Connection (Part 2)

"Why can't I make you stop shaking in pain!" Fabian yelled out, getting the attention of the woman who saved Elizabeth and her curiosity made her enter the room. "Darling?" she asked staring at the red shirt Fabian was wearing. The back of it was stained in sweat and she could see the vague outline of someone writhing on the couch.

"Darling!" She yelled out, embracing Fabian. "What's going on?" she asked seeing Joshua on the couch, he wasn't looking good, in fact, he looked like he was on the brink of death. "I can't- I can't save him. I don't know why, but whatever is happening I can't reverse it, I even tried using the part of my power I hate the most, but he won't get better," Fabian spilled out, still attempting to heal Joshua despite his mouth bleeding from overusage.

"People die, darling, it's okay," she responded giving him a hug, but he shoved her off of him as blood spewed out his mouth. "DARLING!" she yelled out, just barely catching his falling body. "What the hell is going on?" she thought confused. "Fabian!" Nathan yelled from the doorway. "Is he okay?" Nathan asked her, just receiving a nod as he looked at Joshua.

"His shaking is slowing down!" Nathan called out in surprise. "It looks like the pain is going away! Whatever Fabian did must have worked," Nathan said, happy. "Fabian?" Elena whispered from his side, he slowly opened his eyes to look at the two women in front of him. "Damn god, 2 angels just for me?" he muttered before passing out again. "You stupid, careless, idiot," Elizabeth's savior said barely containing a laugh.

*With Joshua*

"Wow..." Joshua muttered as he awoke, the whole field was back to normal, except there were more trees and it looked as if the sky was brighter, he wondered how long he had been in his mindscape by now. "Hello," a cheery woman said from above him. "H-Hi?" Joshua stumbled out.

"Now I'm sure you have lots of questions," she began, motioning for Joshua to sit down. "To start, my name is Terra, I am the manifestation of your connection to Earth," Terra explained to him as he nodded along. "You have about 3 days to convince me to let you use the full power you have, should you fail you will still have your power, but it will not be as it is now. You would be stuck at the weakest level," She told him.

"Well, sounds like I better convince you," Joshua said smirking. "Why do you wish to have this power? And I know when you lie, you have no choice but, to tell the truth," She asked and then explained to him. "I want this power... I want it because I don't want to be a burden, I want to fight for those I love and protect those closest to me," Joshua told her clutching his chest.

"A noble reason, but that's not all is it?" she asked, and Joshua had no choice but to continue. "I want to... I want to protect my sister with any means necessary, regardless of whether I kill the one who hurts her or not," Joshua finished for her, getting a smile in return. "Next question then," she told him, and he nodded for her to continue.

"Would you kill your sister if it meant you would save the entire world?" she asked him, startling him into starting with a full stutter. "W-W-W-Would I kill her? To save the whole world?" She just nodded to signal him to answer the question. "I-I,"

*With Fabian*

"It's the next morning," Fabian muttered as he got out of his bed. "Indeed it is," his 'darling' said from behind him. "How's Joshua?" he asked, but she didn't answer and just left the room. "What did I say last night?" he thought. "Whatever, I guess I'll figure it out later," he muttered as he opened his door, only to go face-to-face with Nathan.

"Something that bad huh?" Fabian said aloud, confusing Nathan. "I don't know what you're referring to, but we have a problem," Nathan continued, still half-confused. "Oh, forget it then. What's up?" Fabian asked, hoping to get away from that topic. "It's Elena's birthday today, and she needs a cake. The problem is Elizabeth cooked breakfast for herself this morning, and we're out of food," Nathan finished with a sigh. "FU-"

*Joshua*

"I-I, would never," Joshua answered. "Sis-con," Terra muttered. "What?" Joshua asked confused at what he just heard. "Nothing anyway, final test," Terra shrugged off what she said, and got back to the topic at hand. "I want you to defeat someone, if you can then I'll let you keep your power at 100," Terra said. "Okay, who?" Joshua asked confused. "In the real world, your mindscape won't prepare you for it, I want you to defeat Owen," Terra ordered a grin appearing on her face, making her blonde hair more apparent.

"So you'll let me use it to as much as I can muster, then I defeat Owen within 3 days, and boom-bam-bop I'm good to go?" Joshua asked for confirmation and she nodded. "Sounds hard enough," Joshua said with a smile as he shrugged his shoulders. "Good luck, Joshua," she said before snapping her fingers.

"AH!" Joshua screamed, and as he looked around he saw the all too familiar living room. "Thank god," he muttered his thanks before getting off the couch to check the date. "Oh, it's the 29th... WAIT IT'S THE 29TH!" Joshua yelled out in surprise. "It's 5 days after Elena's birthday, shit!" Joshua thought as he ran through the house to find Nathan or anyone.

"ELENA!" Joshua called out, but it seemed strangely empty in the house. "Okay, breathe Joshua. Where would everyone be?" He muttered to himself aloud. "That's right!" Joshua yelled out as he darted out of the house. "Where else would they be, other than the lake nearby!" Joshua told himself as he darted through the forest. "Strange, the grass and trees look greener," Joshua thought to himself, but he ignored it.

"JOSHUA!" Elena called out as she saw him running toward them over the horizon. "ELENA!" he yelled back in excitement. "Happy late 15th sis!" Joshua yelled out as he stopped in front of her and patted her head. "Where's everyone else?" Joshua asked. "In hell," Elena answered, surprising Joshua. "Wait what?" Joshua started, the whole world started spinning and he fell over in shock. "Joshua?" Elena asked. "What's going on?" Joshua muttered as he saw the world turning black.

"JOSHUA!" Elena yelled, waking him up. "AHHH!" Joshua screamed in genuine fear. "Joshua!" Nathan yelled out as he darted over to the couch. Joshua couldn't pay attention to them though. His head was still spinning, it seemed like it wasn't so much of a nightmare than it was a vision. "What's today's date?" Joshua thought, before looking at the calendar, It was Elena's birthday. "Happy 15th sis!" Joshua called out at her as he patted her head, he was still sweating and shaken at what he saw.

"Thank you, Joshua!" Elena answered between pats. "Where's Fabian?" Joshua asked, much to the sadness of Nathan. "He went to the store with I presume his girlfriend," Nathan answered, sad at being ignored. "What the hell did I miss?" Joshua asked. "A lot," Nathan answered.