I pushed forward in the narrow vents, staying close to Dean in front of me. Void Reaper pressed uncomfortably into my side, but I didn't risk talking. We were in the Corrupt Headquarters now. We couldn't risk getting caught when we were so close.

Hannah led us quietly through the HQ, navigating the maze of vents with expert precision. A few times, we passed over grates leading out into different rooms. I made the mistake of looking through one as we passed over it. I saw a broken, bloody mass on the floor of a room with white walls. I swallowed hard and kept going, not daring to look down again.

Finally, Dean stopped. I heard Hannah whisper, "Your friends are down there. The mean men in suits aren't there right now. You can save them!" My heart leaped into my throat. I heard rattling from up ahead and heard Whisper grunt in triumph, and I realized that she had gotten the grate open. A few seconds later, Dean moved forward and slid out of the vents. I followed, landing in a hall of containment cells. I looked up and saw Hannah peeking out of the grate, not moving.

"I'm gonna stay here, where it's safe," she whimpered. Whisper nodded and stood on her tiptoes to hold the little girls' hand, then walked forward down the hall. I drew Void Reaper and crept after her, Peter and Dean bringing up the rear. I peered into the cells, trying to see who was behind the tinted glass doors. A tapping sound to my right caused me to nearly jump out of my skin. I whirled around and saw Ringmaster Oogway, tapping on the glass door. My face melted into a smile, and I stabbed at the door, carving out an exit for him.

"Anne, Whisper, Peter, Dean," he said, his voice raspy but full of joy. "Quickly, quickly! Before the Corrupt find out that you're here!" He beckoned the way forward, and we followed. He pointed out the cells where the rest of the Underground Circus was imprisoned. In a matter of minutes, everyone was free and climbing into the vent, where Hannah was leading them out of the headquarters.

I was elated, but Whisper didn't share my enthusiasm. "That was too easy," she muttered. I felt a prickle, then turned around just in time to see Dean bolting out of the hall, going deeper into the Corrupt Headquarters. "Dean!" I cried, trying to run after him. Peter grabbed my arm and held me back. "No, Anne! We have to get out of here. If he's going to get reinforcements, we won't stand a chance!" he said.

I ignored him. I pulled free and ran after Dean through the pristine halls, past countless black metal doors. The sound of footsteps let me know that Peter and Whisper were following me. Good, I thought. I didn't want to face Dean alone.

We ran for what felt like hours until we reached a huge meeting hall, with a massive table in the center. I stopped just in time to see Dean stop in front of a squadron of Corrupt agents, their guns loaded and ready to fire. A tall man in a stiff black and red suit stood at the head of the group, with Dean by his side. He held out his arms as if welcoming us with a hug.

"Ah, Anne, Whisper! Dean has told us so much about you! I've looked forward to this day for a long time!" his voice was warm, but his smile was tight and forced. I shuddered. "Dean...?" I said softly, looking towards him. He met my eyes with a burning ferocity.

"This is for your own good, Anne. I did this for me. For us." He practically shouted the last word. "I've always loved you, Anne. I always have and I always will. I saw that the Underground Circus would get caught sooner or later. This was the only thing I could do to keep you safe." He pointed at Peter accusingly. "But you didn't see that I was trying to protect you. No, you got all cuddly with him," he said venomously.

I scowled and pulled back my sleeves, revealing the scars from all the times Dean had hurt me. "Protect me? Protect me?!" I screamed. I shook my arms at him, the scars pale against my tan skin. "All you ever did was hurt me, Dean. You never cared about me. But Peter, he does. Ever since I met him, he was good to me. He cares about me, and I care back." I pulled my sleeves back down and moved to stand next to Peter. He obliged, wrapping one arm around my waist, the other gripping Soulstrike, the arrow aimed at Dean's heart.

"Maybe it was good in the beginning, Dean, but it just didn't work," I said softly. Dean looked shocked, but his face quickly melted into a horrifying grimace. "So, you wanna do this the hard way, babe? Well, here's the thing. I have an army. You don't," he said angrily. He pulled Grimbane from its' sheath and pointed it towards us. The Corrupt agents held up their guns and batons and raced towards us.

They had barely gone 5 steps before a huge blast of violet lightning shocked them away from us. I turned to see Hannah standing next to an open vent. "I got your friends away!" she said cheerily. Then she turned and glowered at Dean, who backed away a few steps. "I knew you were a meanie," she growled. "You looked at me mean. Only a meanie does that. Now stay away from my friends!" She shot lightning at Dean, who barely managed to leap out of the way.

"We have to go!" Peter grabbed my arm and started to lead me away, but then I noticed his backpack pulsing with purple light. The light of a Void Crystal. "Peter, your bag!" I cried. He took it off and opened it, revealing the box we had found earlier. The Void Crystal lock was giving off the light, and a sudden purple flash from in front of us caused me to look up and gasp.

A slot in the wall opposite to us was pulsing at the same beat as the box. I held up the box, and lined it up with the slot. It was a perfect fit.

The man in the black and red suit hissed as soon as he saw the box. "Project Erlösung!" he cried. All of the Corrupt agents heads shot up and stared at us like cats about to pounce. I held the box to my chest and backed away. "What is Project Erlösung?" I asked. "Erlösung is German for salvation," Whisper explained.

The man nodded. "Project Erlösung was developed in case Project Rewrite got out of control. Which it very much did," he said ruefully. "Unfortunately, according to our original leadership, we were not allowed to stop Project Rewrite under any circumstances," he said. He nodded to the box. "Now give me the box, and we'll get back to business."

The agents stood up, retrieved their guns, and stood ready to shoot.