(Three)
Fallen had been drinking as the doctor had made his offer and she coughed and sputtered with surprise at Henry's words. Kimble glanced her way, protectively watching his Mistress but not slowing down. Fallen replied, "You would hire me? What would that make me? The Fallen X-Man?" She threw her head back and laughed, obviously not believing him. "Yeah, I'd fit right in with all you beautiful happy people," she said sarcastically.
"Beautiful?"
"Oh, yes," she replied, a hard glint coming into her eyes. "That's the way you're drawn. A Clan of handsome, beautifully tragic people fighting a never ending war against racism. Me? I'm just tragic, nothing more," she finished bitterly.
Kimble seemed to sense her change in mood and came over, using his thirst as an excuse to make sure she was all right. He grabbed a bottle of beer next to her, selecting the one that was the most full, and chugged the whole thing down without stopping. He spilled the last of it and almost choked as it dribbled down his chin. He grinned and wiped his face on his arm, sputtering.
"Slob!" Fallen teased with a laugh.
"Wuz raised inna whorehouse. Let's go, yer rested enough, girl!" he said with hearty laughter, dragging her back to the dance. She didn't fight him. She failed once more at the steps, but Kimble succeeded in inspiring her laughter.
"Whorehouse, huh? Bet that's not far off the mark," Logan joked humorlessly, thinking of Lanlin. "He's very protective of her."
"Yes, as every good friend should be, I suppose."
"Your job offer didn't seem to impress her much," Logan continued, keeping his voice low as he kept his wary gaze on Kimble.
"Sometimes all one has to do is plant the seed, my friend. Perhaps if Kimble hears as well as I suspect, he will persuade her," Henry replied. He'd noticed the timing of Kimble's convenient interruption and had no doubt of what he'd seen in Kimble's eyes. "He'd do anything to get her away from Valentin, I am sure of it. Perhaps I will speak to him directly about it."
Logan snorted. "Don't bother. We don't know anything about him. Look at him. He's one of those Siskan holograms, but there's something different about him. He could be dangerous."
"Different? Yes. Perhaps it's because Fallen is using him for something a little less recreational than you did with the other one, my friend."
"Sheesh, Blue. It ain't that, okay? Did you see his eyes? He's got too much spirit. It's like he's really alive or something."
"Is that a tone of fear I detect? You don't think you could take him down if it came to it?"
"Sure, I can. If he bleeds. We don't know that he does or anything else about him."
"I'm willing to take the risk to get home. I still believe Fallen may be our only ticket out of here. Besides, I haven't seen anything about Seth or Kimble to make me nervous yet."
Once more, Fallen bowed out and left Gambit in charge of her overzealous hologram. She stepped aside, enjoying the show the two of them were putting on.
Remy was all over it. He danced faster and faster and was amazed when Kimble easily kept pace with him. Kimble moved with a fluid feline grace that matched his own and it was impossible for him tell Kimble wasn't real by his movements. The only giveaway was a certain lack of fine detail on Kimble's body and clothing and Remy saw the hologram's 'skin' flicker slightly a few times. It didn't slow Kimble down any, he certainly didn't freak out like Seth did. He just kept dancing and fooling around, laughing wildly and clapping his hands.
A moment later, Kimble abruptly stopped dancing and stood still, touching his ear as if listening to something only he could hear. His body gave a great shiver and then melted slightly, magically shifting its appearance into Seth's. Seth apparently had wanted to give the dance a try and in spite of all the fun he was having, Kimble had generously given the hologram over to him.
Henry raised his eyebrows to Logan who only looked that much more aloof. "Neat trick," the doctor couldn't help but comment.
Fallen took Seth's hands and smiled, her pleasure at his arrival obvious to all. "I was hoping you'd come," she said and kissed him. "Let's dance, love. Show Kimble just how good you are."
"Okay, just take it easy on me," he laughed. He bobbled a bit, woozy and blinking. "Uh, gotta thank Kimble for the beer. I think I'm too drunk for this!"
"You'll be fine," Fallen said, giving him another kiss.
At last, someone who danced worse than Fallen. Seth was still very slow and wobbly on his legs. Gambit grinned and showed Seth the steps, curious about how he was different from Kimble. Seth shared Kimble's near perfect memory, but not his skill. He still struggled as he moved his body around. He was also quite drunk on what Kimble had taken into the hologram, that had been no joke. His cheeks were now flushed and he had a good case of the giggles going on.
Remy was very patient with the new arrival, as ever a natural teacher. He was amused to no end on how tipsy Seth was, it only added to the fun and he was having a blast.
Seth ate up all the encouragement Gambit had to offer and started to dance when the song looped over again. The two different personalities were very powerful in their individuality, Seth seemed small and timid compared to Kimble's dynamic presence, another sign of just how different these two brothers really were.
Maylee was keenly aware of that difference and was excited Seth had come. She loved him best and enjoyed his company, especially when he was out in the hologram. She decided she'd seen enough to give the dance a try, figuring she couldn't be any worse than he was. She came up behind Seth and waited to cut in.
The young Siskan didn't see her and swung back with his arms, inadvertently elbowing her in the face. Maylee cried out in shock and surprise as her nose began to bleed.
Seth turned to Maylee and panicked when he saw the blood. "Are you all right?" he gasped in fear. It was only just a small dribble of blood, but he grabbed at her like she'd been stabbed. Blood from her nose leaked out over his hand and Seth cried out in horror at the sight of it.
The music stopped abruptly although no one had moved to shut it off. Logan looked around, confused and it next occurred to him that Seth or Fallen had shut it off just by thinking about it.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Maylee said, laughing and feeling foolish for not looking out where she'd been going. Fallen tossed her a rag and Henry stepped in to pinch off her nose. It was more difficult because of her cat like face, but the bleeding was so minor, he wasn't really concerned about it.
Seth was. He backed up, looking at the bright red blood on his hands in terror. His eyes were wide and he began to tremble violently. He made sharp hitching noises as he started to hyperventilate as he had before. All of his confidence had evaporated, lost by what he perceived to be a disaster. Fallen noticed and went to him. "Hey, relax. She's fine."
"I hurt her...I hurt her...Uhhh..." Seth wheezed. All he could see was the blood.
"It was an accident. See? The bleeding's already stopped." Fallen looked back at Maylee who held the rag up as proof. She wasn't bleeding anymore.
Seth didn't care. "I hurt her... I hurt May!" he wheezed breathlessly. He backed up until he hit the wall and slid down to the floor. He squeezed his eyes shut and covered his ears, smearing blood on his face. He kept repeating the same thing over and over.
Fallen followed him and crouched down. She put her hands on his cheeks and started chanting his catch phrase. "Shhh...Seth tay kunda Siska esk. Seth tay kunda Siska esk..."
Logan noted the word Siska and nodded to himself. Siska, meaning this was in fact a Siskan hologram, just as Zekian had spoken of. Wolverine watched Seth's childish display of horror with a kind of disgust of the immature. He couldn't figure out why the two brothers were so different. Kimble made him wary because he was so outgoing, now Seth's little freakout made him even more untrusting of them both. Why would anyone over react like this unless they weren't quite right? These guys had some serious problems, no matter what anyone else thought.
After a moment, Seth calmed and was quiet. Maylee came over and crouched next to Fallen in front of Seth. She kissed him lightly on the forehead. "You okay, buddy?"
At the sound of her voice, Seth opened his eyes. He looked tired and frightened and he reached out and lightly touched Maylee's nose as if he didn't believe she was okay. "I'm so sorry I hurt you," He looked like he would bawl at any moment.
"It's okay. It was my fault. Next time I'll let you know I'm behind you. It was an accident," Maylee said. At twelve years old, she sounded more adult than the man on the floor in front of her. Her concern was obvious, just as she was clearly much more at ease with Seth than with Kimble.
Seth nodded and closed his eyes again. "I want to go back now," he said softly.
"All right," Fallen said. "Don't stay away long. Kimble will take care of you." She gave him a lingering kiss and hugged him. Seth smiled at her, grateful for her touch and then turned his head away. The hologram melted from Seth's shape into that of a solid square. The personality was gone, but the particles remained and waited to be used again.
"What was that all about?" Logan asked impatiently. He didn't understand why Seth had made such a fuss over a nosebleed.
"He's very sensitive to any kind of violence," Fallen explained, giving Logan a dirty look. She had no patience for his lack of understanding and stood up to face him. "It's worse when Valentin's been around. He can't take the sight of blood."
"Can't imagine why."
"I think Seth is paranoid about how his actions affect other people," Fallen continued, ignoring his sarcastic remark. "Understand that his on-screen personality can't be hurt or affect this outside realm. The hologram is different. When he's out, he's much more sensitive about what he does and how he acts. He's more timid, more easily frightened than Kimble. Although I think he panics too easily, I fail to see how his being upset over hurting someone is a bad thing. I'd rather have him like this than be a bully."
"Where did he go?" Henry asked.
"He's back inside the system. He'll be quiet now for a couple of hours and then he'll be back, good as new. I'll talk to him about this and he'll be better."
"Kimble comin' back?" Logan wanted to know.
"No. He'll look after Seth until he's ready to come back out."
No one was in much of a mood to dance after this so they all went back upstairs. Fallen and Maylee cooked another wonderful stew. As before, Fallen served no meat, but it was fine just the same. They also served fresh bread and fruit, making a nice well rounded meal, the best the X-men had eaten in days. They all ate until they were stuffed, their good humor returning after a while. Gambit took out his cards and they played and drank her fine wine until it was quite late.
Neither Seth nor Kimble returned to the screen. Fallen would keep looking up as if expecting them, but the control room remained empty. Eventually they all grew tired and wandered off to bed. Fallen set the X-men up in the barracks, making sure they were all comfortable before retiring herself. She gave Maylee her bed in the cage and went down to the lower level to sleep.