(Six)

Kimble lay in the darkness of his laundry room hiding place, whimpering and crying. He had been true to his word and crawled up here as soon as he left the lab. He liked it here. It was tight and made him feel safe and secure. Unfortunately, it didn't ease his suffering. He was swamped with self loathing and despair. He had gotten in trouble again and got his ass chewed out. He thought it wouldn't matter to him, their words, but he had been wrong. The pain he felt inside was so bad, so bad...

You kin ends this, whispered Zander's ghost, startling him with her voice.

Kimble twitched in fear. Somehow, he had fallen asleep. Funny thing, he seemed wide awake. He opened his eyes and saw he was still in the laundry room. Now he was hearing two voices in his head while he was awake. Well, that was just great, Zander was screwing around with him some more. Like he really needed this right now. "Go away!" he growled, trying to sound menacing.

The ghost was unafraid. Feel this. Feel us, she whispered again.

Kimble startled when he felt a spike form in his hand as if by magic. It was long and jagged, much sharper than the ones he had made before. He cried out softly in pain as he was overcome with suicidal thoughts. It would be so easy to just use this and end all of his suffering. There was no one to stop him here or heal him before he would be drained of everything. He could finish the job Joseph had started.

The Siskans didn' wants us, neither did them Clan guys, the girl continued to speak in her soft, child like voice. Kimble could hear her pain, it so matched his own. These X guys ain't no diff'rent. Let's go home. Home to father. It'll only hurt a little at first. Then it will all go away.

"No...it wouldn' be right," Kimble argued. "Fallen would cry."

She cares nuthin' fer us. Not no more. We been ditched. She gots Seth, she don' need us.

"Remy."

Won't lay with us. If we wuz really worth keepin', he would be with us but he ain't. He thinks ta love us like that is bad an' it mus' be true, cuz they all thinks that way. Sheyman said that all luvin' wuz good an' fine, but he lied. Remy looks at us like the others did at Nine. We suck. We're the worse' kind of garbage. We ain't no good fer nuthin', she sobbed. This is what they thinks of us. Smell yerself!

Kimble whimpered as the stink of the whimpering ghost became all too real. He gripped the spike tightly in his hand. "Why ya doin' this ta me, Zander, huh?" he whined, starting to cry. "I thoughtcha wanted us ta be strong an' fights."

Zander's ghost answered in his stead. There ain't no point in fightin'. Theys all too strong fer us. They ain't never gonna loves us. They ain't never gonna use us like we wuz made for. They gonna puts us inna box 'til we falls down ta dust. You kin let them shove us down or you kin sets us free.

Kimble sobbed and clutched the spike. It would be easier to do this. He could almost feel the freedom the darkness would bring. The last time he had died, Sheyman had been waiting there with open arms. It had been so good, so good to feel the touch of the only one who had ever truly loved him. He wanted that more than anything.

"My angel..." Kimble said, remembering Sheyman's promise of an all encompassing love.

Is another stupid lie, came the girl's voice again. There ain't no angels. That wuz just sumpthin' ta make ya feel important. We ain't important, never have been. All we gots wuz kicked around, jus' like now. C'mon, Kim, let's go! Do it! Do it now!

(break)

Fallen made her way down the hall, sighing with impatience. She had gotten chewed out by the Professor yet again and didn't feel much better than Kimble right now. Charles had a way of getting his point across quickly. She was guilty of neglecting her toy, that's why he was getting so out of hand. That this was happening repeatedly was something she could no longer ignore. She had to do something about this, she would be damned if she was going to be lectured one more time.

It was so different with Kimble being out. She never had to look after him before like this, he always had stuff to do on his own or with Seth. It occurred to her that Kimble was probably going through his own kind of separation anxiety. He had always had Seth around in the system even if they weren't doing stuff together. Now he was separate. It hadn't been so bad for Seth because Fallen was constantly there working with him. He had more company than Kimble did.

She walked into the laundry room, peering around. The tracker said that Kimble was here, but she couldn't see where. "Kimble?"

He didn't answer, but she heard it when he scrunched even further back into his hiding space.

She grabbed a chair and climbed up to look into the tiny space. She had no idea he could fit into such a place. "Come on, Kimble Bee. Come out."

"Go away!" Kimble whined. He had been so close. He had actually decided to go through with bleeding himself out, but she had walked in just in time to stop him. He crammed the spike all the way to the wall where she wouldn't see it. As soon as she was gone, he would use it.

"Not a chance, buddy."

He ignored her and stayed put, knowing she couldn't follow.

"What's wrong with you? I just don't understand this. Talk to me."

"I wants ta go. Let's jus' leave," he said, giving vent to his pain. Maybe if she saw how upset he was, she would listen. She used to listen to him so very long ago.

"Why? Don't you want Seth to come out, too?"

Kimble sniffed, knowing by her words that he'd already lost. "Why? Sos evraone kin hates him, too?"

"Nobody hates you."

"Somebody tried ta kills me. They all hates me!"

"That was an accident."

"No it wuzn't. Someone did it deliberate an' didn' even git punished fer it. I wuz the one what got attacked but I gots ta wear this stupid thing like some kinda fuckin' crim'nal!"

"That's for your own protection, Kim."

Kimble snorted and impossibly, he managed to squirm around and turn his back on her.

"Kimble, come out."

He ignored her.

"Don't make me go in there and get you."

He didn't move.

Fallen put her arm in the opening and fired off a small blast of Ristle. It was more than he would normally take and it was like getting zapped. He cried out and crawled away from her, moving further along the wall. She popped him again and he growled. He made a mad dash out of the tiny space, surprising her with his speed. A cloud of dust and lint came out with him, making Fallen sneeze, but it didn't stop her from catching him telekinetically. "Nice try, Buster!"

He snarled and twisted, using a shield of his own to push against her, but she was much better trained in the use of her power than he was. She shoved him down to the floor on his back and pinned him, giving him no escape until she was right on top of him. He pushed against her, but she pulled him into her arms and held him close. He fought her uselessly, kicking and screaming in a furious temper tantrum, until he burned himself out and lay against her, crying. "I jus' wants ta leave, Fallen...Let's jus' go!"

She brushed his hair back and rocked him gently. "Not until Seth is out."

He covered his face and cried. "This place sucks so bad I cain't hardly stands it!"

"The only one sucking here is you, Kimble. I mean really, what have you done to try and fit in? They offered you friendship and wanted sex. They offered you training and you hid yourself away. What is it you want, Kimble?"

"I wants ta play. I don' wanna be all alone."

"All alone? This house is filled with people. Remy is with you almost every day. I'm still on board the ship as always. Nothing's changed."

"Ya don' plays with me no more. Seth don' plays with me no more."

"When Seth gets out we'll make it up to you, Kim. I promise."

"An' if he don' ever gits out?"

"He'll get out. He's much too clever to be trapped in there forever."

Kimble did not believe, it had been so long already. He was doomed and trapped in this horrible place, dying a slow and agonizing death by boredom. He closed his eyes and gave it up. If this was the only thing that made them all happy, fine. He would be quiet. He would be good. He would crawl up inside his hiding spot again at his earliest convenience and never come out again.

"Come back to the ship with me."

He just lay still and didn't answer.

"Kimble, please. Don't be like this."

He didn't answer again and she was forced to resort to desperate measures. She jammed her fingers under his armpits and tickled him.

Kimble squealed with unexpected pleasure and squirmed away, unable to stop the smile that broke out across his face. He took off and Fallen was relentless, chasing him around the room, knocking down chairs and making quite the mess as she pursued him. He danced away from her, but never too far. He wanted her hands on him and he let her touch him, thrilling him with her laughter. His gloomy thoughts vanished, withering away from all the attention she was now giving him. His head cleared and he wondered why he'd been thinking such stupid thoughts anyway. This was much too fun to never feel again.

It had been so long since they played like this and Fallen had forgotten just how much fun he was. She laughed and laughed, tickling him and loving the sounds he made as he made his token attempts to get away. Fallen ran out of steam before he did and sat down in the middle of the mess, her sides heaving. He came to rest at her side and she pulled him close, resting his head in her lap and petting him like she used to.

"I loves ya, Fallen," he whispered softly.

"I love you, too, Kim. It hurts me to see you like this. I want to help you, but I just don't know what to do with you."

"Jus' loves me. Jus' loves me like this. I don' wanna be alone no more."

"The only place you're alone is inside yourself, Kim. I'm always here for you."

Kimble closed his eyes. That really wasn't true now was it? His being alone. He had Zander and his stupid little ghost keeping him company. He shivered at the thought.

"You ready to go back to the ship now?" she asked, petting him some more.

"Shure, Fallen. Whatever you wants," he said, rising stiffly and picking up the mess they had made. He followed her back to the ship and sat quietly in the galley while she went through the motions of spending more time with him. She cooked a meal and chatted away about the codes she had been working on with Henry. Kimble only dimly paid attention. It really wasn't him she was talking to. He saw how her eyes kept straying back up to Seth on the viewing screen and saw her love for his brother. It made him feel sick with envy and he excused himself, saying he wanted to sleep.

He slunk back to his room and opened his locked box to take out Remy's shirt. He held it to his face, breathing in Gambit's smell and curled up in his bed with it. The smell of it comforted him and he finally drifted off into an uneasy slumber. He had the shirt as his talisman, but its power was waning. He was right back in the Black Room again and could hear the ghost out there, pacing just a few feet away, just out of sight. She was upset that Kimble had backed out on him, but that was okay. They had plenty of time. She would wear Kimble down again eventually.

Kimble shivered and whimpered. He would need a new place to hide, a new source of power. He whispered softly, "Tay kunda Siska esk...Tay kunda Siska esk..." , the soft gentle phrase that had so comforted Seth when he was afraid. It meant, "I am a good person", but he was only dimly aware of that or its significance. It helped him now and the ghost faded once more. He hoped it was for good, but had a bad feeling he wasn't going to be that lucky.