Remy rubbed his lips together as he listened to the slow breathing of Ava. He was hoping that she wouldn't fall asleep, just talk for hours in the dark like they used to. But with everything he planned and Xavier's appointment, she was exhausted by the time they went to her room. She had smiled at him with a pure sweetness and asked for him to sleep in her room, how could he say no? But he couldn't sleep, all he did was listen to her breathing.
"She is asleep" Xavier said in his head.
"Yeah… yeah, she is" Remy responded.
"I need you to calm your mind, Gambit, I do not want to force you to go to sleep" the Professor commanded.
Remy laid on his back, "I feel like we're doing something wrong"
"We aren't doing anything wrong than what a hypnosis would do" the Professor said, "Her powers are being affected in this… you will see"
Remy blinked, "Didn't you place her in a deep sleep?"
"Not a strong one that I did the night before… in order for this to work, we need her to access her anxiety which she will start soon, I can sense it"
Remy turned and looked to his sleeping girlfriend, "Okay… I'll meet you in there"
Remy inhaled and closed his eyes as he got himself comfortable on Ava's bed. He nuzzled into the sheets as his mind went deeper and deeper into sleep. He suddenly opened his eyes and noticed he was at the outergrounds of the Mansion. Remy glanced around until he noticed the Professor was walking up to him.
"Welcome to Ava's dream, Gambit" Xavier said.
"Where is she?" Remy glanced around.
"Not near us, she's still awake enough to recognize me as a telepath" the Professor said, "We'll have to wait until she gets further into REM sleep"
Remy turned, "And that's when things will start to get worse"
Xavier slowly nodded, "Hopefully we'll be able to help her before her powers start losing control"
"Yeah… hopefully" Remy walked a few steps toward the Mansion, everything looking peaceful so far.
The sky suddenly changed as a rolling thunderstorm quickly shadowed over them and wind rushed around them. A deafening roar echoed behind him, making Remy turn as he had to look up to see what was in front of him. The waves of the ocean were suddenly coming from the direction of the beach, already towering over them.
"Professor!" Remy shouted.
"It's alright, we can't get hurt here" the Professor walked down the path, "This is what she's afraid of"
"She's controlling the tide" Remy mused before turning to the Professor, "Can she do that?"
"No, but she's perceiving her anxiety as something greater than her abilities" the Professor said.
"Do you know where she is?" Remy asked.
"Yes, but we have to hurry"
"Don't have to tell me twice" Remy glanced over to the tides that have doubled in size, "Just being outside scares the hell out of me"
"Stay close, Gambit" the Professor called over his shoulder, "Just like the thoughts in our own mind, dreams change fast from one to another"
"So, it can actually get worse" Remy said.
Professor X just gave a grave nod as he walked over to the mansion as if the wind picked up, flipping his jacket suit. The winds all around them looked as if it was going at least 100 miles per hour but Remy found it surprisingly easy to walk to the mansion. Charles opened the door as Remy stepped into the house but then stopped when he noticed that they entered a two story home. The weather outside was the same, giving the house a dark feeling. The Professor only looked up, looked to the left, and slowly walked into the living room. Remy followed until they stopped at a little girl rocking back and forth on the floor while shaking and crying.
"Ava?" Remy asked.
The girl jumped and let out a scream, immediately making Remy drop down to a crouch, "It's okay, it's okay"
She trembled, "Who- who are you? Where's my mommy and daddy?"
"Uh…" Remy glanced up to the Professor before he looked back to the young Ava, "I-I don't know… I just heard you crying and came over. Are you alright?"
She seemed shaken up but then said, "They're after me… why are they always after me?"
"Who is, cherie?" Remy asked softly.
"Them!" Ava screamed.
Remy turned as a hug bang! Sounded throughout the room and a group of men dressed in black came charging in at her. Remy got up and was ready to fight but then the vision changed and they were in a hallway. He looked down to where the small child was before and noticed she was gone.
Remy glanced over to Charles, "Where did she go?"
"Her dream changed" Charles walked in front of Remy and led the way.
"She was so terrified" Remy shook his head, "I could barely get through to her"
"It's always hard the first time" the Professor said, "Especially when she is young mentally"
Remy slowly nodded, "So the more I interact with her, the more it will get easier"
"I hope so" Charles said.
Remy looked at the man, "You hope?"
"A lot of this is wishful thinking" Charles shrugged, "She is the calmest with you outside of her dreams, why can't she feel calm about you during her dreams? Whenever Ava has nightmares, I never sense that she thinks about you"
"I really hope this works" Remy sighed.
"Have faith, Gambit" the Professor said, "We might not be able to do this in one dream but we have all the time tonight… are you up for it?"
Remy chuckled and picked up his collar, "Professor, I never back down from a challenge"
"Well, this one might be a unique challenge that even other telepaths have never undergone" Charles told him.
"They ain't like me" Remy winked.
