Their dreams are peaceful for once, no memories of their old life here, only miles and miles of grass softly moving in the wind. Rex is running around them as they notice that they are in fact standing, hesitantly taking a step forward, followed by another and soon after they were running with Rex, feeling the soft grass tickling the soles of their feet. After awhile they stop, laying down on the grass and pointing out the cloud formations, Rex laying down next to them.
A noise suddenly sounded behind them, with the sound of someone grunting in pain. They sat up, looking behind them and seeing BEN, but really badly wounded. His tunic torn like he had been in battle, burns and bruises littering his body, blood dripping from his eye sockets which lacked his pupils, blood coming out of his mouth as he supported himself with his sword while glitching out bad.
"BEN! Oh fuck, what happened to you?!"
"The fucking shield members is what happened." He coughed out, listening for the sound of Janina's voice instead of looking directly at them. They stand up then, trying to get BEN to sit down but he refuses.
"BEN, please sit down, you need it."
"I'm fucking fine." He hissed out, still horribly glitching, "you're not."
"You're the one who looks like he just returned from an all out war."
"Pinned by a ghost proof net and sprayed down with fucking water in an attempt to somehow knock me out to get those fucking memories you go on about."
"Heart only told me what she saw, but don't worry those people are dead now."
"Janina. You aren't fine, you need to get the poison out of your system." He hissed out, still not looking at them.
Now they are confused as Rex tries to get BEN to sit down now. "BEN, that doesn't make sense really. I haven't eaten anything in the last 24 hours except for my coffee and I would have noticed if something is wrong with it."
"They swapped your fucking sleeping pills for poison."
"Wait what?!"
"They told me that they poisoned you and as they were trying to kill me, they went on about you raising us as kids. They fucking told me that they would even put you in a room with heart, surround you with salt and when Heart went to a point where she really needed to kill something you would get killed. You have been poisoned Janina."
At that they have to sit down, not noticing how the sky around them darkens. "Oh no, oh shit no."
"You need to get it out of you Janina, or you'll just get sicker and sicker." He huffed, coughing up more blood, "just give the pills to EJ when Heart gets back. They even said that your dad locked himself in his room with salt while I was being tortured."
"I fucking took two pills already, I don't even know if I'm gonna die from that and that honest to any deity up there sounds like him."
"Just wake up, get Sally or Heart, get the pills to EJ and take the medicine that Heart has that might help." He huffed, still glitching up and supporting himself with the sword.
"I have literally no idea how to wake up and I have one question since it had been more than a day since all of this, did anything happen regarding your memories before the shit happened with those Shield members?"
He glitched even more in response, "other than my game acting up more than usual and the bad headaches."
"How did your game act up then?"
"I mean randomly playing the cutscene with Link, glitching out onto the moon, and my following Kafei to the stream, but it's nothing really."
"This sounds a lot like the story of how Benedict found Hadley, at least the parts he told the first Janina."
He growled in response at the mere thought of that, still glitching out bad.
"From what I know he rode a horse into the town, he met the people with the masks and then he had to follow Hadley to a river. Sounds familiar, doesn't it?"
He let out another hiss, holding his sword even tighter, his claws digging into his skin.
"He then helped her fake her death and they fled. A somewhat happy end to that story until, you know."
He huffed, "it's just the game glitching up its not any fucking memories"
"Keep telling yourself that, if you get any that involves shooting arrows at a tree and hitting a chicken let me know."
"Even I know better than to hit a fucking cucco. All they do is just kill the player!"
"I never said that it was on purpose."
He hissed at them again as he coughed up more blood, "just.. Just fucking wake up soon.. Ill help wake you up."
"And how would you do that? We're both in my dream." The sky around them looks almost blood red, as if it was hurting.
He just sighs and sends some electricity vaguely in Janina's direction.
That causes them to wake up, nearly falling out of bed by how sudden that was. The first thing they can register is that they really need a trash can now before they vomit on the floor. They hold a hand in front of their mouth, barely able to keep it down.
"Sally help please!"
A trash can is instantly brought into the room by the smol child carrying it, as it was brought to them. They take it and lose the rest of their stomach content, vaguely aware that there's blood in it too, once they're done they just, "Sally, can you call Heart or EJ?"
"Okay! Ill call Jacky, you don't look so good." And with that she floated out of the room to go contact him. They barely are able to keep themself together, their mind running around various poisons that could have caused this.
"Jacky's on his way!" Sally called as she floated back. Janina only starting to cry as their mind finally catches up to the fact that they've been poisoned.
Sally immediately hugged them, "hugs help!" They hug her back then, almost immediately holding her close like a lifeline.
"You okay now Janny?"
"A bit… could be better.."
"Oh okay, did Benny come to you? We don't sleep so we don't know if he is okay or not…"
"Yes he's… getting better. From what I know he definitely got better, still will take a bit for him to come back, but he was able to talk."
"Yay!" She smiled happily, glad to know her friend was okay.
"He's the one that woke me up too, so he's definitely better."
Sally was about to say something when the door knocked.
"Sally! Its me Jack. You said something was wrong with Janina?"
"Coming!" She floated out of the room.
Janina took that time to collect themself, they haven't died yet so it's not a fast acting poison, so various plants are out.
EJ soon came in, being practically dragged by the small child, "Poison?"
They nodded, "They swapped my sleeping pills with poison, from what I know it isn't fast acting."
"I'm going to take the pills to some people who I know actually work with different poisons to see what it is. Ill try to come back with a cure soon."
They then hand him the pill bottle, "I took two of those before knowing that they were poison, last night and before I fell asleep."
"Just take the other pills for now while I take these in for testing." He takes the pill bottle stuffing it in his pocket.
"I don't plan on sleeping now, if that dosis was deathly I don't want to be asleep."
"Heart Burn is out killing so it'll be awhile."
"I know…"
EJ then leaves but not before, "Maybe you could try to play BEN's game, it'll keep you entertained for now."
"Would he even allow that?"
"He's too weak to do too much right now, just play on a seperate file." and with that, EJ had left the building. Janina considered it, not sure if they should, most likely one would need two hands to play it, they glare at the stump of what was once their arm.
"I can help!" Sally grinned, "And maybe Benny will help too!"
"That would be great, I couldn't play a single game for so long already."
Sally sort of then tried to help Janina out of the bed.
"Sally, you just have to get me down, I can sort of get to his game."
"You need help!" She said as she sort of got Janina onto her back without being squished. Janina is trying not to go awww the whole time, "I know, but you shouldn't strain yourself."
"I'm fine! I'm strong!" She smiled as she sort of kept Janina on her back, trying to pull them out of the room and into the living room.