by Saless
Chapter 62

You're going to have to help me with that one. Jill said to Vash as she helped Sarah prepare their lunch.

I'll walk you through it. Vash agreed.

Sarah and Jill worked in tense silence. Half an hour later Sarah carried a tray in to Erica while Jill sat in the kitchen. "Are you awake?" Sarah asked softly.

Erica rolled over to face Sarah. "Yeah, I just woke up. How long was I asleep?" she asked.

"Not that long, about half an hour. You look rested, though. Hungry?" Sarah said.

Erica nodded and they sat and ate on the bed. "Are you really serious, about going to see Venus?" Erica asked when she'd finished hers.

Sarah nodded, "Yeah, I am. Once Mike gets here we can go. Maybe I'll end this curse today, wouldn't that be nice?"

Erica nodded doubtfully, "Yeah, that would be nice." She looked closely at Sarah and saw a tightness around her eyes she hadn't seen before. She's really stressed! she thought. Wait a minute; I can't feel her mind anymore! She's cut me off! What does that mean? Erica did her best to keep her panic from her face. Once Sarah had left with the tray she got dressed and went looking for Jill.

Jill was also looking for Erica, so they met at the door to Sarah's bedroom. "Jill, I can't feel Sarah's mind anymore! Does that mean the bond is broken?" Erica asked, barely managing to keep her panic stricken voice from being heard in the kitchen where Sarah was cleaning the dishes.

"Shhh! She bulked up her shields because she doesn't want to deal with the pain of that memory. I'm sure your bond is fine. Vash has a plan that should help. It uses the bond, so that will prove it's still there, okay?" Jill said softly, trying with her voice and manner to calm Erica. She couldn't wait for Mike to get back; she was fraying at the edges dealing with Sarah's denial and Erica falling apart. Which was something she never expected to see.

"Okay." Erica replied hopefully. They all sat and watched TV after that. They were each waiting for Mike eagerly, hoping that his arrival would herald a solution to the current dilemma. Although the dilemma was different for each of them.

When Mike arrived he knocked and Sarah let him in. "Hey Mike, glad to see you! Want to visit Venus?" Sarah said in greeting.

Mike's mouth opened and closed again a few times before he found his voice. "You really want to visit Venus?!" he asked incredulously. While Sarah explained her reasoning to Mike, Jill used the distraction to follow Vash's instructions and mesh her mind with Sarah's. Once she was as deeply entrenched as she could manage she nodded to Erica.

"…we can get this solved…" Sarah was saying when Erica sent the image back to her. She couldn't tell if the link was even there, but she focused on it as strongly as she could. "AHHHH!!!" Sarah screamed, falling to the floor. Erica rushed over, but Sarah was unconscious.

"See, the bond is still there." Jill said weakly, holding her aching head in her hands.

"What just happened?! Are you alright Jill?" Mike asked, confused. His confusion was forgotten when he saw that Jill's nose was bleeding.

"I'm alright, just a little nosebleed and headache." Jill replied. "Sarah's hurting a lot more right now. Would you carry her back to bed? She'll probably sleep for a while again."

"Sure, I'll be right back." Mike said and picked up Sarah. Erica followed him into Sarah's bedroom and lay down next to her, crying and nearly hysterical.

"What was that all about?" Mike asked when he returned to the living room. Jill was holding her nose and leaning forward to get the bleeding to stop.

"Vash's idea. We fed that image that Erica got from Sarah right back to her. No telling what the effect will be, other than her fainting of course. Vash helped me get into Sarah's head before Erica sent the image, so now I'll paint it. If Sarah still tries to deny it ever happened, we'll show her the painting and maybe she'll finally accept it." Jill replied.

"Is that why it hurt you, because you were linked up with Sarah when it happened?" Mike asked.

Jill nodded, and then winced when it made her headache worse, "Yeah, it wasn't fun. Come on; help me get back to my studio so I can get started on that painting. Vash will stay here and keep an eye on those two."

"Jill, maybe you should rest there for a while." Mike said worriedly.

"Mike, we may need this painting, and it will take me some time to paint it. I need to get started right away!" Jill said.

Mike looked thoughtfully at Jill for a while and then nodded, "Okay." With that he went over and opened the door, and then walked back and picked Jill up.

"Hey, what are you doing?" she complained.

"I'm helping you get back to your studio. You're worn out from whatever you did, so I'll do all the work." Mike replied. Jill grumbled all the way to their apartment, but got right to work once she was back in her studio. Mike took a seat nearby so he could keep an eye on her. Jill insisted he sit where he couldn't see what she was doing, as always.

A few hours later Mike stepped out for a few minutes, but soon returned. Jill was oblivious. She didn't even react half an hour later when there was a pounding on the door. Mike hurried out and returned a few minutes later. "Come on Jill, time to take a break." he said. Jill either didn't hear him or ignored him and continued working. "Jill, it's time to take a break and eat!" he said loudly.

"Huh?" Jill said, finally shifting her focus away from her work.

"Wash up, we're having pizza. Vash is bringing Sarah and Erica." Mike replied.

Jill blinked a few times before saying, "Is Sarah ready to be out already? I'd have thought she'd sleep for a while."

Mike grinned and said, "It's been about five hours Jill."

"Really? Okay, just a minute." Jill said. For once he didn't have to call her again, as she immediately washed up her brushes and went to the bathroom and washed her hands.

As they arrived in the kitchen Sarah and Erica were just coming through a portal with Vash riding on Sarah's shoulder. Sarah was looking a little glassy-eyed, but Erica seemed a little more like herself. "How are you two doing?" Jill asked when she saw them.

"Fine." Sarah replied in a flat voice. Erica winced, and then shrugged at Jill when she looked her way.

For the first time in any of their experience, Sarah just picked at her pizza and didn't even finish a single slice. Erica stayed close to her the whole time and tried to feed her, which is the only reason she even ate that much. Jill thought it would be really cute, if not for how depressed Sarah looked.

How's Sarah doing? Jill asked Vash.

Better and worse. She's still blocking things out, but she's obviously having trouble with that. I think another shock to the system will do the trick, so we'll still need that painting. How long do you think it will take to finish it? Vash said.

Not too long, I got quite a bit done. I may not be able to finish it tonight, though, I'm beat! That trick we pulled to get the image really took a lot out of me. Jill replied.

I'm sorry about that, I didn't realize it would be that hard on you. I don't think you need to be in too much of a hurry, we shouldn't spring it on Sarah until at least tomorrow anyway. She needs some time to recover. Vash said.

Good, then Jill's going to bed after dinner! Mike thought sternly.

Mike! I don't need you to baby me! Jill protested, wondering how he got into their conversation.

Sorry Jill, but I agree with Mike. That's why I included him in our conversation; I suspected you might get stubborn. Finish the painting tomorrow and rest today. Vash said.

Oh, alright! Jill replied petulantly. She could hear Mike and Vash chuckling in her mind but ignored them and watched Sarah. She reacted a little to Erica, but not at all to anybody or anything else. She looks worse than she did before the change! she thought.

Yeah. We can't leave her alone for a minute until she's better. Mike agreed.

I can't read her, of course, but I suspect that we should keep an equally close eye on Erica. She has been acting very differently than what I am used to, and I am sure that is a reflection of how much this has affected her. Vash said.

You're right. Jill and Mike agreed in unison, if there's one adjective we never expected to apply to Erica, it's fragile.

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