Chapter Sixty-Four

Chapter Sixty-Four

“You can’t trust him,” one of the strangers said while stepping toward the group. The other stranger closed the door behind them and stamped snow off. 

Who invited you? Misty thought as the stranger continued speaking. 

“Put your weapons away. We mean you no harm,” the first stranger said in a deep voice. “As I was saying, you can’t trust that man because he is an Evil Other. Whatever he tells you will be completely false.” The stranger’s round-rimmed top hat and large collar of his cloak covered his face. 

“The fact that he’s an Evil Other does not make what he says false, bro.” The second stranger stepped forward as well, throwing off the hood of his black cloak to reveal spiked brown hair and red eyes. His voice varied a little from the first stranger’s. “And are you sure we should just barge in on them like this?” 

“We've been watching from the Other World for too long, little brother,” the first stranger responded. “Now is the time we help these poor Originals.”

Misty rolled her eyes at the newcomers. These people think that just because they are from Thorae, they are that special. No need to go around being all dramatic about it. Talk about taking a big piece of humble pie.

The man with the red eyes nodded. “True.” he addressed DJ and Hanna. “Sheathe your weapons. Do you know there is no way to free Lui without causing his death?”

Watching? How did he… death…? Hanna glanced at DJ. The look on his face suggested he had the same amount of information she did: not much. She relaxed her stance, but did not put away her sword until after DJ put away his lance. 

“My friend can hel-” Misty attempted to interject, but was cut off when Hanna spoke over her.

“What are you talking about?” Hanna demanded of the intruders. “What do you mean there’s no way to free him? There has to be.” 

The second stranger with the spiked hair took on a condescending tone as he answered her. “Aww, the poor Originals have no idea what’s going on, do they?

Hanna’s hand remained on her sword’s hilt. “No, but I’m beginning to get a few ideas. Like the fact that you know what Evil Others are and you have red eyes.” 

The man scoffed, sounding insulted. “The audacity! The blatant disrespect. Not everyone with red eyes is evil, you know. Same goes for calling them Evil Others. How would you feel if we lumped you all into the same stereotype and made wildly absurd judgements about your character based on your appearance, huh?” 

“I… uh.. um…” Hanna shifted uncomfortably.

“Yeah, that’s what I thought.” The stranger jerked a thumb toward his companion. “Now close your designated hero e-girl trap and listen to the megalomaniac in the stupid top hat.” 

“Jester, that is enough,” the man with the top hat intervened, choosing to ignore half of the rude comments. “Do not mock them. She’s clearly a dark magical girl, but that is entirely beside the point.” The stranger removed his cloak and hat, holding them in an orderly fashion as he bowed deeply. “I sincerely apologize for my younger brother’s impetuous behavior and severe lack of tact. Please allow me to start the conversation over and explain what is going on.” He stood straight, black hair elegantly staying in place as he watched her with jade green eyes. “My name is Ace.” He gestured to the man with brown hair. “And this is my younger brother, Jester.” He smiled pleasantly. “How do you do?” 

“That’s a dumb question,” Jester unceremoniously shot to his brother. 

Misty looked at both the strangers suspiciously. The number of green-eyed people in this room is statistically astounding... In the back of her mind, they somehow seemed familiar, but she could not quite place why. 

Ace spoke up again. “We have been watching you from the Other World, a place also known as Thorae. This Other world is where all Others come from, evil or not. Does this make sense to you?”

Misty frowned. No need to treat them like children. Everyone here is at least in their twenties. Just because we are Originals doesn’t make us stupid. “Well, I was just about to-”

Hanna cut her off again, surprise, surprise. “Considering what I’ve been through prior to this, I wouldn’t doubt the existence of such.” Her glaring eyes never left Ace as she spoke. “Why were you watching us and what are you doing here now?” 

Misty nodded. At least those were reasonable questions. This did not distract from the fact that she was annoyed with the constant interruption. She’s really got a one track mind when she locks on to something. I don’t even know why I try. I’m getting steamrolled here. 

DJ only opened his mouth twice in an attempt to get a word in, but could not do so without interrupting either party. He resorted to listening, which was fine with him. He preferred to absorb information while it was freely offered anyway. Ace and Jester seemed happy to give it, for the time being. The mention of another world was not as surprising to him as it should have been.

Ace’s tone was friendly and sincere as he answered. “We have nothing but the kind notion in our hearts to give you your friend back.” He gestured to the mirror. “Though he appears to be behind a sheet of glass, your companion is trapped in another dimension altogether. The mirror is simply a communication link between worlds. Lui is stuck in the only portal between the Original world, Earth, and the Other world, Thorae. To pull him out of that portal from this side would be… agonizingly painful, if it does not cause his death.” 

Misty’s eyes widened. Those liars! “That’s not tr-” she attempted to say. At least it was Jester that interrupted her this time. 

“Long story short,” he cut in, obviously getting tired of all the exposition thus far. “You either follow us to the Other world and push him out or risk losing your friend forever.” Hanna glanced at the mirror with worry. 

“There is another option,” Ace added. “However… would you accept it?”

“Yes! I kno-” Misty was interrupted yet again by Hanna. How’s a person supposed to help people around here anymore? She thought, annoyed with the cryomancer’s behavior. 

“We should at least hear all the options.” Hanna returned to glaring at Ace. “Whether we accept them or not is an entirely different matter. This is a lot to take in. How do I know you aren’t lying?” 

“Oh yeah, the girl with trust issues,” Jester scoffed, rolling his eyes. “Who could blame her? You can trust us,” he said lightly, as though simply stating it would be enough to appease her. 

“What would we have to gain from lying to you?” Ace asked. He sounded genuinely perplexed by the concept. 

“Everything I hold dear,” Hanna immediately answered. “The fact of the matter is, until you prove to me that you aren’t lying, I will continue to doubt you.” She gave a cynical smile. “Forgive me for seeming hostile, but I’ve crossed paths with one too many traitors.” She gestured to the frozen EDJ as she spoke. “You have nothing to gain by telling me the truth.” 

Misty facepalmed again. Good grief, trying to reason with Hanna is like talking to a brick wall. I’m all for a healthy amount of skepticism, but she takes it to a whole different level. 

Ace kept a straight face. “We do not seek to gain anything from you. The people of Thorae, Others, are perfectly content without the interference of Originals.” 

Mhmmm, sure they are, Misty thought sarcastically, suspending her protests long enough to see where this elaborate show was headed. It was almost entertaining at this point, if only she had a bucket of popcorn. 

“We have one goal only,” Jester chimed in. “To set the Original world back to the way it was. Before the Others were even in their own bodies. Before the war against good and evil.”

Ace nodded. “With Lui, we may complete the aforementioned task. This is where those two options come in…” He paused, motioning for his brother to continue.

Jester pulled out a card as though he were performing a magic trick, flipping it between his fingers before holding it up for all to see. “We could use this here card to restore Lui to the way he was.” 

“But there is a catch,” Ace jumped in. “He will be returned to the state he was in before all this. Before he ever met you.” He took on a somber tone. “He won’t remember any of you… any of the friendships... Nothing.”

It’s almost like they rehearsed this, Misty thought. I wouldn’t be surprised. 

Jester put the card away, finishing the conversation with, “So we can restore him now and you can try to convince him to join you again… or we could venture to the Other world and attempt to rescue him from there. Which will it be?”