Chapter 11-Dance of the Dreamscape

Legal Disclaimer-I don't own them, the people that do aren't doing much with them right now, so fanfic won't hurt.

Authors Note and Warning....Thank you EVERYONE for reviewing. These chapters are due to your constant comments. Thank you once again from the bottom of my heart. Cliffhanger Warning....There's a small one here, LARGE one coming next chapter.

Sit back, relax, and enjoy Chapter 11

Kari's vitals remained steady enough for Jesse to not worry about her energy level. It seemed like she was napping in the dreamscape, letting her body recharge. He did worry about her brainwaves, but for the past four hours she had held in REM state, he started to calm down. Her body was sleeping. He started to worry about her mind and what the after effects of this might be. It wasn't like her to shut down like this, and for her to call Logan, she must have felt a desperate need.

He didn't have the ability to go into people's minds, being a molecular meant simply that, he could change his own molecules, or that of something he touched.

'Kari's got to be doing this,' he thought to himself, 'She couldn't protect me so she let Ashlocke push me out, but getting back in wasn't working.'

It took Shalimar, Brennan and Logan to drag him away from the monitors so that they could formulate a plan. Lexa watched her monitors.

Kari's past with Mutant X had left them with a database on brainwaves, their effect on the dreamscape, and exactly what Kari could and could not do. If brainwave activity was matched to Kari's and there was physical contact between her and the subject, they could go right into the dreamscape. The person controlling it was the strongest in the dreamscape, in their past tests, that would be Kari. Jesse had learned how to relax and control his brain activity down to walking in the dreamscape with Kari. All he had to do was touch her, and he was in.

He needed to be monitored, because if she crashed while he was in the dreamscape, he would too. It was a risk he was simply willing to take.

Logan was prepared to do whatever it took to go in and help Kari. He explained the long story of how he met the young woman, her abilities he knew then and now, since her sabbatical at Xavier's School. With the addition of Jesse's study of her, they knew that she could get herself out of there, but bringing down Ashlocke would take more energy than she had. She would need their help in any way possible.

Jesse knew this. He was ready to go in and do what it took to save her, but the talents had to come from Kari. The same Kari who wasn't responding to painful stimulus in an attempt to wake her. This was becoming a puzzle that he was beginning to think he couldn't solve.

Shalimar looked at him, wanting the right words to say to let him know that Kari would be okay, but to get Ashlocke, she might have to sacrifice herself. Logan knew it, he knew it the second that he saw her lying on the medbay table.

The plan to get her out was simple. Logan and Jesse would go in, since they had the strongest ties to her, and Logan, being more of a skeptic, had a tie to Kari's mentor, Charles Xavier. If anything happened, Kari could bridge off of Logan to Xavier and defeat Ashlocke. The only worry was how much energy it would drain off of Kari to have both of them connected to her. Shalimar and Lexa volunteered to monitor all of them through the process, Brennan willing to start their hearts if need be to keep them going.

Jesse wanted to call Xavier, but Logan warned him off it, explaining that Xavier was not reachable due to problems with Cerebro. They could call him, but to get him out to the Underground was time that Kari did not have. If they were to go in and get her, they had to do it now.

Jesse was spent. Shalimar knew it by looking at him, and Brennan worried about his surrogate brother. Lexa had remained distant, but found a few moments when he was putting monitors on for the journey into the dreamscape.

"She's okay you know," Lexa said, pulling the medical tape off a heart sensor and putting it on his chest, "You have to believe that."

"I do," Jesse said, trying not to meet her gaze, "I know this has been trying on you Lex. You all right with this?"

"Ask me when it's over," she said, her smile vacant, "It's not everyday you realize that someone you love also loves someone else."

Jesse sighed. Lexa was admitting to loving him. He wanted to scream finally, but at the same time, she was right. He did love Kari Spiritwalker as well. This was not easy.

"When this is all over, we're going to talk," Jesse said, taking her hands in his, "You are special to me as well, Lex. Don't think that you aren't."

Lexa smiled. It was good to see this side to Jesse. He did care.

"Thank you, I needed to hear that," she said, "You matter to me as well."

Logan turned and walked into the med lab. He looked down at their patient and he touched the edge of her face. She didn't respond to his touch. Her skin was warm to the touch, and he heard the distant sounds of monitors. She was out cold.

"Logan?" Jesse asked, breaking the silence that he had held with Kari.

"I would do anything for this woman, Kilmartin," Logan met his gaze, "She was such a little girl when I found her, scared and alone, on a mesa in Arizona. She had wandered off to go follow the voices. Her grandparents were so scared for her, and I knew she was somewhere where she could touch the sky. She made sure that I didn't fall off the mountain when we were heading back to her home, and she also knew that I had a past I don't remember. She's tried through the years to help me in finding this past. Sometimes she's been incredible, sometimes she's been off, but she's willing to help me for me."

"She pulled me out of my worst nightmare," Jesse began, meeting the older man's gaze dead on, his gristled face reflected in Jesse's pale blue eyes, "She taught me how to get out of it, and I think even planted the route into the dreamscape into my head. She brought us all together for Emma, she's run safehouses for years, and Adam held deep respect for her. I'm willing to go in and end this."

"Seems like we have a mission, bub," Logan's smile was hollow, "Let's get her out of there, and then get this Ashlocke."

Jesse shook the outstretched hand. It was a done deal.