Disclaimer: I do not own Oban Star-Racers or any of its canon characters. Bethany is mine.

Eva shifted and noticed that her limbs felt very heavy. Like they were loaded with water. Her head also felt heavy and foggy.

What happened, she thought. I was in the hospital, trying to get my dad to change his mind, and I reached for Bethany's hand, and then…

She attempted to open her eyes, but even a crack resulted in their immediate closing. Her head was beginning to ache.

Oh great, a headache, she thought. She tried opening them again and managed to get them about halfway open. Where ever she was, it was dark and warm. It reminded her of floating in a warm bath. But it wasn't friendly. She shivered despite the warmth.

"Hello?" she tried. It echoed in the blackness before something cut into her back. She cried out in pain and tried to get away from it, but only succeeded in moving about three inches away.

"What was that?" she yelled.

"Eva?" The girl looked up to find Bethany staring at her. Or at least, it looked like Bethany. But all the cuts and wounds were fresh and bleeding. She looked like some sort of sick joke on Halloween. The blade bit into her back again and she felt the tears welling up in her eyes.

"Careful. Don't move too much. They won't kill you, but it will hurt like an SOB," Bethany said, smoothing the hair out of Eva's face. A smear of blood marred her face, she could feel it.

"What, what was that?" she gasped. Bethany sighed and looked around her. For the first time, Eva noticed there were images dancing all around them. But she couldn't quite make out what they were about. Several of the same people popped up a number of times, but Eva had no idea who they were.

"That was a memory."

"My memory?"

"No, mine."

"What are you talking about?" Bethany watched as a particularly large image drifted by, with a man holding a knife about to strike. His arm came down out of the image, taking a large chunk of Bethany's arm with it. She simply turned away as the wound began to bleed, mingling with the rest of them.

"What's going on? What was that? WHO was that?!" Eva cried.

"That was my father. And that was a memory from a time when he took a knife to my arm for my poor conduct. It was his way of punishing me, which he was particularly fond of. So was my younger brother," she said.

"So these," Eva said, motioning to the images, "are your memories?" Bethany nodded.

"They've always been violent, but I haven't had this sort of problem before. Not to mention the fact that you're here as well. I suppose when I passed out, my guard was let down, and I've been an open door for someone to come through. I guess you were the other open channel," she muttered.

"What?"

"It's not important. What's important is to get you out before they start coming after you again, though I can't understand how they're doing this in the first place."

"It's probably got to do with the poison." Now it was Bethany's turn to look confused. "The guys who attacked the garage, one of them managed to poison you. It seems to be reacting with your telepathy, as far as I can figure. That's probably what caused your memories to suddenly 'come alive' and begin to attack your body."

"Nice deduction, Sherlock." Eva lifted an eyebrow, but said nothing. She heaved herself up, cringing as the pain shot through her back. The images seemed to whirl faster as Eva looked around her.

"Come on," she said, holding out her hand, "I'm getting out of here, and you're coming with me." Bethany looked at it, but made no move to get up.

"I can't."

"What? Why?"

"Because, they have me. I'm stuck here." Not for the first time, it was only now that Eva noticed the hands the grabbed at the woman's body. One was even wrapped around her waist, hugging her tightly.

"Listen, Bethany, you have to come back."

"I don't HAVE to do anything. This isn't the first time I've met death, but it will probably be my final. You need to get out of here. Just, think about your body and where it would be right now. That will at least establish the line between here and the real world. Then, pull on that line with all your might that will take you back." The arm around her waist pulled, sliding her back. Eva grabbed her arm.

"Not without you. We need you, Bethany, believe it or not. Please, come back with me," Eva pleaded.

"I can't."

"Yes, you can. Please, I already lost one member of my team. I don't want to lose another." The tears that had threatened to spill over did so at that moment. Her heart was breaking all over again; for all that she'd lost over the years. When she lost her mother, her father had left her behind, she'd learned about the truth behind the Ultimate Prize and Jordan had stayed behind to become the new Avatar.

Something in her face must have reached Bethany because she tried to pull herself up. But the hands pulled her back harder, digging into her already bleeding flesh.

"But, the poison…"

"You can beat it. Come with me. Remember, you have friends back there who want to see you again, alive and well. Fight them," she said.

"Eva."

"Come on," she said, and tugged on Bethany's arm. The arms only pulled back, insistent. Bethany reached down and began to pry off the arm. Her arms were noticeably weak, but she managed to get it from around her waist.

The second it was clear of her body, Eva yanked as hard as she could on her arm, and she suddenly felt like she'd been hurled through a dark tunnel.

"Eva? Eva? Can you hear me?"

"Yessss," she moaned. She breathed in, the scent of sterile hospital greeting her. Her head was aching again. She slowly opened her eyes, to find her dad and her friends looking at her with concern.

"What?"

"You passed out when you touched Bethany's hand. We couldn't wake you up," Don said, testing her forehead. She swatted his hand away and went to stand up. A hand was laid on the top of her head and she looked up to find Bethany smiling weakly at her.

"Thanks, for not giving up on me."

Author's Note: Oh, that last part was so sappy. I may change it later. Things are going to start getting a little more exciting. Traveling to Bethany's subconscious will cause a change in Eva. And more Aikka goodness. Awww, he was concerned for Eva's safety. You gotta love that he's such a nice guy.