Chapter Seventy-One

Chapter Seventy-One

“EEEEEK!” The sharp screech jolted DJ from his resting position. He leapt and ran toward the sound to find Hanna flying in the air near EDJ, who was laughing hysterically. 

“What happened? What’s wrong?” DJ asked, his lance already primed for attack. 

“Sorry! I’m sorry,” Hanna said, trying to catch her breath. “I didn’t realize the ice around his face was already melted off. When I tried to move him, he said something, and it scared me.” 

EDJ’s boisterous laughter died down to a chuckle. “All I said was ‘hi’. I wasn’t even trying that time,” he explained. “You really only have two volume settings, don’t you? Why are you so jumpy? Or maybe I’m just that scary.” He chortled again. 

“Leave me alone,” Hanna said with a tired huff. She landed in the snow glowering at the Evil Other while DJ put the weapon away. 

“Now that’s not fair,” EDJ started, shaking the remaining ice and water from his head. “I’ve hardly said two words and you’re tired of me talking already.” As he was back in the cabin, he was still frozen from the shoulders down. At the moment, his face felt like it was on fire from the sharp biting of the wind, but the rest of his body was numb.

“I’ve had enough of your talking to last the rest of my life,” she muttered in brewing anger. “You could stay completely silent for the next hundred years and no one would miss you!” 

EDJ chuckled again. “Oh dear, are you trying to hurt my feelings?” he asked in amusement. 

“You don’t have any feelings,” Hanna snapped.

Does a feeling of inadequacy count? 

“I heard that!” EDJ turned to his Original. Low blow, he mentally criticized before returning a smirk. “She’s right though, I don’t have any feelings.” He glanced around his surroundings. “Why are we out in the snow? Say, that boulder looks awfully familiar… Finally give in and decide to take me back to my castle?” 

Almost entirely fueled by fury, Hanna grabbed the block of ice and dragged it into the open. “There! Look!” she shouted, pointing at the ruins. “There’s your stupid castle! Are you happy now?!” It took a moment for EDJ to really see the wreckage in front of him. Partly because it was still dark. Partly because he didn’t believe what he was seeing. The marvelous, beautiful, magnificent castle lay before him in heaps and crumbles. The towers, the parapets, the walls. All were fallen down, collapsed from the inside. All that work. All that planning. All reduced to smoldering, stinking garbage. The smirk was gone as EDJ continued to stare with wide eyes. 

“Oh, what's wrong? Got nothing to say?” Hanna mocked. “You were so full of words earlier, I couldn't get you to shut up! Now you're silent?! Oh, look at me, I’m the greatest, smartest, all-powerful, manipulative king of the world! Where's your kingdom now?! Gone! All gone! What are you without your castle and your soldiers and your control room?! Nothing! Just another traitorous, pathetic liar!”

DJ watched his Evil Other as Hanna’s verbal assault continued. EDJ remained silent as he stared ahead. Though his expression did not change much, his face and eyes somehow grew hollow. The thoughts DJ caught going through his EO’s head were broken. All I see are a thousand dreams piled dead in front of me… Ashes… Why does it always end in ashes… Every harsh word seemed to actively drain more and more life from him.

DJ turned to the frost woman. “Hanna, I think that’s-” 

“You with your stupid little traps and sharks and mazes and snakes and genetic abominations!” Hanna continued her rant, completely oblivious to DJ. She circled EDJ, arms swinging wildly as she spoke, constantly gesturing back to the ruins behind her. Her venom-laced, humiliating words spewed forth like a volcano erupting destruction and death. “Your fiery demon of smoke! Your idiotic plan to flood the Arctic Circle and your robots and annoying drones! The lights, the cameras, the cages, and the mind games! Always with the mind games! It’s all gone!” She paused only to take a breath as she continued jeering at him. “The best part is, we’re not done with you yet! Oh no! Not even close! As soon as we get Lui back, you’re going straight to jail! Do not pass go! Do not collect two hundred dollars!” She leaned into his face. “I will find the deepest, darkest, coldest pit on this good green earth to throw you into and make sure you never crawl out of it again! Never! Do you hear me?! Answer me! What do you have to say for yourself?!” 

EDJ did not say a single word. His eyes were empty and his face held no emotion whatsoever. He didn’t blink. He didn’t breathe. Unmoving. Unthinking. Unfeeling. He was a stone statue, sitting on the side of that mountain encased in ice for a millennia. Completely and utterly lifeless. DJ stepped between them. “That’s enough,” he said softly. 

“What?” Hanna glared up at him, as though he were taking the wrong side. “Am I wrong?! You know what he's done!” She pointed back at EDJ accusingly. “You know what he deserves!”

“I do know what he’s done,” DJ answered, voice quiet and composed. “Better than you do.” That got Hanna to stand down. She even took a few steps back. She suddenly remembered that she’d only been dealing with EDJ for a couple weeks. DJ’s been dealing with the Evil Other for years. “As far as what he deserves…” DJ glanced at his EO before he turned back to Hanna. “It isn’t whatever this is.” He took a step toward her and spoke quietly. “I understand you’re angry. I can see how this might seem righteous, but… it isn’t.” 

Hanna’s face was red. She went from glaring at DJ to glaring at the snow. “S-sorry,” she whispered. “I… I don’t know what came over me…” 

DJ let out an unexpectedly heavy sigh. He wondered how he ended up playing referee in a game where both sides were losing.

“How?” They both turned back to EDJ. He finally stopped staring at the pile of destruction and looked at them. “How did this happen?” 

“Well…” The Original ran a hand through his navy hair as he twisted to look at the ruins. “I was trying to access the intercom when all of a sudden the self-destruct sequence started.” 

“You?” EDJ’s eyes narrowed. “You destroyed my castle?” 

“Yeah.” DJ folded his arms and tucked them close, still trying to conserve heat. “Turns out I didn’t need an army. It wasn’t intentional.” 

The Evil Other looked back at the ruins. My entire empire... annihilated with incompetence…

“Why did you even have a self-destruct button?” Hanna asked, returning to the conversation in a slightly more civil manner. “Who does that?” 

“As chaotic and nonsensical as my actions might seem to you,” EDJ started. “I make it a point to install a kill switch in everything I build.” He spoke in a lighthearted manner, as though he wasn’t bothered by anything at all.

“Everything?” she repeated dubiously. 

“Everything,” he confirmed. “Wasn’t voted third-smartest supervillain for nothing.” Hanna scoffed and turned away. “Oh, don't act like that isn't an accomplishment,” he responded. “I'd like to see you do better.”  

“Why?” DJ asked. “Why make the castle self-destruct?” 

“It doesn’t matter why,” EDJ answered with a grin. “What matters is, it worked.” 

“How can you still be so smug about this?” Hanna asked, finding his lack of emotional response infuriating. “Does nothing faze you?” 

EDJ attempted to shrug. “Hey, we can’t all afford to lose our heads when things get heated, squeaky.” 

Hanna crossed her arms, glaring. “Funny, coming from the guy who nearly melted the fighting arena with pure rage.”

“So I lost my cool in that last fight,” he replied absently. “So what? I’ve done a lot of things I’m not proud of. Stolen, cheated, overtipped, returned library books... No one got hurt. No, that’s a lie. A lot of people got hurt, but nobody you knew, so what’s it matter? A little controlled burning is good for the soul. Where was I going with this? I feel like I was going somewhere…” His gaze drifted away with whatever point he was trying to make. 

Exhausted, cold, and having had enough of the nonsense, DJ took hold of the ice block and started dragging. “Can you help me pull him back to the campfire?” Hanna frowned, but did as requested without complaint. They arranged the block near the fire, but not near enough to melt too quickly. 

Once EDJ was in place and DJ was sitting comfortably by the fire again, Hanna muttered something about needing more firewood before leaving the guys and stomping off into the snowy darkness alone. The Original gave his Evil Other a tired look. 

“What?” EDJ asked, staring back. 

“Are we going to talk about this?” he asked.

“There’s nothing to talk about,” his EO answered nonchalantly. “I’m stuck in ice, Lui’s stuck in a mirror, and my home is in ruins.” DJ frowned, but the Evil Other continued. “This is all your fault, by the way. Everything was going perfectly fine for me until you showed up.”

“Don’t act like you didn’t drag us into this to begin with,” the lancer replied, brows furrowed. “You blew a hole through my apartment.” 

“I missed your apartment on purpose.” EDJ rolled his eyes. 

DJ exhaled slowly, watched the little fire in front of him crackle and pop for a few minutes before he spoke again. “What happened, Iul?” he asked softly. “It’s been so long since…” He clenched and unclenched his hands. “What happened to you?” 

“Maybe I don’t feel like telling you.” For once, the Evil Other didn't seem to mind his real name being used. He didn’t seem to mind anything at all. EDJ looked around at the rubble. According to the floor plan, they were probably sitting in what was left of his guard’s barracks, or somewhere close to it. “You know, there was a point where I had the fear and respect of everyone around me in this castle…” 

The Original poked at the fire with a stick. “Fools have no business playing kings.”

“Yet so many do. Honestly, what's one more?” the EO asked absently. Why can’t I be happy too?

DJ frowned and shook his head, throwing the stick into the fire. “Why?”

EDJ raised a brow at him. “Why what? You need to be more specific than that.” 

The Original turned to him, serious green eyes searching. “The cloning and duplication tech. What were you thinking? What were you trying to accomplish?” 

Iul’s expression softened. “...I…” A strange look crossed his face as his gaze drifted away for a second. “...I thought I could…” Just as quickly, his faroff look was replaced with an empty smile. “You know what? It doesn’t matter.” His polite, vacant smile stayed. “It probably wouldn’t have worked anyway.”

“Fine. Don’t tell me.” DJ turned back to the fire in annoyance, curling and tucking his limbs as close as possible as he shivered. “I’m probably better off not knowing.” 

“That, we can agree on, at least,” EDJ mumbled.

Chapter Seventy

Chapter Seventy

- Destroyed castle; Mount Everest; Earth; May 13th, 2009-

The cold somehow grew worse on the trip back to EDJ’s castle. By the time they reached their destination, the frost had seeped through DJ’s armor and into his bones. He shivered again. Had he thought about it earlier, he would have asked to borrow one of Misty’s spare coats. Surely one of them could have fit him properly. He pulled the vehicle up to the large boulder in front of the ruins and turned off the engine. “I don’t see how you can stand this cold. I'm freezing up here.”

“I actually find it quite refreshing!” Hanna laughed cheerily as she landed in the snow near him before smiling apologetically. “I’m sorry you’re having such a difficult time with it.” Her warm smile faded as she turned back to the castle, or what was left of it. While it was impossible to see the full extent of the damage at night, the looming silhouette of black bricks against the snowy backdrop was enough to tell the once-beautiful castle was well beyond repair. The air was still filled with a nasty smokey smell, though most of the exterior fires were gone. Whatever still smoldered was deep within the ruins. 

Hanna pulled out a flashlight from her belt as she stepped closer to the wreckage, looking around. “I don’t see Ace or Joker anywhere.” 

“Jester,” DJ corrected, removing the frozen chunk of Evil Other from the snowmobile.

“Whatever. Either way, they’re not here.” She frowned. “They didn’t say how long they’d be gone either.” 

DJ frowned as well as he turned around. Leaving the treeline behind, the boulder and ruins were all they had available. “Let’s try to find some shelter while we wait,” he said, starting to drag his EO toward the ruins. While the crumbling castle might not be the safest option, if they could find a solid wall or alcove, that was still better than out in the open, freezing wind. Deciding he did not want to waste energy dragging around a heavy block of ice, DJ opted to leave his EO by the snowmobile while they searched the ruins. Hanna kept hold of the mirror. She did not like the idea of leaving Lui anywhere near EDJ in the slightest, frozen or not. They found a suitable corner of wall that was still standing with a partial roof branching away from the destruction. It was difficult to tell if it was originally a room, a hallway, or even a stairwell. It wasn’t much as far as shelter was concerned, but it was the best spot to get out of the cold. This provided some protection from the wind with the least amount of danger. DJ walked around the edges of the rubble, collecting anything that looked like it would catch fire. Splintered boards, planks, legs of chairs, anything he could find. He brought the scraps of makeshift firewood back to the little sheltered area and arranged it together into a pile. He was searching his pockets for a way to light it when Hanna joined him. DJ glanced up. “How’s Lui doing?” he asked, trying to keep a curious expression off his face. 

“Still resting,” she answered quietly. She gently placed the mirror in the snow and leaned it against a section of the wall. Looking at the glass, it didn’t seem like Lui had moved the entire time. He was so still, it almost could have been a fake picture of him in the corner.

“Now that those two aren’t listening in at the moment,” DJ started while he still searched through his pockets and pouches. “Do you think we can trust them?” 

“Not really.” Hanna sat next to the mirror and pulled her knees up. “We don’t really have any other choice. They seem to know a lot more about what’s going on than we do.” 

He nodded in agreement. Finding what he was looking for, DJ pulled a small container from his belt and twisted the top off. He dumped a few fire starting materials into his hand and picked out what he needed. “Do you think we could take them if they attacked us?” he asked somberly. 

“In our current condition, no,” Hanna answered, brows furrowed in thought. “We don’t have any idea of their true power. Jester worries me, but his is an obvious danger. Ace… seems to be the type to conceal much.” She wrapped her arms around her legs. “I hope it doesn’t come down to that.” DJ nodded again. A fair assessment from what they knew so far. He scraped a rod of ferrocerium, sending sparks into the scrap he was trying to ignite. Once. Twice. Thrice. He tried again. Once. Twice. Thrice. No luck. Too wet. It didn’t help that his fingers were already numb. Hanna was watching the sky. Not quite full, yet not quite half, the waning moon hung among a carpet of pink and purple swirls of stars, planets, and galaxies. It was a beautiful night. So far away from city lights and so high up on the mountain, the window to the Milky Way held its own enchantment. So many sparkling lights. So many colors. How many of them were other planets? Was Thorae one of them? “What do you think about what they said would happen to Evil Others? Can they really just…” Her voice trailed off.

“…disappear?” DJ finished for her, still focused on the task in front of him. “Wouldn’t that mean that Jester would disappear too though?” He withdrew the old journal and flipped to the back of the book looking for blank pages. He tore a few out and crumbled them together as he put the book away. Hanna turned to him when she heard the tearing sound. The fire still wasn’t lit. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to distract you,” she said. “I’ll stop talking so you can concentrate.” 

“No need to worry about it,” he answered, scraping the material and sending sparks into the ball of paper. “I appreciate the company.” The paper caught on fire easily. DJ adjusted the flames until the little scrap pile finally started to burn. The campfire grew a little at a time without much more convincing. For that, he was grateful. He sighed and plopped onto the frozen ground with his back against the wall.

Hanna looked back up at the sky. “None of this makes any sense.” 

DJ rubbed his hands together and held them toward the heat of the flames. “I’m sure there’s a reasonable explanation for all the contradictions that keep coming up.” He shrugged with a scoff and slight laugh. “I mean, what’s the worst that could happen?” 

Hanna instantly had an answer. “The three of us suffer very long and painful deaths and our evil selves take control of the world.” She went from staring at the sky to staring at the ground and hugged her knees tighter.

Right... Probably not a good idea to ask an overthinker what the worst case scenario is... DJ watched her sulk for a moment. “We could always leave,” he offered. “Go down the mountain. Find someone else who can help us. There must be someone else out there... With any luck, it would take Ace and Jester a while to track us down.” It was a reasonable suggestion. Every scenario comes with a multitude of choices and options. One is always allowed to change their mind. He didn’t intend for the question to be a test, but Hanna took it as one. 

She blinked at him. “You mean run away?” 

“Only if you don’t trust them enough to go into this other world,” DJ answered. 

Hanna smiled briefly. She knew people who could get them buried so deep it would take the strangers a hundred years to find them, if they ever did. Running was easy. The only problem was there was nowhere to run to. Forged papers? Child’s play. Hidden HQs and secret base camps? A breeze. She was good at disappearing. She knew how to navigate city underbellies like the back of her hand, but going to another world? Rifts? Portals? She didn’t even know where to start. Hiding was easy. Running was easy. She’d done both for years. She wanted to run, but that wouldn’t help Lui. She promised she’d get him out. She promised. At least going to Thorae gave her a direction to run in. She did not yet know that what she was looking for was not what she was truly seeking. Hanna took a deep breath. “We can’t just turn and run away from this. If what they say is true, this is our best shot at rescuing Lui.” She looked DJ in the eye. “If you want to leave, you can, but I’m going. With or without you.” 

DJ gave her a quizzical look. “I’m with you. I wanted to make sure we’re on the same page with all our options here.” He tucked his limbs together to conserve heat, the air from his lungs forming puffs of steam. 

Hanna looked around for the strangers again. “Hopefully, those two wackos come back soon. I don’t want you getting sick… or worse…” She shuddered. 

“If they take too much longer we might have to head back and get some supplies,” he responded. “Misty’s cabin didn’t have too much, but I’d hate to put her out any more. Even if she is helping us out and all, we still barely know her.”

Hanna nodded before a thought suddenly came to her. “Oh! Here.” She dug something out of her satchel and stood up to walk around the fire. “You can have these if you’re still hungry.” 

“Thanks!” he said as she handed him a stack of snack bars. “That’s very nice of- Ah, I don’t need that many- Oh, okay…” He tried to hand the extra snacks back to her, but Hanna already returned to her spot on the other side of the fire. “Thank you.” He unwrapped one of the bars and ate it, tucking the rest into a spare pouch. 

“You should rest while you can,” Hanna said. “I have a feeling we'll need all the energy we can get.”

While DJ didn’t disagree with her, he didn’t like the thought of falling asleep on one of the deadliest mountains in the world either. Yeah, as long as sleeping in temperatures this cold doesn’t just kill me outright... He shivered again. Why in the world did EO build his castle all the way up here?! Oh… EO... He slowly stood up, his joints already feeling stiff. 

“Where are you going?” Hanna asked. 

“To get EO,” he answered. “I left him by the snowmobile.” 

She jumped up. “I’ll go get him. You stay here and warm up by the fire.” She smiled. “We can’t have you ending up as a block of ice too.” DJ laughed in spite of himself and Hanna joined in the laughter. It was a lighthearted moment, two friends laughing together in the midst of their crisis. It was nice to let go of the troubles of the world, if only for a second. “Alright,” DJ gave in while Hanna waved for him to sit down. “Let me know if you need help.” 

“Yeah, yeah,” she said as she started walking toward the boulder. 

“Hey.” 

Hanna stopped and turned back to him with a raised brow. 

“Thank you,” he said again. The humor faded, but his tone was genuine. “Are you ok?” 

She smiled. “I’m fine.” 

Chapter Sixty-Nine

Chapter Sixty-Nine

-Hybrid Hero Project HQ; Ukraine; May 12th, 2009-

Kandi was in the kitchen, hand mixing a large bowl of chocolate chip cookie dough while she hummed to herself. Her pink hair was tied back into space buns and her apron had a fresh coat of flour over it. The frilly apron had seen better days, but it was a gift from Hanna last year and it was Kandi’s favorite. She had her earbuds in and thus did not hear or see Mariah enter the room. “Fighting bad guys by moonlight,” Kandi sang to herself while she mixed. “Winning hearts by daylight. With her friends and team to help fight, she is the one-” She looked up and jumped. “EEEEEK!” She almost dropped the mixing bowl. Mariah also jumped back, not expecting Kandi to scream at her. “Don’t scare Kandi like that!” the baker scolded, clutching the cookie dough bowl for dear life. 

“Sorry, sorry!” Mariah apologized. “I didn’t mean to scare you!” 

“It’s okay,” Kandi responded in Japanese, waving a wooden spoon around after she set the bowl on the counter. She started scooping out and plopping balls of dough onto a prepared baking sheet. 

“I was going to ask if you’ve seen Savannah,” Mariah said, watching the baker. 

“Computer lab,” she answered. “What’s going on?” 

Mariah frowned and took on a serious tone. “I’m gonna go find Hanna.” 

“Ehhhhh?” Kandi looked up from her task. “She’s still not back yet?” 

The fox girl shook her head, red tail twitching back and forth. “Nope. Haven’t heard a word since last week,” Mariah answered. 

“Ah, okie dokie.” Kandi finished filling the cookie sheet. She turned to the oven and pulled out a tray of baked cookies. She swapped it out with the tray of unbaked dough and placed the fresh cookies on a cooling rack. 

Mariah sighed, turning toward the door. “Guess I’m gonna go find Savannah now. Wish me luck.” 

“Ah! Take some cookies with you!” Kandi immediately offered. She grabbed a spatula. 

Mariah turned back. “What am I going to do with cookies?” she asked. 

“Eat them, silly!” Kandi responded with a giggle. She placed some hot cookies on a plate and held the plate out to her friend. 

“Thanks.” The fox girl hybrid rolled her eyes and took the plate before making her way to the computer lab. 

As expected, the Original was busy typing away on a laptop, seemingly in her own world. Mariah set the plate of fresh cookies on the table in front of her as a peace offering before starting her request. “Can I have Hanna’s last location, please?”

Savannah looked up over the rim of her glasses, but did not stop typing. “Everest,” she answered. 

“Anywhere specifically?” Mariah asked. “It’s kind of a large mountain on an even larger range of mountains.” 

Savannah paused long enough to write a string of numbers on a sticky note. “Here are the specific coordinates,” she said, handing the note to Mariah. “Her signal hasn’t moved from that location this whole time.”

“Oh…” she took the note and stared at it. “That’s not good...” 

“No, it’s not,” the Original agreed somberly. She watched the screen in front of her, but did not resume typing. “I don’t know what you’ll find,” Savannah started. “But I’d prepare myself for the worst.” Mariah looked up with concern. “I would also be thinking about taking her place as the team leader, if I were you,” she finished. 

“You don’t think she’s coming back?” the fox girl asked. 

Savannah resumed typing. “I don’t know,” she answered, pushing up her glasses. “I don’t care.” 

Mariah frowned. “Hanna should come back. She belongs here. This is her home. Regardless of whether or not she leads the team.” 

The woman behind the laptop paused long enough to give her a look of disapproval. “Hanna is reckless, impulsive, irrational, emotional, undisciplined, and indecisive. She has no memory and no control. She does not listen and does not work well in team settings.” She went back to typing. “Does that sound like a good leader to you?” 

Mariah crossed her arms. “Hanna also won’t hesitate to give her life to save someone else’s. She worries about the wellbeing of others, no matter the state she herself is in. She is generous with what she has. She would rather go without than to see someone else in need. She is compelled to help those around her. She always has my back. Hanna is brave, kind, generous, strong, and selfless!” 

“That doesn't make her a hero,” the Original muttered. 

Mariah contemplated whether or not to ask her next question. “Do you really hate her?” she finally asked. Savannah did not answer. She continued typing as if there were no one else in the room. The hybrid sighed in frustration. “Look, I know you two fight a lot,” she said. “She might not mean that much to you, but she means a whole lot to me and Kandi and everyone else here. You’re the last person I would expect to throw her away.” She put her fists on her hips. “I’m gonna find her and I’m gonna help her, even if you won’t. She may be your Other, but she’s my friend. I’m not going to abandon her.” Mariah turned and walked toward the door. 

“Mariah,” Savannah said, stopping the fox girl in her tracks. The hybrid turned back. “If you do manage to find her,” she continued. “Bring her home.” 

Mariah nodded. “I will. And it won’t be because you asked me to.” 

************************

- Hidden cabin in the woods; Mount Everest; Earth; May 12th, 2009-

Misty left the cabin and started walking out into the snow. She took a deep breath. “I probably shouldn’t have left them like that, but I can’t really help it.” She looked at her watch. “Good grief, it’s already eleven! That’s practically midnight! What am I still doing up?! I’ve got work tomorrow!” She sighed again. What am I talking about? I've got work every day. I’m still working. “Bah, listen to me. I should just put on a brave face and not be so selfish. These people still need my help.” Misty walked through the woods until she came to a little clearing. She shook her head and dug out her phone. She dialed a pre-saved number and let it ring. “Hello, I’d like to connect to Thorae please… Sori… Extension six two six. Thank you.”  She had to use a special line to get in contact with the person she needed to talk to. She waited, patiently listening to the beeps, buzzes, and elevator music between each connection. When the final connection went through, the phone rang three times before the other side picked up. 

Sarah answered, “Hey, Misty! How are things going down there? Almost have things wrapped up?” 

Misty scratched her head and laughed awkwardly. “Well, maybe? Not exactly.” She relayed a very brief version of her encounter with Hanna, DJ, frozen EDJ, mirror Lui, Ace, and Jester. 

Sarah whistled. “Wow, you’ve had a rough day.” 

“Yup, yup,” Misty agreed. “The rebels butting in was a bit of a surprise, but looks like the guild is clear. I don’t think they’re involved at all. I don’t like whatever’s going on with Ace and Jester, but I want to verify a few things first before making any decisions. I could also use a resupply. The cabin didn’t have much.”

“And you need to check in with your supervisors,” Sarah reminded. “They’re going to want this in writing.” 

“I know.” Misty sighed again. More paperwork. “Can you get me a teleport home? I’m ready to go.” She took out a GPS device.  

“Sure thing,” Sarah answered. “Is it just you or do you have Hanna and DJ with you?” 

“Just me. Ace and Jester said they’d help them get to Thorae through the Everest rift.”

“Oh, interesting. That’ll put them near Iridesa.”

“Yup.” Misty hugged her arms together and hopped around a little. “Can we hurry it up a little? I’m outside in the snow.” 

“Okie dokie. Read me the coordinates when you’re ready.” 

Misty read off the string of numbers from her GPS unit before she ended the call and waited. She looked up at the sky, breathing out clouds of steam in the cold air. The stars and planets twinkled. It was peaceful and calm. Thanks for helping me get to them in time. They’re an odd bunch. A bit rough around the edges maybe, especially Hanna, but they’re alright. They just need a little help. I don’t know how we’re going to fix this, but I trust You. You’ve never let me down. I’ll do the best I can here. The next thing Misty knew, she was teleported away to Thorae. Teleported home. 

Chapter Sixty-Eight

Chapter Sixty-Eight

The cabin was quiet after the strangers left. Peace at last. “Wow, they took off pretty fast,” Hanna commented, breaking the silence. 

DJ nodded with a yawn. He looked at his watch. 23:19. Maybe they should have rested after all. No helping it now. “Was there any soup left?” he asked hopefully. 

Hanna looked into the soup pot. “Nope. Are you still hungry?” She moved the empty dish to the sink. 

DJ shook his head. “I’m good right now.” He looked back at the frozen EDJ, realizing he would have to somehow drag his EO out of the cabin and back up the mountain. It wasn’t a job he was looking forward to. His thoughts wandered to Lui. The Other still looked asleep. Lui was going on eight or nine hours stuck wherever he was. That alone couldn’t be good for him. At least he could sleep, that was something. Something was better than nothing. Maybe they could talk to him again when he woke up. “Better get going.” DJ let out a tired sigh before he walked over to EDJ. Surprisingly, the Evil Other was still contained. Hanna would have to reinforce the prison again at some point before he gets the chance to break out. The melting ice made it impossible to do anything more than slide the frosty block across the floor. DJ did just that, sliding the frozen EO to the exit, leaving a trail of water and slush behind. He opened the door and walked out into the freezing cold of the mountain. 

DJ shivered, the cold air waking him up. He didn’t like having to leave the warm, cozy cabin behind, but it was necessary to get off the mountain and rescue Lui. It was still light outside when they entered the little cabin. Now, the woods were dark. Different. Too many shadows. If the moon was present tonight, it was hidden behind the trees. There was no light save what poured out onto the snow from the cabin windows. Hopefully Hanna remembered the way back to the castle because he sure didn’t. Not in this darkness. He didn’t have the energy to light up the area with magic either. He dragged EDJ through the door and into the snow, hauling the popsicle to the snowmobiles. There was a light dusting of snow over them. DJ’s face scrunched up as he stared at them. Strange. Both of them are still here. Where’d Misty go that she didn’t have to use a snowmobile to get to? I don’t think Ace and Jester had snowmobiles either… At least, I didn’t think I heard them… He shook his head and returned to his task. It was too cold to stay out here pondering. He had been on Everest far too long to fully appreciate the awe of his location any more. Maybe the next leg of their journey would lead them somewhere bright, sunny, and warm. One could hope. 

Hanna was going to help DJ move his Evil Other, but paused and looked around the cabin. Dirty dishes were still in the sink, the countertop was a mess, and the coffee table was out of place with mud on it from Jester’s boots. Flower petals, dirty water, and slush covered the floor. Something about the uncleanliness greatly irritated her. Not that she wasn’t irritated already. The cabin was pristine when they entered. Leaving it in this state didn’t sit well with her, especially when the kind and hospitable host was absent. Hanna started by clearing off the counters, throwing away trash and collecting any scattered dishes. She washed the dishes in the sink and placed them in a rack to dry. Taking a rag, she wiped down the coffee table and scooted it back into place between the couch and armchairs. She gathered all the books still left out and placed them back on the shelf, even the ugly yellow one with the twisted face. She could not find a mop, but she found a broom. Using that and the dirty towel Misty brought out for the melted ice earlier, she made her own mop and cleaned the floor as well as she was able to. The cabin wasn’t perfectly clean by the time she was finished, but at least it didn’t look like the aftermath of a bad storm.

DJ walked back into the cabin. “I think I got EDJ loaded up to where he won’t fall off while we travel.” He noticed Hanna sweeping up and throwing out the last of the flower petals that were on the floor. He looked around for a way to help only to realize all the chores were already taken care of. “If you had waited a moment, I would have helped you clean...” 

“I know,” she replied, putting away the broom. She took one final look around. “I wanted to thank Misty for letting us use her cabin, but I don’t think she’ll be back before we leave.” 

“You can always leave a note,” DJ suggested, moving to collect the mirror before he went back outside.

Hanna nodded, grabbed a paper and pen, and paused with her pen in the air. What was she supposed to say? Hanna was not good with words. In the heat of the moment, her words flew out without a second thought, usually to the detriment of everyone around her. Written words weren’t much better. The last time she wrote a proper thank you note, it came off sounding pretentious and insincere. Too many big words. She didn’t really know Misty that well and she didn’t know if she would ever see her again, but Misty showed her true friendship. Misty stayed and helped when she didn’t have to. She offered them shelter, food, and medical attention. She even offered the coat off her back. She saved Hanna and her friends outside EDJ’s castle. That meant something to Hanna, even if she couldn’t find the right words for it. And how had she responded to Misty’s kindness? Hanna was rude, untrusting, ungrateful, and self-absorbed. Every time Misty spoke, Hanna cut her off. Misty tried to tell her something important and now she was gone. Hanna let out a frustrated sigh. She owed her. Maybe one day Hanna could pay her back. Maybe. One day. Until then, Hanna jotted a couple lines down on the scrap of paper, collected the last of her supplies, and left the cabin, tightly closing the door behind her. 

Thank you, friend. 

~ Hanna

**********

Hanna took a deep breath of fresh mountain air when she stepped outside. The cold, night air felt so much better than inside that stuffy cabin. She looked up at the sky. Between the trees and cabin roof, she could see stars shining through the darkness. She’d be able to see them better once they were out of the woods. DJ was on one of the snowmobiles with EDJ secured to the seat behind him. He was trying to figure out how he was going to juggle the mirror, driving the snowmobile, and making sure EDJ didn’t fall off. “Here.” Hanna reached out, offering to take the mirror off his hands. 

“Thank you,” DJ said, handing her the mirror. As she carefully took the glass object, a look he had never seen before crossed her face. He could not place exactly what it was and he never saw it again.

Hanna twisted the mirror to face outward while she gently held it close in her arms. “I don’t need to drive,” she said softly. “I’ll just fly next to you, if that’s okay.” 

“Yeah, that sounds good,” DJ answered. “Do you know the way?” 

Hanna nodded. She looked away and pointed in the direction DJ assumed the castle was in before she smiled back at him. “Shall we?” 

He grinned and started up the snowmobile. “After you.” 

Chapter Sixty-Seven

Chapter Sixty-Seven

Hanna was sitting on the couch, the contents of her pouch dumped out on the cushion beside her. She rummaged through the leftover snacks and medical supplies, deciding what was worth keeping. “Did you know about this Other world they keep talking about?” 

“I had heard rumors,” DJ answered, grabbing two bottles of water from the fridge and walking back to the sitting area. “But I didn’t believe them.” He set a bottle on the table in front of Hanna before sitting in the armchair he inadvertently claimed. 

Hanna glanced at the mirror occasionally while she sorted through the supplies. “Do you think we should tell Lui the plan?” she asked quietly. 

“I don't think it would hurt anything,” he said. “It might comfort him a bit too. I would wait until he wakes up though.”

“Even the part about his memories?” Hanna stopped her task. “DJ, if we can’t help him from the other side… will you let his memories be erased?” 

“If there is absolutely no other option,” he said carefully. “I guess we would have to resort to that. I don’t know that I could bear seeing him not know us…” He offered a hopeful smile. “But we’ll make sure we don’t have to do that, right?” 

She returned the smile. “Right.” 

At that moment, Misty, Ace, and Jester walked back into the cabin. Hanna returned to her task and kept her head down. Maybe if she could focus on something productive, she could keep herself from lashing out at the strangers. She didn’t mind Misty, but she didn’t have the energy to deal with the other two any more than necessary. Her social battery ran out back in EDJ’s castle. Jester went over and plopped onto the other side of the couch. This action sent Hanna’s supplies into disarray. Realizing he sat on a book, Jester pulled the yellow tome out from under him and flipped it open. He propped his boots up on the coffee table, oblivious to the icy glare he was getting. Hanna held her tongue as she rearranged her items in the little space between them.

“Have you made your decision yet?” Ace asked. 

“We have,” DJ answered. “We’ve chosen to go to Thorae. Will you be going with us?” 

They said they would, Hanna thought, still focusing on her task. Then again, they said a lot of things that have yet to be proven. 

Ace narrowed his eyes at Hanna, but responded to DJ. “Of course! I wouldn't blame you if you didn't want us with you, but the Other world will be very dangerous if you don't know what you're doing.” 

“We don’t mind,” DJ answered pleasantly. “We’d be glad to have you along. It’s just that we’ve had a tough time of late with choosing who to trust.” 

“Understandable.” Ace walked up to EDJ and inspected the frozen form. “DJ, how dangerous is your Evil Other?” he asked. 

No hiding it then. “He isn’t terribly dangerous,” DJ responded. “As long as you don’t let him talk… and keep him trapped in that block of ice.” So I guess as dangerous as anyone else would be in the same situation. He tilted his head. “Why do you ask?” 

Ace walked in a circle around the frozen block before turning back to the group. “I asked because maybe Jester here and EDJ could make a team. You and Hanna make a team. And I can take Lui. That way we don’t leave anyone behind. Unless Misty…” He twisted around, but Misty was nowhere to be seen. Odd. He turned back to DJ. “Would you trust me with your friend?” 

“I’d sooner trust you with my life,” Hanna muttered, forgetting she was trying to stay out of trouble. 

Hearing Hanna’s comment, DJ grimaced before he turned to address Ace. “Are you sure leaving Jester and EO together is a good idea?”

“Well, you told me he wasn’t that dangerous,” Ace countered with a shrug. “Besides, I think they’d get along well.”

That’s what I’m afraid of, DJ thought. 

Seeing nothing of value in the empty pages, Jester tossed the book onto the table and readjusted, once again throwing off Hanna’s progress and accidentally knocking over her water bottle. Hanna inhaled sharply, trying to keep it together, as she picked up the bottle and started over. This warranted an odd look from Jester. “What’s your problem?” he asked. 

“Oh, nothing!” Hanna shot back sarcastically. She gave up and stuffed all the supplies back into her pouch. “Nothing at all. Just Joker here getting on my nerves.” She closed the pouch and stood up while Jester stared back at her in confusion. 

“You… think I’m annoying?” he asked in a hurt voice, as though her words cut him to the bone. He shook his head and took on a more offended tone. “And who you callin’ Joker?!” Hanna ignored him and stormed off to the kitchen to sort through the supplies in peace. 

“Hehe, sorry about that, Jester,” DJ offered. He watched the offended and sulking stranger on the couch stare at his own empty hand. 

With a twist and flick of his wrist, a flower suddenly appeared in Jester’s fingers. The Evil Other twisted the delicate flower as he stared at it, ignoring everything and everyone else in the room. He began plucking the white petals off. “She hates me… she hates me not… she hates me… she hates me not...”

DJ eyed the Evil Other suspiciously, before turning back to Ace. He could see Hanna watching from behind the kitchen island and noted her apprehensive expression. “EO’s danger is in his speech,” DJ said, attempting to return to the conversation. “He can convince even the best of people to do something they don't want to do. But you probably already knew this.” A look of shame crossed Hanna’s face before she snapped her attention back down to the countertop. She reorganized and sorted through supplies, but DJ suspected it was more of an attempt to keep herself occupied.

Misty emerged from the back again and looked around the room. DJ was weighing his options as he watched Jester. Hanna was glaring at the counter while she color-coded protein bars in neat rows. Ace was standing near EDJ with his arms folded, seemingly waiting on an answer. Of course, EDJ was still stuck in ice and Lui was still stuck in a mirror. Lastly, Jester was ripping petals off a flower saying, “She hates me… she hates me not…” over and over again. Misty let out a weary sigh. This group? This is the group that is going to save Lui? They get along as well as oil and water. And here I am trying to clean up the mess. She shook her head and walked up to Hanna. “Hey, can I talk to you real quick?” 

Hanna raised a brow. “Sure?” 

“Awesome, so you know how I said I-” Beep. Beep. A series of buzzes and beeps interrupted Misty. She looked down at her watch. Oh no. I missed check-in. This isn’t good. She looked at Hanna, who was still waiting for her to finish. This conversation is going to have to wait. Misty smiled apologetically. “Sorry. I need to go.” She walked up to Ace and said in a low voice, “Can I trust you to get them to Thorae?” 

“Of course,” he answered. 

Misty nodded. “Good. I’ll meet you there. Please take care of them.” She wrapped her scarf around her neck and left the cabin. 

“She hates me… she hates me not…” Jester continued until there were no petals left. He ended on, “She hates me.” 

“You’re starting to creep me out, Jester,” Hanna said. “What’s your deal?” She finally settled on which supplies she was taking along for the ride. She packed them with care in her satchel while throwing the rest away. 

Jester ignored the remark almost completely. He looked up from the flower he had been destroying, after all the petals were on the floor, and absently called out, “...did you say something?” 

Clearly, there’s no hope of these two ever getting along. Ace facepalmed, exasperated with his brother’s ambivalence. Frustrated, he asked, “So, what’s the verdict here? Do we send Jester with EDJ or not?”

“Well, that depends,” DJ answered with raised brows. “Will they be coming with us into Thorae?”

Ace nodded. “They’ll be there, but you won’t have to deal with them,” he responded. “Jester has a few… errands out of the way. Sending them together just seemed fitting, because they’re both Evil Others. Perhaps Jester can talk some sense into EDJ while they’re together.” Now there was a thought. If anyone could talk sense into DJ’s EO, it might have to be another EO. It wasn’t the worst idea ever. 

DOO DOO DOO DOOOOOO BAH-DEE DOO BEE-DOO! A loud chime startled Jester from his seat. He jumped up and searched his pockets until he fished out a phone. He muttered something about thinking it was on silent before he answered. “Hey… what?!” He glanced around before darting into another room. If he was hoping for privacy, it was canceled out by the volume of his own voice. “No! I’m busy … yeah, that… She what?! Of course not, you know I… okay, bye…” He strode back into the room a little too quickly, running into the coffee table with his leg. “Ow!” He rubbed his injured shin with a wince. “So, what’s the hold up? I'm losing what little patience I had in the first place.”

Ace narrowed his eyes and cryptically asked, “The call was from… her?” 

Jester nodded slowly. “Yeah…” 

The slightest sign of a smile crept over Ace’s face before he quickly replaced it with a blank expression. “Don’t feel bad, brother.” 

Hanna and DJ exchanged an awkward glance. Neither one of them had any insight on the conversation and both felt oddly out of place. “Whatever,” Jester said, apparently now in a fouler mood than before his phone call. “Are we doing this or not?” He went up to Ace and leaned in, whispering, “We have a proximity alert we need to take care of ASAP.”  

“I see,” Ace said quietly. We need to wrap this up quickly then.

“It’s probably none of my business,” DJ spoke up. “But since you seem so intent on helping us, I’m going to make it mine. What in the world was all that about?” He could see Hanna waiting for an answer as well. If distrust had a face, it was hers. 

“Oh, that? Just a bit of personal stuff… nothing important.” The only surprise in that response was the fact that Ace had said it, not Jester. “You are correct though, it is none of your business.” Ace smiled while DJ frowned. The Original was beginning to have second thoughts about leaving his EO in Jester’s care, but it was too late now. 

“We’re wasting time,” Hanna stated. “The sooner we get there and rescue Lui, the sooner things can go back to whatever semblance of normalcy I can manage.” 

“Agreed,” Ace said politely. “Tell me, do you know how far it is to the spot where EDJ’s castle was?” DJ laughed before he caught himself. He found the idea of the castle’s state being past tense funny. Ace scowled at him for a second before turning back to Hanna. 

“No more than a few minutes by snowmobile, I’d say,” she answered. “It wasn’t far.” Having just recently been to the castle ruins and back with Misty, she was fairly certain she could make her way there unassisted. 

“Good.” Ace nodded. “The easiest way to Thorae is to use an interdimensional rift to create a portal. There’s one just over a ridge on the other side of the castle. My brother and I have something we need to deal with first. We will meet you at the castle when we are finished and go from there.” 

“Fiiiiiiinally!” Jester turned and headed for the door. “I was getting tired of all the incoherent blathering. Let’s get outta here.”

“It was much more than incoherent blathering,” Ace said as he followed his brother. 

“Not to me, it wasn’t.” Jester opened the door and walked out. Ace turned to give a short farewell bow before closing the door behind them.