The drive to Dublin was only about fifteen minutes long, which in Ash’s mind was the perfect amount of time to blare the most annoying pop songs of all time through the radio. The worst part was when she would sing along at the top of her lungs.

I just need somebody to

Looooooooooooove!

I don’t need too much,

Just somebody to love

I just need somebody to

Loooooooooooooove!

Just singing this song once was bad enough, but five consecutive times? That was far too much for Fall.

“Oh, God! Can you shut up for one second?” he complained. “That song is awful and no one likes Justin Bieber anymore. Not only that, but you sound like a dying cow.”

“I happen to find that extremely offensive.” Ash said.

“Sorry, but if that crap you call music plays one more time, I swear my ears will start bleeding.”

“Fine. What do you want to listen to?”

“This.” He said. After turning the pick-up truck’s knob a few times, he found the opera channel. “Now this is good music.”

“You know,” Ash said, “We should probably be using this time to discuss our plan of action. We can’t just run in and shoot my dad. Not only are there too many things that could go wrong, but last time I checked, killing your father isn’t very polite. I’d probably be grounded for a month.”

“Are you trying to be funny?” Fall asked. “Because if you are, it’s not working. Anyway, I have a pretty good plan. When we find him, you’ll act like you’re all happy to finally see him again. You’ll do all sorts of things with him. Then, you’ll say that you agree with his plot and want to help. You’ll give me inside information and we can destroy him from the inside.”

“Good plan.”

“I know.”

They drove into Dublin a few minutes later and got themselves a room at a local motel.

“The Dire Dublin Dungeon.” Observed Fall. “I hope it isn’t really a dungeon and that they just used that so all the words would start with the same letter.”

“Don’t be silly,” said Ash. “There’s no such thing as dungeons anymore.”

“Of course there are such things as dungeons.” Said Fall as they walked through the huge wooden front doors. “See?”

Ash did see, as it would’ve been nearly impossible not to. The whole motel was made out of dark damp stone, and the only sources of light were a few torches placed in the uncomfortably narrow halls. “This is just great.” She complained. “Where’s the front desk?”

“There is no front desk.” This voice came from a hulking, intimidating man standing in the shadows. “The name’s Ardal. There isn’t a front desk because they didn’t have them in mid-evil times. This is a mid-evil themed motel.”

“That’s cool and all, but can we please get a room?” asked Ash. “We’re kind of in a hurry.”

“Sure thing, miss.” Said Ardal. “And what might your name be?”

“Ashling Parks, but you can call me Ash.”

“And your friend?”

“I don’t just give my name out to complete strangers.” Said Fall coldly.

“Well that’s rude,” Ash scolded. “You should at least tell him something.”

Fall pulled Ash aside. “You’re way too trusting,” he whispered. “I don’t like the looks of this guy. Why does he need to know our names? And why is he so obsessed with the mid-evil age? You gotta admit, living in a hotel that looks like a haunted castle is pretty creepy.”

“Okay, I see your point.” She replied. “But you really should tell him at least your nickname.”

“On a completely unrelated note, do you even know my full name? because I never told you that Fall was my nickname.”

“No, you never told me. I just thought that Fall was a pretty weird name, so it must be short for something. What is your full name, anyway?”

“Fallon Errigal.”

“Errigal? That name sounds oddly familiar.”

“Well, you can forget calling me that ever again. I’m not necessarily proud of it.”

“Why? Were you named after a terrorist or something?”

“No, I just don’t like it. Have you completely forgotten that Ardal is right behind us still?”

Ash turned around. “Oh, he is! I’d almost forgotten about that! Alright Ardal, about those rooms?”

“Rooms?” asked Ardal. “Oh yeah! There’re two upstairs. Here are your keys. Dinner is served in half an hour down that hall over there. Enjoy your stay at the Dire Dublin Dungeon!”

“Thanks!” said Ash.

The rooms were almost exactly the same except for the color scheme (and even that was similar). One was all black and the other was completely gray. Ash got the gray room and Fall ended up with black. To their dismay, Ardal really had cut out everything that wasn’t from mid-evil times. There wasn’t even a bathroom!

“Ugh! Would it hurt him so much to add a bathroom?” complained Ash. “Where are we supposed to go for these kinds of things?”

“I’ll go ask Ardal about it.” Replied Fall. “I have a few questions to ask him myself.”