Jonas was surprised to find himself back in the holding cell he'd been in before. While he wasn't sure why he wouldn't be put where he'd been when he'd first been taken, he couldn't help but smirk to himself when he thought about how the guards would explain how he'd managed to get in as well as explaining why he'd want to in the first place.
Though, he supposed it would at least help him explain how he'd disappeared in the first place, assuming he hadn't been put back at the same moment as when he'd left. However, looking around, he could see that he hadn't been brought back in the same moment, since currently the holding cell was empty. Not that Jonas minded.
Laying on one of the hard, uncomfortable mattresses, Jonas couldn't help but enjoy the luxury of a mattress in the first place. It'd been so long since he'd been able to enjoy such a simple pleasure that this felt almost like it was a top quality mattress.
A noise drew Jonas' attention towards the cell door and he was shocked to realize that he could easily hear the sounds of a guard walking outside the cell, and give a good estimation of how far away they were, hear the soft jingling of the keys as the guard walked softly and slowly, but somehow still hear them chewing a doughnut.
Jonas felt his breath catch as he realized he still had his system. He wasn't sure if any of the others were able to still have theirs as well, but he wouldn't be too surprised to learn if that was the case. All he knew was that this might be more useful now in this world than it was in the world he'd been in. Especially when it came to surviving the parts of this world that didn't do well in the bright sunlight.
He didn't fashion himself a hero, but being able to hear someone approaching just by being able to hear them walk, that was a talent in and of itself that would help him stay out of a lot of trouble. Whatever he chose to do with this ability.
Naturally he knew that Kim was still going to try and find a way to get through to the different worlds and he supposed she might try finding him first, given how they were supposed to be brother and sister, in a way, according to Blot. It was more that since they were close to each other in their proximity that made Jonas suspect she might try coming towards him before trying for Elin.
He thought he recalled something discussed about similar worlds or something, but he couldn't recall the exact details. Nor was he allowed much time to think about it as it was then that the guards passed by the cell door.
The guard merely glanced inside the cell, but when the guard saw Jonas, he froze. Jonas even heard the guard's doughnut fall to the floor as the guard started calling out something that seemed to garbled for Jonas to make out as it was clear the guard was in a bit of a panic.
Not that Jonas was that surprised. He'd expected something of that kind of reaction with him alone in a cell when they guards hadn't been the ones to put him in there this time.
Jonas just had to wait to see what would happen after this. After all, he'd returned with new abilities and no reason for the guards to hold him here. Though, if they still had record of him being brought here in the first place, he couldn't help but wonder if he should claim to have been abducted by extra terrestrials as a reason how he'd gotten out of the cell in the first place without them knowing.
+++
Kim found herself blinking in the morning light. She had her cell phone in her hand, the text with the report on her last job still ready to send, but she couldn't help but notice a few key details that were out of place. Mostly the sword at her hip that hadn't been there when she'd first entered the competition as well as the clothing she was wearing now.
The date on her phone indicated that she'd been gone the same amount of time that she'd spent in the other world, though she couldn't be sure that the sword and her clothing were the only things that had changed. However, she was pretty sure that she'd need to look into that later. What was important to Kim right then was that she could tell that it hadn't been a dream and that she still needed to find her way back to Elin.
No matter what she had to do.
In regards to her text, she merely added at the end that: 'I'm sorry for sending the report so late. That were unexpected circumstances that prevented me from sending the report. However, the report is no complete and attached.'
Kim was glad that she kept that little clause in her contracts in place. That there wasn't a time frame for which she was to send the report by. Only that she wouldn't get the rest of the payment until she did send the report. Though, if she ran into complications with getting the payment, she doubted that she'd worry too much about it. Not when she knew that she had a lot of work ahead of her to figure out how to get to Elin's world.
While she remembered Patricia telling her that she owed her a favor, Kim wasn't sure if they were in the same world, given some parts that the discussion about Jonas being her brother had brought up. Such as how it could be close to her world, but not quite.
While she felt like it was more of a headache for her to figure all of that out, she couldn't deny that it would potentially be a problem if it wasn't the same Patricia.
Yet, she knew that it was necessary to do so, if only so she didn't sound crazy when she approached her. Which she already knew was something that she was going to have to do. If only so she could rule that out as a possibility. Besides, her sword should have magic, even if only a little. Which should mean she should be able to use that as a tool to reach another world, and hopefully someone who might have magic of their own.
Assuming everyone still had their systems with them.
It wasn't guaranteed that they still did, but Kim couldn't deny that she was going to need Patricia to have her system, provided that it was the same Patricia who had been in the competition. Which she couldn't be absolutely certain right now. Not when there were so many other possibilities rattling around in her head.
Largely due to the discussion that revolved around Jonas being her brother and how she didn't know that or have any memories of having an older brother in the first place.
If that hadn't been revealed, then she was confident that she wouldn't be stressing so much about it. Since now she was thinking about how it could be that Patricia was from a world that was close to this one, but not quite. That she could even be on the world with Jonas rather than her own world, even though she knew that Patricia was the only one she had a glimmer of reason to demand her help and expect her to agree to it without any other consideration.
Sighing, Kim put her phone away and started heading towards her apartment. Regardless of anything else, she needed to take a nap. If only so she could hopefully sort at least some of the noise going on in her head. She wasn't confident that it'd happen, but at least she knew that it was a possibility and that she wouldn't make much headway on that problem without any rest.
She was at least pleased with what usually occurred around her was still happening. Things that she'd gotten so accustomed to in the past that she had hardly noticed before. Such as the teenagers racing with carts stolen from a nearby grocery store. The couple who were making out in the park while nearly putting on an indecent performance for any who would look in their direction. Or the couple who would argue so loud every day that the police were regularly called to look into the matter, to make sure they hadn't started trying to actually kill the other.
However, that nostalgic feeling evaporated when she entered her apartment and saw the leather-bound book on her kitchen countertop. The book that she'd spent time in that other world studying, so she knew what it looked like very well. The book that explained how she'd be able to travel between worlds.
Though, she noticed a note on top of it as she walked closer to it. The note read: We had a debate of if it was proper to give you this wish or not, but in the end, it was determined that it didn't violate any rules. Nor did it pose any potential problem later on for our competitions. So, we wish you luck on figuring out how to manage this.