Chapter 8

Legal disclaimer-

The following is a work of fanfiction. This is not meant for money, it's meant for sanity. Got it? Good.

Author's Note-Ooooh, Dreamweaver....In all seriousness, this is getting creepy, even for me, just remember, it's the dream/spirit world. ANYTHING is possible. Heh heh heh....

I slink off into the corner, begging for reviews.....tin cup in hand.....

And Now, boys, girls and mutants, here's Chapter 8

The voice was smooth and charming. It was almost intoxicating as she began to follow it, carefully keeping her ties to world she knew in the Underground. Since she had no guide, she knew the chambers she wandered were not her own. Slowly she turned into a small cavern, expecting to see a barren cave, but instead it was filled with candlelight.

The voice continued, asking her to come closer. She stopped for a second.

She stepped into the candlelight.

A man stood there. His eyes met hers and she felt like he was gazing into her very soul. He was dressed simply, a long flowing shirt and loose fitting pants. He was barefoot, but the bare feet on sand didn't seem to bother him. He put out a hand to her.

"Hello Kari," the man said, "I'm Gabriel."

"I figured that out," she replied, standing her ground, "You have a way of making yourself known to those not in the dreamscape."

"Ah, I see you already know all about me," he smiled, almost into a feral grin, "I almost wonder what Mutant X has told you about me. Then again, I already know."

"I heard that as well," Kari sat on a pillow, her feet were beginning to hurt, "You had it all, huh? Psionic, molecular, elemental and feral? No wonder you thought you were a god."

"God? Now that is funny, who thought of that, oh yes, Brennan," Ashlocke settled on the pillow next to hers, "I am no god."

"No, you weren't," Kari said, slowly, her instincts starting to flash warning signals, "But, you lost your mind in the conscious world, Gabriel. You couldn't handle the power."

"Thank you for reminding me, half-breed," he said, inching closer to her, "Instead, I wind up here, a world that I can control. With people that I can control as well. You were right to think that I am the cause behind your friend's nightmares. Tell Shalimar when you see her that fire's only the beginning."

"She told me all about you," Kari stood up.

Back in the conscious world, Lexa watched Kari's readings change. Jesse jumped, and went back to his spot at her side.

"You really care about them, and you care about Kilmartin as well," Gabriel moved closer, his "body" violating her personal space, "They were fools sending you in here."

"I came in here to help them," Kari replied, trying to calm the edge that was growing in her voice, "They have had enough of you."

"Not enough yet, Dear Spiritwalker," Ashlocke brought a hand up to the side of her face, "They don't know all I can do here, and that's your biggest mistake."

The oblivion came quickly. As she fell from his touch, Kari thought quickly of Jesse and Uncle Logan, trying to find her on a cold Arizona night.

In the conscious world, her readings crashed. Her heart still beat, the blood still flowed, but her brainwaves had changed dramatically. Alarms started to sound and Jesse jumped up, gently but quickly tapping the sides of Kari's face, trying desperately to get her to wake up. It wasn't working.

"Something is wrong, Lexa, something is very, very wrong," Jesse said, trying to wake Kari, "Come on Kari, wake up."

"She's in REM sleep, Jesse," Lexa said, reading over the scanners and gently switching the alarms off, "She just crashed right into it. Probably blew the alarms from there."

"No, Lexa, something isn't right," Jesse touched her face again, trying to find some sign of wakefulness.

He gently lifted an eyelid to an unfocused staring brown eye. Kari was still deeply under.

He grabbed her hand and squeezed it.

"Kari, if you're in there, give me some sort of sign," he said softly, "Come on Kari, where are you?"

He closed his eyes in frustration and tried to think of what to do. He took a deep breath and instead of phasing out, he felt himself start to relax and nearly fall on top of her. Instinct kicked in, he grabbed the chair he had been sitting in and took her hand in both of his. He sat, closed his eyes again and let himself relax further.

"Jesse, what's going on?" Lexa asked from her perch.

"I'm going in," he said quietly, and slumped over, completely and utterly asleep.