A/N: Ok, just in case anyone picked up on the fact that given the time frame Nikki gave, Tyler and Nikki would have been about twelve, I will explain how it is rationally possible for them to have had a real relationship this chapter. I will tell you it has nothing to do with the vortex. So, read on to find out. Every time I write where Tyler is impersonating someone, I will write it as not..., as in, not Nikki said. Hopefully that is clear. Lucas' thoughts are in italics
Disclaimer: Not mine, will never be mine, not saying it's mine, so don't call me with a lawsuit.
Ch. 8: I Bet You're Glad I'm On Your Side
When Nikki first opened her eyes later, she did not recognize where she was. She shook her head to clear it a little, and discovered that her arms were bound behind her back, and in turn tied to a pipe. Suddenly the exchange with Tyler came flooding back.
"Great," she muttered. "He's kidnapped me this time," she thought aloud as she struggled against her bonds. "He's kidnapped me and locked me alone in a basement, and tied me to a pipe, no less. I swear, I am going to rip him a new one if he hurts my friends,"she swore to the empty room.
Meanwhile, in another part of the basement.
"What am I doing here, and why am I tied up?" not Nikki asked.
"Is that really you, Nick? What are you doing in my room?" Lucas asked in a groggy tone. All he remembered was a really strong feeling that Nikki was not Nikki, but he could not remember why he thought that. Slowly, he opened his eyes, letting them adjust to the light. A second later he spoke clearer, "When did my room turn into the basement?"
"What do you mean our room is the basement, Lucas?" Marshall asked. "Lucas you dumbass, this is the basement."
"Marshall, stop, think about what you just said, try to move, and for God's sake wake up quicker," Lucas ordered. Slowly it was all coming back to him. 'There is something having to do with Marshall, and calling him Jack,' he thought.
"Why am I waking up in a room with Marshall and Lucas?" Corrine asked. After a bit of shifting, she added, "I guess a more important question would be why can't I move?"
"We are in the basement, not a room, and you probably can't move because you are tied up like I am," Marshall replied.
'Nikki is not Nikki, what does that mean?' he berated himself silently.
"What are you talking about, and if it's true, how can you be so calm about it?" Corrine asked.
"Don't mind him, he is always like this in the morning. He rambles like he knows what he is saying for a few minutes, then has to be reminded what he was just talking about. Give him a couple minutes. In the mean time, Vaughn, Josie, are you here too?" Lucas called into the dimly lit room. 'There is also something about not letting on that I know. What do I know?' Lucas thought wildly, trying to process what he couldn't remember and assess the situation at the same time.
"Five more minutes, Lucas, class doesn't start till eight," Josie mumbled.
"Come on, Josie, open your eyes, try to move, something, we need you now," Corrine called.
"Fine," she called. After a shuffling sound she asked, "Why am I tied to a desk in the basement? Wait, I was with Vaughn. Vaughn, are you here? Answer me, Vaughn. Are you here?"
"A little groggy, but I'm here," Vaughn called.
"Vaughn? What are you doing in our room?" Marshall asked.
"Good, you're waking up. We aren't in our room, Marshall," Lucas reminded him. 'Our room, Marshall, can't let know, what happened to Nikki?'
"What do you mean we aren't in our room?" Marshall asked.
"Welcome back, Marshall. We are in the basement," not Nikki called.
'If it is not Nikki, who is it?'
"Conlon, is that you? Why are we in the basement?" Marshall replied.
When Marshall called Nikki by his nickname for her, it all clicked for Lucas.
"We don't know, but we are all tied up, and aren't really sure how we got here," Corrine answered.
'Nikki is not Nikki, she didn't call Marshall by one of his nicknames , she called him Marshall.'
"Corrine? Is Josie here too?" Marshall asked.
"Yeah, Marshall, I'm here," Josie sighed.
'Then she acted like that was normal, like she does it all the time.'
"What are we going to do?" Marshall asked.
"We need to figure out what happened, make a plan," not Nikki replied.
"Oh my god," Lucas sighed, reliving the last few minutes he remembered in his head.
"What's up, Lukey? You ok over there?" not Nikki asked.
'Lukey.'
"Not at the moment, no," he replied.
"You aren't going to hurl, are you?" Marshall asked.
"It is a distinct possibility," he spoke, trying not to let on that things were as bad as he thought they were. 'Someone calls me Lukey, who is it?'
"No, Lucas, you are not going to hurl, get a hold of yourself," Corrine ordered.
"Yeah, I should be fine, just give me a moment," Lucas said. 'Lukey, Lukey, who do I associate with Lukey?' he racked his brain.
"Well, in the mean time, Nikki's right, we need to figure out what happened, how we got here," Josie decided.
"Good, who remembers what happened?" Corrine asked.
"Well, I remember that I was looking for my book in the science room, I found it and came back up to the room, you all left, and then I woke up here," not Nikki said.
'Lukey, who calls me Lukey? It's not Victor, not Durst, not Madison, not the janitor, who?'
"Ok, that is a good start, any thing else?" Josie asked.
"Umm... yeah. There was. While I was in the science room, I ran into Tyler, and he was acting weird. Well, weird even by Tyler's standards," not Nikki replied.
'Tyler.'
Meanwhile, in a room nearby
"Nikki, Nikki, Nikki. Did you sleep well?" Tyler asked, coming in the room.
"What did you do to my friends?" she asked.
"Now is that polite? I ask you a perfectly reasonable question, and you assume I want to hurt your friends. That hurts, Nicola," Tyler replied.
"If you want to talk about politeness, let's start with tying me to a pipe and conspiring with yourself to hurt my friends," Nikki shot back.
"Oh, someone's cranky, maybe I should let you sleep a little longer," Tyler spoke moving a hand to his watch.
"You won't do it. You have me captive and you have questions you want to ask me, don't you?" Nikki asked.
"You always were far too perceptive for your own good, Nicola," Tyler said.
"I told you to stop calling me that," Nikki ground out.
"Now, Nikki, no need to get so worked up over so small a thing. After all, everything happens for a reason. You taught me that. Two summers ago. When you gave me your heart," Tyler stated.
"I did not give you my heart. I gave the Tyler from two summers ago my heart. And like I said before, he is dead to me," Nikki spoke darkly.
"Well, I guess that is how you get the time frame, right? We first met five years ago, and you thought I was a stupid, spoiled child. You met the Tyler you loved the year after that, and he died three years later, when you found me with Marie Ryan. Is that right?" Tyler asked.
"At least I didn't have to spell it out for you. It always made me kind of mad when you were slow. Although technically you have had an entire year to think about it, so that is impressively slow," Nikki noted.
"I hardly think you are in any position to insult me, Nick," Tyler reminded her.
"You won't hurt me, Tyler, because you think there still might be a chance for a reconciliation, and you don't want to ruin your chances. As long as you still love me, there is nothing you will do to hurt me on purpose. And I can promise you right now, that if you hurt my friends, I will never speak to you again," she threatened.
"I hardly think you are in a position to make threats," he replied.
"Ok, then, just answer one question for me," she bargained.
"Your friends are down the hall, with my counterpart, safe for the moment. How long that moment lasts depends on you. Now, I'd love to stay and chat, but I am needed else where, so, I'll be back, try not to do anything stupid," he ordered and gave her a kiss on the cheek.
"Hey Tyler?" Nikki asked before he moved away.
"What?" he asked, moving his face right in front of hers.
"You made a very dangerous error. You forgot one important thing," she trailed off.
"And what was that?" Tyler asked, his face no more than an inch from hers.
"If you don't bind my hands separately, no knot can hold me," she replied, bringing her hands from behind her back, clutching an object she had found on the ground, which turned out to be a broken broom handle. She hit him in the head to disorient him. Quickly she dropped the broom handle and pressed two fingers into the base of his neck. He fell over unconscious, and after she bound his hands separately to the pipe, she ran out of the room, in search of her friends.
Back in the other room
"Ok, so everyone was talking to someone else, they were alone with that person, then the next thing you know, you are in this room, tied to something?" Josie asked.
"Seems that way, but one of us is lying about who they are," Lucas replied.
"What are you talking about, Lucas?" Vaughn asked.
"Nikki knows what I'm talking about. At least she would, if she were here. Isn't that right?" Lucas called out.
"What do you mean, Lucas, I'm right here," not Nikki called.
"If you are really Nikki, then what is your nickname for me?" Lucas asked.
"Lukey," not Nikki replied.
"And for Marshall?" he asked.
"Marshmallow," not Nikki tried.
"Hey, that's a good one, I'll have to keep that one in mind, Tyler. Good to know that I can count on Skywalker to tell me apart from you," Nikki called from the door.
"How did you get out?" he asked.
"You left me with both hands to untie a fairly simple knot," she replied simply. "Change back," she ordered.
"Well, at least we know her affections are well placed," Tyler stated as he complied.
"Bite your tongue," Nikki replied.
"Do it for me," he retorted.
She came over, really close to his face, and whispered, "The pair of you would do well to stop offending me." Then she applied pressure to the same place she had on his counterpart and he fell over unconscious as well. Checking that his hands were tied tightly, she stood up and addressed her friends. "Are you all alright?"
"So far. What did you do to him?" Lucas asked as she started to untie his hands.
"Pressure points. Brooklyn is not the safest place to live by any stretch of the imagination. One of my uncles is an ex-Navy Seal. He can kill a man with two fingers. My father let him teach myself and my siblings a limited version of his training. I can knock a man out with two fingers, but not kill him, I can untie any regulation knot blind, most one handed, I know a little about hand to hand combat and martial arts, and I can even fence a bit. Tyler must have forgotten about that, because he tied my hands together. He also told me where you were and pissed me off. And well, like they say, hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. I bet you are glad I'm on your side right about now, huh?" she finished, helping Josie stand up and joining the rest, who she had already untied.
"What happened between you and Tyler?" Marshall asked.
"Why are there two of him and what was that purple hole in the floor that the second one came out of? I know you all know," Nikki replied.
A/N: ok, that is all for now, it seemed like a good place to stop. Keep you all coming back for more. Sorry it took so long, I just started a new job and I am working a lot, but I will try to get a new chapter up as soon as possible. Luv, Kat.
