Just A Little Bit Jaded

7. Confession

"You okay?" Luna asked, nudging Letty in the hallway.

Shaking her head to regain her thoughts, Scarlett simply answered, "I'm fine."

Luna quickly grabbed Letty's arm before she could walk away. "You don't look fine. Did you have that nightmare again?"

"I . . ." Sighing, Letty gave in. "Sort of. It was different. Before he could rip me . . . He vanished. And this girl appeared. It was like she was made of light. I have no idea who she was, but I just felt . . . I dunno, I felt safe. Like she was my guardian angel or something."

"That's . . . Strange," Luna admitted. "But it's also really cool that your nightmare changed. Maybe it's a good omen."

Scarlett gave a small smile. "Maybe." But the image of that girl made of light plagued her. What did it mean? Who was she? Was she real or just another figment of her imagination? But the words that man spoke came back to her. Perhaps it was time to ask her mother about these dreams after all. "I've gotta go," Letty told her friend. "I've gotta call my mom."

"Isn't she asleep?"

"She'll pick up," Letty answered, leaving the school. "I know she will."

~~~

"What is it, Dear?" Jasmine asked, groggy as she tried to wake up, on the fifth video call Letty had placed. "Is everything alright?"

Steadying herself and prepared to be called crazy, Letty tried to calm down. This was crazy. It was crazy to give these dreams any merit, but she had to know. She had to. It had gone on long enough.

"Mom," she began slowly. "Have you ever . . . Have you ever had strangely realistic dreams? Or nightmares?"

Jasmine's eyes snapped up, and she steadily focused herself to examine her daughter through the camera. "Jade, honey, what have you been dreaming?"

"It's nothing," Letty immediately insisted, feeling self conscious about her concerns all of a sudden. "It's fine, Mom. Just a silly dream."

"Jade," Jasmine said sternly. "What have you been dreaming?"

"It's nothing."

"It is not nothing," Jasmine insisted. "Honey, tell me. It's important for me to know these things."

"It's just a dream where I can't get anyone to pay attention to me except this strange man. He says weird things about you and something about the UP or something like that, and he says . . . He says you wronged him? And every time before he leaves, he rips my arms out of their sockets. Except . . . Except last night. Last night a girl came and changed the dream and kept him from hurting me." The words tumbled out of Letty's mouth before she could stop them. "Mom, did you . . . Did you do something to that strange man?"

Jasmine listened patiently, and when Letty stopped, she closed her eyes. "We have to start your training," she said softly. "If we don't, he will continue entering your dreams, and it will only get worse. How long has this been happening?"

"Just . . . Just a few months, Mom . . ."

"A few months?" Jasmine asked, concern filling her voice as it dropped to a whisper. "Oh, Sweetie . . . Talk to Angel. She'll start your training immediately, okay?"

"Training? Training for what?"

Closing her eyes again, Jasmine took a deep breath before opening them again. "Jade, that man is real. The way he reached you is through the UP. The Unconscious Plane. Angel and I are capable of manipulating the Plane through natural talent. I suspect you are able to, as well. But that man, that man is using it through synthetic and unnatural means to reach you. He's going after you because he knows he wouldn't be able to reach me. It is a living thing, in a way. If you can control it through natural talent, you will always have the upper hand over men like him. Please, Baby, talk to Angel immediately. I don't want you to suffer with those nightmares. I will find that man, and I will put an end to his plots."

"Mom?" Letty asked, eyebrows creasing together. "Mom what do you mean? Who is this man?"

"I'm not positive which one it is," Jasmine whispered. "But I have a hunch. And I'll be damned if I allow that bastard to hurt my child. No one, and especially not a Decepticon, harms my sparkling and gets away with it."

"He's . . . He's a Decepticon?" A bit of concern crept into Letty. A Decepticon, a living, breathing, Decepticon, had been the one haunting her dreams?

"Yes, Dear," Jasmine answered gently. "I love you so much. Thank you for telling me. Stay strong, and speak to Angel. She'll help you to put up walls so he doesn't bother you anymore." A pause followed for a moment. "Sweetheart, do you know who the girl was that stopped it? Was it Angel?"

Jade shook her head. "No. Definitely not. It didn't sound like her at all. I've never seen her before, but I know . . . I don't know, she felt as real as the man. Do you think she's real, too?"

"Most likely," Jasmine answered gently. "I didn't know another existed with the power to manipulate the Plane. I'll look into it, but she doesn't seem dangerous if she came to your aid. I'll poke around before we shoot today. Just do what I told you, okay?"

Letty gave a small nod. "I will, Mom."

"Stay safe, Jade. I love you."

"I love you, too, Mom."

"Don't ever be afraid to ask me about these things, Sweetspark. I will never think you're crazy."

Letty gave a small smile that her mother had guessed her fear. "Thanks, Mom. Sorry I woke you."

"Don't you ever apologize. You are more important than sleep."

Letty's smile grew a little. "Night, Mom."

"Good night, Dear."

~~~

"I can't feel it," Letty argued. "I just can't."

"If he can enter your dreams that easily, then I know you can," Angel insisted. "You have to try or you won't be sleeping well tonight, either." Whatever they were using, it was blocking Angel from sensing them and interfering.

"Well how am I supposed to know what to feel for if you just describe it as a 'fuzzy heartbeat'? I mean honestly, what sort of description is that? What's a fuzzy heartbeat?"

Angel groaned, placing her hands on Jade's shoulders. "Look at me, Letty. Focus. Close your eyes, breathe. Don't think, just feel. Feel like you're reaching out with your hands, but with your mind, all right? Be gentle, slow. The Plane will recognize you, and open up."

Frustrated, Letty tried again. Closing her eyes and clearing her mind, she tried to feel for that seam in the world where she could enter the UP, or so she'd been told.

After a few moments, Letty groaned and stood up from the chair. "I just can't do it, Ang! I'm not my mom! I'm not Ash! I just can't!"

"Ash doesn't have a connection to the Plane," Angel pointed out calmly. "I've already tried helping him connect. It doesn't recognize him. At least not yet. He's not as perfect as you think. He's not all powerful. He's just like you, with his strengths and weaknesses. Trust me, Jade. You can do this."

"No, I can't," Letty muttered, walking out of the room and down the hall to her bedroom, locking the door behind her. As much as she dreaded having a dream with that monster again, some part of her calmed knowing that she might see that young woman again.

Who was she? And how did she enter her dreams when Angel couldn't?

Why did she look like a halo given form?

"Who are you?" Jade muttered into her pillow. "Who on Earth are you? And why did you save me?"