Chapter Seventy-Four

Chapter Seventy-Four

Fortunately, EDJ stayed silent for a while. Unfortunately, Hanna was having trouble staying awake. All the talking earlier distracted her from her fatigue. Now she had no distraction. Stay awake. Her head dropped and she yanked it up again. Stay awake. 

“Hey! Icy!” EDJ called out. “Keep your eyes open. You don’t want to fall asleep here.” 

Hanna ran her hands down her face and patted her cheeks. “Didn’t know you cared.” She took a breath and sat up. 

“I don’t,” he answered. “But I sense this is probably my last chance to socialize before the crazy people come back and you venture off into the great unknown.” Unknown for you, anyway... “If you’re going to fall asleep, at least swap out with your friend first.” 

Hanna shook her head. DJ needs the rest. She looked back at the fire. Still going. She looked at DJ. Still breathing. She stared back at EDJ blankly. “Wait, do you know them?” 

“Nope. Never seen them before they walked into the cabin.” Seeing her confused look, EDJ added, “You didn’t freeze my face as much the second time so I could actually hear most of the conversation. By the end of it, the torture suggestions would have been more pleasant in comparison to enduring all your back and forth arguing.” 

“Oh...” Hanna leaned against the wall again. “Did you know about the portal to this other dimension?” 

“I built my castle less than two clicks away from an interdimensional rift. What do you think?” he answered sarcastically, rolling his eyes

“Wait, that’s why you chose Everest?” she asked. Her brain was not wanting to cooperate with both staying awake and keeping up with the conversation. 

“There were a lot of reasons for choosing Everest,” EDJ answered. “It’d be a waste of narrative space to explain them all. Just be grateful we’re nowhere near the death zone. Building any higher would have been insane, impractical, and ridiculously expensive. Not that it means much now. If anything those crazies were saying is true, none of it will matter anyway. If you save Lui or whatever… I disappear…” He looked over to see her head droop. “Psst! Hey! Don’t you dare close your eyes! Hanna! Wake up!” Too late. She was out. EDJ frowned. “Just my luck. I’m surrounded by narcoleptics.” A new thought occurred to him. She didn’t reinforce the ice prison. EDJ started wiggling and thrashing around. Maybe if he could get enough momentum to tip the block over, he could smash through the thinner parts of the ice. A few small cracks appeared. Just a little more… 

“Yo! The crazy people are back!” A new voice echoed off the mountain, halting EDJ’s escape attempt. Ace and Jester approached the makeshift shelter from the other side of the ruins. “Aww, look at that! The little Originals are asleep!” Jester commented with a laugh, walking closer and stopping near EDJ.

“They need the rest,” Ace replied. He walked between EDJ and the sleeping Hanna to check on DJ and the mirror. He frowned, straightening to look around the ruins. “Unfortunately, it’s far too dangerous for them here.”

“Back to HQ then?” his brother asked with his arms crossed. 

“If they can survive the trip.” 

“Better wake them up. I ain’t carryin’ them,” Jester said flippantly. 

“Are you just going to stand there and ignore me?” EDJ asked, somewhat insulted that he was being treated like a houseplant. 

“Don’t interrupt professionals while we’re working,” Jester spat. “We have a job to do.” 

Ah, a worthy opponent. “I heard your little ploy back at the cabin,” EDJ started with a smile. “You think my friend Hanna here is actually going to believe your schemes even for a second? She doesn’t trust you and DJ’s smart enough not to fall for your tricks either.”

“Shut your trap, you insignificant little….” Jester stopped himself and took a breath before returning the polite smile. “You’re forgetting who it is that has the power to scorch you in 2 seconds, including thaw time.”

“Lucky you for not being the one encased in ice.” EDJ smirked back. “You want to let me out of this ice cube so we can have a real fight, Lester?”

Jester grinned at him. “I'd love to! Too bad I have a duty that does not include killing you.” His smile dropped. “So shut it before I have to do it anyway.”

“Your power of persuasion,” Ace interrupted, stepping back out of the shelter and addressing EDJ. “It sounds…” 

“Lame?” His brother finished for him. 

“Er… yes…” Ace grimaced. “And I’ve seen the way you fight. Nothing wrong there except you use mortal weapons.” 

“HEY!” EDJ’s polite facade broke. “I’ll have you know that persuasion works extremely well! I had Hanna within a hair’s-breadth of turning evil permanently. So you can keep your holier-than-thou attitude and get off your high horse before someone comes and knocks you off.”

“Oh, this must be the power to put people to sleep! I see now!” Jester laughed. “No wonder they’re unconscious!” 

Ace shot his brother a look before kneeling in front of Hanna. He reached out and gently tapped her shoulder. “Hello? Wake up, please.” 

Hanna groggily opened her eyes. “Ugh… wha…?” Seeing the stranger directly in front of her, she reeled back with a yelp and reached for her sword. 

Ace jumped to his feet with his hands raised. “Good morning, Miss Hanna,” he said pleasantly. 

She blinked at him, far too out of it to really process what was going on, but her sword remained sheathed. What happened? The last thing I remember was EDJ’s incessant chatter… I must have been exhausted… Where are we…? She suddenly remembered that she was supposed to be protecting something. Hanna gasped and leapt up, but immediately collapsed in the snow. “Where’s DJ?!” she asked in panic, frantically looking around. 

“He is still asleep right now.” Ace gestured toward the shelter while he attempted to help her up. “There is no need for concern. His vitals are within normal ranges.”

Hanna ignored Ace’s assistance and grabbed the wall for support. She exhaled in relief when she saw DJ was exactly where she left him. Still breathing... Good... She looked at the mirror. “And Lui?” 

“His status has not changed,” Ace answered. 

Hanna slid back into the snow, resting against the wall. She looked at EDJ, who was thankfully still in his icy prison. 

“Hi.” EDJ grinned at her, but she frowned in response. 

Hanna turned to Ace and Jester. How long have they been standing there? How long was I out? It was my job to stay awake and I fell asleep. They could have… She could already feel the familiar pangs of failure and guilt creep in. “I let my guard down,” she whispered. “And you didn’t do anything?” 

“I was MORE than tempted to kill this idiot over here, but I made sure it didn't happen,” Jester answered, jerking a thumb toward EDJ. 

“Ha! You don't have the guts to kill a defenseless person, that's all!” EDJ threw out with chaotic zeal. “If mortal swords don’t work against you, give me one of yours and we'll have a real fight!”

“We can't give you one of our swords because the power would just burn your hand off,” Jester sneered back. “You still want one?”

“Of course I do, you wimp! I think you’re scared of me!” EDJ arrogantly snapped back. Jester laughed again in contempt. 

While the Evil Others bickered, Ace crouched to Hanna’s level and watched her curiously. “Why would we do anything? You’re no good to us dead. Not to mention…” 

“Not to mention… what?” she pressed suspiciously. 

“I said you’re no good to us dead.” Ace stood up. He offered a hand to help her up. “Please wake your friend. We must leave.” 

Hanna swatted his hand away and got up on her own. She moved around the fire and knelt next to DJ. “Hey.” She softly shook his shoulder. 

DJ jolted awake. “I’m awake!” He blinked and looked around. “Huh?” Seeing no danger, he settled back and put his head in his hands. “How long did I sleep?” he asked, rubbing his tired eyes. 

“Hopefully long enough for you to regain your strength,” Ace answered. “We have some distance yet to cover before we reach safety. I suggest you gather yourselves as quickly as possible and follow me.” He stepped away from the shelter. 

Hanna frowned at him with pursed lips until he walked out of view. She turned to DJ with concern. “Are you okay now?”

DJ nodded and stood up. “Quite ok, thanks. Although I’m still cold.” He picked up the mirror and stepped out of the shelter, wincing at the gust of wind that hit his face as he left the fire. 

Hanna was right behind him. She watched Jester and EDJ still arguing for a moment before turning to Ace. “So, how will we get to this Other world?”

Ace pointed off into the distance. “It’s right here, just over the ridge beyond the castle. You won’t be able to physically see it, but the conflux of energy is hard to miss for anyone who can wield magic. We will use that energy to create a portal.” 

“Oh, sure! Trust the crazy wackos and their magical portals,” EDJ taunted. “Who knows where they’ll lead. If they don’t end up ripping you to shreds in the process!”

“I told you to shut your trap!” Jester countered. “Everyone knows portals are perfectly safe. Especially when I’m the one making them.” 

EDJ rolled his eyes, his volume increasing. “If anyone is stupid enough to buy that, I’ve got oceanfront property in Arkansas. Portals are a scientifically interesting way to die screaming. Ask anyone!”

“That’s teleporters, not portals!”

“Same difference.”

“What portals have you been through?!” 

“The ones that give you lemons.” 

“That’s life! Not portals!” 

“See? I told you they’d get along well,” Ace commented.

“And what did we decide about my EO?” DJ asked, still holding the mirror. 

“Jester will remain with him to make sure he does not escape while we make our way to the rift.” Leaving it at that, Ace headed off in the direction he indicated earlier. Hanna and DJ dubiously watched Jester and EDJ continue to argue and one up each other.

I wonder how long that will last, Hanna thought. She turned to see DJ already going in the same direction as Ace. She caught up to him and spoke softly. “You’re fine with just leaving them like that?”

“We agreed to trust them,” DJ answered. Honestly, he was too tired and cold to deal with it. After the week he had, he was glad to let his EO be someone else’s problem for the time being. He needed a break. Aside from that, what was the point of agreeing to trust someone if you weren’t actually going to trust them?