~*~*~
Nikki jumped and turned in shi mindscape as Xavier entered. He shrunk away from the other man, and the dark shadow approached, passing by Nikki to stand in front of him. It seemed to stare down at Xavier. From behind it, the sound of Nikki sobbing drifted through.
"Nikki." Xavier called, since he was in Nikki's mind he had no use of his wheelchair at the moment, he stood up and walked towards the dark shadow.
"NO!" Nikki screamed. "Don't come near me!"
Xavier stopped, "Nikki I'm here to help you, please let me help you."
"Don't come near me..." Nikki continued to whimper, rocking in a little ball. The shadow seemed to sigh and break apart, fizzing away, small pieces of it exploding now and then like fireworks. The landscape in his mind twisted into eldritch and terrifying shapes and huge holes appeared in the floor.
Xavier gasped looking around, Nikki's sanity, what was left of it, was slowly breaking apart. He needed to do something, and fast.
"Nikki!" He shouted taking another step towards the boy, "You need to let me help you, Luke is worried about you."
Nikki unraveled a bit, and the darkness of the hellish landscape eased. "Luke? Is he okay? Where is he?"
"He's fine," Xavier nodded, "He can't come in here, you need to come out there to him."
Nikki stood up. Things calmed slightly, but the landscape was still ravaged, field with gaps and tears and piles of unidentifiable shapes that wasn't inviting. "I want Luke..." He said
Xavier walked closer to Nikki and held out his hand, "Then let's go get him."
Nikki suspiciously studied Xavier's hand, and the ground beneath him seemed to bubble while staying perfectly smooth.. but it passed and he took Xavier's hand gently.
Everything blurred together like they were moving at an amazing speed. Xavier gasped opening his eyes and pulled his hands away from Nikki's head.
Luke stepped forward, "Did you..." He trailed off.
Nikki sat up and looked around, wild-eyed and bewildered. He eeped when he saw Logan and scrambled up, practically falling over in his haste to get to Luke, which he finally did, grabbing him round the waist and hiding his head.
Luke sighed in relief then turned around to Nikki and kneeled down in front of him.
"Hey," He said softly a smile touching his lips, "You don't have to be afraid of anyone here, Logan there," He tilted his head towards Logan, who was watching them with a raised eyebrow, "Helped save you... sorta."
Nikki quaked, looked over his shoulder at the gruff mutant, and turned back quickly, lunging his arms around Luke's shoulders. "No, no, no..." He said softly. "I can't..."
"It's alright," Luke hugged him back, "It'll take time."
Logan looked to Xavier and tilted his head towards the door before he silently crept out.
Nikki sighed and leant against Luke, feeling tired, even though he'd just slept. His head was aching and he told Luke this.
~*~
Nikki had fallen fast asleep to try and get rid of the headache and was currently strewn across the bed he shared with Luke. His legs were entangled with the bedcovers and one arm hugged a pillow to his chest, the other up near his head. He looked peaceful except for the faint frown on his face.
Nightmares were chasing through his head again, something he suffered from unless he took sleeping pills before going to bed. He twisted slightly, and returned, and every time he moved his legs were more and more trapped in the sheets until they were tied together. He obviously felt this through his dreams, as he began thrashing harder to get away, but always remaining silent.
Todd was roaming upstairs, looking for something to do when he saw the boy moving around on the bed. He poked his head in side the open bedroom door and cleared his throat nervously.
"Hey, you okay yo?"
There was no reply and Todd knew that the other boy was sleeping. He didn't like the way he was moving around, and saw the look of distress on Nikki's face when he went for a closer look. He looked over his shoulder to get Luke or someone, when Nikki made a quiet little noise like a kitten being killed.
Todd had to do something then, and shook his shoulder lightly.
Nikki shot up, breathing hard, but not making a sound. He hardly ever did anymore when he had a nightmare, something he had learnt through severe punishment.
"What? Luke?" He looked round frantic. "LUKE!"
Todd put his hands up. "Hey yo, its cool. You're safe."
Nikki looked at him warily, then put a hand to his head. "I wasn't being bad, I wasn't, I wasn't..."
Todd gave him a look. "Ooookaaaay..." he said, sitting on the bed. "How're you doin' yo?"
Nikki looked up at him and smiled, a huge grin, which was a little cracked. "Good, good, good." He said speedily.
Todd backed away. "OKay... I'll just go get your buddy shall I?"
He left the room, leaving Nikki to his own devices. Nikki, scared and alone suddenly, whimpered, rolled off the bed and promptly crawled under it, dragging his pillow in behind him.
~*~*~
A/N: Pleeeease Review!!
