CHAPTER 41: READY AS I'LL EVER BE
"…Jill! Hey, Jill! Wake up, minion!"
Jill yawned hugely, recognizing Grim's raucous voice. She rubbed her eyes to find herself still in the sofa of the hangar bay. Grim and Epel were on either side of her, and Rook and Vil were on the other side of the small room, looking over something that Jill could not see.
"Finally, you're up again," Epel said. "You were tossing and turning and crying for a bit. Bad dream?"
"Horrible dream," Jill replied with a shudder. Being chased by Ortho, jeered by Idia, falling into the River Styx, confronting her grandfather's evil self… and that wasn't even counting the matter at hand. Jill briefly wondered whether going back to sleep or staying awake would be more nightmarish.
"How long have I been out?" she asked faintly.
"About twenty minutes," Epel said.
"Vil and Rook found a walkie-talkie in the drawers, and turns out it still works," Grim explained. "So they're gettin' in touch with everyone."
"Everyone? Hey, wait!" Jill lurched out of the sofa and onto her feet. Her body ached all over, protesting her sudden movement, but she stumbled towards Vil and Rook anyway.
"Everyone!" Jill gasped. "Please tell me, how is everyone?! Are the other teams okay?"
"Mademoiselle," Rook greeted. "Apologies if we awoke you."
"We're just checking in. Hear for yourself," Vil said then turned up the volume on the walkie-talkie. "Everyone, say hello to Jill."
"Hey, Jill!" Ace greeted.
"Jill, you're alright?" Deuce asked.
"Yes! Hello!" The poor goth girl almost wanted to cry from how relieved she was. "The four of us are alright, and we found Grim!"
"Good, saves us time from havin' to fight that little hairball," Leona said. "Team 2 is fine. Like you, we also had to fight one of the Titans with our piece of the Thunder Spear."
"Ditto," said Riddle. "It seems we're all in the same predicament. Each piece of the Spear takes an hour to charge, and we've only been through a third of that time."
"And Idia is still on the rampage," Azul noted solemnly. "We don't have the time to sit around and wait for the Spears to recharge."
"But on the other hand," Jamil mentioned, "going in without a full charge would be unwise."
There was a faint second of static, and then a new voice rang out. "…Hello?"
"Hello, who is this?" Vil demanded. Epel and Grim approached the group and stayed behind Jill.
"This is Athena… the researcher you rescued?" the woman prompted. "I'm so glad you found our communicators! We sometimes use low-tech like this in emergencies, but Ortho took them when he was using the Charon units against us."
"Wonder why they're down here, then?" Epel piped up.
"Perhaps for the same reason the Shrouds left us food and shelter down here," Azul explained. "In games, you often come across 'rest areas' where you restore your health and save your progress. Idia and Ortho are just throwing us a bone, as it were."
"Ah, like a pit stop in a race. That makes sense," Deuce acknowledged.
"Only thing we were able to save were those keys to the Thunder Spear pieces," said a deeper voice—Primus, it sounded like. "And it looks like that paid off!"
"But it'll take too long to charge the Spear pieces!" Jill protested. "And the Shrouds are becoming stronger by the second! What can we do?"
"Simple," Demi interjected. "You can use your magic to charge the Pieces. It might drain you, but it'll work in a pinch."
"Sounds risky, but it may be the only way," Vil agreed.
"Once you leave through the other side of the hangar, the three towers should come together. Idia and Ortho must be at Tartarus," Athena said. "Be very careful not to get too close to Tartarus—it's dangerous for a non-Shroud. If you charge the Spear pieces and then use them from a distance, that should be able to stop those two!"
"Got it," Rook said with a nod.
"One more thing… we were able to wrestle some Chariots away from Ortho's control," said Arin. "We put them outside for you to drive down to the bottom of the Underworld."
"Alright, finally!" Ace crowed.
"It's a plan then," Vil said. "Thank you very much for your help, Styx. We should take these communicators with us on the way down."
"See you guys downstairs, then. Leona, out."
"We will be right behind you. Riddle, out."
"We shall arrive first. Vil, out." The Pomefiore housewarden pocketed the walkie-talkie. "Alright, you four," he said. "You heard everyone. It's nearly time to face Idia and Ortho, and make them pay for all the trouble they've caused."
"Go, team! We're almost there!" Epel cheered with a feral grin.
"Yes, let us finish this, and save this beautiful world!" Rook agreed.
"You guys still have a lot of energy…" Grim said woozily. "Don't think I'll fall behind, though!"
"You already know my answer," Jill said. Her voice was as quiet as a breath. "Idia can take Twisted Wonderland over my dead body."
"Then let's close the curtains on this lengthy play," Vil ordered. One by one, the group left through the other door. There was another long set of staircases below, and Jill's legs started to ache again at the very thought. Thankfully, there was a large black vehicle parked in front, blocking the stairs. It somewhat reminded Jill of the dark chariot that Hades rode when he set off to conquer Mt. Olympus. How ironic that this would be used for the opposite purpose.
"Does anyone know how to drive one of those things?" Grim asked.
"It looks like a blastcycle," Epel said. "I think I can work this thing!"
The group clamored into the Chariot; Epel and Vil were in the front while Rook, Grim, and Jill were in the back. As Epel figured out the controls, Jill held Grim firmly in her lap. That nightmare she had seemed like a dark prophesy of things to come, but she wouldn't let it end that way.
She remembered the pain of overblotting—like she was dying piece by piece. Now Idia was going through the same thing. Even if Idia hated Jill, or didn't want to be her friend, she would save him no matter what.