(Eight)

Logan woke the next morning refreshed but was in no hurry to get up. He lay on his bed, contented and relaxed. He was used to waking up in strange places and could sleep anywhere, especially in a bed as comfortable as this. The mattress was thick, the blankets warm and cozy. He scratched his belly as he lay, letting his mind wander. He wondered how long they would be trapped here and if they would ever get home. Wolverine was adaptable and had no baggage from one place to the next, but he knew the others were not. It wouldn't be long before Henry missed his lab and Gambit his girl. The others back home must be worried about them. He wished there was some way to contact them, but without an inter-dimensional phone, that wasn't likely to happen.

Logan was alone in the barracks room at the moment, the X-men's temporary quarters, the others had already risen and started their day. He could smell food from the galley being cooked and decided to get up and eat. He washed up quickly in the lav and wandered out to the galley. The room was busy, Gambit and Kane were eating at the table while Maylee was cleaning up and doing chores.

What caught Wolverine's attention next was that Henry and Seth were playing chess. Henry's board was another small hologram active on the galley table. Seth had a matching board on his desk in the control room. As a move was played, the pieces moved on each board. Henry fingered one of his pieces and made his next move.

Seth grumbled a little, unsure of how to make his next move. Unlike yesterday, he was fully dressed, back in his white sweatshirt and jeans. He made his play, his brow crinkling.

"Are you certain you wish to make that move?" Henry questioned, his eyes up to the viewing screen.

Seth fidgeted. "Yes?" he answered a little uncertainly.

Beast snickered softly, amused by the indecision in the young pilot's voice. "Perhaps you should move the pawn to your right instead."

"Um. Right. Thanks." Seth moved his piece, taking Henry's advice. He smiled shyly at the big blue doctor, obviously happy to be tutored.

Logan was too hungry to just stand there and watch. He took the seat next to Beast and smiled as Maylee placed a bowl of food down in front of him. It was leftover stew from yesterday, but after starving in the pen for three days he could've cared less. "Thanks, kid. Where's Fallen?" he asked pulling a hunk of bread from a fresh loaf on the table.

"She's down in the shop with Kimble, taking down some parts for Maylee's lessons," Seth explained from the screen. He glanced at Henry as he made his next move, waiting for a nod of approval from his opponent before continuing. "Fallen's teaching her how to repair the ship."

Henry looked at the girl. "You're training to be both a medic and a mechanic?"

Seth answered for her, "Not much difference between the two if you think about it. Besides, kids like her need to be as useful as possible if they want to do well in the Clan. Maylee has good hands. She has a real talent. She works very hard," Seth finished proudly.

Maylee smiled at him, thankful for the praise. Her eyes glowing with happiness showed just how much she cared for Seth, that she was happy he had spoken up for her.

At that moment, Kimble walked into the cockpit room from a door in the back. His hands were sooty and black from grease and he was casually wiping his hands on a rag as if he had physically taken machinery apart. The realism of the image he cast impressed Henry, reminding him of himself every time he'd pulled one of the X-men's Blackbird planes apart. He could almost smell the grease from Kimble's hands. Kimble had a cigarette dangling from the corner of his mouth and he took a big drag and blew smoke. "Fallen's ready fer ya, kid," he said to Maylee with authority.

Maylee nodded and started finishing up her chores. The happy look she'd had for Seth was gone, lost under a passive submission to Kimble's tone of command. She clearly did not have the same affection for Seth's twin.

Kimble paid no mind to her change in attitude. As he waited for the girl to finish her chores, Kimble noticed Seth and Henry were playing a game together and looked over Seth's shoulder. He grunted with a laugh and reached down, rudely making Seth's next move on the chessboard. He glanced up at Henry, that teasing half smile back in place. "Checkmate."

"Hey!" Seth complained loudly. "I was going to do that!"

"Uh huh. Right." Kimble looked down at his brother, smiling with amusement at his reaction.

"I was! I-I'd at least considered it!"

Kimble's grin grew larger, his eyes twinkling. "Shure you wuz. Uh huh, right," he chided merrily as Seth continued to sputter excuses. Kimble took another drag on his cigarette and blew smoke at his twin. "Shure. Ya coulda had 'im four moves back, too, but I guess you wuz just drawin' out th' suspense, right?" He patted Seth on the head like a dog. "Maybe you should jus' go back ta playin' checkers with the kid, huh?" he finished, jabbing a finger at Maylee.

Seth waved smoke out of his face. "I can do this! I just -"

"Hafta learn ta looks at the whole board, kid," Kimble finished for him, his voice losing some of its teasing and becoming more instructive. "It's got a lotta squares, gots ta keeps a good attention. Yer smart enough, I guess, butcha lose track of where yer goin'."

"Maybe you should just let him lose on his own," Henry suggested. "He might learn more that way."

Kimble looked at Beast, his eyes still merry. "Well, if losin' is a learnin' experience, then he oughts ta be a genius by now fer all the ass kickin' I been givin' him," he drawled arrogantly. He looked next at Maylee, a flash of impatience in his eyes. "Downstairs. Now. Fallen's been waitin'," he said sternly.

"Yes, sir," she said submissively and left.

Seth looked at the chessboard, forlorn. Kimble yanked affectionately on his long white ponytail and gentled his voice even further. "Don' take it personal, kid. I been playin' a lot longer than you." He looked at Henry, teasing once more. "I'm shure Henry there'll letcha win if ya piss an moan enough."

Seth looked up at him. "You're an asshole."

Kimble beamed. "Yes, I am," he said proudly, kissing the top of Seth's head with a loud smack. "Butcha loves me anaways," he finished and laughed as he walked out.

"He's a real charmer," Wolverine commented sarcastically, not the least bit amused.

Kane laughed. "He's more bark than bite and little more than a child. He's not as tough as he'd like us all to think he is. I've seen Fallen make him break down and bawl more than once from arguing. He's got no patience, no control. It's sickening. He wouldn't last two minutes out here."

"He's tough to me," Seth complained.

"And you're all the better for it," Kane commented fatherly. "You're even weaker than he is."

Wolverine shook his head. It was hard to believe these images were two halves of some bizarre computer program and not really alive. They behaved and interacted like real people, not made up characters. Kane and Maylee reacted to them as if the brothers were real people.

"Well, I'm sick of his bullshit," Seth continued, trying to hide how Kane's words had stung him. "Fallen lets him get away with everything." He was about to continue when an alarm flashed on his console. He clicked it off and put on a set of headphones to listen.

Kimble poked his head back into the control room. "What is it?"

Seth held up a finger and Kimble waited patiently, cleaning his hands on the rag again. Seth shook his head slowly and closed his eyes. He slowly took the headset off and looked up at Kimble with sorrowful eyes. "Valentin's in the third. He's too close. He's going to come here, I know it. We have to move," he said in a trembling voice.

Kimble grinned at him sadly, all teasing gone. "Been two months gone now. She ain't gonna go," he said softly, coming into the room.

Seth began to argue with him angrily in the other language Fallen had used. Kimble nodded without comment and put a hand on Seth's shoulder, listening to him vent. Seth began to cry and Kimble brushed his cheeks tenderly as he would a child. It was odd to see Kimble change from arrogant asshole to caring brother, but it was there and not artificial. He appeared to care very much about what Seth was feeling.

"Shamay war natay a roo. There ain't no helpin' it, buddy," he said to his brother gently then looked up at Kane. "You best gits yer women an' children an' git out early. Takes May with yous."

Kane met his eyes and said boldly, "No. I will stay and face him if he comes."

"He'll chew you up an' spit you out," Kimble snarled in disgust, flashing his teeth. Seth shivered at his brother's angry words and put his head down. Kimble stepped closer so Seth could lean against him and put an arm around his brother's shoulders protectively. He didn't look down at Seth, but continued to glare at Kane. "You should go."

"No. I'm staying. Someone's got to stand up to that brute."

Kimble snorted. "Oh? An' yer it? I'll be shure ta send our condolences to yer first wife."

Kane stood abruptly and pointed up at the screen. "That's enough out of you, Kimble!"

Seth tugged on Kimble's shirt, getting his attention. "You have to tell her to go, Kimble. Make her listen," he pleaded.

Kimble brushed Seth's hair back and looked deeply into his eyes. "She don' listen ta me as well as you, you knows that. We'll just end up fightin'."

"Please..."

"All right. I'll try, but I ain't promisin' nuthin'." He looked into Seth's face and saw his distress. He smiled indulgently. "Seth tay kunda Siska esk, huh?" Kimble said gently and rubbed his brother's head. He gave Kane a long, hard look and walked out.

Seth sat still with his head down and wouldn't look at the others.

Wolverine turned to Kane. "What's goin' on? I thought you guys were all on the same side."

"We are on the same side, it's not about that. It's about Fallen and Valentin," Kane explained.

Seth shivered at the mention of Valentin's name. He looked out the door where Kimble had gone, turning his back on the conversation in the galley, not wanting to hear it.

"What do ya mean?" Logan said, not understanding. He was disgusted by Seth's show of weakness, by the soap opera that had been played out on the screen. What could have him so rattled?

Kane tried to explain, "Fallen and Valentin have this kind of love hate relationship. I don't know how else to describe it. She'll avoid him for months then she'll make sure he finds her. When he does, he comes and beats the living crap out of her." Seth covered his ears and looked down again. He didn't want to hear what Kane was saying and yet didn't want to click off, either. Kane looked away from him, just as irritated as Logan by his childish behavior. "It's something she's always done. I can't explain it because I don't understand it myself."

"He hits her?" Henry asked, alarmed. "Then we should leave at once!"

Kane shook his head. "No. This will be the last time. I have asked Cerebus for her. I will stand up to Valentin and protect my claim. I will put a stop to this."

Angry voices began to drift up from the floor. Kimble and Fallen were going at it pretty good, a fight just as Kimble had predicted. The conversation had started out merely being loud, with Kimble trying to go about this with some humor, but it soon turned sour and brutal when it was clear Fallen wasn't going to be persuaded easily.

Gambit watched as his teammates grew uneasy over the argument and how it was spiraling down into ugliness. Logan especially was beginning to clench his fists and growl softly, wanting to do something without knowing what. He himself was not so quick to judge. He had been involved in many verbal battles with his high spirited girlfriend, Rogue. Like anyone who squabbled often, he saw fights in layers, that there were levels of severity, and he hadn't thought that Kimble had crossed that final line just yet. Kimble's fury was not directed at his captain, the worst of his savagery was aimed at Valentin, this mysterious General who had everyone on edge. Kimble was scared and frustrated, but he was not attacking Fallen herself, something that kept Remy in his seat waiting patiently.

Once Gambit had learned that the two brothers were in fact artificial personalities, he had spent some time observing the two pilots. He was quite taken with the Kimble personality in particular, intrigued by how real he had seemed. Kimble's playful, teasing manner, so much like his own, appealed to him as well as Kimble's response to his brother's emotional breakdown. Kimble could tease, annoy, and soothe with equal ease, changing glibly from one to the other as any normal human would. It made him seem three dimensional and real. Even now Remy could hear that Kimble wasn't just trying to push Fallen around, his argument had merit, he was simply put out that his views were being disregarded.

Kimble snarled something again, making Remy laugh in surprise when Kimble let fly with a torrent of mangled profanity, using new and inventive phrasing the thief had never heard before. This was like Rogue, oh yes. Even Kimble's drawl reminded him of her. Maybe that's what the attraction was, Remy mused. Kimble reminded him of home, even now with the argument growing more strained. It made him recall those fiery battles, maybe because when all was said and done, they had each scored points and in some ways learned new things about each other. Rogue did not make things easy and he was thinking that Kimble shared that trait. Remy couldn't help but wonder what the guy was like when he came out in the hologram. He hoped he might have a chance to find out.

Logan wasn't so eager to see an irate Kimble go any further than he already was. He didn't differentiate between 'levels' of verbal battling. All he heard was Kimble's mouth going way too far. He took a step towards the galley door, intending to go downstairs and interrupt, but a grunt from Kane halted him. "Let them be, son. They'll work it out."

"That Kim's got a mouth. If he respects Fallen so much, why does he talk ta her like that?"

Kane chuckled wryly. "Because a mouth is all he has."

Seth wasn't the least bit entertained by the goings on. He covered his ears tightly at the sound of the raised voices and drew his legs up into his chair, curling up defensively. A door slammed below and it was suddenly quiet. Seth slowly lowered his hands and looked at the rear cockpit door waiting for Kimble. It wasn't a long wait. Kimble leaned in the door, his face red and his eyes blazing. Seth asked him a question and Kimble rubbed the heel of one hand into his right eye in irritation. He shook his head in a negative gesture and replied. "Nisk. Fallen natar ratan eresk tadaesk ratay."

Seth broke down into gasping sobs and Kimble went to him. He snapped a switch on Seth's console without commenting to the others and the screen winked out.

"What's his problem?" Logan growled. "Why is Seth actin' like that?"

"Seth can't handle any kind of violence. The last time Valentin was here it was pretty bad. He just freaks out now whenever Valentin gets too close. I don't know why Fallen doesn't fix that. Who wants to hear and see a man cry like a child? Certainly not I. At least Kimble stands up to Valentin. Whatever. I've got better things to worry about than Fallen's stupid program. I've got to get my people ready." He nodded at them and walked out.

"Gambit seen some pretty strange t'ings, mes amis," Gambit spoke for the first time, running a hand through his bangs and scratching his scalp thoughtfully. "But 'e ain't never seen anyt'ing dat was 'just a program' act like dat. Dem boy's be actin' like real, no foolin' around. I'm t'inkin' mebbe Fallen got more dere dan she sayin'."

"It's just a program, Cajun. Ain't no different than what we got back home," Logan grunted, clearly not sharing the same view.

Remy smirked at him. "Not even when ol' Beastie 'ere put dat Britney Spears patch in de system did anyt'ing we got come dat close to real."

Logan shook his head. "Don't matter. What was up there ain't no different than watchin' TV. It isn't real. Those guys ain't real. Fallen's just got a wee bit too much time on her hands, she has to have some kind of show goin' on, I guess."

Remy clearly didn't agree. "Mebbe so, but dis Valentin? I 'ope 'e one bad ass mutherfucker to deserve all dis fuss."

"I have to agree with you, Remy," Henry said. "I think Fallen's bitten off more than she can chew. These brothers are more real than she cares to admit - at least to us. If Seth is that badly frightened, we should keep on our toes. I suspect our new friends are going to need all the help they can get."

Logan wasn't about to sit around and be amused by Fallen's computer. If there was trouble brewing, he wanted to be ready for it. Being very security conscious, said he was going to check the ship's perimeter and see what kind of defenses the area had to offer. Henry followed him out and Gambit decided to try talking with Fallen about what was going on. Maybe he could worm some details out of her.

Remy saw the trap door was open and went down the stairs to the lower level. He found Maylee and Fallen working in the shop. She was instructing Maylee on how to take one of the filters apart. Fallen appeared calm in spite of the fact she and Kimble had argued aggressively only minutes before and looked up at him with a smile as he entered but continued the lesson. It only confirmed his guess that he had just witnessed something of a day in, day out scenario here. Kimble and Fallen must bicker often. Remy eased himself against the wall nearby to watch and waited for the lesson to finish.

They were interrupted before that, however. Gambit turned his head when Kimble popped up on one of nearby viewing screens. "Fallen," Kimble barked. His voice was tense and angry.

Fallen ignored him.

"Mistress," he repeated with emphasis, the first time Remy had heard the word spoken. It said something, implying ownership and Fallen's higher status. Where it might have sounded ridiculous or demeaning in any other situation, here the title made perfect sense, even to Remy's highly developed sense of fairness.

"Not now," she said calmly without looking up at him.

Kimble grinned an irritated, nasty smile and raised an eyebrow in impatience. "Fallen, darlin'?" he insisted, his voice sickly sweet.

She glared up at him then. "I. Said. Not. Now." Her voice was stern.

"Ya gots a coolant leak on two. Fix it. Don' fix it. I could gives a shit less," he snapped. He switched off, but not before he clearly snarled, "Fuckin' cunt!"

"Argghhh!" Fallen shouted, clenching her fists. Blue flames of energy rippled around her wrists as she struggled for control. "He's impossible!" She snatched a wrench and hammer from the bench and stomped off to the Engine Room.

When she was gone, Maylee started to softly laugh. Remy looked at her and cocked his head in curiosity. "What's so funny dere, petite?"

"This is how Kimble gets his way. He's going to torment her until we leave."

"So tell me dere, kiddo..." Remy inquired, trying to sound casual, "...what you t'ink of dat rascal Kimble, eh? Seem like mebbe 'e make you a little nervous."

"He's all right, I guess. He's been different since Momma started using the hologram."

Remy nodded to himself, keeping track of who belonged to whom. Maylee had used Momma the same way Kimble had used the word Mistress. She must be Fallen's daughter. "Diff'rent 'ow?"

"I don't know. Bossier...not so nice to me. He used to be more playful, more fun to be around, but now it's like he thinks he's the only one who can take care of Momma right. When she gets... hurt... he comes out in the 'gram and he's all over her. He won't let me get close, like she belongs only to him. It's annoying. I mean, I was here first."

"He older dan you. P'etetre, 'e sees it as 'is responsibility."

Maylee snorted derisively. "He's not older than me! He just looks that way because Fallen chose that skin. He's not a man, not a real one anyways. Real men don't cry."

" 'E cries?"

"All the time. When Fallen gets hurt he cries. When they fight, he cries. He cries more than I do. It's pathetic. I've never seen Kane or Valentin cry. I'll just bet Kimble's younger than I am," Maylee complained with obvious disdain. "He's like a little kid."

Remy could see she carried some resentment towards Kimble. He noted how she said nothing about Seth's own child like behavior. If anything, Seth appeared to him to be more immature and childish than Kimble was. The fact was that Remy had seen Seth fall apart and cry, not Kimble, but Maylee didn't seem to acknowledge that. Remy wasn't naive, he had an idea that her problem with Kimble was more like some kind of sibling rivalry. If Kimble was coming out frequently and was active in Fallen's care, Maylee probably felt displaced or shoved aside. "Sound like you an' Kim don' get along so good."

"I don't trust him," she replied evasively, keeping her eyes down.

"Why?"

"I don't like the way he looks at Momma sometimes. I wish she would bring Seth out for good and leave Kim behind. Seth is nicer than him. He doesn't yell or fight and he's really gentle. He always talks nicely to me."

"Sound like you like 'im best."

Maylee smiled at him shyly. "Yeah. He's good for Momma. She's been a lot happier since he's been around. She stays away from Valentin more."

"Do you know why she let Valentin treat 'er so bad?"

"No. It's just always been that way for as long as I can remember."

Their conversation was interrupted when another loud verbal argument broke out from the next room. Kimble was still trying to press his case and was getting nowhere. It was clearly pissing him off, his profanity alone could peel the paint from the walls. Kimble had quite the vocabulary, even if he did mangle it as much as possible. After a few moments, Fallen stormed from the room and returned to the bench. She slammed the tools down, furious. She was quite a sight, all riled up, and Gambit couldn't help but laugh a little. She saw his amusement and smiled suddenly, laughing herself to break the tension.

"You're stupid little games aren't going to work, Kimble! You hear me? Not this time!" she shouted to the air.

She next shrieked in shock as the overhead sprinkler fire system suddenly turned itself on for no apparent reason, spraying her with ice cold water. Only her. It had activated precisely where she stood and not in the whole room, impossible for it to have done so by accident.

"Kimble! You arrogant, little bastard!" Fallen screamed, spraying water. "Oh, you are so fuckin' dead!" She snatched the wrench and stalked over to the black power cubes for the hologram. She raised the wrench in the air, threatening to demolish them. Destroying them would clearly end any further possibility of the twins using the hologram to leave the system and interact with others.

Her threat was taken seriously. On cue, the sprinkler shut off and Kimble came up on the screen. "Wait a minnit there, baby doll," he drawled, his hands up in cheerful surrender. "You don' wanna be doin' nuthin' rash!" He was trying really hard not to laugh. He saw Remy there and gave him a playful wink.

"You going to quit this?" Fallen challenged, the wrench still raised high.

Kimble wilted before her obvious wrath, losing that playful charm. He sat back with a defeated sigh, looking ten years older with some kind of suppressed pain. "Whatever ya say, kiddo. If gittin' smacked all ta hell means that much to ya, fine, girl," he said, a nasty hard glint coming into his eyes. "Jus' don'tcha come cryin' ta me all about it later." He clicked off with an angry, final flick of his wrist.

Fallen wiped dripping water off of her chin and roughly tossed the wrench aside onto one of the benches. "Prick!" she snapped to the empty screen, losing her earlier playfulness. She walked back over to Maylee, but the girl had clearly lost interest in the lesson. Fallen noticed and quickly dismissed her. Maylee fled, no longer in a good mood.

"Dat Kimble's kinda spunky for a computer game, neh?" Remy noted.

"Yeah, well. He has to learn when to quit. Sometimes he goes too far," she replied, using some clean scrap rags to dry off.

"'E's got a point, chere. If it's not safe 'ere for you, we should go."

"Valentin is my problem. Not yours. Not Kimble's," Fallen said, squaring up to him, daring him to defy her. "We don't leave unless I say. That's final. Even if Valentin comes this way, you are in no danger, so the rest is none of your business. I suggest you go back up and get some rest. We'll be leaving soon enough and you're not quite well just yet," she said, dismissing him.

Gambit shrugged and left, seeing he was going to get nowhere here. Maybe he could try again after she cooled off a little. He had no idea he wouldn't be given the chance.

To be continued in The Clan