Chaos Faction

• T W E N T Y F I V E •

Jord began to withdraw her energy from the river, trying to do it slowly, but like the first time, it was hard to control it. The voices of the others faded away, and Jord channeled all her focus into holding on. She managed to reach the bottom of the chasm, and then began to withdraw up the long, winding river.

"You guys can take your hands out of the water now, but do it one by one," she told them.

The others did as she said, accordingly withdrawing their power until only Jord and Dream were left.

"You too, Dream," said Jord.

"No," he shook his head. "You couldn't handle it last time. Let me help you."

"Not this time. I don't want to hurt you," she said, looking pleadingly at him. "Please."

"No."

Jord could feel calmness flooding across the mental connection they currently shared, and felt herself forcibly relaxing. It was the strangest feeling - she'd never wanted to fight against Dream's power working on her before. She'd never needed to. But she wasn't sure he understood how much raw energy was currently right at her fingertips, waiting to rush back up towards them the second she released it.

"Dream, don't," she pleaded, shaking her head, trying to rid the emotion from it that she knew was foreign. "I won't be able to control it, you're gonna get hurt."

"It's okay, Jord!" He insisted, trying his best to calm her.

He reached out to touch her with his other hand, and that was what did it, for Jordyn. She couldn't hold it back any longer, and suddenly, every ounce of her power was rushing towards them at high speed, bursting out of the underground tunnel with a force that shocked everyone. Jord could feel the influence of Dream's power being ripped from her mind, and he was thrown back several feet, crashing into the undergrowth behind them. The others had been far enough away that the blast of kinetic energy didn't affect them, apart from George and Punz, who had been standing the closest. They were only knocked off their feet, which was relatively harmless. As for the river, it continued to rush on into the lake, causing what seemed like a massive tidal wave.

"Brooke! Sam!" Yelled Rae, gazing up at it in horror, as the wall of water towered over them. "Shield!"

The two of them immediately expanded their shields to cover the group, and only just in time, as the water crashed back down around them, leaving a path of destruction in its wake. It sloshed back and forth a few times, before all the excess water ran down into the underground cavern, and finally, everything was still.

Jord was exhausted, but picked herself up, and ran over to where Dream was lying at the edge of the forest.

"Dream!" She exclaimed, her fear for him evident in her voice.

She dropped down beside him, and moved her hands to his face, breathing out heavily upon seeing that his eyes were open. He was completely drenched from the water, and covered in several cuts and scratches, but that was just his visible injuries. She felt a tear escape her eye, and run away down her cheek.

"I'm so sorry Dream," she cried. "I didn't want to hurt you! I'm sorry!"

"It's okay," he breathed, blinking up at her slowly. "You tried to warn me. I didn't listen."

"Please don't do that to me again," she whimpered, moving to hug him tightly. "I saw you just lying there... I thought I'd..."

"No, don't say it," he interrupted her, laying a finger over her lips. "I'm okay. That wasn't your fault, it was mine."

Jord only shook her head, laying her head on his chest, feeling more tears escape.

"I love you," she mumbled. "Please don't die. Ever."