Fantasy Mutant Overload [Dream x Sazzy]

[DreamBeat]

Garnet did as he was told. He put on his uniform and followed Clay to the war training room, where he listened to Clay explain. He followed Clay's example and closed his eyes, automatically establishing his end of the mental connection. It felt really uncomfortable when one part of his essence intertwined with something else, almost his physical body was being wrapped in someone else's.

"Don't activate your power until you feel the connection completely... I don't want any mishaps."

"I feel it," he snapped and instantly regretted it. He needed to be alone after this and think properly, but for now he concentrated on that connection. Garnet waited a little longer before he could feel it completely and activated his power. His already tough skin started to solidify into a skin-colored, nearly indestructible material. It didn't really change his appearance, but he could feel his body become heavier.

At present, it took Garnet about a minute to complete activation. He aims to make his activation near instantaneous in the future.

 

[Sazzy260]

Clay wanted to make this session go by as quickly as possible. He could feel Garnet's tension, like it was his own - which, in a way, when they were connected like this, as one person, they were his own. It made for a very uneasy feeling but he would push through nevertheless.

Clay made sure to clear all thoughts and feelings from his own mind, he needed a clear head before even attempting to take on Garnet's tough exterior skin.

"Okay... I'm going to start the syphoning process now. We'll start small, only my arm." Clay groaned quietly as he started taking over Garnet's power, could feel his once limber and light arm start to gain weight with the added pressure of it becoming a solid mass. It almost felt like someone was putting a lead cast on his forearm and hand. It hurt terribly, which was why he knew they would have to limit themselves to a body part a day before Clay could use the power on his entire body.

The stress of it was clearly starting to get to Clay, he was only up to the elbow and already starting to sweat, pant, and curse under his breath. It wasn't easy to take over a body power, Clay knew this all too well. He felt the bone in his arm snap in half with the pressure of the solid mass of skin, and he collapsed to his knees, crying out in pain - this effectively killed their mental connection. Despite the healing suit, the pain was still there and it was absolutely excruciating. He hated not being able to go any further, but his limits were one broken bone a session.

Clay let the healing suit do its work, mending the bone - it would take a little longer than say an open wound, but still a lot less time than what would be considered normal 'human' healing times, with the suit. He sat on the floor of the war room and just held his broken arm in his lap "Sorry..." he said quietly, looking up at Garnet "You may not know how to use it completely, or not the way you want, but your power is strong, Garnet... Stronger than a lot of other Mutants who have similar abilities."

That could very likely be contributed to the fact that Garnet had more than one power, or his Mutant powers were amplified by whatever the scientists did to him as a child - either way, it was strong and fast acting - even if Garnet didn't think so - and it hurt like hell to the only person who could use those powers. Clay wished they didn't have to do this, but it was just another one of those inevitable things that they had to get through. Survival was their main concern, and all powers that the Mutants here possessed, always came in handy for Clay... Eventually so would Garnet's.

 

[DreamBeat]

The pain wasn't his. He couldn't feel the pain, but he started feeling tired and his arm felt a little heavier. It must be painful for Clay if Garnet felt this uncomfortable. A twinge in his arm, a crack, and a cry of pain later, Garnet's eyes were open and centered on Clay. The man was sweating and panting, muttering curses as his face twisted in pain and he cradled his arm. Garnet felt guilty. Here the man was, suffering, but he still complimented Garnet. For how careful he was on the battlefield, Garnet found it weird how he could be so careless with himself.

"You have to do this? My power is not easy to you. Do not feel like you must," he said, but he knew that Clay felt like he should. Because his power was useful. "I have natural materials in my body to help with powers. You do not. Can you not ask scientists to help make you less painful?"

 

[Sazzy260]

Clay shook his head "Doesn't work like that... Not here." Clay said quietly, he got back to his knees slowly, arm still cradled against his chest as he looked at Garnet "We may have a lot of advances in science... but I don't think they can..." Clay said and then closed his eyes. Thinking about it further, and alternatively letting his arm heal more as he took a few breaths.

"There is something we could try... But it is a very risky idea... and I am not even certain that it will work." Clay said as he looked up at Garnet, biting on his bottom lip nervously. Clay clearly had Garnet's full attention with this "Your blood... It has the key to all of this. If they tested our blood types, and we are a match or you are a universal donor... I could take some of your blood... and it will give me your... genetic code - I won't have your ability, but I will be able to hand it better. Does that make sense or should I... translate?"

 

[DreamBeat]

Garnet shook his head. It made sense. Kind of. What he got out of that explanation was that one, his blood is important, and that two, his blood will help. That was enough for him to agree. It probably involved needles, but he didn't hesitate to answer. He knelt beside Clay and extended his hand.

"Okay. Do it."

They didn't immediately get to work. Well, Garnet insisted that Clay didn't. Clay's arm just broke and was exhausted from their syphoning his power. Garnet thought not for the first time that bodies were really fragile as he made his way to the infirmary on the first floor. They call it an infirmary, but it's more like a living room decorated with lots of cabinets filled with medical equipment, medications, and candy. The room was always clean courtesy of a certain resident clean freak nurse.

"Seth," Garnet called out. The figure on the couch didn't stirr. "Seth. I need help." The shirtless nurse sighed and turned his head.

"Whaddya here for? And get me some candy, will ya? Outta energy."

The man swept his bangs out of his face as he sat up and fluttered his clear dragonfly wings. Seth the Sugar Vampire was his title simply because Squirt thought it was weird that Seth had to consume sugar to power his ability. Garnet also learned to come to the thirty year old man for medical related things. Apparently, he was an Emergency Medical Technician before he was sniffed out by the Purifiers.

"Eh, I and Clay did siphoning lesson. My blood... My blood? Eh, my blood sample.. will help Clay. Please take my blood," he finished lamely, still a bit stressed from the events of the morning.

"Come 'ere and explain. Do that mind connection thing if you need to," Seth said as he gathered the necessary equipment to draw blood.

​

"Kay, so your blood type's O positive. Means you might be compatible - sorry matching - with Boss," he corrected when he realized Garnet wouldn't understand. "Get 'im down here, and we'll do a more thorough blood matching test."

That is how Garnet found himself in his room yet again, asking Clay to come down to the infirmary not even an hour after he left him.

 

[Sazzy260]

After the syphoning lesson, Clay had decided to go and lay down - remaining in his healing suit to hopefully continue healing his arm. He was laid out on his bed, arm still tucked tightly against his stomach as he stared up at the ceiling. The pain was still excruciating, even almost an hour later. The bone seemed to be taking forever to heal as opposed to the normal hour, tops, for his body to heal after a break like that. Was it something in Garnet's powers that made it worse? He didn't know, but he wished he did.

Clay lifted his head when he heard Garnet come into their bedroom, and smiled weakly in his direction. Then Garnet was asking him to come down to the infirmary. Clay nodded reluctantly - he hated going down to the infirmary; more so he hated being around Seth. The fairy-like Mutant was more "FAIRY" than anything - and that was the nicest insult he could think of. Seth was more gay than Clay was, but then again, not many people knew that Clay was into men, simply because he just did not show interest like that in anyone... The only other person he had feelings like that for, was his best friend, and now he was dead because of Clay.

Clay followed Garnet out of their room, cradling his arm tight against his body so he wouldn't do any further damage and delay the healing process. Clay sat down on one of the chairs in the infirmary and rested his arm across an incredibly comfortable pillow "Alright, so why I am here?" Clay asked, looking up at Garnet and the ultra-fairy, Seth.

 

[DreamBeat]

The fairy-mutant glanced at Garnet before turning to Clay with a detached expression. Clay was never on friendly terms with Seth. He probably even hated him more than Seth cared for, but Boss was Boss. Seth was sitting in his chair with his legs on the desk when they walked in together. He didn't say anything until Clay did.

"Kid said his blood would help you with syphoning his powers," Seth drawled and stuck a lollipop into his mouth. He didn't seem to care about the injury, relaxing into a more comfortable position in the chair. "But that only works if your blood types are compatible. You're here to gimme yer blood. So if you would hold out yer other arm, I'm gonna suck that blood out of you."

 

[Sazzy260]

Clay wanted to growl at Seth, but he managed to maintain his composure and do as the fairy nurse said, he extended his other arm outward and laid it on the desk near Seth. "Okay, then draw it out... I won't even punch you for doing this time." Clay said with a devilish smirk on his face as he balled his fist and flexed his arm.

Veins immediately sprung up and pulsated with each flex of Clay's hand.

 

[DreamBeat]

The candy in Seth's mouth crunched. How irritating. Boss is Boss, he reminded himself. He got to work. After tying the rubber band around the donating arm, he said something that may or may not get him punched.

"Glad you say that, Boss, cuz this is gonna hurt like a bitch," he grinned. He punched the needle in, drew the blood out painfully, pulled it out abruptly, and slammed a gauze on his arm - painfully. Nothing seemed to be coming, so he put the vials of blood in a plastic bag for examination. What he didn't expect was for something to hit his face straight after all was said and done. It felt like a fucking brick. But it was no brick. In front of him was a stone-faced Garnet, his hand fisted.

"Get it done, please and thank you," he scowled at him before turning to Clay.

Wow, feisty.

 

[Sazzy260]

Clay smirked up at Garnet and reached with his non-injured hand to cup Garnet's fisted hand "Thanks, because if you hadn't - I would have." Clay said as he stood up, his hand still cupping Garnet's fist as he retreated from the infirmary and back upstairs to where the common rooms and activities for the younger children were located.

Garnet found a quiet corner of the room and sat down on the extremely comfortable couch, "Hand okay?" Clay asked as he looked up at Garnet, finally releasing the younger man's hand. If it were obvious that Clay was blushing, it would be written all over his face, but he thanked god for the red color of his skin to hide such human emotions from view. It just didn't stop his face from getting a little redder looking.

 

[DreamBeat]

"Hand okay," Garnet responded. "Arm okay?"

He didn't know what possessed him to punch Seth so hard. The guy was likeable enough even if he was really lazy and sometimes kind of rude. His wings reminded him of home, so he may be slightly biased. Still, seeing him stabbing Clay and hurting him made him so unbelievably irritated and mad.

Their first mental connection three months ago briefly crossed his mind. They had a special bond, even if they couldn't feel it all the time. This was the first time he felt like this, and it was confusing him. He felt... not like himself.

"You need rest anyway. You should rest."

 

[Sazzy260]

Clay shook his head "Arm is fine... It is healing now." Clay said as he stretched out, putting his boot-clad feet up on the coffee table and closing his eyes, he wiggled the fingers of his injured hand and then looked at Garnet again.

"I'm okay without rest. I'm not tired, really... Come sit down with me Garnet... We could both at least a break." Clay patted the space next to him.

"Can I ask why you punched Seth? That's very unusual behavior for you."

 

[DreamBeat]

The couch sank as Garnet sat next to Clay, unsure of what to say. He just kind of lost it. How could he say this in English? There was no way he could say this to him even in Kantonese. How could you tell someone you knew for three months that it felt like someone was touching his property? Arceus, he felt like some kind of territorial Pokemon.

"I... The... He.. I felt angry to him. Because he hurt you." His face started to feel hot, and he could only stare at nothing in particular. "He was mean, but he should not be mean. Forget it..."

 

[Sazzy260]

Clay frowned when he heard Garnet stuttering and struggling to speak. He sat up and opened his eyes, heavy boots clanging onto the cement flooring as he turned bodily toward Garnet "Hey..." he said quietly, and slowly reached over to grasp Garnet's jaw and turn his head so they were facing one another.

Clay looked into Garnet's eyes and could see the frustration and confusion that whatever was building between them was causing in the younger man. He sighed quietly, rubbing his thumb lightly over Garnet's smooth jaw "He did not hurt me, not nearly as much as you hurt him..." Clay said softly and with a smile, so Garnet knew he was not in trouble for his actions.

"I know that this is hard for you to understand, Garnet... But what you did back there with Seth... That was in your right to protect me from what you thought was a dangerous and potentially violent situation." Clay took a breath and released Garnet's jaw slowly, resting a hand on Garnet's shoulder instead and squeezing lightly - Once again that mental connection they shared flared up, bonding them together in a stronger way. They still couldn't read each other's thoughts, but from time-to-time they still gathered information from each other's pasts this way... despite knowing almost everything there was to know about each other "I would have done the same thing, had I been in your position. Seth is a bully, Garnet... He preys on those weaker than him, and attacks those who are stronger than him... It is just his way, ever since Sentinel Hunters have tried putting our kind into extinction."

 

[DreamBeat]

Their eyes met, making him want to wriggle even as he stayed frozen.

Badump, badump, badump.

W-what...

His breath stuttered and so did his heart. Anyone could see that his cheeks darkened a shade as his heart raced. The steel in those vibrant eyes made him feel weird, and he was suddenly conscious of the caress of Clay's fingers on his jaw. Garnet was probably making a weird face the moment he saw that smile. This feeling. These feelings were scary.

"I know that this is hard for you to understand, Garnet... But what you did back there with Seth... That was in your right to protect me from what you thought was a dangerous and potentially violent situation."

Those words matched with his earlier thoughts of possession. Garnet's heart seemed to race even faster when the hand slipped from his jaw and onto his shoulder. He couldn't help but gulp inaudibly.

What's wrong with me...

"I would have done the same thing, had I been in your position. Seth is a bully, Garnet... He preys on those weaker than him, and attacks those who are stronger than him... It is just his way, ever since Sentinel Hunters have tried putting our kind into extinction."

Our kind

Right. They were the same species, they were mutants. His stomach turned. Everything seemed to fall underwater as sounds started to sound muffled, and he could hear his heart beating. Garnet only nodded numbly, aware that his mouth was still dry and parted in a way that could only made him look stupid.

Now would be a great time for that alone time he was wanting since their syphoning lesson. Yes, he decided as he nodded again and abruptly stood up. Garnet could breathe again when he rushed to his own bed across the room and hid under the covers.

"T-tired," his voice trembled from the adrenaline as he cursed his heart and willed it to slow down.

 

[Sazzy260]

Clay had no choice but to let Garnet go. He sighed heavily and ran a hand through his hair, tugging at the braid as he looked down at the cement ground - He was making the same mistakes he made ten years ago with Jess.

"What am I doing here, Jess? I can't be falling for him... Can I? You were..." Clay sighed mentally and shook his head, rubbing his temples slowly - This wasn't possible... He couldn't possibly be falling in love with Garnet; There was just no way - He had his chance at love, true love... The kind people wrote about in stories, once-in-a-lifetime opportunities that no longer are an option for Clay. He killed his best friend ten years ago with a too-powerful syphoning lesson that backfired. He couldn't...

Clay shuddered and shook his head, wrapping his arms around his stomach and doubling over on himself. He couldn't fall in love with Garnet, and yet... at the same time, he was. Slowly, but surely, he was starting to feel something stronger than just their emotional connection taking root in his heart, in his mind, and even his soul. It was... devastating. He was still in love with Jess, so much so that it still hurt to this day... How could he *ever* replace his best friend with someone else? Someone he had only met just three months ago.

The thoughts in Clay's head kept swirling and swirling. He felt dizzy and sick to his stomach, but he also knew that Garnet needed time, and space, away from him. He was stuck in common areas... Or... Yeah... Yeah. He would go to his office and just hole up there for a while - if not a few years - to try and sort this incredibly messy situation out.

With that in mind, Clay got up to his feet. Unsteady as ever as he felt worse than when his arm snapped in half under the weight of Garnet's mutant power. He staggered his way upstairs and down the hall. He just needed to clear his head and think... Reconfigure his thoughts. Maybe that would help him get over this infatuation he seemed to have with Garnet. He could hope. And lay down.

 

[DreamBeat]

For the next week, siphoning lessons were done mostly in silence. Garnet avoided talking to Clay when he could help it, afraid that he would start to have uncontrollable thoughts and feelings. Clay avoided talking to Garnet as well, avoiding opening their mental link unless necessary. It was on the third day that Garnet felt certain that Clay was also avoiding him.

Unsure of what to do in order to, he went to Squirt. They had grown closer, though they weren't by any means friends. Squirt, who was unusually perceptive for how he acted, only left Garnet with some words of advice as he smirked: "Don't think, just do." Garnet took his advice to heart and built up the courage slowly think about the phenomenon that occurred whenever Clay was too close. Before he knew it, it had already been five days. The blood test results were in.

Seth had spent the better part of the week munching away on any sweets he could get his hands on, his head bruised and bandaged. The results of the blood test were given to Clay almost a week after Clay and Garnet's visit to his infirmary. The test didn't take nearly as long as he said it did, but it was his petty revenge for being punched in the face. He would rather see Boss than that kid. Feisty, but Garnet's punch hurt like a bitch.

Garnet visited the infirmary alone (to Seth's dismay) the day after the results were in, allowing the dragonfly-mutant to draw a decent amount of blood to transfer to Clay. The tension was amazingly thick after what transpired the last time Seth hurt Clay. Needless to say, Seth's conduct was all business and no play. A day after drawing blood from Garnet, it was Clay's turn to go to the infirmary.

At the current moment, the two were in the infirmary with an irritated and candy-munching Seth. Garnet was sitting in a chair by the cabinets on the wall while the transfusion took place, watching with apt attention to Seth's movements. It was an obvious threat from the one possessive youngster to a nonchalant, experienced healer with little fighting experience. There was no need for a repeat of the events from one week ago, so the blood transfusion was currently in-progress with no violence thus far. There was just one thing bothering the doctor.

"Ya guys fight or something? Jeez, so fuckin' quiet," he mumbled with candy still stuck in his mouth. He was so not looking forward to the next ten minutes of their visit.

 

[Sazzy260]

Clay shook his head and glanced over in Garnet's direction - the younger man still would not look him in the eye longer than a few seconds at a time; and yes, it was annoying and Clay wished he could just slap himself and Garnet for ignoring that there was obviously something going on between the two of them. But Clay had never been good at expressing his feelings, even with Jess... and Garnet was even less experienced than Clay was when it came to love.

"No, we haven't had a fight." Clay said snappily and stared up at Seth with an icy expression in his pitch black eyes "Just do your job, Seth... If we needed a psychologist, we could find one - we have three."

Clay said nothing more after that, rather returned to looking at the tablet he had brought down with him so he could continue working on the betterment of their future - he needed to get back on point with the TMUL Militants, but training with Garnet was taking precedence over everything else right now. "Do you want to go back to Kanto one day, Garnet?" Clay asked, glancing up at Garnet briefly.

 

[DreamBeat]

"Tch, yessir," Seth mumbled. It made him sound a little bratty, but there was no helping it since Boss was in the room at the same time as that kid.

Garnet, on the other hand, was still alert despite the silence. Actually, a person would say that Garnet was still alert because it was so silent. And so another six minutes passed by in silence. It was Clay who broke the silent spell.

"Do you want to go back to Kanto one day, Garnet?" was the question Clay asked. For Garnet, the answer was obviously yes. There was nothing like home. Sure, Team Rocket was pretty much terrorizing his world right now... But it was home, and it was obvious that this was not home. Yet, Garnet hesitated to answer. A few more moments were spent in silence. In the end, he answered in a firm voice.

"Yes."

 

[Sazzy260]

Clay nodded and set his tablet aside. He looked up at Garnet and tried getting complete eye contact with the younger man "I may have a way to get you back to Kanto, Garnet..." Clay said quietly - he didn't want to let Garnet leave, but he could tell... Just in that one firm answer of Yes he knew that keeping Garnet here indefinitely was not a good option; as much as he wanted too.

Clay sighed heavily and watched the blood as it continued filling his body - this was utterly pointless now, if Garnet were to leave him... Surely Clay couldn't go back to Kanto and stay. It wasn't his home, and he couldn't truly make that decision without Garnet having some say in it. He cursed his feelings for Garnet, they were making everything harder to think clearly.

Clay grabbed the bag of blood that was attached to his arm and stood up, slowly walking across the room to sit down beside Garnet. He didn't care that Seth had said not to move after or during the transfusion, this was more important than the Fairy Mutant's rules. "As much as I would hate to see you leave... I know you are not happy here on Earth, Garnet..." Clay could feel the tears start building up in his eyes, a few milky drops riding down his red and black cheeks "I just want you to be happy, and if getting you back to Kanto is what makes you happy... Then I'll do whatever I can in my power to get you back there."

 

[DreamBeat]

"I may have a way to get you back to Kanto, Garnet..."

"What?" His voice came out as a whisper.

Since when? Garnet felt a pang in his chest but when Clay sighed with that look on his face, Garnet could tell that Clay wasn't saying this because he wanted to. Even without the mental connection or Clay's words, Garnet could somehow sense that Clay didn't want him to leave this dimension. That was why when Clay made his promise to do whatever he could to find a way back to Kanto, Garnet didn't think about how many times he'd heard those words coming out of Clay's mouth before. He never really believed those words anyway. Until now, at least.

At that time, Garnet realized that although earth meant close to nothing to him, Clay and even some of the other TMUL members have managed to worm their way into his heart. For the first time since coming to earth, Garnet entertained the thought (just for a few moments) of staying on earth with these people even with the option to go back to Kanto. However, he was quick to banish the thought from his head. He may not have had many friends back in Kanto, but they were precious to him. Just because some man named Clay and some other people just like him showed up into his life and made him have these weird feelings did not mean that he was going to give up his lifelong friends.

But what if they came back with you? Your parents managed to make a new life in Johto. Who says these people can't do the same?

The realization jolted him out of thought, and he realized that no one was talking. He hoped he didn't miss anything important. Even Seth was looking at him weirdly now. He had to say something.

"I want to go back to Kanto. What if you guys come back with me? It's wonderful in Kanto even if Team Rocket is there and there are plenty of natural-born psychics," he knew he was rambling now, but he couldn't stop. "The government wouldn't try to hunt you down, and Pokemon make great companions. Maybe if you all just give Kanto a try, Kanto or even any of the other regions could become your new homes. My parents did it, didn't they?"

 

[Sazzy260]

Clay looked at Garnet in mild confusion as the younger man rambled on, but the words started making sense when Garnet finally finished speaking. Garnet did want him - them( all of them?) - to come to Kanto with him? He doubted a lot of people would want to actually leave Earth, it was their home after all... and Clay? Well, he never really did feel like he belonged on Earth, or anywhere really. He had always been a loner, even when Jess - or his parents - were alive... Going to Kanto may give him a second chance at a life he wanted to live... Being a military leader had never been his vision, and now here was an opportunity to break away from that.

Tilting his head to the side, Clay rubbed his smooth jaw and hummed softly as he thought about it "I will have to think about this... It's a big step, Garnet." Clay said quietly.

Looking to the transfusion bag, he was happy to see that it was almost empty. This meant, if he did go, the transfusion wouldn't have been a waste of time - he and Garnet could still practice the power syphoning lessons, no matter where they ended up. Clay's heart thudded a little harder with the thought; he wouldn't have to leave Garnet somewhere else, while he stayed behind, even if nothing ever came of their oh-so-obvious mutual feelings, they wouldn't *have* to be separated.

Clay stood up slowly, now that the transfusion had finally completed. He pulled the needle from his arm slowly and clamped his fingers over the hole so he wouldn't start shooting blood everywhere - it would be nasty and a mess to clean up, not that he'd really care since Seth would be the one cleaning it, but yeah; he didn't need to hear the sugar fairy bitch about it right now.

Did Clay really need that much time to think about this step? Moving to another realm with Garnet? No. No he didn't. He promised he would protect Garnet, wherever and whenever... That meant on the Kanto Region too. He would uphold his promise to the fullest... Clay started walking toward the door "I've... made up my..." his words started slurring slowly and his body started swaying heavily "mind..." was the last words heard from Clay's mouth before the muscular man collapsed to the ground, knees first, and then the rest of his body, thudding loudly against the concrete floors.

 

[DreamBeat]

Tense muscles relaxed at hearing that Clay would at leaat consider his spontaneous idea. The blood transfusion was complete, and Clay stood and took out the needle without prompting. There was a chance that a person, and therefore Clay, might lose consciousness after a blood transfusion. Granted, neither Seth nor Garnet were stopping him from standing straight after a transfusion. Seth because he believed there was no way in hell that Boss was gonna pass out from a needle and some blood, and Garner because he simply didn't know about it.

Imagine both of their surprise when Clay not only fainted, but the person in question was attempting to hold a conversation until he hit the floor with an echoing thud. Garnet nearly hurt Seth again, but they both quickly discovered that it was just a side effect (though a surprising one since they were talking about a veteran). It occurred to Garnet not long after, as a telepath named Ray gently laid Clay on his bed, that it might be because of his blood. Fainting after a blood transfusion wasn't very common, he was told.

Garnet sat on his bed with arm supporting his head that night, wondering if Clay was even going to wake up today. It made him anxious.

"Get up, stupid..." He whispered, urging the body across the room to regain consciousness.

 

[Sazzy260]

After the first twenty-four hours of Clay not waking up, Squirt was summoned by Garnet to come figure out what the heck was going on, since he was the only mental telepath that could dig that deep into ones subconscious mind. Squirt sauntered his way into Clay and Garnet's shared bedroom and plopped himself down carelessly right on top of Clay's strong stomach, crossing his legs and staring at Garnet who looked like he hadn't moved an inch from his bed since Clay had been brought to his room. "Okay, so how can I help?" Squirt asked.

He quickly found out though, that while Clay looked comfortable, he really wasn't. Squirt frowned and slid off of Clay's body and landed on the floor, staring up at Garnet with wide starburst yellow eyes "He's been out cold for twenty-four hours... I'm not sure how much help I can be... other than showing you whatever he might be seeing in his unconscious state of mind..." Squirt paused and bit his lip slightly, tilting his head back to look at Clay "I have to warn you though, what he might be seeing... May not be so pretty."

 

[DreamBeat]

Throughout the night, Garnet remained half asleep and tried to keep an ear out for Clay's awakening. In the end, Garnet barely got any sleep. As far as he knew, neither a blood transfusion nor a fall should keep a person asleep for this long. It had been over twenty-four hours! He even tried their mental link, only to find that he couldn't communicate with an unconscious Clay. That was why he decided to go to the only other telepath in the building.

He was starting to think that he should have just waited a little longer for Clay to wake up when Squirt strut into the room and proceeded to sit on Clay like it was the most natural thing he'd done all day. Garnet didn't understand why Squirt was sitting on top of Clay. He was so floundered and tired that he didn't answer Squirt's question, just from exasperation and tiredness. There seemed to be no need for him to answer anyway since Squirt started doing his job without waiting for an answer.

Squirt frowned and slid off of Clay's body and landed on the floor, staring up at Garnet with wide starburst yellow eyes "He's been out cold for twenty-four hours... I'm not sure how much help I can be... other than showing you whatever he might be seeing in his unconscious state of mind..." Squirt paused and bit his lip slightly, tilting his head back to look at Clay "I have to warn you though, what he might be seeing... May not be so pretty."

Was it bad enough to make Squirt like this? It was Garnet's turn to frown as his half-lidded eyes shifted from Squirt to Clay. Clay's mind... From what Garnet had seen in Clay's life, he could surmise that Clay's state of mind was not pretty at all. He didn't want to visit Clay's mind. He wondered if he could even handle it when it made him so emotional the first time.

"Clay would wake up sometime, so he didn't have to," he reassured himself.

Then why was he feeling so insecure?

"Make a decision quick, cuz he's been in there for a while and it's not looking to pretty."

Squirt's eyes were still shining yellow, but he was seated in more comfortable position. Garnet had been silent for a few minutes, it seemed. Mind made up, Garnet moved from his bed and moved to the ground in front of Squirt. If Clay needed him, Garnet would try to provide. Clay had done so much for him in these past three months. Not only had he protected him from the whispers during the first few weeks at TMUL, Clay had also become his friend and mentor of sorts.

"Tell me what I must do." His heart was set, and his mind was steeled. He would face whatever Clay had in store for him head-on. It was a promise made with his old companion Bubbles. It was a promise he would make with Clay. Squirt nodded seriously. He was also worried.

"Alright, we both gotta be on the bed with him. Up we go," he grunted as they both moved from the floor to the bed. They were lying down on either side of Clay's unconscious body with their hands linked on his chest. Squirt's eyes closed, Garnet soon following his example.

"Alright deep breaths. In, out. In, out," the teenager's voice was calm and soothing. "You're going to feel a little weird, but try not not to resist. Just remember to feel your hands and squeeze it really tightly if you want out."

The voice held none of the usual sarcasm or attitude. Garnet nodded. In the next moment, Garnet felt light-headed. He tried not to resist as be felt like his mind was becoming lighter and lighter until his body felt like it wasn't even his own. The last thing he heard before being thrown into a pitch black space was Squirt echoing voice.

"Remember, it's not real."