A couple days later...

It was a few days since Midas and Slone's not so friendly meeting, and it looked as though Jones' nightmare about this 'representation of his fears' was only getting worse.

He was plagued with visions and nightmares and it got so bad that Midas felt like he had no choice but to remain with Jones while he slept.

And even then, nothing could stop the poor guy having the same recurring dream every night.

-------

Groaning in exhaustion, Jones blinks twice before opening his eyes. As usual, his surroundings were nothing but an empty void. Only this time he had awoken in some kind of cage with chains attached to his wrists. There were no hints of gold on it, so it couldn't have been Midas' doing.

The creature slinks into the dim light, showing itself to Jones.

"Okay what do have for me this time, culmination of my fears?"

It doesn't reply. Jones looks to his right and notices an illusion beginning to form. It showed him and Slone, only he had two people beside him.

"Jones, what are you doing with those things?!"

"Aren't they cool Slone? I found them wandering around the island and I offered to get them a look in here!"

The two other people in question was snapshots of himself. One looked curious about the place, the other looking very freaked out and paranoid.

"Ahh. W-What is this place?"

"Yeah. Where'd you bring us man?"

Slone goes to stop Jones but his mouth was quicker than her feet.

"This place is called the Imagined Order. I.O for short. It's where I work!"

"Wait. I remember this. This was...when my friendship with Slone fell apart." Present day Jones recalls while watching through his prison, unable to interfere.

"Jones-"

"Oh yeah. You two are basically copies of me. Snapshots to be more specific."

"Jones, stop-"

"Snapshots? W-What do you mean? Are we not real people?!"

"Well, I'd like to think you are. Creating a snapshot goes a lil something like this. I-"

"JOHN JONES!! I DEMAND YOU TO SHUT YOUR MOUTH THIS INSTANT!"

Jones and his snapshots yelp in surprise and fear as Slone raises her voice. Taking a different looking rift device from her hip, she zaps it at the two snapshots and they glitch away out of existence.

"Ah!! Slone what was that for?! Did you just kill them?!"

"Shut up. Come here you bumbling idiot."

Slone grabs Jones' tie and pulls him towards her, the light reflecting off her glasses.

"Do you have any idea what would've happened if you had let those two pieces of code escape into our world?!"

"But isn't it a good thing if the people could see what I.O is making? We could revolutionise the world!"

Slone growls in anger, slapping Jones across the face and making him shut up. Present day Jones cringes, holding the left side of his face simultaneously with his past self, feeling the pain of that slap as well.

"What... what did you do that for? What did I do..?"

"It doesn't matter Jones. After this, you won't remember anything about those two snapshots, or what I just did to you."

Pushing Jones down on her desk, the I.O leader takes a small circular device from her pocket and plants it on his forehead. He begins to feel lightheaded immediately and falls unconscious.

"You never will..."

The memory glitches away as the creature comes closer to Jones, the cage's bars shrinking down and leaving him in a tight space.

"Wait! What did she do to me?!"

It doesn't utter a word.

"C-C'mon! Answer me!"

It inches closer. Jones' loud demands quickly turn into helplessly quiets pleas.

"...please... you're scaring me..."

Jones begins to shiver, sweat dripping down his forehead as the creature faces him, taking the form of Slone. It pulls him towards them, only to drive a hand shape shifted into a spear through his chest. Thus forcing him to wake up back in the real world.

-------------

"Jonesy!!"

He wakes up with a small shout, putting a hand over his chest. His heart felt like it was pounding right out of it.

"Huh? W-What? What's going on?"

Jules sighs, shaking her head.

"Did you seriously not hear what I said?"

"Uh, haha. Not exactly."

She groans, slamming her head into the table. Midas, who also looked very tired, pats her back.

"Take it easy on him. He's just been having trouble sleeping lately." Midas hums, raising his cup of coffee to his lips. "I've been trying to figure out how to help him."

"Oh really? Is your solution sleeping with him? Cos lately you haven't been able to stop doing that, lover boy."

Midas spits out his hot beverage as Jules asks that, Jones simply frozen in surprise before snickering and bursting into hysterical laughter.

"Jules! How the fuck do you know about that?!"

"Dude chill. I'm joking." Jules snickers, looking at her brother's mortified expression... only to raise an eyebrow and ask;

"But have you though?"

Wiping his mouth Midas goes a bright pink and turns to his younger sister.

"Alright Jules I know you love to tease me, but that's taking it a tad too far."

She sticks her tongue out at him with a grin, clearly not caring in the slightest. Midas rolls his eyes and turns back to Jones who was tapping his shoulder.

"Uh...on a more serious note, could I talk to you alone after breakfast Midas?"

"Of course. You can meet me in the back garden. I have something I wish to discuss with you as well."

Jones gives him a thumbs up before leaving the table and going outside. Midas hums, drinking what was left of his coffee.

-------

"I'm sorry you want me to do what?"

"Train me!"

Midas looks quite surprised at this question. Jones wanted him to train him?

"Jones I appreciate your question but why do you want to do this?"

He clenches his hands into fists with a determined look in eyes.

"I'm tired of being a burden. I'm tired of being scared. I'm tired of being seen as a coward." He tells him. "I'm tired of this creature in my head haunting me with my fears."

"So you're saying that if you got stronger, maybe you'd be able to face your fear head-on and overpower it."

"Yeah! Maybe then I wouldn't have to keep hiding." He adds. "But I want YOU to train with me. So what do you say?"

Midas hums looking to the side for a moment. His hands were behind his back, holding the date tickets he had in his pocket before.

"Are you sure you want to do this? You have no idea how challenging my training exercises can be."

"I'm not going to turn back and say no now Midas. Whatever you throw at me, I can take it."

With a sigh, Midas eventually gives Jones a nod.

"Very well. If you're sure, I will gladly train with you. We can start tomorrow morning."

"Yes sir!" Jones chuckles.

He goes to leave only to quickly turn back.

"By the way, what did you want to say to me?"

Midas blushes slightly, slipping the paper in his hand into his trouser pocket.

"Oh. It's doesn't matter anymore. Your willingness to be stronger is more important."

"Well alright then."

Jones heads back inside, leaving Midas alone in the garden. His small smile fades as he walks over to the nearby gravestone, kneeling next to it.

"This is getting ridiculous mother." He mutters, cleaning the moss off the stone. "I thought it would be easy, but it isn't. How can I tell Jones that I want to go out with him."

Nothing but the wind blows in response.

"Every chance I've gotten I either lose my confidence or something else comes up." He vents to the grave. "How am I supposed to tell Jones I love him when something comes to ruin it."

Again, no reply comes through.

"Oh Midas... where did you get this alarmingly overwhelming crush?" He asks himself, leaning against the gravestone gently.

A soft wind passes by, blowing through his hair as he hugs his knees. His feelings towards Jones had been in such a spin as of late.

Why was he having such a hard time trying to ask him out?

Was it just things like I.O and the aliens getting in the way?

Or was it... something else he was afraid of...?

He places a nearby dying rose on the stone, a petal falling on the grass below. Then he gets back up, ready to go back indoors.

"I suppose I'll have to keep waiting for the perfect moment. In the meantime, you're looking after the roses quite well."

A soft smile fades onto his face.

"I'll talk to you again when things settle down, mother..."

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