Jon blinked before quickly letting go of the DTH Jon's hand. He wondered if he'd been tricked. They were still standing in the woods, at the path. Yet something seemed off to him. "Nothing has changed," he said as he looked around.
"We don't move in space normally," DTH Jon explained as he returned the DTH to his pocket. "We're just further down the timeline, it should look the same."
"Yeah, I suppose," Jon said before hesitating, "Still...,"
"It seems different somehow?" DTH Jon asked, anticipating the other Jon's thoughts.
"Uh-huh."
"We have moved in time a couple of hours, the shadows have suddenly shifted." He pointed towards the sun. "The sun is nearer the horizon now. You aren't used to experiencing time passing like that."
Jon nodded as he looked in the same direction before looking back at Jon. "You seem to know a lot about what I'm thinking."
"Well, I am you," DTH Jon said before stepping on to the path. He turned to look at the other version of him lingering in the woods. "Come on!", he said before walking down the path.
"Do you have to walk so fast?" Jon asked as he almost ran to catch up.
"We have to hurry. Karyn will be concerned about me. If everything went according to plan I should have reappeared back in the bedroom with you, the instant I left."
"When did you leave?"
"A few seconds ago, from her point of view."
"Huh?" he asked. DTH Jon appeared to be contradicting himself.
DTH Jon shook his head before smiling. "Don't worry about it."
Jon reached out grabbing his shoulder, stopping him. "I am worrying about it. It doesn't make sense. I want you to tell me."
DTH Jon glanced at his watch out of habit. The process was largely meaningless as the time of day kept shifting. It did allow him to tell how much time had passed since each hop though. He turned to face Jon. "Okay I didn't want to get into the details. Here is the short version, in this timeline the stone killed you for making a stupid wish. Karyn is now distraught thinking you are dead because she discovered what was left of your body. Just then, we happened to hop in. I volunteered to go get a replacement Jon, while she waits with the version of Karyn who travels with me."
"That was the short version?"
DTH Jon shrugged.
"Wait I'm dead?" he asked, fully realising what DTH Jon had told him. He felt a little queasy inside.
"You were but not any more," DTH Jon said before gently tapping him on the arm. He turned back around an continued walking.
"Something must have happened," DTH Karyn said as she looked at her own watch.
"He's only been gone ten minutes," the other Karyn said.
"No time should pass. Which means he's back on this timeline again or ...," she said trailing off.
"Or what?"
"Nothing," she said, really hoping it was nothing. If the worst ever did happen, she knew she had the interdimensional phone and a DTH reference for her 'home' universe. In theory she could call up an alternate DTH Jon to take her back home. She was annoyed at herself for not getting the branch information before DTH Jon hopped away. She wondered how easy it would be for another DTH Jon to track her down. It was something they had never had to put to the test yet. There was always the stone if she really got stuck but she was growing to hate the idea of using it, especially after what it had done to the Jon here.
"It doesn't sound like nothing," the other Karyn said as she noted DTH Karyn's long pause. She looked towards the bed. "I was thinking. Do you think we should do something about Jon's uh..., remains." She pointed to the ash on the bed.
"Oh, I'm sure those can easily be vacuumed up later," DTH Karyn said. "It doesn't look like there is any damage to the bed."
Karyn's brow furrowed. "I meant, maybe say a few words or something."
"Oh." DTH Karyn felt guilty for her suggestion. She didn't have time to say anything as the bedroom door opened.
The two Jons walked in.
"Jon!" the upset Karyn shouted, glancing between the two of them. She was confused as to which one was the replacement.
"I'm with her," DTH Jon said as he pointed at DTH Karyn.
Karyn wrapped her arms around the replacement Jon. "I can't believe it," she said as she gripped him tightly.
DTH Karyn slowly made her way back to DTH Jon, "I've been looking out the front, I couldn't see you two approaching," she said as she pointed towards the window.
"Yeah, we sneaked around the back to avoid witnesses," DTH Jon informed her.
"I was getting worried, I forgot to get the branch number off you and then you didn't show up."
"Yeah, sorry about that. I had a bit of a change in plans."
They turned and noticed Jon and Karyn were no longer hugging but fulling embracing. Their mouths were exploring each others.
"Again?" DTH Karyn said, remembering what took place with ARD Jon and his Karyn.
"I guess they are really happy to see each other," DTH Jon said as he looked at them both. The two travellers were practically being ignored by the couple. "Really happy..." He had been going to explain to the other Jon that there were now two wishing stones here. The one he'd brought with him, being from his dimension, would only work for him. The one from this universe would work for everyone apart from him. Given that the other Jon was occupied he decided to say nothing and let him have fun working it out for himself.
DTH Jon shifted his gaze toward DTH Karyn.
"It's weird how it seems to keep happening," the oblivious DTH Karyn said. "All these Jons and Karyns developing romantic feelings for each other."
DTH Jon looked into DTH Karyn's eyes. "Maybe the multiverse is trying to tell us something," he said sincerely.
"Yeah very funny," DTH Karyn said in tone that told him she wasn't taking him seriously. "Your jokes still aren't improving."
DTH Jon smiled awkwardly. "Yeah I'm always the joker," he said dismissively as he felt a slight pang in his heart.
"Our work here is done. We should move on," DTH Karyn said.
"Um, yeah." He pulled out the DTH and started programming it. He was unaware of the significant glance DTH Karyn was giving him.
The idea was absurd to her but sometimes she felt a longing deep inside herself she couldn't explain. The smile had returned to her face by the time DTH Jon finished. He held his hand out.
"Random destination, I presume?" he asked.
DTH Karyn nodded as she grabbed his hand.
