A/N: Here's the next chapter!

Something I forgot to mention until it was pointed out to me that I didn't (thanks again, Mike AZ 2) is that Trucy is now 32, since she was already 17 when the twins were born, and they're 15 now. She's not in this story because she's on tour for her wildly successful magic acts.

Alrighty, no guest review replies this time. One with the show!

…

Chapter Five: Disbelief

Dinner that night was a quiet affair. It was just the Fey-Wrights tonight. Phoenix and Maya were muttering to each other, too quiet for the twins to hear, while Misty sulked, having gotten in trouble about her boyfriend.

Joshua was feeling a wide array of emotions. He was still hurt about his conversation with Phoenix earlier, while nervous about telling them about his new found abilities. He glanced up, to where M was standing in the corner, watching the dinner.

As soon as she finished, Misty swept from the room, stalking to her own bedroom. Josh shook his head, standing and grabbing some dishes. Phoenix looked up, surprised for a moment, before standing, grabbing a few of the dishes, and following his son into the kitchen.

"Hey… Dad?" Josh said softly.

"Yes?"

"Can I talk to you and Mom once we're done?" Josh put his dishes in the sink, turning on the water. "It's… about what's been going on with me," he added, staring at the water as it slowly forced the food of the plates. Phoenix looked at him for a moment, surprised yet again, before smiling slightly.

"Of course," he said. Josh smiled slightly, scrubbing at the dishes.

Once he was done, he returned back to the dining room, where Maya and Phoenix still were.

"Well, sweetie?" Maya asked, holding an arm out for him. Josh took a deep breath and walked over, sitting next to her. Maya smiled and wrapped her arm around him. "What's been going on?"

"Well…" Josh muttered, fiddling with the hem of his hoodie sleeve. He spotted a loose thread and started plucking at it. "There was a reason behind… the 'false report'… and… my 'falling asleep' at school," he said.

Maya and Phoenix glanced at each other, wondering where this was going. Josh plucked more at the thread, pulling it out a little. Finally, Josh took a deep breath and looked up.

"I… met Notry Tere. After she was stabbed. She was in the street, and everyone was ignoring her, so I made that call to help her," he said in a quick rush. "But… as I figured out, she wasn't really there. She was already dead in that alleyway." He took a deep breath. "It was her spirit. I'm… seeing… spirits. Not just her. I see them at school, and in the courthouse, and in town…" he trailed off at the confused looks he was getting from the two of them. "That's… everything that's been happening. And what's been going on with me…"

Phoenix's shoulders dropped and disappointment curled in his stomach as the world grew dark again, and chains surrounded Joshua once more, sealed shut by five, heavy Psych-locks. It was the office all over again.

Only this time, he didn't think Josh was lying to him to get out of trouble or cover for anyone. Maya tightened her arm as she and Phoenix exchanged worried looks.

"Josh… I know your sister has… been getting a lot of attention lately, from both me and the elders," Maya began, "and yeah, she's going to be the Master of the Kurain Channeling Technique, but—"

"Wait," Josh said, stiffening. "What does this have to do with—" Josh cut himself off, his eyes widening as he realized what his parents were thinking. He suddenly stood, throwing Maya's arm off of his shoulders.

"I can't believe you don't believe me!" he said. "I… I just…" Josh shook his head and darted out of the room.

Maya jumped to her feet. "Joshua!" she called after him. She slowly sank back down to sit next to Phoenix, who had a grim look on his face.

"What are we going to do…?" she asked him. "We know, only too well, how jealousy can twist someone. Especially… a Fey."

…

Josh threw open his bedroom door as he entered, then slammed it closed again, dropping onto his bed.

"I can't believe them!" he snapped at the ceiling.

"I know, my dear," a voice suddenly said from the corner. He jumped up, spotting M.

"Jesus-!" he gasped. "Don't do that," he said, before shaking his head and standing, his anger driving him across his room. He reached the wall, turned on his heel, and paced across to the other wall. "I just… I can't believe them! I don't care about her becoming the Master. I never have!" He kicked one of the shoes of his floor, sending it skittering into the wall. M watched him pace, her hands hidden in her sleeves, a sympathetic look on her face.

"They didn't believe you?" she asked.

"No. Of course not! Why would they!?" he snapped, grabbing one of his pillows and punching it. "They think I'm jealous of Misty, just because she's going to be so powerful one day, and blah blah blah." He accentuated each 'blah' with a punch to the pillow. "Like I've ever cared about Kurain politics or have ever been jealous of her. I'm just tired of them thinking I'm lying!"

"I suppose it makes sense," M sighed. "It was foolish of me to suggest that you told them."

"What do you mean?" Josh asked, chucking his pillow over his shoulder, back at his bed. His anger was slowly starting to ebb.

"Fey men have never had spiritual abilities," M reminded him. "You are the first man of the Fey line to have this gift. They just don't understand. Perhaps you need to prove it to them?"

"But how?" Josh asked, sitting down next to his pillow.

"Training. Train your body, your mind, and your spirit, and you will be able to cast spiritual spells that they'll be able to see," M explained. Josh tugged at the loose thread on his sleeve.

"Okay… will you teach me?" Josh asked. M smiled warmly with a nod.

"Of course. That's why Ami sent me to you, after all." She motioned for him to sit on the floor in the center of his room. "Let us begin with meditation."

Josh nodded and stood, sitting cross-legged on his floor. After a moment, he took a deep breath and straightened his back, putting his hands together in front of his chest in the same way he'd seen Misty, Maya, Pearl, and Amethyst do countless times.

"Like this?" he asked.

"Perfect," M said with a smile. "Now, focus."

Josh did as he was told, and soon found himself in a deep state of meditation. He took to it immediately.

…

The tension was much lower in the Fey-Triton household as Luke and Pearl put their daughter to bed.

"Good night, sweetie," Luke said, kissing the top of Amethyst's head. Amy's puppy, Sapphire, barked, jumping up on his leg. "And you," he added, rubbing his ears with a chuckle. Amy hesitated looking between Luke and Pearl. Pearl noticed.

"Yes, Amethyst?" she asked. Sapphire, sensing her master's uneasiness, darted over and leaned against her legs.

"It's just… I'm worried about Josh," the ten-year-old admitted, looking down.

"Oh?" Pearl asked, going and kneeling in front of her. "Why's that?"

"He's just… he's been acting funny. And I hear him talking to… himself? Thin air? I dunno," Amy said, looking down at her feet. Pearl and Luke glanced at each other, before Pearl smiled, giving Amethyst a hug.

"I'm sure it's nothing, Amy, but I'll talk to Mystic Maya about this, okay?"

"Okay, Mommy," Amy said, smiling brightly, before leading Sapphire back to her room. Luke and Pearl retired to their own room.

"Huh. That's… curious," Luke mused about Amethyst's worries as he pulled his hat off, hanging it up on a hook near his wardrobe. He then changed into his pajamas. Pearl walked over to her side of the closest, changing into her nightgown.

"You know, Maya mentioned something like this earlier…" Pearl mused. Luke looked up.

"Hm?"

"Apparently, Josh has been acting strange," Pearl started as the two of them snuggled under their shared blanket. "And today, he told her and Phoenix that he… can see spirits."

"Huh. Really?" Luke asked, curiosity appearing in his eyes.

"Yes. But men of the Fey line don't have spiritual abilities," Pearl reminded Luke. "Also… when Josh told them this… he was covered in Psych-locks."

"Oh…" Luke muttered, before thinking. "Well, maybe he can see spirits."

"Huh?"

"Think about it like this. Fey men might very well have spiritual abilities that are just dormant. Eric and I hypothesized that the grounds Kurain was built on, and the caves we're studying, might have the ability to unlock dormant Spiritual abilities. As for the Psych-locks… well, I'm not sure," Luke explained.

"That's a great idea, Luke, but… if that was the case, it should have awakened not just Josh's, but all Fey mens' abilities from the time Ami founded Kurain," Pearl reminded him.

"Oh…" Luke muttered, sounding disappointed. "Right."

…

A/N: And there's the end of this one. ONTO THE NEXT ONE!