A boy and a girl were jubilantly rolling in the grass of a meadow, and when they stopped, they lovingly gazed upon each other. They kissed each other gently, not wanting the time they had together to ever end. This boy...Joshua...was now looking in the window of a jewelry store and looking at something he was hoping to get for that girl one of these days.

"I doubt she would agree to it...not this early...but...it's never too early to ask...right?" he said looking down at that silver wedding band. He sighed. Suddenly his reflection became pitch black and blazing red eyes appeared in it. He didn't notice this until the glass of the window burst out at him.

He shielded his eyes and looked at the shattered glass before running for dear life. Several shadowy creatures chased him. He was now in pure, enveloping darkness, and the shadowy creatures were still in hot pursuit of him. He saw a spotlight up ahead and tried to reach it, but he tripped and frightfully glanced behind him. His leg was injured, so he started to frantically crawl to the light. When he was only inches away from it, he was enveloped in darkness. He tried to struggle out of the darkness but couldn't. He desperately reached out of the darkness and...he woke up.
Joshua woke up in a cold sweat, his heart raced and his eyes were dilated.
"What...what was that?!" he asked. He looked at the girl next to him and then ran a hand through her hair. He ran into his bathroom and splashed water in his face and let it drip off his face for a little bit.
"...what was that?" he asked himself.
"Whats going on here?...And...who is...Raven?"

He shook his head and splashed more water in his face. "You're over interpreting things, Josh...Just get some rest and think about it in the morning." He got a towel and dried his face. When he walked out the door of the bathroom he, was no longer in his house, but in a pure white room. He saw seven white thrones standing above him in a circle. The lowest had a dragon on it, the next level was a phoenix, and going from lowest to highest went the creatures in order. The next was a lion, then a scorpion, then a kraken, then a wolf, and then, there on the highest perch, was a human being.

"We have been expecting you..." Josh heard the lion say. His lips did not move.
"Who...who are you?!" He said worried about these things coming after him.
"We are the Elders..." said the scorpion.
"And we are in need of your help..." continued the dragon.
"Where am I?!" Joshua exclaimed.
"This is the dream world..." the kraken spoke.
"And we are in need of your strength of heart..." said the wolf.
Joshua shook his head.
"I am not the one you're looking for...my strength of heart is not as strong as you all seem to think..."

The man at the top of the group smiled and looked down at him strangely.
"Your strength is something you have not yet uncovered..." said the phoenix,
"We are here to help you uncover that strength and help us protect our world..."
Joshua just shook his head once again.
"What makes you think I want to help you?" he said.
All the creatures looked up at human at the top of the group.
"This is one offer that will always be open..." he said,
"We will keep this offer open for as long as you shall live...We will send you back to your world now and let you live your life...but...there are those out there who will come for you...If you join us now then you will be able to protect the ones you love..."

Joshua thought about this and looked away.
"I...I need to think about this..." he said. The human nodded and the animals all turned to Joshua.
"Very well..." said the dragon.
"You will have one week..." said the phoenix.
"We will contact you every now and then before that time..." said the lion.
"We wish you a happy life if you refuse..." said the scorpion.
"But remember..." said the kraken.
"You can use this to contact us before then..." said the wolf. Seven beams of light went to the middle of the floor and created a stone.
"Good luck..." they all said in unison.
"And may you have a good life..." A blindingly bright light enveloped Josh.

"Josh...Josh!" said a voice. Josh opened his eyes and saw a girl above him.
"Claire..." he said as he sat up slowly.
"You okay? You were passed out on the floor," Claire said.
Josh looked at Claire and smiled.
"Its nothing to worry about sweetie..." he said while running a hand through her hair.
She hugged him and he hugged her back. he looked at his hand behind her back and clenched his fist.
"Everything okay, hun?" Claire asked. Joshua looked at her and smiled again.
"It's nothing, sweet," he said. Claire ran a hand through his hair and he kissed her on the lips.

"Come on..." Claire said,
"We should get some rest..." Joshua nodded in agreement and they went to bed. But while Claire got her sleep, Joshua looked at his hand.
"...The strength...to protect..." he said as he looked at Claire, running a hand through her hair again.
"Maybe..." he said.
"I will take them up on that offer... ... ...after a million years..." he laid down and he drifted off to sleep with Claire in his arms.