burgundy wasn’t different. He had already done it. So perhaps, making him talk might help Blue gain some time to get his breath back.

“That’s your mistake, Burgundy. You and Black never were in control of this game. My colleagues proved too ‘unstable’ for you to control, isn’t that right? They were too unpredictable, and they didn’t take the game in the direction you wanted. So that’s why you were sent here. Did I guess that right?” He parried a new attack from Burgundy. It was a feeble one, as if the Mysteron agent was simply toying with him, testing his defence. Blue attempted a strike of his own, but his sword was easily deflected. He stepped back again.

“There were many imponderables, granted,” Burgundy sighed. “Despite Technician Keppel’s claims that his plan was perfect. You presumed right: that’s why we had to take direct action, to guide your colleagues, and take full advantage of their unrestrained, basest ‘human’ instincts.”

“Like putting in Scarlet’s mind those suspicions that led him to mistrust Rhapsody and me,” Blue spat.

Furious at that thought, he attacked again, but Burgundy parried easily and pushed him off.

“Nice touch, wasn’t it?” Burgundy chuckled. “We had to give you a pivotal role in that Wagnerian saga, Captain. Pitting you against your partner… It was I who pointed him in the right direction, leading him here to find Rhapsody and yourself in what would look to him like a ‘compromising situation’. Oh, didn’t you know? It was you all along we wanted to follow Captain Black here. Never Scarlet.”

“I should have realised,” Blue said. “The note… It was signed ‘Black’. Not ‘Loki’. Balder would never have known who Black was. It was addressed to me. Not Scarlet.”

“Exactly. You see, it was a simple matter to do in order to prepare the ground, that is: pushing Scarlet and you to fight. We at least hoped that one of you would kill the other...” Burgundy sighed. “Keppel even arranged for you to be possessed by ‘Hodur’s persona’, so you would fight more ferociously. We hoped that one of you would kill the other. If you had killed one another, that would have been a very nice bonus indeed.”

“But you failed,” Blue noted grimly. “I didn’t kill Scarlet, and he didn’t kill me.”

“That’s why we had our back-up plan. Captain Black’s arrow for Scarlet’s heart – and my sword for yours.” Burgundy lunged forward, wildly striking at his opponent. Surprised by the sudden fierceness of his attack, Blue could only parry, as best as he could, to avoid being cut in two. He quickly back-peddled in the snow, and finally managed to push Burgundy’s blade off, stopping the assault.

Burgundy stepped back, chuckling as he looked at Blue. The latter had the impression his opponent was allowing him a short reprieve, still toying with him before he made the final assault.

Burgundy narrowed his eyes. Blue’s left hand had let go of the handle of the sword, and he now was shaking it as if it was numb; possibly, he had pulled some muscles in it, parrying the last attack. He was now keeping the blade down, his right arm visibly growing tired of holding it up. He stood on his right side, while facing Burgundy, apparently protecting his weaker side.

The Mysteron agent smiled wickedly, seeing his victory so close.

I’ve got him now. He’s mine.

Burgundy smiled a crooked, evil smile. “Soon, Captain Scarlet will die from that arrow wound Captain Black inflicted on him. And then, everyone else will die too. As we speak now, your entire senior staff is about to be slaughtered in an ambush they have no hope of escaping. And I will have the honour to despatch the bothersome Captain Blue who’s been a thorn in the Mysterons’ side since the very beginning!”

As he said these words, Burgundy lunged forward one last time, ready to finally give the killing blow. But this time, Blue was ready. He had studied Burgundy’s previous attacks carefully – and he had lured him in a false sense of confidence, by making him believe he was weary and physically impaired.

All of his vigour seemingly returning to him miraculously, Blue sidestepped, and leaned low enough for the sharp sword to slash the air just over his head, missing him completely. His left hand, perfectly unimpaired, swiftly unsheathed the dagger hanging from his belt, just within reach, but out of view from Burgundy, whose belly was now exposed. Blue lunged forward, going under his opponent’s arm, and without any hesitation, plunged the dagger with great force into his belly.

Burgundy gasped, as the blade sank deep into his flesh, stopping him dead in his tracks. He leaned over Blue’s shoulder, as the latter fiercely pushed the knife up and twisted it. Burgundy’s sword fell harmlessly from his hands and planted itself in the snow behind Blue’s feet.

With disgust, Blue pushed his adversary off him and the Mysteronised agent fell onto his back in the snow, like a cut tree. His eyes wide open with surprise, he looked down at the knife hilt, protruding from his belly, then up to the grim-looking Captain Blue, who was standing over him, his sword in his hand.

“You… tricked me,” he rasped with disbelief.

“Of course, I did,” Blue replied coldly, as he regained his breath. “As you pointed out yourself, I was no match for you with the sword. My only chance to win was to make you believe I was weak and at your mercy, and force you to make a mistake.”

“H-how...?” Burgundy said with a croak. Blood started pouring from the corners of his mouth. He coughed. “I was supposed to win...”

“You changed the story, Burgundy,” Blue told him implacably. “You weren’t fighting a blind Hodur, powerless to fight and guilt-ridden because he had caused the death of his own brother. On the contrary, Hodur was now a man determined to get revenge upon those responsible for his brother’s fatal injury. The conclusion is therefore different.” He raised his sword, tip down toward the man’s chest. “Sorry, but I’m afraid you lose. You can tell that to your Mysteron masters on your way to Hell.”

Without even blinking an eyelid, he stoically plunged the sword into Burgundy’s heart.

Lieutenant Burgundy sat up straight onto his bunk, suddenly gasping for air. Technician Keppel raised his head over the screen of his computer, looking at the man’s reaction with complete disbelief. He saw Burgundy with his eyes wide, and his hands flying to his throat, his fingers twisted as he clutched desperately for much-needed air. Then, as suddenly as he had risen from his bunk, he fell down back on it, with a gurgling, agonising sound.

Keppel quickly left his station and strode towards the bunk of his accomplice. He looked down at him, noticed his wide-open mouth and glassy eyes, and knelt down, to check the pulse in his neck. There was none.

“No,” Keppel murmured, shaking his head. “It can’t be possible...” He shook his accomplice, as if trying to wake him up. “It can’t be possible!” he shouted. “How can you let yourself be killed, you idiot?! It was you who was supposed to kill Captain Blue – not the other way around!”

Keppel stood up, and looked fiercely towards Blue, who, after stirring so much on his bunk over the past few minutes, seemed now to be resting quietly. “Looks like it’ll be for me to do it, then,” he muttered, with a murderous glow in his eyes.

He took his gun from his belt and levelled it at Blue. At the same moment, he heard a groan that made him stop. He watched as, from between Blue’s and Rhapsody’s bunks, Symphony Angel was stirring, and starting to come to. Still half-stunned, she raised herself into a sitting position, holding herself upright against the side of her fiancé’s bunk. Blood smeared the side of her head, and she obviously looked concussed, as she raised confused eyes in the Mysteronised agent’s direction.

He smirked evilly.

“You’re just in time, Symphony Angel,” he said affably enough. “You’ll join your lover in death, in just a few seconds.” He cocked the hammer of his gun. “Don’t thank me… I’m more than happy to oblige.”

Captain Black was still standing on the hill, monitoring with attention the battle taking place below his feet. The first men from Svartalfheim had fallen against the defence of the Aesir warriors, who were fighting them off with swords, spears and arrows, and with a desperation such that, temporarily, it looked like they had a slight advantage. The crazy warrior who had broken from their defence line earlier had disappeared into the waves of advancing warriors, and Black had not been able to find him again in all the confusion that followed. He was most certainly dead.

Black was figuring out that the Spectrum senior staff turned Aesir warriors would not be able to repel their enemies’ attacks for very much longer and that it would soon be finished.

That’s when he sensed it.

A strong, mute signal, that announced Lieutenant Burgundy’s death and made him turn on his heels. An improbable sight offered itself to his view.

He watched, as a victorious Captain Blue, his sword in his hand, was standing over his vanquished foe lying in the middle of blood-stained snow.

Impossible! thought Black, as a first faint sign of emotion passed through his normally unaffected features. Burgundy was a champion fencer. He had the advantage over his adversary, the odds were all in his favour… and he had been killed by the inexpert Blue!? How could that have happened?

He saw Blue turning his attention to him, and staring at him defiantly. Black’s jaw tightened, as his hand reached for the bow and quiver of arrows hanging from the saddle of his horse. Blue was still at a good distance from him, and it would take time for him to run in this direction, if ever he would attempt to do so. But Black didn’t have any intention of giving him that time. It didn’t matter that Burgundy had failed. Since it had to come down to it, he would have to do the job himself.

He didn’t even have time to put the arrow into the string and bend the bow.

A sudden, sharp pain tore into him, as he was brutally struck from behind; he gave but a faint grunt, and staggered on his feet under the violent impact. Eyes widened in shock, he looked down at himself...

… And saw the point of a spear covered with blood – his blood – emerging from his mid-section.

What the...?

With a grunting effort, he stumbled forward and gave a sharp pull, extracting himself from the weapon that had impaled him. His hands instinctively went to cover the large wound, but he could barely stop it from bleeding. He was still on his feet, although unsteadily standing, and managed to slowly turn around, finding the strength not to fall yet.

Just over the side of the hill, kneeling on one knee and supporting himself on one hand while the other was holding the spear that had struck him, Black discovered with surprise who had dealt him this terrible blow.

“Green,” he droned disbelievingly, forcing the word from his lips.

Heimdall – Lieutenant Green – was looking up at him with hatred and triumph in his eyes. He had somehow managed to get through the lines of enemy warriors, fighting his way up just to get to the loathed Loki. He was breathing with difficulty and his body was covered with multiple wounds, sustained during his arduous passage, and he was obviously running on his last ounces of strength. Nevertheless, he had accomplished with success what he had set himself to do.

“If we are to die,” Green said in a strained but satisfied voice, “you will die with us, villain.”

Black coughed and fell on his knees, wincing slightly at the pain in his belly.

No. it couldn’t end like this... He couldn’t be allowed to die here. It wasn’t the plan – his masters still needed him.

A brief smile tugged at his lips. “Yes…” he said in a stressed voice, which was that of a normal human being in the space of that moment. “To die… and be free of them… At last… Thank you, Green...”

“No, Captain Black. The deep otherworldly voice he knew all too well suddenly rang into his mind, putting an end to his hope of freedom. “You must not be allowed to die. Your debt to us is not paid in full yet. You will escape this fantasy world, but not your fate. You will continue to live to serve us.”

Despair briefly filled his heart before his human side vanished as quickly as it had appeared, leaving in its stead the barely human slave of the Mysterons.

“The game is not over yet. Do what you must in order for the Mysterons to win.”

Black nodded his understanding. He had to return to the real world, before he died in this fantasy world. For if he was to die here, it would also mean Spectrum’s victory.

“All is not said...” he said in a defiant monotone, looking straight at Green. And it was as if he was not addressing only him, but the entire senior staff of Spectrum, presently fighting for their lives. “I know what I have to do.”

Green just had the time to see him evaporate into thin air, but was already too weak to even be surprised by this strange phenomenon. He fell forward, his draining strength now barely able to keep him up.

As she was still checking on Captain Scarlet’s condition, Harmony Angel turned in alarm when she heard a groan coming from behind; it was with much distress that she saw Captain Black stir in his seat, shaking his head from one side to the other. He’s awakening, she thought, instinctively backing off a step. This man was, after all, Spectrum’s most dangerous enemy, not counting his Mysteron masters. The man they feared the most – and the one they wanted the most.

Great. He’s here, on Cloudbase, probably thinking we’re all powerless against him, while he is unarmed and awakening...

It was an unhoped-for chance for Spectrum to capture him now. The main thing was to act quickly, while he was still defenceless and didn’t suspect a thing.

Harmony drew her weapon – the gun she had taken from Petrie earlier – and took a careful step toward Black. She stopped at what she considered a safe distance from him, and watched him cagily, gun levelled at him.

She was just thinking that she would have to contact Doctor Fawn again and inform him of the new development after she had secured Black, when Harmony felt something cold suddenly resting against the back of her neck. She froze instantly, as she heard the distinctive click of a gun hammer being drawn back.

“Drop the gun,” a female voice ordered her implacably. “Do it quickly, or I’ll shoot.”

Harmony let go of her gun, which clattered to the floor. The weapon resting against her neck was removed, and the person holding it pushed the Chinese pilot to one side. With one swift kick, the gun on the floor was sent sliding out of reach.

Harmony watched with anger and frustration as her assailant came to stand in front of her, the gun now levelled straight at her heart. Surprise flashed in the Angel’s eyes when she recognised the woman standing now in front of her, wearing the uniform of one of sickbay’s nurses.

“Anna Preston?” the Angel pilot murmured with a deep frown. “I thought Doctor Fawn said you were –”

“Dead, Earthwoman?” Preston said with a brief smile. “Doctor Fawn was right. Anna Preston died in that game world where your colleagues are doomed to be destroyed, too. That’s why I’m here now.”

“You are her Mysteron replacement,” Harmony said.

“Very clever of you to have deduced that,” Preston said sarcastically. She saw Harmony eyeing the speakers, and guessed the idea that had surged in the Angel’s mind. “Don’t bother to call out. I closed the channel.”

A groan from Black made Preston give but a glance in his direction. “Stay where you are,” she advised Harmony. “You know I won’t hesitate to kill you.”

Keeping totally still under the threat of the gun, Harmony looked on as Captain Black’s eyelids fluttered and finally opened, after his long slumber. Automatically, his almost lifeless black eyes scanned the room, in a cold assessment. He took note of the Mysteronised Anna Preston’s presence, without a single sign of surprise or any emotion whatsoever passing on his features. Then his attention was drawn to Harmony and he stared intently at her.

The Angel pilot could barely keep a shiver from running down her spine at the intensity of his gaze. He said nothing, however, and put his feet down on the floor, before standing up, slowly. If he felt any stiffness due to his sleep in the same position for so long, he didn’t show it at all.

“The mission has failed,” Anna Preston told him, and he hardly turned his head in her direction to acknowledge her words. “You barely escaped with your life. You must now flee.”

Captain Black slowly shook his head at the suggestion. “No,” he said, and that single word, spoken in that inhuman voice that Harmony had never heard, but that others had described to her so often, was enough to freeze the blood in her veins. “The mission is not finished yet.”

Black scanned the room again, and Harmony saw his eyes stop. She followed the direction of his gaze, and discovered he was now looking intently at the tank that contained the still unconscious Captain Scarlet. Her eyes opened wide with horror, when she turned back to face Black, and could see nothing but cold determination in his pale, stone-like features.

“There is still a way for us to win,” Black declared in a detached tone.

He stepped forward, towards the tank.

From down in the valley, Captain Blue had seen Captain Black being struck down by the wounded warrior coming up from behind him, but was too far away to do anything about it. If he had to be honest with himself, though, he had to admit that he wasn’t that unhappy about what had just happened to Black.

However, he was still concerned that if Black were to die, it might also mean that he would never be able to make him talk and reveal how to escape this fantasy world. He took a few tentative steps towards the top of the hill. As far as he could see, Captain Black wasn’t dead yet, so maybe he would be able to reach him before it was too late.

He then saw Black fall on his knees and vanish into thin air, and that made him stop right in his tracks.

Black was gone.

Blue exhaled loudly. Damn! What are we to do now?

He wondered if Captain Black had, yet again, inexplicably escaped them, like so many times before. But this time, his escape could very well mean he was leaving all of Cloudbase staff to their fate...

“Adam!”

The cry behind Blue made him turn to look back. Rhapsody, still tending to Captain Scarlet, was gesturing wildly in his direction. Right then, he forgot about Black and ran back to his friends. When he arrived next to them, completely out of breath, Rhapsody raised despairing eyes to him.

“He’s getting worse,” she informed sadly.

Blue noticed that Scarlet had his eyes closed and was feverish, muttering under his breath. He knelt beside him, and put a hand on his shoulder, shaking him gently.

“Paul?” he called. “Can you hear me?”

Scarlet was shaking his head from side to side.

“Cold...” he whispered. “So cold...”

“Hang in there,” Blue urged him. “You will get through... Like you always do.”

“Can’t breathe...” Scarlet replied heavily.

“Listen to me,” Blue insisted. “You are not going to die from that arrow wound. You’re not Balder! You’re not a legendary Viking warrior vulnerable to yew... Never have been and never will be! You are Paul Metcalfe – Captain Scarlet, Spectrum’s indestructible agent. And you are trapped in a fantasy world where you believe you are Balder.”

“It’s all in your head,” Rhapsody added in turn. “Nothing of what’s happening in this world is real.”

Scarlet shook his head, without opening his eyes. “The cold... I can’t move...”

“Yes, I know,” Blue sighed. “Everything seems so real here – and if you believe it, if you die here – you’ll die for real. You just have to convince yourself it’s not real. You have to listen to us... Believe in us instead.”

“Cold…” Scarlet reiterated. “Water… I’m in cold… water…”

“Please listen –”

“Adam,” Rhapsody suddenly interrupted. She had noticed something that Blue obviously didn’t. “Listen to him... The accent… it’s gone. It’s not Balder answering you. It’s like earlier, just before you became Hodur, and like that other night when Anna Preston stabbed him… It’s Paul! His real persona is breaking through.”

“You’re right,” Blue concurred. “It is Paul!” He leaned closer over his friend, and called, in a stronger voice, “Paul! Can you hear me?”

Only a faint grunt answered him.

“Paul!” Blue called again, even stronger this time. “Do you hear me? Answer me!”

Scarlet opened his eyes, like a man waking up from a bad dream. He blinked several times, looking into Blue’s face. His eyes alighted with recognition. “Adam...” he croaked, fighting not to fall asleep.

“Attaboy, Paul!” Blue said with a grin. “You’re getting back into control.”

“Di-Dianne...” Scarlet continued, his eyes finding Rhapsody by his side, looking at him with concern.

She wiped his sweaty brow with her hand, very gently. “Keep fighting, Paul. You will get through.”

“I’m not… really here,” he replied in little more than a whisper. “I’m trapped… Can’t move…”

“Where are you?” Blue asked him. “Can you tell us?”

“C-Cloudbase… I think…” Scarlet slurred. “I’m cold...”

“You’re lying in the snow,” Rhapsody explained. “That’s why you’re cold.”

Scarlet shook his head negatively. “No… Water… Submerged in… cold water… Trapped…”

“Submerged in water?” Blue repeated with a frown. “What do you mean?”

“Trapped…” Scarlet’s eyelids were drooping drowsily. “Sleepy…”

“Can you break free?” Blue insisted.

“Can’t... too sleepy...” Scarlet’s eyes closed again.

“They’re somehow keeping him under sedation,” Rhapsody realised. “With some kind of drug.” There really wasn’t any other explanation.

“Fight, dammit!” Blue encouraged his friend. “Fight it, whatever it is. Wake up, for Heaven’s sake! Wake up into the real world, you hear? Before it’s too late or you die in here!”

“Don’t know... if I can...”

“Just do it!” Blue almost barked. “You hear me, Captain Scarlet?” FIGHT IT AND WAKE UP!”

There was but a faint nod from Scarlet before his chin drooped down onto his chest. Then he sighed deeply, as if he was taking his last breath.

Before Rhapsody Angel or Captain Blue could realise what was happening, they saw his body shiver… and it then vanished into thin air.

Like if he had never existed.

Just like Black before, Blue mused.

With eyes wide with shock, Rhapsody was now staring at her empty lap, where Scarlet’s head had rested a second earlier. She looked up in concern to Blue. “Is he dead?” she asked with a quiver in her voice. “Or... is he back to the real world?”

“Damned if I could say for sure,” Blue answered darkly.

He was fervently hoping for the second alternative.

“Keppel! Drop it!”

The door leading into the room slid open, and Technician Keppel twisted around to see Doctor Fawn standing just in the doorway, aiming a Mysteron gun, strapped around his shoulders, straight at him.

“I think not, Doctor,” Keppel said, his voice still very quiet, and his gun still levelled in Symphony’s direction. “I think you understand that one false move from you will mean the death of your precious Symphony Angel.”

Fawn grunted with irritation; he could see it was all too true. Keppel would have plenty of time to press the trigger before he would be able to use the Mysteron gun. It seemed like a good idea when he had taken the weapon from the security locker, just behind the sickbay reception desk. Only he, the head nurse, the Spectrum senior staff and the security guards assigned to sickbay knew the numeric code to open the locker – a code that was changed regularly. The enemy didn’t have access to it, when they had taken the base. Most probably, they were not even aware of the gun’s existence.

“Nice of you to join us,” Keppel continued. “But I’m afraid this new toy of yours won’t be useful to you. You won’t shoot me.”

“Are you so sure about that?” Fawn asked dryly. “You still think I wouldn’t be able to shoot you if I have to?”

“You wouldn’t risk Symphony Angel’s life, would you? Captain Blue wouldn’t be very pleased if she was to die because of you.”

“What would killing her give you, Keppel? It’ll be one more death to your credit... Haven’t you killed enough?”

“Never enough,” Keppel seethed. “The aim of this operation was to kill every person onboard Cloudbase... So don’t think I won’t be ready to start with this meddling woman!”

“If you kill her, I’ll definitely shoot you.”

Keppel laughed. “I don’t think you’ll be able to kill me now, Doctor, no more than you were earlier. I had to do the job in your stead, putting a bullet in my head by my own hand, don’t you recall?”

“I foolishly thought you were human. Your ‘suicide’ threw me off, I admit it. That was crazy enough coming from a deranged human being. You manipulated me into thinking you were one.”

“Yes, I believe I succeeded in making it realistically dramatic, didn’t I? I particularly liked the line about how the Mysterons would reward me,” Keppel said with a satisfied grin. “But you weren’t that far wrong, mind you, Doctor. And your logic was without flaws. Technician Keppel was human when this operation started, weeks ago. He was human all the time, when, following his instructions, he set up the equipment, and prepared the ground for the fateful day when the Mysterons would strike. He certainly didn’t imagine that he would finally be killed, three days ago, in order for him to be replaced by... well... me. The operation was entering its critical phase. The Mysterons would certainly not entrust an Earthman with it, no matter naively loyal he was to them. It was far too risky. Earthmen are too unpredictable.”

“Whose instructions was the human Keppel following?” Fawn asked. “The Mysterons’? It seems out of character for the Mysterons to plan so far ahead. And how was he killed?”

“It doesn’t matter, Doctor,” Keppel retorted. “You can’t act on that newfound knowledge anyway. And I’ve lost enough time as it is right now. It’s time for the Mysterons to have their just reven –”

Keppel didn’t finish his sentence.

While the Mysteron agent was distracted by his exchange with Doctor Fawn, Symphony Angel had noticed he was nearly standing on cables lying on the floor, one end of which were connected to the projectors set over her fiancé’s and Rhapsody’s bunks. The young woman took advantage of the fact he had stopped paying all the attention he should have on her and in an impulsive gesture, she pulled roughly on the cables, which entangled round his feet and threw him off-balance, taking him completely by surprise.

The gun went off and the bullet lost itself in the projector over Blue’s face, sending white sparks of light falling everywhere like fireworks. Symphony buried her face in the bunk’s mattress and covered her head against the rain of sparks – and from under her arm, witnessed as Doctor Fawn triggered the Mysteron gun. A mortal flash of light blue this time, surged from the weapon and hit Keppel squarely in the chest. The high voltage energy sent him crashing roughly against his own console. He cried out briefly, his eyes wide open with what looked like an expression of total bewilderment. Then, he slowly slid to the floor, where he sprawled, his now lifeless features staring at the ceiling.

Putting the Mysteron gun aside, Doctor Fawn walked over to Symphony, and gave her a hand to get to her feet. She swayed, as a wave of nausea hit her, and he helped her to sit down, on the side of Blue’s bed. He quickly examined her injury.

“You might have a concussion,” he noted briefly.

“That makes two of them in one day,” she muttered darkly, wincing. “First in that fantasy world, and now.” Symphony glared viciously at Keppel’s dead body. “I’ll really have to brush up on my fighting skills. He completely took me by surprise.”

“You’re been through a lot, and you’re tired. Don’t be so hard on yourself.”

“Thanks for saving my life, Edward. I know how you feel about weapons, and how much it must’ve cost you to actually pull that trigger.”

“Yes, well... I didn’t have much choice, did I?” Fawn replied, lowering his gaze. “It was you or him, and it was his mistake to think I’d hesitate one second to kill him, if it meant saving you, and the others.” He leaned his head to one side, looking at her, as she reached her wound with her hand, and cringed. “I’ll get my kit and take care of that –”

“It can wait for later,” she said, waving his help aside. “We’ve other problems to attend to at the moment, don’t we?” She gestured towards the console. “I hope it wasn’t damaged by that electric shock? We might still need it.”

Fawn walked to the console and checked it out briefly. “No, it seems perfectly all right. Thank goodness.” He sighed. “Come on. Let me at least put a dressing on that thick head of yours. Then we’d better contact Harmony. She hasn’t heard from us for some time, and she must be wondering if everything’s okay here.”

Captain Scarlet’s first reaction upon regaining consciousness was panic.

He had found himself completely submerged in water – very cold water. Worse, he couldn’t even get to the surface; something was keeping him down, underneath the water, restraints he could feel on wrists and ankles, and around his waist. His heart raced, and his first instinctive response was to fight against them, trying to break free to escape this watery grave, escape the death by drowning that somebody had obviously designed for him.

Then in the space of a few seconds, the panic had given place to surprise, when he realised that he wasn’t in danger of drowning. There was something in his mouth, strapped onto his face. Something that permitted him to breathe freely underwater.

A respirator.

He forced himself to calm down, slowing down his rapidly beating heart and bringing his breathing to a more regular rate. Since he wasn’t about to drown, there was no need for him to panic.

Scarlet opened his eyelids slowly and let his eyes getting accustomed to the pressure of the water, while forcing himself to calm down. He felt weary, with almost no strength at all, and there was the residue of a strange numbness in all his muscles; he could barely feel his fingers or toes. He looked around himself, and his surprise grew, and with it his anxiety, as his exact situation revealed itself to him.

The icy-cold water in which he was immersed had a strange blue tint, but was clear and he could see through it, and through the bubbles caused by his own respirator. He could see into a room which looked like a laboratory. His heartbeat increased when he realised he was a prisoner inside a large aquarium-like glass tank. Tentatively, he reached for the surface of his prison with his fingertips but to no avail; the restraints were keeping him down just at the limit of the surface. He couldn’t hear anything at all; even if there had been sounds surrounding him, his water-filled ears wouldn’t be able to pick them up.

He was completely isolated inside this watery glass coffin.

Where am I? What is going on? Scarlet’s mind was trying to comprehend his situation, but he was still too confused to fully grasp exactly what could have occurred for him to find himself in this peculiar predicament, and even less the full extent of what was happening to him. The last thing he remembered was a dream – such a very strange dream in which he was a fierce Viking warrior. It felt so real when he was living it, and yet seemed so improbable right now.

He felt a vibration, more than actually heard the sound, as something – someone – tapped a steady beat against the surface of his glass prison. That came from the other side of the tank, and he turned his head around, to see what it was.

Scarlet froze instantly, and his heart rate increased again.

Beyond the blue-hued water, he could see the sinister features of Captain Black, looking unemotionally at him.

“He has awakened,” Anna Preston told Captain Black

“I can see that,” Black responded in his cold and ominous voice.

His eyes had locked with those of the prisoner inside the water-filled tank, who was staring at him through the glass, upon discovering him standing there. There was still that spark of defiance in those indomitable eyes, even as he found himself in such a precarious situation, totally defenceless and with no obvious way of escape. Black couldn’t help but feel some admiration for his masters’ most relentless enemy. Today, they had the chance of getting rid of him, definitely.

A pity.

“We have little time to spare,” Black declared. “Now that he has left the game, the others will do the same shortly.”

Harmony Angel was standing right next to Anna Preston, who was keeping her gun levelled at her. The young Chinese pilot had been able to do nothing else but watch helplessly, as Captain Black had approached the water tank, just as Captain Scarlet was finally regaining consciousness.

Doctor Fawn was right, she told herself, upon hearing Captain Black’s statement. Captain Scarlet was the key to end the game.

“We should have killed all of them a long time ago,” Preston spat. “While they were still all sleeping, they were at our mercy. That would have ensured the Mysterons’ victory.”

“Killing them while defenceless wasn’t the Mysterons’ intent,” Black replied coldly. “This is a War of Nerves. Spectrum still needed a fighting chance to beat the odds and thwart our masters’ threat.” He paused a second, before adding: “And there was a point to be made with the game…”

“What kind of point?” Preston inquired.

“The Mysterons wanted to prove that all Earthmen are inherently savage, and that given the chance, they will turn against even their own brothers and destroy each other.”

Harmony scoffed hearing that. “Evidently, the game failed to demonstrate that argument, isn’t that true, Captain Black?”

He didn’t even turn around to look at her. “It is of no importance anymore. As it is, the Mysterons now crave the victory.”

Harmony didn’t like the threatening way Black was now looking at Scarlet. She just knew he would make a last attempt to ensure the Mysterons would be victorious.

But what would it be exactly?

“We have but a few minutes to turn everything back again,” Black said, turning to Preston. “We must kill him before the others wake up.”

“And then they will all die during the game, like they were supposed to,” Preston said.

Black nodded. “The senior staff was already in a delicate situation when I left the game. Killing Scarlet will secure their fate. Doctor Fawn will not have the time to save them, and the Mysterons will have won.”

Black walked around the tank slowly, followed both by the eyes of the prisoner inside and by those of Harmony. He came to a stop next to the cylinder of oxygen to which Scarlet’s respirator was linked. Methodically, he turned the first valve, regulating the flow of oxygen; Scarlet’s eyes became wide, as he understood what his enemy was up to. Desperate to free himself, he began straining against his restraints. Water started splashing over the sides of the tank under his efforts.

“This will be too slow,” Preston pointed out. “And Scarlet being indestructible, he will revive from it, even if the others die.”

“Then we must find a way to kill him – permanently,” Black agreed, as his hand started turning the second valve on the oxygen cylinder.

Preston was looking around, searching for something she had seen earlier in the room, something she knew would be perfect to ensure Captain Scarlet’s final fate.

There. She found it.

The electric rod lying on the control console, only a few metres from her.

“I have exactly what we need,” Preston said with an evil grin, as Black was closing the second valve tightly. She grabbed Harmony by the arm and pushed her towards the console. “Start walking, you –”

Now or never...

Touching Harmony and keeping so close to her was a mistake Preston didn’t realise she had made before it was too late. As swift as a cobra, Harmony twisted around, and her open hand dealt a karate chop at the Mysteronised nurse, while her other hand gripped the wrist holding the gun. The force of the Angel’s attack was enough to shatter Preston’s cheekbone, blinding her temporarily. Harmony slipped her foot between the woman’s feet and sent her down. Preston’s head hit the floor with violence, stunning her; the gun escaped from her hand and clattered away.

Barely three seconds had passed, and by that time, Harmony had turned around again and made a step towards the console to take the electric rod herself. Captain Black suddenly appeared before her, and his hand clutched her wrist, just as she was lifting the weapon up. She gasped in surprise, as she gazed into his cold, emotionless face.

“Resourceful as always, Harmony Angel.” Before she could react, Black’s other hand snapped around her throat and held her like a vice. She gasped again, and struggled to escape him, but his clutch was too strong. He backed up toward the tank, still holding her, as effortlessly as a cat holding a mouse.

Beyond the face of her opponent, Harmony could see Scarlet, thrashing about inside the tank, so wildly that it was rocking on its supports and that large amount of water was spilling onto the floor. Surely, now that he couldn’t breathe through the respirator, he was suffocating, and trying frantically to escape that fate.

Black was barely taking any notice of the splashing sounds close behind him; all his attention was on Harmony, whom he was holding so tightly, it was hurting her. His hand squeezed around her throat and she gave a faint whimper, as she started to have difficulty breathing.

“All your efforts will serve nothing,” he intoned as she looked with terror into his dark eyes. “Tonight, all of Cloudbase personnel will die, starting with you.”

There was a sudden, more violent splashing sound behind, that made Black turn around. With a last, frantic effort which called on reserves of strength he didn’t even know he had, Captain Scarlet had snapped his wrist and waist restraints to finally burst through the surface of the water. Holding himself against the side of the tank, he immediately tore the now ineffective respirator from his mouth and gasped in much needed air, shivering against the cold, and his teeth chattering uncontrollably. He was pale, weak and barely able to move, but there was still a spark of defiance in his bleary blue eyes, as he glared at Captain Black.

The latter’s jaw tightened dejectedly. “You have not won yet, Captain Scarlet.” He let go of Harmony’s throat, and tried to take the electric rod from her hand.

This was the opening she was waiting for, and she hit him with all of her strength with her free hand right on his temple. He blinked under the impact and pushed her away from him, before stepping back, almost by instinct, straight into Scarlet’s reach. The latter, despite his present state of weakness, swiftly wrapped his arms around Black’s neck to hold him in the strongest lock he could manage at the moment.

“As long as I l-live,” Scarlet gasped in a strained voice into Black’s ear, “I will never l-let you hurt anyone in f-front of my eyes ever again!”

As Black struggled to free himself, Harmony took a step forward to help her colleague. But just then, Anna Preston, who had got to her feet in the meantime, launched herself at her with fury, and pushed Harmony against the console behind her. The Angel’s back bent painfully, as Preston held her down with her weight, trying to pry the electric rod from her hand.

“Give me that, witch,” Preston seethed between her teeth. “If I have to kill you to have it, I will!”

Like Black before, Preston put her hand around Harmony’s throat, but the latter propped herself against the console to get some leverage and raised her right leg. She aimed a strong kick at Preston’s midsection, freeing herself, and shoved her opponent away with all of her might. Unbalanced by Harmony’s kick, the Mysteronised nurse fell back…

Taking advantage of Scarlet’s current weakness, Captain Black successfully freed himself from his hold and turned around to deal with the Spectrum officer just when the full weight of Preston, repelled by Harmony, came crashing into him, sending him stumbling heavily against the water-filled tank.

To Harmony’s horror, the tank, already unbalanced by Scarlet’s efforts to free himself and then by his tussle with Black, slid to the other side of its support.

Scarlet realised the danger, mere seconds before it happened. He at once let go of Black and was already leaning over the side to escape the tank as it started tipping over. He didn’t know by what miracle the restraints holding his feet gave way at that moment – maybe all his struggles had done the job – but in any case, he just had the time to jump free of the tank as it finally fell off its support, pouring out an enormous quantity of liquid, and finally smashed down onto the floor, with a thunderous crash.

Scarlet roughly crashed to the floor, thankfully clear of the falling tank. His naked body slid on the slippery floor, and he was carried away by the flow of water escaping the now broken tank. He felt shards from the broken glass pierce his right leg and he gave a short cry. Coughing and trying to regain his breath, he crept as far as he could from the glass debris and electric cables lying on the wet floor, dragging his wounded leg behind, to finally fall on his belly, exhausted by his efforts, ten feet away from where he had fallen.

Captain Black had miraculously kept clear of the accident, managing to stay on his own two feet and jumping to the side to escape the rush of water and the falling broken glass. The worst he had to suffer was to have his boots splashed with water. He backed away, and looked on as Anna Preston, propelled by the force of the earlier thrust, tumbled over the prop which previously supported the tank, and fell onto the water-covered floor, straight into the glass debris. She gave a loud shriek of pain as the biggest glass fragments cut deeply into her, and sliced into the soaked electrical cables lying underneath, sending a massive amount of voltage through her injured body. There was a sudden flash of white light and smoke, and then, a burning smell that made Harmony, who was witnessing everything, look away in disgust.

The door slid open right at that instant, and Doctor Fawn, carrying the Mysteron gun, stopped at the entrance, shocked by the scene – and the stench. He watched with eyes wide with revulsion as Preston’s half-burned body gave a last, silent shudder before finally lying still on the floor.

Captain Black was hugging the wall at a safe distance, watching with still unemotional eyes the grisly death of the Mysteronised woman. He just raised his head upon Fawn’s arrival, and glared at the doctor, who had not seen him yet through the thick smoke mounting from Preston’s body.

Black then looked at Harmony, whom he discovered staring straight at him.

Before the Chinese pilot could make a move, or even decide what her next action should be, she watched, with astonishment, as he literally started fading into thin air.

She was still staring in shock at the spot where he had been standing, when the voice of Fawn rang loudly through the room:

“For goodness’ sake, what the devil happened in here? Harmony, where are you?”

“Over here!” Harmony coughed through the smoke. “We’re over here.”

Shaking herself from her moment of shock, she moved around the tank’s debris, avoiding the many puddles of water, glass shards and wires, and went to Scarlet. Thank the stars and his incredible luck, he had been out of reach of the electrical surge that had killed Preston. He was still lying on the floor, barely conscious and almost unable to move. She crouched down next to him.

Scarlet coughed and stifled a groan, as pain from his injured leg assaulted him when Harmony gently turned him on his back. She noticed how awfully cold and almost blue his skin was, and how his teeth were uncontrollably chattering. She raised her head and saw Fawn carefully making his own way towards them through the mess the room had become.

“Doctor, bring some of those, please,” she asked, gesturing to the pile of blankets Fawn had brought earlier into the room. “He’s like ice.”

Fawn did as she asked and upon reaching them, knelt on the other side of the English officer and with Harmony, wrapped him in the warm blankets.

Scarlet’s eyes fluttered and he looked up, tiredly. He gave a weak, but genuine, smile upon seeing the gentle features of Harmony looking down at him with concern.

“H-Harmony,” he slurred, forcing the words through his chattering teeth. “T-thank you, Angel... You saved my life…”

“And you saved mine,” Harmony answered with a brief smile of gratitude, stroking his wet hair soothingly.

Scarlet turned his head to the other side, discovering Fawn there. “D-doc… I had the s-strangest dream… You wouldn’t b-believe it…”

“On the contrary, I think I would,” Fawn replied, smiling reassuringly. “You can tell me later. For now, you must rest. You have been through a lot. You need to heal.”

“Y-you’re the doc, D-doc… I r-really feel like s-sleeping…” Scarlet’s voice trailed off. Fawn was unable to say if he actually obeyed him, or if he simply passed out due to exhaustion.

“Will he be okay?” Harmony asked with concern.

“I believe he will be all right,” Fawn answered. “Now that he has escaped that ignominious tank.” He looked in the direction of the dead, still smoking, body lying on the floor a few metres from them. “That’s Anna Preston. They Mysteronised her?” When Harmony sadly nodded, he muttered under his breath, “Bastards. I knew there was trouble the minute I saw communication was cut to this room.”

“That’s why you came with the Mysteron gun?” Harmony asked.

He nodded. For now, there was little point telling her that something similar had happened in sickbay. He would keep that for later.

He glanced around, suspiciously, and noticed the empty seat that Captain Black had occupied recently. “And what about Black? Where is he?”

Harmony shivered, almost despite herself. “Believe it or not, Doctor,” she said with a quiver in her voice, “but he vanished into thin air. Just like... a ghost.”

Fawn simply acknowledged the information with a brief nod. It wasn’t the first time he had heard report of that happening with Captain Black, and frankly, he couldn’t say he was that surprised.

In any case, he was far too busy right now to devote time to that new mystery. He had other things to do at this moment.

“Now,” he murmured moving to the control console, “let’s hope that everybody else onboard will be all right.”

As they could do nothing but worry about the fate of Captain Scarlet after his disappearance before their very eyes, Captain Blue and Rhapsody Angel came to the conclusion that the best course of action for them was to keep busy, while waiting for something to happen that would mean their escape from this fantasy world, or their doom that they’d die shortly.

When Blue told Rhapsody what had happened to Captain Black earlier, and considering that he had disappeared in much the same way as Scarlet, they thought they should investigate the event. They found Scarlet’s horse, tied up not that far from there, and mounted it together to ride towards the spot where Black had vanished into thin air.

They found there the warrior who had struck him down, lying face-down in the snow. They had no trouble recognising him as they approached his still body, his dark hand, still clutching the spear by his side, was eloquent enough. Rhapsody leapt from the horse before Blue had properly stopped it, and she was already down on her knees by the warrior’s side by the time he dismounted.

“Green!” She carefully turned the warrior over onto his back and saw the closed eyes in the still, hairless face of Lieutenant Green. He moaned faintly and she sighed with relief, before probing his injuries. Blue came to stand by her side and she looked up at him. “He’s alive, but barely,” she explained. “He’s been badly hur –”

Rhapsody stopped suddenly when she saw the grim expression on Blue’s face, as he stared down the other side of the hill. It was only at that moment that she detected the clamour coming from there. Almost afraid to find out what Blue was watching so intently, she slowly turned her head around...

...And saw the multitude of ill-dressed barbarians, all armed with swords, spears and bows, doing battle down the hill, surrounding a very small group of warriors who was fighting off their assaults with a strength born out of desperation for a lost cause.

“Oh, my God...” Rhapsody gasped, her eyes opened with horror. “Is that –?”

Blue nodded grimly. “I’m afraid it is,” he answered, remembering Burgundy’s earlier words. “The last stand of Aesir and Vanir, where they all are destined to die.”

“Then... all is lost,” Rhapsody said sadly. “It’s the last stand of Spectrum too.”

She spotted a cluster of barbarians, who were now climbing the hill in their direction. They had probably noticed their presence now – and fully intended to make them share the fate of the others.

Blue slowly unsheathed his sword, for the last upcoming battle. “At the very least,” he said, “we won’t go down without a fight.”

There was a faint smile on Rhapsody’s lips. They had never stopped fighting until that moment, they would certainly not do it now. “Spoken like a true Viking,” she said, looking up to Blue.

He answered with a huff, and then took his position to defend the ground. Rhapsody was about to stand up with Green’s spear, when she heard the injured man moaning again. When she looked down to him, his eyes started fluttering. He stared up at her, tiredly.

“Seymour,” she started, and stopped; there wasn’t much that could be said in the circumstances.

“R-Rhapsody...” he whispered, much to the young woman’s surprise, his eyes beginning to close again. “D-Dianne... What is going on...” His voice slurred away and his eyelids closed.

Suddenly, he vanished into the air – much like Scarlet had done earlier. Rhapsody nearly jumped to her feet, her eyes riveted on the empty spot on the snow where his body had been lying. Just as the clamouring enemy warriors were reaching the top of the hill, getting closer to them, she turned shocked eyes to Blue, hardly daring to think what Green’s disappearance could mean.

“Adam... What does –”

“I don’t know!” Blue shouted over the uproar of the approaching warriors and raising his sword. “Prepare yourself!”

And just as Rhapsody turned around, spear in hand, to face the warriors who were now on them…

… They both thankfully vanished into nothingness.

“There are too many of them!” Tyr yelled to make himself heard over the battle cries and weapons clashes surrounding them. He used his sword to push yet another blade away from him and took a step back. “They will overcome us soon.”

That none of the Vanir and Aesir defenders had been killed so far was nothing short of a miracle from the gods, but none of the valiant warriors had any illusion of what their ultimate fate would be. Soon, they would fall under the sheer number of the enemies closing in on them and they would be hacked to pieces.

Thor looked around in Tyr’s direction, maybe to reply to his comment, but didn’t have time to do so. Before his very eyes, he saw his ally fading away, just as he was pushing back the attack of a new assailant. Where he stood, there was now but empty space, nothing left to even indicate that Tyr had been there. Before the astounded Thor was able to voice his surprise, he saw Freyr disappear in much the same way, along with Freyja.

There was only himself left, and the lady Sif, standing with him over the wounded and still unconscious Odin. When Thor looked down at his liege, he then saw him vanish too, as if he had never existed.

What sorcery is this?

Now alone with Sif to repel the enemy’s assault, Thor smashed his hammer on the skull of a warrior who had come too close to her, and took her by the hand to make her back away with him. The warriors from Svartalfheim stopped their attack, and watched as the last Valkyrie and the last Aesir prince stood their ground, readying themselves. It was but a brief respite, that would be followed by the last assault.

Breathing hard, Thor turned to Sif and locked eyes with her. “I love you,” he said quickly between two breaths. “Do you feel the same for me?”

“Of course, I do,” Sif answered as swiftly. There was a sad, but genuine smile on her lips, as she finally told him the words she knew he hoped to hear from her. “I have loved you from the first moment I laid eyes on you.”

He nodded, with intense satisfaction, then turned around to fiercely face the warriors now very close to them. “Then, my love, let us die together, as one!”

With that, he roared with fury, imitated by Sif and both charged the enemy. There was a violent crash of thunder in the sky...

… And they faded away, just like their allies had done before them, and everything surrounding them – Svartalfheim warriors, horses, trees, snow, even the landscape itself, and Yggdrasil last, started dissolving, as if it was but a water-colour picture being washed away by the rain...

Epilogue

Captain Blue woke up with a start, gasping loudly as he did. The air surrounding him was different; it wasn’t cold, and there wasn’t any wind blowing onto his face or whistling into his ears. All he could hear was the reassuring humming of electronic and electric equipment surrounding him.

He opened his eyes and blew a deep sigh of relief as he stared right up at the brightly lit, high ceiling of the sickbay room, in which he had fallen asleep the evening before. He turned his head to his left and found a smiling Rhapsody staring back at him. He smiled back at her.

“We did it,” she told him in a whisper.

“We did it,” he answered, with a satisfied nod of his head. It seemed to him that his voice came out as a mere whisper when he spoke.

“Hello, my valiant Viking prince.”

The enticing voice made Blue shiver, almost despite himself. He turned his head and saw Symphony bending over him, on the other side of the bed, beaming radiantly, and presently busy freeing him from his restraints. Blue’s smile widened upon seeing her, and then he frowned with concern; she had a dressing over her temple, which was soiled with the blood of a very recent wound.

“What happened to you?” Blue asked. God, my throat is so dry. I am so thirsty.

She shrugged. “Oh that? It’s nothing... Iduna cut herself shaving.”

“Very funny.”

“I’ll explain later. For the moment, I don’t have the time. Everyone is waking up all over Cloudbase, and I expect to be busy helping Doctor Fawn for a while.”

“Everyone? Scarlet...?” Blue didn’t dare finish his sentence. He exchanged a concerned glance with Rhapsody.

“Everyone’s all right,” Symphony reassured them. “As far as I know right now, that is. Scarlet too,” she added, turning to Rhapsody. She saw relief relaxing the tense features of both her lover and friend. “His awakening was a little hectic, to say the least, but Doctor Fawn reported that he’s fine right now. Fawn was with him in R&D, when people started waking up – about ten minutes after he did.”

Blue’s head fell down on his pillow and he sighed again, with even deeper relief. “It worked then. We’re all back. We’re safe.”

“I don’t know what worked exactly, but you’re definitely back, all of you.” Symphony bent down closer and lightly kissed his lips. “And am I glad you’re back, Big Blue, and you’ve finally deigned to leave the world of dreams.” Then, with the last of his restraints removed, she went to Rhapsody’s side to free her in turn.

“I’m never going back there,” Blue replied with a frown. “Do you have any idea how much effort we had to make to leave that ‘world of dreams’?”

“Oh, I have a pretty good idea.” Symphony turned around and kissed him again and got to her feet. “And I love you even more for being the hero you are.” She smiled anew and rose to her feet – slowly, he noticed. “Now will you be a dear, and finish freeing Rhapsody for me? I have work to do.”

“With that wound of yours?” Blue asked, as he rose into a sitting position and put his feet to the floor. He grimaced. His whole body was killing him. He’d be nursing painful muscles for the next few days, he was sure of it.

“For now, there’s only Doctor Fawn, Harmony and myself to monitor everyone’s waking up,” Symphony reasoned, as Blue leaned over Rhapsody to remove the last of her restraints. “I have to make do.”

“Then we’ll give you a hand,” Rhapsody offered, now free and sitting up on her bunk. She frowned at the sound of her own voice and looked around. “Is there any water around here?”

Symphony handed her a glass that the English pilot took greedily, sipping the contents with obvious delight.

“Rhapsody’s right. We’ll help you,” Blue said in turn.

“After what you’ve been through? You’ll have to rest a little first.”

“And what about you? Shouldn’t you be resting too?” Blue asked. He accepted the glass Rhapsody was handing him and drank in turn.

“My ordeal can’t have been as terrible as yours. And besides, I woke up some hours ago already.”

“You did?” Blue asked. “How come?”

“Again, I’ll explain later. I’ll admit though,” Symphony said a little sheepishly, “that I’m feeling kind of tired, but I’ll think about getting some rest later. And no,” she added quickly before Blue could comment, “I will not use the Room of Sleep. Not for a while, and maybe not ever. And even if I wanted to, the darn thing is offline, anyway.” She pointed to the console. “I’ll just monitor everyone’s progress from this computer here, don’t worry about me.”

“Then how about you tell us everything that happened, while we’re helping you out?” Blue offered, getting to his feet. “We won’t overexert ourselves, if you don’t either. But,” he added as she smiled again in a thankful way, “I won’t do anything before having some more water to drink… and something to eat. I’m famished and my throat is as dry as sandpaper.”

“The same for me,” Rhapsody said in a pleading voice, her hand resting on her stomach. “I feel as if I’m starving to death...”

“I can understand the feeling,” Symphony chuckled. “There’s some fruit at the nurses’ station and on the reception desk. It’s not much, but it’s fresh... Help yourselves... And bring me an apple, please. A big, red, juicy apple... In the meantime, I’ll call Doctor Fawn in R&D – and tell him you have woken up. He’ll be pleased to know you’re all right and ready to help!”

“Melody! Wait!”

Hearing the male voice calling to her from a short distance behind in the corridor, Melody Angel didn’t even slow down. Instead, she quickened her pace, making a show of pretending she had not heard. The man following her broke into a run.

“Mag! Please, wait for me.”

The shout was a little too loud for her to continue feigning she didn’t hear it. She stopped, just in front of the door to her quarters and sighed deeply, raising her eyes to the ceiling, a defeated expression on her face. She had regained her composure by the time her pursuer had reached her; she turned around just as he was about to touch her arm, and stood as tall as she could before him, looking him in the eyes.

“Yes, Captain Ochre? What can I do for you?”

His hand lowered, without coming into contact with her. He gave her a puzzled look.

“I’ve been trying to talk to you since we woke up from that – er – game last evening,” he told her. “I wanted to ask you...” He lowered his gaze. “… How are you?”

“I’m fine, thanks,” Melody answered. “Well, a little frustrated, maybe, because Doctor Fawn signed me off duty for the remainder of the week.”

“He put nearly all of us off duty, after he released us from sickbay. Or at least, on light duty for a little while,” Ochre remarked. “We kind of think we’re indispensable, don’t we? Don’t worry, they found someone to take the Angel duty during that time. Besides, Harmony is still there to supervise the replacements.”

“It’s not that I’m worrying about,” Melody interrupted before he could continue. “Working helps me cope.”

“Cope with what?”

“Well, the situation, of course. It’s not every day you wake up to discover the dream you were having was shared with four hundred plus people.”

He raised a brow. “How about ‘shared with one specific individual’? Me?”

“What about you?” Melody asked, feigning not to understand his meaning.

This time, Ochre frowned slightly. “Mag, I’m not stupid, you know? I’ve noticed. You’ve been avoiding me since yesterday. I’ve barely seen you.”

“That’s not true!” she scoffed. “I do remember we’ve seen each other a few times.”

“Yeah, but you carefully made sure that it would be while others were around, so we would not be alone together, you and I, at any time.” Hearing footsteps approaching, Ochre stopped and looked on as a technician passed them by, going about her business, without paying any attention to them. He waited until she was out of earshot before looking again at Melody. The latter had grown very quiet, and now looked slightly uncomfortable. “I want to talk to you about what happened during that game.”

“Captain Ochre, I assure you there is nothing –”

“Rick. Look, I know it was embarrassing and all, having to cope with everybody else about those strange events. How we all interacted with each other...”

“Yes, you can say it’s embarrassing,” she admitted, between clenched teeth. “But not to the point where I can’t move on from there. I know we were all acting out of character. We were not ourselves, and had no control, each of us obeying the programming that was put into our minds. I don’t hold a grudge against anyone, I assure you. And that includes you, Captain.”

“Rick,” he insisted again. He tilted his head to one side, looking at her with attention. “Are you sure we acted so out of character, you and I?”

She glared at him. “If you are telling me, you liked seeing Sif as a prisoner, chained and humiliated in front of a bunch of drooling, ill-bred barbarians –”

Ochre automatically held up his hands to stop her. Obviously, it was still a sore point, and it was better not to go into it. “Hell, no, nothing like that,” he assured her. “And you’re right on that point. Thor was a barbarian and that’s definitely not me. On that we can agree, can’t we?”

She nodded. “And I’m not a bloodthirsty Valkyrie,” she agreed.

“No… Although you certainly share some of the fire Sif displayed.” Ochre smiled and added quickly, “I mean that as a compliment. And you have to admit, in his own, barbarian way, Thor indeed loved Sif.”

“Perhaps,” she conceded almost reluctantly. “I can agree that at the very least, he had some affection for her.”

“Then, you admit they weren’t so different from us in that respect,” Ochre continued. “So, what actually happened between them –”

“Nothing happened,” she countered. “Nothing of what you’re implying anyway,” she added, turning around and entering the numeric code to unlock her door. “They didn’t actually get together, if you recall.”

“Yeah but… It’s not as if they – we – actually didn’t want it.”

The door slid open and Melody, who was about to enter, stopped in the doorway, her back turned to Ochre. She glared at him over her shoulder. “I blacked your eye,” she reminded him.

“A gentle love tap,” he said, with a shy smile, approaching one step as she turned around. “I know that’s what ‘Sif’ meant it to be.”

“You would be arrogant enough to think so,” Melody said, staying on her guard. Despite her assertion to the contrary, she still felt a little awkward, with him now so very close to her. “I give quite another description to that ‘love tap’, Captain.”

“Do you?” he said with a grin. “If we’d had more time, Mag...” he bent down to kiss her but she stopped him, putting a hand on his chest.

“But we didn’t,” she remarked.

“Right. Circumstances didn’t allow it. We were too busy fighting for our lives, I believe. But what you said to me, just before we left the game –”

“What Sif said to Thor,” Melody corrected him. “Remember, we were not in control. We were still playing roles.”

“Were we?” Ochre asked, lifting a brow.

“Besides, there’s nothing to say that she really meant it,” Melody reiterated.

“You think so?”

“She – they were about to die. You can say anything at all when you’re about to die.”

“I tend to think that truth often comes out when you’re about to die,” Ochre said, thoughtfully.

Melody shrugged, without caring to answer. She turned back and stepped into her quarters. Ochre stood in the doorway, leaning on the frame, looking thoughtfully at her. The smile on his lips enlarged slowly, and he stepped nonchalantly into the room, the door sliding closed as he cleared the doorway.

“You know, I checked them out on Worldnet.”

Melody turned on her heel to face him again, with an inquiring look; her first move was to ask him why he was entering her quarters uninvited, but she was rather curious to know what he was on about.

“Who?”

“Thor and Sif. I mean, those from Norse mythology?” Ochre stopped in front of Melody, grinning. “They were quite in love with each other.”

“Really now?” Melody retorted. “That didn’t save them from Ragnarok, though.”

“In a way, it did.”

“But if Ragnarok means the End of the World –”

“Did you know there’s a later version of the Ragnarok story?” Ochre explained. “An addition to the tale actually. Some of the gods survived it, or were even resurrected. Once the battle between good and evil was done, and Earth was purged by fire of nearly everything, it was the dawn of a perfect era, a paradise where everyone would live happily ever after. Balder was resurrected of course. No surprise there, actually. I mean, those indestructible guys have all the luck. And his brother Hodur too.”

“And Thor and Sif?”

“No, those two died during Ragnarok.”

“But you said –”

“I said that in a way, they survived Ragnarok.” Ochre looked thoughtfully at Melody. “Through their sons.”

“Sons?” Melody repeated. “They had sons?”

“And a daughter. A Valkyrie, like her mom. The legend says nothing about her surviving Ragnarok, but I can’t see her brothers not trying to protect their kid sister. Not if they were anything like their dad.” Ochre grinned. “Apparently, that Thor and Sif had less trouble than us in… shall we say, getting together?”

Melody lowered her eyes. “Captain –”

“Rick. I keep telling you to call me Rick. Or Richard, if you prefer.” He took her by the arms, gently, and that compelled her to look up to him again. He was still smiling at her.

She sighed deeply. “The problem with you, is that I can never tell if you’re leading me on or not,” she finally blurted. “It’s impossible to tell if you’re serious.”

“But I’m serious, Mag. At least, right now I am.” Ochre sighed in turn, seeing the confusion and the doubt in her eyes. “Look, if I hurt you in any way during that adventure in the Land of the Vikings, I assure you, I didn’t mean to do it. As you pointed out, we were not really in control of many of the aspects of that insane game. But for all the rest, I regret nothing. Except, perhaps... for that missed opportunity for us to get together.”

“By ‘missed opportunity’, you mean, ‘sleeping together’, right?” Melody asked. She shook her head. “First of all, I’m not sure it would have really mean something. It was all make-believe, Captain. Only a trick of the mind. It’s not as if our bodies were actually involved. It would not have really happened.”

“Yeah... But at least it could have been the start of something, don’t you think? I mean for you and me?”

She raised a brow, her face a mask of imperturbability “Secondly –”

“I know. I know what’s you’re going to tell me.” Sighing again, he let go of her arms. “Sleeping together is hardly a way to start a real and solid relationship if there’s only that between two people. There’s a lot more to it than that, and all that jazz... Thor and Sif, they may have loved each other and the game certainly put that in our minds. But you’re wondering if it’s the same between us, and you’re right, Mag.”

He turned away from her and took a couple of steps towards the door before stopping.

“What is there between us, actually? We fight, and we tease each other all the time. We can’t be in the same room for five minutes without driving each other crazy. You infuriate me half the time, and it’s the same for you with me. There might be a sexual attraction between us – hell, I know it’s the case for me – but can we actually call it love? No. I think you’re right, we can’t.”

“Ochre –” Harmony called after him.

“And you’re right again in thinking I’m a jerk,” Ochre continued, dismissing her interruption with a wave of his hand and keeping his back on her. He missed the smile on her face as he continued, “A jerk and an opportunist as well. What, thinking I could have taken advantage of the situation to really end up in bed with you... You must think me a despicable character. I’m sorry if I’ve bothered you with that.” Without turning around to face her, he started walking toward the door. “It was just a silly notion I had that we could start something together – this time, for real. I guess it was my mistake.”

Melody reached out with her hand and swifty seized his forearm to pull him back to her. He turned around in surprise, and bumped into her, as she stepped forward.

“S-sorry.” Ochre tried to step back, but she held his arm tight. She was looking up at him, straight in the eyes, with a mischievous smile on her lips.

“Boy,” she said, “when you start talking, there’s no stopping you, is there?” She chuckled and lowered her eyes slightly. “I never thought you were an opportunist, nor a despicable character, Rick. You are infuriating at times and also a jerk some other times, but maybe that adds to your charm.”

Ochre blinked, unsure how to exactly take this.

“Before your rather loquacious speech so rudely interrupted me, I was about to say…” Melody raised her head and looked into Ochre’s eyes again, adding with the same impish smile: “... Secondly, don’t you think it would mean far more if we were to do it for real, instead than in some silly computer game?”

He frowned, still with some uncertainty. “Do it for real?” he repeated. She nodded, silently. “You mean... you and I… together... We’d be –”

“Man, you’re sure slow to catch on...” Melody said, tutting playfully and shaking her head.

His frown deepened. “Now it’s me who can’t decide if you’re serious or not.”

“Well, now you know how I feel half the time with you. Let me show you how serious I am.”

With that, Melody put her arms around his shoulders and, hanging from his neck, she tiptoed as high as she could to press her lips against his. The first moment of surprise past, he took her into his arms and lift her from the floor. She chortled briefly, and they exchanged a deep kiss that lingered on.

Then Ochre put the young woman back on her feet and their lips parted. They looked at each other, smiling with the same kind of contented, if somewhat sheepish, expression.

“Mag, my girl… when you come on, you certainly come on!”

“Don’t ever call me ‘your girl’,” she replied in an even voice, playfully poking his nose with her finger. “I can be ‘your woman’, but certainly not ‘your girl’. And don’t you forget about that, mister.”

“Yes, ma’am,” he frowned slightly. “So, you’re saying… you have feelings for me?”

She punched him in the chest – possibly harder than she intended to, for he flinched, without however losing his stupid smile.

“Of course, I have feelings for you, you big idiot! And from what I’ve gathered from that absurd speech of yours, possibly as much as you have for me. You are slow to catch on at times, that’s a fact! Aren’t you supposed to be a great detective? Where are your so much-vaunted skills, Fraser?”

“Left them in Aesgard, I’m afraid. And yes, I do have feelings for you. For a long time, I felt attracted to you. And before you ask,” he continued teasingly, “it’s not uniquely sexual attraction.”

“I wasn’t about to ask,” she replied with a giggle. “But that’s good to know. Now… shall we get down to business or not?”

“Get down to –” Ochre stared at her with an inquiring look.

Melody nodded slowly. “Do you still think I’m not serious now?”

Ochre laughed and gathered her up into her arms, swiftly and effortlessly. She didn’t do anything to stop him.

“Oh, I knew all along you were serious, my beautiful Valkyrie slash Angel pilot,” he replied nonchalantly, as he walked toward the bedroom with his precious load. “You know you can’t kid a kidder, honey...”

To that she simply rolled her eyes.

“Why am I not surprised you would be here? Doctor Fawn will have your hide for this.”

Seated at the circular command desk in the Control Room, with his feet up, Captain Blue lifted his head from the document he was reading and gave a sideways glance in the direction of Symphony Angel who had just entered and was now walking purposefully toward him. The stern expression on her face was every bit a match for the tone he had heard in her voice.

“What?” he asked, lifting an inquiring brow. “Someone has to man this station.”

“Someone, but not you. You’re supposed to be on light duty, mister,” Symphony reminded him. “And if I remember correctly, that would be starting after tomorrow. Today, you’re off duty, and should be resting completely. Doctor’s orders.”

“Quite frankly, this is as light as you can get. I’m not doing that much.” He put the papers down and waved at his risen feet. “See? I’m resting.”

“Right. And I’m Little Red Riding Hood.”

“The colour would suit you,” Blue said, grinning and putting his feet down. “How’d you find me?”

Symphony scoffed. “You think that was that difficult? I found Captain Magenta in sickbay and he mentioned it. He came to visit Lieutenant Green and ask questions about the computer security and communication systems. As I understand it, Magenta’s been working to get communications back online and to give the databanks a thorough cleaning, to get rid of the last of the programming Keppel installed in them for the Twilight of the Gods game. By the way, why is he doing all that? Shouldn’t he be resting, like the rest of us?”

“Correction: Pat was simply monitoring the work,” Blue retorted. “He promised he wouldn’t lift a finger.”

“You are quite naïve if you believed he’s doing that! Putting Patrick Donaghue next to a computer and expecting him not to touch it is like expecting me not to taste a three-storey high, triple chocolate cake with thick vanilla icing freshly baked from my mother.”

“The teams under Magenta’s supervision are doing a wonderful job,” Blue continued, feigning not to hear Symphony’s objection, but yet amused by her colourful analogy. “Almost everything is already back online and in perfectly good working order. We just need to run a few security checks to make sure that –”

“You guys are as bad as each other!” Symphony interrupted him, standing next to Blue, and pointing an accusing finger at him. “You can’t rest and Pat can’t rest either! What are we going to do with the both of you?!”

“What can I say – working on the computers seems to help Pat to relax. How could I refuse him?”

“And riding this desk helps you relax?” Symphony asked doubtfully. “I ought to sic Fawn on your – for your own sake!”

Blue rolled his eyes. “Shouldn’t you be resting yourself, instead of spying on us?” he admonished her. “Like ‘not stay on your feet for too long, considering you have a concussion’? Take a seat, that’s an order.”

“I thought you’d never ask.” She literally fell onto his lap, and encircled him with her arms, looking into his face with a large grin. He frowned at her.

“What d’you think you’re doing?”

“Obeying your order.” She shrugged. “This is a comfortable place to rest.”

“This is the commander’s chair.”

“No... this is your lap. Your butt’s on the commander’s chair.”

“Karen, don’t you have any sense of decorum? And can’t you be serious one minute? I’ve work to do.”

“No, you don’t. I keep telling you that. Now, Captain Maroon arrived fresh from London Headquarters early this morning, with a full team of agents to take over from us while we’re recuperating. You’ll call him and you’ll pass the chair of command over to him. That’s where he should be, not you.”

Blue sighed with annoyance and Symphony could have sworn he was now pouting. That didn’t deter her in the least, even if it amused her greatly. She continued to stare at him with as stern an expression as she could muster. “Well? What will it be? Will you go quietly or do I have to make a call to Doctor Fawn – who’s in charge of things at the moment? You know he’ll side with me.”

“Yeah, and he enjoys it just a little too much.” Blue grimaced. “Maroon and his team...” he muttered. “They’re only a skeleton crew...”

“Perhaps, but there’s enough of them to man the essential stations,” Symphony pointed out. “And to help with the proper repairs. And it’s only for a couple of days, Big Blue.”

“And if there’s an emergency during those couple of days?”

“Oh, come now. Maroon has experience in command. He’ll know what to do.” Symphony paused a second, then permitted herself a faint smile. “Besides, if there’s really an emergency, I expect to see Colonel White ejecting him out of his chair faster than he could say ‘S.I.G.’ So he’d better be good at his job.”

“He’d better be, yeah,” Blue mumbled.

“Will you stop worrying?” Symphony admonished him, punching him playfully on the chest.

“Ouch! Careful! That’s typical of you, hitting me when I’m unable to defend myself!”

“You were always quite defenceless against me, Big Blue,” she chuckled teasingly.

“Well, as long as you promise never again to threaten me with a knife, I can accept almost anything from you – I said almost.”

She grimaced. “Are you ever going to forget that?” she said, blushing. “Or that whole Valkyrie episode, for that matter?”

“Never. You were really too sexy, as a Viking warrior princess. Too bad we weren’t able to take pictures.”

“Oh please... Tell me you’re joking.”

Blue laughed. Pushing her off him slightly, he unzipped his breast pocket and fished a small object out of it. Symphony watched his gesture with curiosity, but whatever he took from his pocket, he was now carefully hiding in his closed fist, so she could not see what it was. He gently reached for her hand.

“What are you up to?” she asked with a raised brow.

“Don’t ask questions, just be the Angel you’re supposed to be and give me your hand.”

She complied and then he opened up his own hand. Between his fingers, he was holding a small, white-gold ring, with a single, finely cut blue stone shining brightly on top. Symphony opened eyes wide with astonishment as, almost reverently, Blue slid the ring onto her ring finger.

“This comes from my great-grandmother,” Blue explained. “The ring, that is. The original stone was lost years ago, but my mother always kept the ring anyway. She sent it to me recently… Not long after we visited my family, over Christmas and told them of our engagement. She thought it would be a good idea to give it to you, once I had it repaired. I thought the same.”

“Adam, it’s magnificent,” Symphony whispered, admiring the ring. “Your great-grandmother’s ring... You said... the original stone was lost?”

“Yeah. I had it replaced by this one,” Blue answered, pointing to the stone. “An Australian blue diamond. The job was done by a jeweller in Los Angeles, while I was there last week. He did a wonderful job, fitting it nicely onto the ring.”

Blue kept to himself the fact that he had gone to a hell of a lot of trouble to actually have the whole job finished in time, before his return to Cloudbase. The work schedule in Los Angeles had only permitted him to send the ring to the jeweller by private courier, and he had contacted him by videophone for the specifications. Only on the very last day, when he had finally been able to free himself from his work, was Blue able to personally go to the jeweller, and finally take delivery of his precious gift, and to supervise the details of the latest modifications.

“He also resized the ring, so it would fit your finger.”

“How?” Symphony asked, raising a curious brow. “Since I wasn’t there to lend my hand –”

“Rhapsody ‘borrowed’ your Yale graduation ring from your quarters,” Blue explained. “You never noticed it was gone, did you? I took it with me so I had the right measurements – provided they didn’t change since then.” He delicately kissed the top of her hand. “This is your engagement ring, darling. A proper engagement ring, this time.”

“Oh, Adam... You know it could have been a cigar ring, for all I care! But I am truly touched... This is such a wonderful gift.” She leaned to kiss him on the cheek. “... Coming from the most wonderful man.”

“Do I get only that as a thank you?” he asked with a grimace.

“That was for your mom. This...” Symphony leaned closer to his lips. “… This is for you.”

With that, she gave him a very passionate kiss.

Rhapsody Angel quietly entered the sickbay room through the sliding door to discover Captain Scarlet propped up in bed with his eyes closed. He was half-propped up on his pillows and looked like he was deeply asleep, so she tiptoed over to him, the door sliding closed behind her. As she leaned over Scarlet, brushing his forehead with her lips, he sighed deeply and stirred. She leaned back and watched as he opened his eyes.

“Hi, Angel,” he slurred as he beamed up at her. “Am I glad to see you.”

“And am I glad to see you,” she answered with a smile of her own. She bent to him and lightly kissed his lips. “I missed you – I mean the real you. How are you?”

“Better than I was, before you walked in.”

“That’s so sweet of you to say.” She smiled at him, stroking his cheek. “You will shave this stubble of yours, won’t you?”

“Oh, that...” he rubbed his rough chin, offering her a sheepish grin. “Reminds you too much of that Balder fellow, does it? I promise, as soon as I can, it’s gone. I’m afraid I haven’t had time lately. Being immersed in drugged water and all for three days. You know... normal stuff like that?”

“I heard about that,” Rhapsody said gloomily, while looking straight into his face. “It must have been terrible.”

“Waking up in it was kind of panic-making, yes,” he admitted with a shake of his head. “But I’ll survive. As I always do.”

“You look tired,” Rhapsody said. It was hard not to notice the deep dark rings under his eyes, which were still drooping slightly. His face was also unusually pale, and cold to the touch.

He sighed at her remark. “I am. You’d think I’d slept enough, after three days, but I feel as weak as a kitten. There’s still quite a lot of the drug in my system, apparently, and it’ll take some time for my body to get rid of it, even with my retrometabolism. Doctor Fawn ordered me to take a full week of rest, completely off duty. Quite frankly, I can’t say I’m unhappy with that – for once. I feel like I can use the rest.”

“My poor love... Come here. I have exactly what you need to recover fully.”

Rhapsody leaned again to kiss him, this time more fervently and he answered in kind, weakly raising his hand to stroke her hair, then the nape of her neck, her cheek... When they finally broke the kiss, she leaned her forehead against his, her eyes closed, and sighed a sigh of contentment.

“And what about you?” Scarlet asked. “How are you?”

“Oh, quite fine. I’m off duty for the rest of the day and then light duty... for a few more days, I believe. I didn’t suffer as much as you obviously did.” Rhapsody drew away slightly from him and sat down on a nearby chair, holding his hand in hers.

“Are you sure?” Scarlet insisted.

“Yes, perfectly. I’m fine, I assure you.” She frowned. “Why do you ask so persistently? You don’t seem convinced that I’m fine. Is there something on your mind?”

“Yes. And you should know what.” He looked at her longingly. “I’m so sorry for what happened, Dianne,” he whispered. “What I did and what I said to you. Really, you don’t know how much –”

“It’s all right,” she interrupted. “You weren’t in control – not yourself. Nobody was acting normally, during that game. I can hardly blame you, can I?”

“I wouldn’t be surprised if you did blame me. Because I do blame myself. Even if I wasn’t in control, I can’t help feeling responsible for whatever harm I did to you.”

“Paul –”

“You understand, since that first time the Mysterons took control of me and made me kidnap the World President, I promised myself I’d never let them or anyone else take control of me ever. And then they did it again: putting me under the influence of a stupid game, that removed my own personality, my self-control, my inhibitions, and transformed me into that... ‘barbarian’.” He pronounced the word with disgust and contempt. “When I think of what I did under the influence of that game, especially to you and to Adam... The worst part of it is that, unlike the first time, I remember everything. And I hate it.” He stroked her cheek. “I so wish I could erase all the pain I caused you. I feel so… ashamed.”

“Hey,” she said gently, “you have no reason to, I can assure you.”

“Dianne…” Scarlet swallowed hard. “I could have raped you.”

She swiftly took his hand in hers. “But you didn’t. Taking into consideration that as Balder, you were a rough-edged barbarian… You were still a relatively decent guy.”

“Dianne, you weren’t in my head,” he replied darkly, in a very low voice. “That Balder persona wasn’t that of a ‘relatively decent guy’. Far from it. He was meant as a product of his world: a crude, uncivilised and unkempt Neanderthal, who had no inhibitions whatsoever and was driven by selfish desire, needs and pleasure. That first time he threw you on that bed… His intentions were perfectly clear. You have no idea how much he wanted you… how much I wanted you at that moment… and how dangerously close I was to… acting upon it. Whether you wanted to or not. Remember – you were afraid of me, and with good reason. I hurt you, but it could have been far worst. If I had succeeded… I could have destroyed our relationship.”

“But you didn’t,” Rhapsody replied. “I was there as well, Paul. Yes, it was a scary five minutes… But when you realised how scared I was, how your actions were hurting me, your own self shone through, somehow. You didn’t allow that new persona of yours to hurt me.”

Scarlet sighed. “I remember, yes,” he said, with a faraway look. “When ‘Balder’ tried to assault you, something clicked deep down… and I rebelled, I couldn’t bear hurting you. I fought to regain control and stop myself. That Balder persona was so strong… It was hard to keep a semblance of self-control.”

“You were fighting the game’s influence,” Rhapsody said with a smile. “You almost broke free at that moment… You might have, if Anna Preston had not attacked and stabbed you. After that, when Balder returned… there was something different between us. I wasn’t scared. Perhaps it was because I knew then that it was really you… and I knew you wouldn’t hurt me.”

“Even though Balder still attempted to seduce you?”

“Well, it was you… so I didn’t feel threatened anyway. Besides, nothing happened between us that I didn’t consent to.”

Scarlet frowned and asked her, “And what were you attempting to do exactly, when you finally answered Balder’s advances? You wanted to try and get the real me to wake up?”

“Ah… yes, exactly,” Rhapsody answered sheepishly. “Didn’t work out as planned, I’m afraid. But still, it was worth a try, anyway.”

“My only consolation is to think that I wasn’t too... rough, with you.” He looked at her, anxiously. “Was I?”

“You were not. There was still a huge part of you present in Balder. I realised that the minute I was in his arms. Those were your arms. Besides,” she added with a shy smile, “do remember that none of this really happened. It was all part of the game. We didn’t exactly make love on a physical level. It was only digital – even if it was bloody realistic, I have to admit. Boy, whether it was mysteronised or not, that game sure knew how to stimulate the senses – in every way possible.”

“And what about what happened at Yggdrasil?” Scarlet continued relentlessly. “I almost struck you down with a sword.” He swallowed hard and repeated: “With a sword, dammit. Dear God, knowing now that you would have died in the real world if your Valkyrie persona had in the game… I could have killed you – ”

“Stop.” Rhapsody swiftly put her fingers to his lips, silencing him. “Remember, you didn’t bring that sword down. And truly, even though I briefly feared it, I still don’t think ‘Balder’ would have done it.”

Scarlet gently took her hand in his. “You still think that savage was a decent guy, then?” He asked with doubt. “You’re really being magnanimous, love. You pushed Balder off the edge.”

“Yes, to get to you. No matter how hard you try to deny it right now, my love, I was certain, without a shadow of a doubt, that there was still a lot of you, somewhere hidden deep in Balder. You had emerged a couple of times already. I just needed to push hard enough to find you.”

“That was a damned risky gamble you took, sweetheart.”

“Well, that time, it actually worked. But the circumstances didn’t allow you to completely come back to your senses.”

“I remember that too,” Scarlet murmured, lowering his eyes. “Dianne, all those things you said to me – to Balder – about hurting you...”

“Yes, well – ‘hurting’ is rather a big word. ‘Disconcerting’ would better describe how I felt confronted with that... new personality of yours.”

“I was acting like a jerk, when I was that barbarian, wasn’t I?”

Rhapsody rolled her eyes. “Oh yes, most of the time, you were.” She raised a brow. “It was also interesting to see how easily you settled in the role of an obnoxious, cocksure womaniser,” she continued. “You were very convincing.”

She saw him blush at the remark, and she smiled, almost despite herself. Serves him right...

“Was I?” he said, clearing his throat. “I can imagine it surprised you. And you were probably thinking… that I might be a little like that myself? For real?”

“I did. Well, yes and no. You are after all a devilishly handsome man, and it’s a safe bet you would have had your fair share of success with the fairer sex already.” Rhapsody’s smile became a teasing one. “I just have to think about Destiny, to be reminded of that. After all, we’re all humans, and humans have needs… especially those humans in the male category.”

He nodded very slowly, almost thoughtfully. This was rapidly turning into a very dangerous subject. “We’re not all James Bond, you know,” he replied, “and I never was a lady-killer like that Balder character.”

“Maybe it was in another life?” Rhapsody suggested teasingly.

“Uh… I had girlfriends before, like any normal guys,” Scarlet confessed. “Didn’t you have boyfriends as well?”

“Oh, I may be called an Angel today, but I certainly wasn’t a saint… especially when I worked at F.A.B.” She giggled seeing his discomfited expression. “James Bond, meet Modesty Blaise.”

“You’re a tease, my lady,” he observed with a wicked smile. “I’d better have a word with my mother soon. Before you start asking her questions about my old girlfriends – at least, those she knows about,” he deadpanned.

“Now who’s the tease?” Rhapsody replied.

Scarlet chuckled, but then noticed that his fiancée was now simply politely smiling, without saying anymore, while he fully expected her to counter with another witty remark. He waited for it to come, but it didn’t. She was keeping silent, and that wasn’t like her at all. He narrowed his eyes at her, wondering what she could possibly be thinking about.

“I sense you have something in your mind at the moment. What is it?”

She hesitated briefly before starting, “Well, considering this game seemed to heavily borrow some elements of our real lives –”

“Not that heavily,” Scarlet cut in.

Rhapsody raised a brow. “Come on. Angel pilots posing as Valkyries, Colonel White becoming Odin, leader of Aesgard, Adam and Karen, and you and me ending up as couples, you turning into the invulnerable Balder… Shall I go on?”

He reddened slightly again. “No, you made your point.”

“I have a question to ask you,” she said, a little hesitantly.

“About Anna Preston,” he deduced.

“That’s a pretty good guess! How did you –”

“I think I know you very well, Angel. I can tell when something is bothering you. I just noticed the direction this conversation was going. Balder’s philandering manners, you wondering if I was anything like him… and then I remembered you were witness to what happened between Balder and the character this poor Anna was playing in the game.”

“Gerda,” Rhapsody confirmed.

Scarlet nodded. “I simply deduced you would eventually come around and ask about her… and me.”

She lowered her head, unwilling to look him in the eyes. “Did she and you ever...?”

Scarlet kept silent for a moment. He gently put his hand on Rhapsody’s chin and raised her head so they would evenly look at each other again. She stared at him anxiously, waiting for his answer, wondering what could be taking him so long to give it.

“You mean outside of that stupid game?” Scarlet finally said. “No – we never.”

She was about to blow a sigh of relief, when he carefully added:

“Although… it nearly happened.”

She frowned. “Really? When was that?”

“You’ve got no reason to get jealous, love,” he said quietly, noting her rather barbed tone, and giving a faint smile as a peace offering. “It was long before you and I got together. It was after I woke up that first time – after I broke free from the Mysterons’ control? Anna was the nurse looking after me in sickbay. She assisted Doctor Fawn with most of his tests, she brought me food, chatted with me, even played cards and chess with me... And she showed rather plainly she was very interested in me.”

“I see,” Rhapsody said, nodding her understanding. “And you weren’t?”

“Not really,” Scarlet replied truthfully. “She was a very attractive and very nice woman. I was flattered by her attention, and I don’t deny that in other circumstances I might have been… tempted. But I couldn’t bring myself to let anything happen between us.” He rubbed his chin, thoughtfully. “It’s difficult to admit, but back then, I had issues with my humanity, you know? All this... Mysteronisation, retrometabolism and indestructibility business… That was so very new to me. I wasn’t able or ready to respond in kind to Anna’s interest in me. She was kind enough to understand it had nothing to do with her. Being my nurse, she knew what I was going through.”

“Considering the role she was playing in the game, I believe she might still have carried a torch for you, then,” Rhapsody said. “For all this time.”

“If she did, she never let anything on to me. It’s possible I haven’t really noticed either. I plunged into my work, and I didn’t let myself be distracted by the possibility of entertaining any kind of relationship with a woman for a long time. You might remember that.”

“Do I!” she answered, rolling her eyes and thinking back to how much time they had both wasted before acknowledging their attraction to each other. “You were a very frustrating guy to get, Mister Metcalfe. I’m glad you came around eventually.”

“Ah yes – eventually. Between my Mysteronisation and being with you, I’ve only ever been in a… shall we say a ‘romantic encounter with a woman’ a couple of times. And none of them with Anna Preston,” he added quickly, with a sheepish smile.

“I didn’t ask,” she said, shrugging. Scarlet wasn’t fooled. He knew her well enough to know the idea wasn’t that far from her mind. He knew she probably appreciated his reassurance.

“In any case, those relationships helped convince me that I was still part of the human race,” he continued. “That helped in the healing process. And then I plucked up the courage to ask a special young lady if she would consider going out with me…”

“Destiny?” Rhapsody deadpanned.

Scarlet chortled. “You’re terribly, Your Ladyship, you know that?”

“I have a vague inkling about that, yes,” she replied, giggling.

“Hey...” Scarlet took her hand in his, and drew her to him; he gently took her chin and looked deep into her eyes. “Have I already told you how much I love you and how much you mean to me?”

“I’ve lost count, actually,” she answered.

“Then I’m saying it again,” Scarlet whispered. “And I want to assure you that in my heart, there is only one place for one woman.”

“Your mother?” she asked in the same tone, grinning. “I will be asking her about your old girlfriends – that she knows about.”

He tutted, giving her an exasperated look. “Still the tease, aren’t you, love? I will only say then… that none of them compares to you.”

Rhapsody nodded and her smile broadened. “Now you’re talking. Care to prove your undying love then?”

Scarlet raised his lips to hers, and she leaned toward him...

... Just at this moment, the door slid open, and almost automatically, they drew away from each other.

“Behave, you two,” Symphony Angel said cheerfully, upon entering with Captain Blue in tow. “You’re pretty lucky that it’s only us coming in right now. What if it had been someone else?”

“If you’re referring to Doctor Fawn, I’d say there’s no risk anymore,” Blue added in the same fashion, as the door closed behind him. “Now that we know that he’s known about them all along…”

“Please,” Rhapsody said with a groan, sitting back straight onto her chair. “It was quite a shock when he revealed it to me the first time! But when Paul and I finally asked him earlier what he meant exactly –”

“He looked at us, rolling big, exasperated eyes,” Scarlet continued, making a face in imitation of the Cloudbase chief medical officer’s reaction. “As if we were children unable to hide a secret from their doting father. ‘How can you bloody believe I would not notice something like that happening in my sickbay’, he said.” The others chuckled at his imitation of Fawn’s accent. He had nailed it almost to perfection. “Quite infuriating, I reckon,” Scarlet added with a grin.

The pleasant banter seemed to put everyone at ease. Truthfully, both couples had been feeling a little uncomfortable, almost dreading this moment when they’d be meeting face to face. Especially Scarlet and Blue. For a short time after Scarlet’s last words, both men just looked at each other in silence, grinning awkwardly – almost idiotically.

“Adam,” Scarlet then started, “I don’t know what to say. I’m sorry I –”

Blue raised his hand to stop his friend, before he could start apologising profusely. “There’s really nothing to say on the subject, Paul. Really, none of this was your fault. Put the blame on that infernal game.”

“That’s not much of a comfort. I could have killed you. Not that it would have been the first time I tried,” Scarlet added in an undertone.

“Well, in neither case were you to blame. I was rather in the same situation this time, remember? When I – er – ‘got lost’ in that character of Hodur. I could have cut you in two.”

“Where did you learn to handle a sword like that?” Scarlet asked with a frown and an appreciative smile.

Blue grinned and shrugged. “Beats me. I imagine it wasn’t me at all. Possibly part of the programming of Hodur’s character, who knows? Anyway, it would have been really handy to remember every trick he displayed when it came to me fighting Burgundy soon after that. It was all I could do not to get killed.”

“You did just enough to actually win,” Rhapsody retorted.

“My Viking hero,” Symphony teased, twining an arm around Blue’s shoulders and hugging him close to her.

He smiled in answer and addressed Scarlet and Rhapsody again: “Please, one of you – or both – would you consider giving me fencing lessons at some point in the near future? Maybe it could become useful one day. In case, I don’t know, we get transported in the time of King Arthur and his knights of the Round Table!”

Scarlet chuckled. “Count on it.” He became serious again. “Adam, no matter that it was all a game, and that we were not responsible for our actions, I still want to say how sorry I am for what happened. And especially for doubting you and Dianne. I don’t know how I could even have believed those shameful lies – ”

“It was all in the programming, Paul. In fact, I just discovered that it was possibly based on a rather obscure version of the legend of Balder and Hodur. A version in which both brothers were indeed in love with Nanna.”

“Whatever, Adam – will you accept my apologies anyway? That’ll make me feel better.”

“Only if you accept mine.”

Scarlet raised a brow. “What have you got to apologise for?” He extended his hand towards Blue, who quickly clasped it. “I owe you another one... brother. All of us, we all do.”

Blue squeezed the hand vigorously. “I only did what had to be done,” he answered truthfully. “And only what you’ve done yourself so many times. And that, I believe, is a debt we will never be able to fully repay… brother.”

Scarlet grinned at Blue’s choice of wording. He wasn’t that used to displaying his emotions the way Blue was doing at the moment, and although he appreciated his American counterpart expressing his friendship so outwardly, it made him feel a little awkward.

Noticing that, Blue smiled in answer, and released his hand. “The important thing is… we all made it back alive. Even though we had some casualties – and Captain Black managed to escape. Again.”

“None of that could be helped,” Scarlet replied with a sigh. “We’ll mourn our losses – and honour them. As for Captain Black –”

“There’ll be another time,” Rhapsody said.

“Another time,” Scarlet agreed with a nod.

“All in all, it’s been a success,” Symphony added.

“Which calls for a celebration,” Blue finished. He produced his left hand, that up until that moment, he had kept behind his back, out of view from Scarlet. It was holding a bottle of champagne.

“Where did you get that?!” Scarlet asked with surprise and approval.

“I’ve had it for some time,” Blue answered. “Keeping it for a special occasion. I think this is special enough, don’t you? We beat the Mysterons to their own game yet again – while the odds were really against us.”

“You clever dog... I must be really tired not to notice you bringing this into the room!”

“We need glasses,” Rhapsody pointed out.

“Got that covered.” With a mischievous smile, Symphony in turn showed, from behind her back, four little paper cups that she had grabbed earlier from the water fountain in the waiting room. Scarlet chuckled at the sight of them.

“You two are really made for each other,” he remarked, while Blue was working on the cork of the bottle.

“You’d better believe it,” Symphony replied. She proudly showed off her hand. “Here. See what my lover boy gave me.”

Scarlet gently took the hand and, with Rhapsody, examined the ring adorning the ring-finger. They both exchanged knowing glances and smiles.

“So that makes it official, then?” Scarlet asked with a wink.

Symphony chuckled. “It’s been official for months! Don’t you know that already?!”

“Of course, we do,” Rhapsody grinned. “We’re just saying that it’s yet another reason to celebrate with that champagne.”

The cork popped out, without any mess, and dutifully, Blue started filling up the paper cups that Symphony was holding for him.

“What should we drink to first, then?” Rhapsody asked, when she received her cup.

They looked at each other, as Blue was putting the bottle down onto the floor.

“To the Mysterons’ defeat?” Symphony suggested.

“To Spectrum?” Blue offered in turn.

But Scarlet, with a smile on his lips, shook his head.

“To brotherhood,” he said, presenting his cup.

“And sisterhood?” Rhapsody proposed, nodding at Symphony who nodded back.

“Isn’t that the same?” Blue replied innocently.

“No, you silly man,” Symphony answered back dotingly. “But we’ll indulge you.”

There were smiles all around and they touched the fragile paper cups together, taking great care not to destroy them or to spill their contents.

“To brotherhood – and sisterhood,” Scarlet said with a wink at his fiancée.

That was worth drinking to.

“We don’t know what exactly triggered the ending of the game last night,” Doctor Fawn, standing next to the bed, quietly reported to his patient. “But about fifteen minutes after Black woke up, and ten minutes after Scarlet, all of Cloudbase’s personnel started to regain consciousness. Within about three hours, everyone was awake. All suffered some degree of dehydration, hunger, and cramped muscles. There were a few cases of advanced weakness, most of them amongst the members of the senior staff. Nothing that can’t be cured by a good meal, plenty of fluids and a good rest – as you well know yourself.”

Propped up in the bed of the private room that had been assigned to him, Colonel White slowly nodded his understanding, as he listened intently to Fawn’s account of recent events. Next to his bed, on a little bedside table, were the remains of a small, healthy meal, and a big pitcher of water, about half empty. He was still holding in his hand the glass he had been drinking from.

“We were lucky not to have more casualties than we did during that game,” the Spectrum commander brooded.

“We would have if those ‘Svartalfheim warriors’ who attacked the senior staff at the end had actually been possessed members of the crew,” Fawn remarked, “instead of non-player characters created by the game. The senior staff were most efficient in fending them off. We would have had several victims, I’m afraid.” He scratched his ear. “Captain Magenta explained to me that in computer games, characters like ‘goons’ and ‘foot soldiers’, created for the players to confront, are often fairly easy to defeat. Which would explain why the senior staff were able to repel such a huge number of warriors, in the final battle.”

“Nevertheless,” White mused, “they were nearly killed by those... non-player characters, as you said.”

“I never said it was all that easy for them,” Fawn replied. “No doubt they would eventually have fallen under sheer weight of numbers – as the Mysterons intended, obviously.” He watched with curiosity, as White lifted his hand to his face, to stroke the left side of it, almost with apprehension, and then jiggle his fingers in front of his left eye, looking intently at them. “It wasn’t easy for you either, I know,” the doctor added with a faint smile.

“It’s so strange,” White remarked, again stroking his cheek, which was covered by an irritating three-days’ growth of hair. “To think that this game actually succeeded in changing our appearance the way it did. I fully expected to wake up disfigured and blind in one eye.”

“I know. And you’re not the only one to react that way. Captain Grey has been playing with a stress ball with his right hand almost from the moment he woke up, as if to reassure himself he didn’t really lose it.”

“I can understand the feeling,” White grunted. He took a sip from his glass. “Our appearance was not the only thing that game changed,” he continued, putting the glass down. “It changed our personality as well, and our general behaviour. I’m afraid there’s been a lot of misconduct, due to lack of restraint, during that game. There will be much embarrassment, nervousness and uneasiness amongst the crew in the coming days – if not weeks.”

Fawn shrugged. “None of you were responsible, Charles. You couldn’t help yourselves. You all were conditioned by the game’s ‘programming’, I believe is the right word for it.”

“Oh, I know that. And I’m not about to hold anyone accountable for anything that might have happened during that little visit into the world of Aesgard. But I’m afraid that I won’t be able to stop people from feeling uncomfortable, or even humiliated by what they did, or what was done to them.” In his mind’s eye, White couldn’t help but conjure the image of the Angels-turned-Valkyries, being dragged in chains in front of him, in the middle of an assembly of very appreciative Viking warriors. He shook himself. “I’ll be trying to forgive myself,” he mused. “And I do hope that everyone onboard will have enough willpower to do just the same for themselves and for others. But if they can’t, I will have a hard time blaming them for being emotional. And I will understand if they want a posting elsewhere.”

“Let’s hope all hurt feelings will be put aside, then,” Fawn said. “Although I quite agree with you, we’ll see a lot of red faces around, in the next few days.”

“If we only have that, I believe we’ll be lucky, as long as we can avoid any quarrels and fights. Dear lord… three of my Angel pilots forced into compulsory marriage to three of my senior officers. How lucky we are that Captain Blue ended up with Symphony and Captain Scarlet with Rhapsody. Who knows what it would have done to both these couples’ relationship if that had not been the case!”

“I don’t think luck had anything to do with it,” Fawn replied. “All of you, you still retained some of your personal traits, and possibly, the game drew on their natural attractions while assigning roles. Still according to Magenta, 3D games nowadays are known to do stuff like that. For example, if you’re a Robin Hood fan, you might end up as an expert archer in a medieval fantasy game.”

“Should I be worried about Captain Ochre and Melody Angel?” White pondered aloud. He ruminated on this and then shrugged. “No, I don’t think so… The girl did black that boisterous Thor’s eye, after all, while defending her virtue.”

“How about you and Destiny?” Fawn asked.

“What about it?” White replied almost indifferently, while taking another sip of water.

“From my understanding, there was some kind of ‘marriage of convenience’ too between the king of Aesgard and the queen of Vanaheim,” Fawn explained carefully. “Now I’m sure there wasn’t any attraction between the two of you. But will there… be any red faces, between the two of you?”

“Like you said, Doctor… First, there isn’t and never was any attraction between us. Why, I’m old enough to be Destiny’s father! And it was, indeed, a marriage of convenience. Not at all like it was with the others. A political gesture – and a very platonic one at that. Believe me when I say that nothing happened. Thank the stars, that Odin fellow was an honourable man, even for a savage and bloodthirsty Viking, or I may never have been able to face the young woman afterwards – even though it was still just a game.”

“As I said, there was possibly still enough of your own personality shining through Odin,” Fawn suggested.

“Yes, well… I don’t expect you’ll see me throwing jugs of ale against walls or doing battle with hungry wolves in the near or far future,” White groused. He drank a long gulp of his water, before looking down into the now empty glass, broodingly. “How are the senior staff?” he asked without looking up, lost in his thoughts.

“Fairly well, all things considered,” Fawn sighed. “Most of them have been up and about rather quickly, with the symptoms I already mentioned to you. They wanted to help, but as soon as I had enough lower-ranked personnel, particularly from sickbay, who had been less stricken than the senior officers, I sent them to rest. Despite their protests, I might add. They’re either off duty or on light duties for a few days, until I decide they are back to full fitness.”

“You are the doctor,” White mused.

“Yes, I am. And I do wish that sometimes, people – you included – would remember that fact.”

White didn’t rise to the critical comment. “I see you have taken the matters well in hand, as well,” he simply noted.

“Well, I am the senior officer in charge at the moment, right? I had to make quick decisions. Although Blue seemed to have entertained the notion that he should be manning the commander’s station.”

“Did he?” White said with a brief smile.

“I humoured him – to a certain extent. If he thinks I’ll let him do all that work as he sees fit, without intervening, he’s sadly mistaken. I’ve already sent Symphony Angel to him, with the mission to force him to step down. I instructed her to not tell him the directive came from me. I hoped he would at least listen to his fiancée.”

“Did it work?”

“To a certain extent, I believe it did. At least, he left the command seat.” Fawn smiled in turn, seeing the concerned look on White’s face. “Don’t worry about the base: until the senior staff and proper officers can resume their usual duties, I assigned lower-ranked officers to their places, and organised rotas so nobody will tire themselves too much. I called ground for backup, and Captain Maroon arrived this morning, with a group of agents and technicians, from various disciplines. They are currently taking over the essential posts. Maroon has taken the position of deputy commander.”

“Maroon? He’s a good officer. He’ll do well. What about the Angels?”

“All taken care of, like the rest. We have enough experienced fighter pilots to fill in while the Angels recover fully, which, I expect, won’t be too long. Except for Symphony Angel, whose concussion will take a little more time to heal. The others will be back on duty soon. And Harmony’s still fit for duty. I just hoped she won’t overexert herself, though.”

“I’m sure you’ll see to that,” White said.

“No use of any of the Rooms of Sleep, of course, for anyone,” Fawn grunted. “They’re out of order, anyway, since they were used for that insane game. Technicians brought by Captain Maroon are currently repairing them, after purging them of the game programming and added technology that Keppel put into them.” The doctor huffed loudly. “If you ask my opinion, you should have that blasted monstrosity dismantled and sent back to ground in little pieces.”

“I know you’ve never been very happy about the Room of Sleep, Doctor –”

“With good reason: look where it got us!”

“It was simply a mishandling of an otherwise effective piece of technology,” White pointed out. “I’m sorry, but we do need the Room of Sleep, if only for emergency use, as we’ve been using it up until now, if this base is to keep working efficiently round the clock. And we need it to be repaired, as quickly as possible.”

Fawn blew a deep sigh. “Yes, I just knew you would say that. And I guess you’re right,” he mumbled, looking disheartened.

“Don’t be such a grouch, Doctor,” White said, fighting not to smile too openly. “Please, carry on with your report.”

“Those who suffered the most from the experience – Captain Scarlet, Lieutenant Green and yourself – are receiving special treatment.” Fawn smiled when White looked up at him. “That means plenty of rest, lots of good meals, all the water and juice you can drink… and no duty at all for at least the next week. If not more.”

“I don’t need that much time. I feel fine.”

“Of course, you do. You didn’t nearly have a bloody heart attack,” Fawn scoffed. “You said it yourself: I’m the doctor. And you’ll have to trust me on that judgement. You’ll stay put, Colonel, even if I have to restrain you by force for you to get the rest you need.”

“I believe you’re quite capable of doing it too,” White deadpanned. “Will Green be fine?”

“He’s a strong young man. If he hadn’t been, he might possibly be dead right now. Aside from Scarlet, he was the weakest of the bunch when he woke up late last evening. If I understand what happened in the fantasy world, he suffered the most from the confrontation with the Svartalfheim warriors, but acted like a true hero by dealing Captain Black the blow that sent him back to reality. Which could have triggered your return, all of you. We’ll probably never know for sure... But nevertheless, he might have saved you all.”

“Does he know that?”

“He certainly does.”

“Then we haven’t heard the last of it.”

“I think you’re right!” Fawn chuckled. “It’ll make him popular with the ladies – especially in sickbay!”

“Good for the lad. He certainly deserves a break.” White paused for a moment, and then returned to seriousness. “And what about Scarlet? You said he’s confined to rest for the next week too.”

“His was the worst experience, Charles,” Fawn confirmed. “Trapped for days inside that tank of drugged water. Oh, the wounds to his body are healing fine, if perhaps a little slower than they’d normally do. But he’s very weak. He’ll need time to recover fully. I gave him his usual room. He’s resting fine, right now. Maybe sleeping better than he has for days.”

“He deserves his rest,” White said with a nod of approval. “Make him comfortable and make sure that he’s not disturbed more than necessary for the next few days.”

“Already done that, Colonel. Although I might not be able to stop close friends from visiting him from time to time – especially his lady friend.” Fawn grinned knowingly, and saw just the ghost of a smile appear on White’s lips, before he became sombre and pensive again.

“It’s a shame we missed the opportunity to capture Captain Black,” White said. “It might not present itself again soon. But I suppose it was to be expected that the Mysterons would take action to ensure his safety.”

“Indeed,” Fawn nodded. “Harmony was quite shocked to witness the way he was... teleported, shall we say? – right there, in front of her eyes.”

“Rather like Scarlet’s report of what happened in Monte Carlo, during the Verdain affair,” White agreed.

“Right. About ten minutes after he disappeared, while we were all busying ourselves with the crew waking up everywhere onboard, we received notification from the automated security system that a plane was leaving the hangar bay for an unauthorised launch from the main airstrip. It took off before we even thought of doing anything. Not that we’d have been able to stop it, mind you. Three guesses as to who was on board?”

“Captain Black, of course.”

“Who else? Everybody else onboard was accounted for. We checked that out.”

“Mmm... Could that mean that the Mysterons’ power of teleportation works only over restricted distances?”

“I wouldn’t know, Colonel. But my guess would be to never underestimate them. We still don’t know the extent of their powers – and quite frankly, what we do know of them so far is disturbing enough as it is.”

White acknowledged the remark with a nod. “You did very well, Doctor. In more ways than one.” He paused briefly, before continuing: “I’m thinking of putting you in for a commendation – you and Captain Blue, and Symphony, Harmony and Rhapsody Angels. You did more than your duty. Without all your efforts and your dedication, all of Cloudbase’s crew would’ve been lost. We’d all be dead.”

“We only did our job, Charles. Although I must admit, we were rather desperate to succeed. The outcome would have been disastrous, if not.”

“I’m sorry for the loss of Nurse Preston, Edward,” White offered genuinely.

Fawn sighed. “She was an excellent colleague,” he said with a sad tone to his voice. “She has been with us since day one, and she’ll be truly missed. We should count ourselves lucky that she was the only victim of the game as such. That is, not counting those who were struck down before it started, so the Mysterons could have agents on board to carry out their plan.”

Colonel White nodded again. “Lieutenant Burgundy, two security guards – Rochester and Petrie – and Technician Keppel.” He glanced at Fawn, remembering the doctor’s earlier report concerning those men. “And not all of them were Mysteron reconstructs.”

“No,” Fawn said harshly enough. “Rochester was not; he was as human as you or I. And so was Keppel, in the weeks it took him to set everything up. He had to be human. If he had been a Mysteron agent during that period, we would have detected him at one point or another during a security check.”

“Logical deduction, yes,” White mused.

“In any case, his Mysteron double himself confirmed my suspicion: the human Keppel was killed to be replaced by a replicant, possibly just as the game was about to start. I was just foolish enough not to think of that eventuality and that nearly cost us!”

“He was Mysteronised when the Mysterons deemed it necessary for them to do so,” White remarked with a slow nod.

“Just like Petrie and Burgundy. We found their bodies this morning. Their deaths were about three days ago, meaning they were killed just before this devious plan was executed.”

“Rochester killed them?”

“Ballistics still need to be run, but Rochester probably killed Petrie, at the very least. They were bunking in the same room, and that’s where the real Petrie was found. Then they might have shared the work of killing the others. Keppel probably never suspected a thing as he was part of the plan. As for Burgundy...”

“They needed someone in the Control Room,” White said in understanding. “It just happened that Burgundy was to take over duty at the moment they had chosen to execute their plan.”

“Unfortunately for Burgundy, yes. They could have taken anyone. Including Lieutenant Green… or even yourself.”

“So that’s how it happened,” White said grimly. “That’s how Cloudbase’s security was so easily foiled. They used human agents to get through to the very heart of our most secure base. I can’t say I’m pleased to learn this, Doctor. In fact, I’m upset they were able to pull off a stunt like this. Spectrum personnel, military and civilian alike, are supposed to be carefully hand-picked, the very best people available – the most loyal and dedicated. Obviously, there were some glitches in the selection.” White looked up at Fawn. “And why the devil would human beings choose to side with the Mysterons?” he asked with bitterness. “Spectrum personnel especially. They should know what their ultimate aim is. I don’t quite understand the logic in this.”

“Perhaps there isn’t any logic in it,” Fawn replied quietly. “Or rather, none that we in Spectrum could understand.”

“But dammit, those were Spectrum people –”

“Charles, I don’t think that those behind this are really Spectrum people. Or if they are, they’re not dedicated to the same cause as us.”

Fawn paused, a little hesitant to continue, as White raised inquiring eyes to him, obviously wondering what he meant exactly. Fawn sighed. He thought of waiting to reveal what he had learned just recently; but now, there was little point in not telling it right away.

“I examined Rochester’s body,” he explained. “And Keppel’s – well, the original Keppel’s body, to be precise. Not an in-depth examination, mind you. I haven’t had time for that as yet. Just a quick assessment for the moment. I didn’t find anything odd on Rochester’s body… But for Keppel, I discovered something rather… perturbing.”

“What did you find?” White asked, getting impatient with Fawn’s continuing hesitation.

“You’re not going to like it.”

“Doctor, I’m already beyond that. So tell me now: what the hell did you find?”

Fawn sighed, rubbing his chin in a thoughtful fashion. He approached the bed. “I found... scars, on Keppel’s body,” he explained. “Needle marks, to be exact. Many of them. Some of them on his forearms, but most of them…” He lifted his hand and rubbed the nape of his own neck, his eyes set on White, to register his reaction. “... were located here.”

White’s eyes grew wider in sudden understanding. “Oh no...” he murmured. “The Dream Spinner?”

“I’m afraid so, yes. And that means –”

“The Network.” White looked down, a frown deepening on his brow, as he spat the word. “I thought we’d rid ourselves of them.”

“Did you truly believe that?” Fawn asked bitterly. “I didn’t. Scum like that are difficult to get rid of.”

White rubbed his own neck, a shiver running down his spine. He still remembered what the Network had done to him, many months before, when they had strapped him onto the mind-control machine known as the Dream Spinner, in order to brainwash him into doing the Mysterons’ bidding. That he had escaped the treatment nearly unscathed and regained his own free-will was akin to a miracle. But the experience wasn’t something he was likely to forget.

“How old are the marks?”

“A few weeks. Two months, perhaps? The marks were deep, which is why they left scars.”

“Those men were not responsible, then.”

“Keppel was not, at least,” Fawn agreed in a gentler voice. “No more than you were yourself at the time the Network had you under their control. As for Rochester, I really can’t tell. His body had no marks on it, but it might only mean that those marks had completely disappeared… or were even removed. It doesn’t mean he didn’t undergo the Dream Spinner treatment, like Keppel obviously did.”

“Like I did,” White remarked bitterly. He still retained a faint mark from the ordeal, where the needle which had been introduced directly into his brain had entered. “But it could also mean he was acting completely of his own volition, and that he was supervising Keppel’s actions.”

Fawn nodded. “That’s another possibility, yes. I might find out more when I examine the body more closely.”

“Please do that, Doctor.” White’s features hardened. “What it does also mean is that the Network has infiltrated Spectrum, as it claimed to have infiltrated other security organisations. We thought we were safe from that, but we obviously are not. We’ll have to tighten our security, check and re-check all personnel.”

“That seems sensible enough.”

“Doctor, I want you to give special instructions to all medical personnel in Spectrum facilities around the world. I want all personnel to undergo their annual medical check – as soon as possible. Starting with everyone on Cloudbase. Civilians, military, from the lowest workers sweeping the floor to the highest ranked officers of the senior staff.”

“You want the medical staff to check if anyone was subjected to the Dream Spinner treatment?” Fawn asked with a frown.

“The treatment leaves traces that are detectable. Scars on the back of the neck, foreign substances in the blood... You said earlier that Rochester’s scars might have been removed. That would be on the surface, but there might still be traces of the treatment deeper in the flesh. And that would be true for anyone who had undergone that dreadful treatment. A medical examination should be able to find that out.”

“S.I.G.,” Fawn muttered. “That operation will take time, if you want all personnel from all facilities to be checked.”

“No matter. It’ll take as long as it has to,” White replied. “Once we can be sure of the condition of the senior staff, we’ll hold a staff meeting and inform them of the matter – discreetly. We don’t need the word to spread about this.”

“You’ll have to inform Intelligence,” Fawn pointed out. “It’s an Internal Affairs question. They’ll have to know.”

White nodded thoughtfully. “I’ll contact Thomas Wade, as soon as he passes his own ‘annual’. I know it sounds paranoid, but we can’t take any risks. We have quite enough to do with the Mysterons right now, without having to deal with human infiltrators. Our security has been breached, and that could have terrible consequences. You know what it means.”

“It means we’re vulnerable to inside attacks,” Fawn said with a nod.

“Yes. And in that condition, we can’t efficiently do our job to protect the world, as stipulated in our mandate. Something like what happened here should never happen again within Spectrum. Not anywhere in the organisation – and certainly not on Cloudbase. If there’re still Network agents infiltrated in the organisation, we must root them out.”

“I agree,” Fawn said. “That should take care of conditioned agents... But what of the Network itself? What about the scum running that organisation, collaborating with the Mysterons for their own purposes – however unreasonable and despicable they might be?”

“Yes, we will have to deal with them soon, won’t we?” White said, his blue eyes narrowing, and flashing with a cold anger brewing deep inside of him. “We’ll have to find the heads of the Network, before they do any more damage than they have already done. We have to bring them down... once and for all!”

THE END

---

Afterword to readers…

… who are not obligated to read them – but hey, you might find them interesting!

When I started this story, at the end of March 2005, for the Spectrum Headquarters Multiverse Challenge, I never intended for it to be this long. At the beginning, it was supposed to be a five-part story. But as it’s often the case when you write – especially a multi-levelled, multi-part story like this one – you find out that you need more room to explain the situation in which your characters find themselves. Not only that, but these characters often have the tendency to take over your story and develop it their own way! They are very difficult to control, these characters, especially when they are as stubborn as those inhabiting the Captain Scarlet universe.

That said, the story mainly went the way I had originally planned it – albeit with more details and few minor changes to it.

I’ve always been interested in mythology, for nearly as long as I can remember. Greek/Roman, Arthurian, Norse... even going as far as including modern ‘super-hero’ mythology in that list. After all, comic books stories are but the modern extension of those fantasy stories of the past, where powerful gods ruled the universe, and mighty heroes fought unimaginable threats to Humanity, facing villains and monsters alike. Not that different than any super-hero in any comic strip.

At this point, I can’t hide myself to you anymore: I’m a geek, through and through. I’ll probably die a geek, which is fine with me, as far as I’m concerned.

Captain Scarlet & the Mysterons, created for television, and polished through time with details added by various media (press releases, magazines, annuals, comic strip stories, articles, various books, audio-adventures... and even fan fiction to some extent) certainly has its own mythology, with its own ‘demi-god-like’ invincible hero and his loyal companions, its warrior women, riding their ‘white steeds’ to battle, its god-like figure – all of them fighting the ‘invisible forces of evil’, themselves embodied by their most malevolent agent – who once was on the side of good. Classic mythology, straight out of traditional tales.

While over the years we have often heard talk of similarity between the world of Captain Scarlet and the Christian religion (Cloudbase/Heaven, White/God, Captain Scarlet/Jesus Christ, Captain Black/Lucifer, the Angels, etc.), and although I do not deny such comparison – which fully demonstrates once again the relationship between the series and traditional folklore anyway – I myself found there was also some aspects of the series which bore some surprising similarities with the Norse myths.

So was born the idea for this story. It took a number of years to actually overcome the many difficulties presented by the task of writing it - to find a proper plot that will take our favourite heroes in the Land of Aesgard. I also needed to properly explain their often out-of-character behaviour. To make the story ‘believable’ (so to speak), they had to act like warlike barbarians, in a fantasy world which was not their own. At the same time, it was essential that these characters would still remain the same we all knew from the series – that their own personalities would show themselves through these ‘roles’ they were forced to play – and that they will eventually come back to their senses and their own world. Or, it wouldn’t be a Captain Scarlet story at all.

It was when the idea that they would all be brought into a 3D-Game – which came through a chat with friends, although I don’t remember in what circumstances it came up exactly – that finally overcome the last problem of putting the characters into the needed settings.

As for the rest... well, as they often say, the Mysterons have powers no-one of us can hope to comprehend.

The ‘Network’ and ‘Dream Spinner’ ideas are my own, and first made their appearance in the story Spectrum is White, some events of which are referred in the last chapter of this story. It’s also in Spectrum is White that it is revealed to the readers that Doctor Fawn has known for a long time that Captain Scarlet and Rhapsody Angel are a couple – a ‘secret’ that Colonel White shares, but has taken very good care not to reveal so far. This story is therefore set after the events in Spectrum is White and those in A Symphony in Blue, in which Captain Blue and Symphony Angel are officially engaged.

I intend that the Network will make a reappearance in future stories. You don’t create the concept of a ‘super-villain’ not to use it again in other stories.

The relationship between Captain Blue and Symphony is canon of course, being hinted at in some episodes of the TV series.

The relationship between Captain Scarlet and Rhapsody Angel is semi-canon, inspired by hints in stories from Century 21 books (Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons, by John Theydon, and the graphic novel, The Angels). Mary J. Rudy developed the relationship in many of her stories, and other fan fiction authors – including myself – followed suit.

On the other hand, the stormy relationship between Captain Ochre and Melody Angel is not at all canon and of my own device. I suggested it first in my short story Master of the Night.The relationship appears to take a further step in this story. But who knows? With Ochre and Melody, there is really nothing that definite... Time will tell what will happen with them.

My thanks to Marion Woods, who acted as ‘test reader’ throughout the writing of this story, and whose comments have been useful, and to my beta-reader, Hazel Köhler, without whom this story will only be a jumble of words without sense, and who performed the service twice over, both for the original version and this new, revised version.

My eternal thanks to Gerry Anderson and Sylvia Anderson, and all those who worked with them, for the creation of the Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons series.

Finally, thanks to you, the readers, for reading this – with or without the author’s notes!

Chris Bishop