(Seven)

It was a few days later when Wolverine strolled into the Med Bay, bored. Fallen had been building some more bracelet cloaking devices and he was curious how she was making out. There had been no word from Yosemite regarding the Games Master just yet, but they had known from the beginning that the Games Master might not be found the first week or even the second. Remy called several times a day to keep them updated, mostly conferring with Seth and keeping tabs on Kimble's condition. In the meantime, everyone was just killing time, waiting until something happened. It was early in the day right now and no one was the in Lab just yet. Wolverine went to the work bench and saw some cloaking bracelets there. He picked one up and fiddled with it impatiently. "Henry? You around?"

No answer.

He walked through the lab towards Henry's quarters in the back. He paused and took a step back the way he had come. He had heard some soft snoring and next noticed Kimble out of the corner of his eye. The pilot had wedged himself between two large pieces of lab equipment on the floor. He was wrapped in a blanket, a Lin leftover, asleep and the source of the soft snoring. Logan shook his head in wonder, this space was even smaller than the area above the dryers in the laundry room.

"Lin likes it there," Henry said, coming out of his bathroom. He had just showered and was ready to start his day. "I couldn't figure out why until I realized the vents are there. He likes the heat."

"Humph. Long as it stays outta trouble, I could care less where it sleeps."

Logan had long since given up on trying to understand the puzzle that was this fractured pilot. He wasn't exactly cool with the idea of Kimble being let out of the holding cells again, but he had been outvoted. Henry was temporarily in charge of the Siskan while Gambit was gone to Yosemite and had gotten SHIELD approval for Kimble's release on a temporary basis as part of his therapy. That permission hadn't come without some expense - Henry had had to bargain some technology for it and had passed on some of Fallen's cloaking bracelets to Nick Fury. Fury had seen them in action at Yankee Stadium and was itching to get his hands on them. (Seth of course immediately upgraded the remaining Xavier stock to better models than what Fury had been given, but the man didn't need to know that.) The deal was sealed with a condition - if Kimble tried to leave the property or was in any way destructive to any buildings or civilians in a way SHIELD could detect, the Siskan would be back in a cell permanently - one in a SHIELD prison. The good doctor was confident he could keep Kimble under wraps, he hadn't lost his hope that being around people would encourage the Lover to come out and regain control of the body. It hadn't happened yet. Lin was predominantly in charge, but there had been some times when 'Shay slipped out, usually to say something mean.

Logan wasn't the least bit pleased over the deal, Henry had gone over his head. Wolverine just couldn't handle all of Kimble's different voices or keep track of all the stupid names. Kimble was a machine, a stupid broken machine, but nobody here could see that. Kimble's sentiency had swayed them, but Logan knew better. As a token show of resistance, he now referred to Kimble as "it".

Logan turned as he heard Seth and Fallen come in the lab. They were joking and playing around, laughing loudly. Seth carried a new laptop computer Henry had given him. He wasn't co-ordinated enough to build the cloaking devices so he was working on integrating Fallen's Siskan technologies with the X-men's Shi'ar equipment. He could do his work on the ship, but he never left Fallen's side. He worked wherever she was.

Fallen greeted Logan and Henry then looked down at Kimble and shook her head. She kicked him gently. "Hey, sleepyhead. Wake up."

The pilot didn't even register that he had been touched.

"How long has he been there?" Fallen asked Henry.

"I let him out about two hours ago."

The pilot was required to be in the lockup at night, but Henry often let him out early. Beast was an early riser and wanted the pilot to be out as long as possible. It had become part of his new routine to bring the Siskan out here with him to the lab to keep an eye on him. Being so low on power, the Siskan was quiet and compliant. Lin was often sluggish and sleepy and the first thing he had done was squeeze in here to get warm. It hadn't taken him long to fall back asleep and Henry hadn't had the heart to wake him.

Fallen crouched down and tried again. "Kimble Bee, wake up."

Nothing.

She reached out and opened one of his eyes.

Lakotashay roused before Lin. She whined softly in protest and turned her head away. In spite of Fallen's insistence on calling this pilot Kimble, the Lover hadn't been out since before Remy had left.

"Hey? You in there?" Fallen prodded him a little more roughly.

Lakotashay growled irritably and squeezed even deeper into the tiny space.

"Kimble. Now."

"Five more minutes..." 'Shay protested in her high, child like voice.

"Come on. You've been there long enough. Time to get up."

'Shay covered her head with the blanket.

Fallen tugged it off and took it away all together. "Up. Now, Kimble!"

"Cunt!" 'Shay snarled as she shivered, her face crinkled in anger.

"Don't be mean. Move it."

"Call me by my name!" Fallen never did and 'Shay resented it.

"I did - Kimble. Now get your ass up!"

'Shay spat at her and only moved in deeper.

Fallen grumbled and raised a blue fist, determined to get him out one way or another.

"Fallen, don't," Seth said, gently moving her aside. He reached out to touch his brother and spoke in Siskan, "C'mon, Lin. Let's get up."

Seth was patient and calm, his hands reaching out with the purest love. He wasn't like Fallen, he had accepted his brother's condition and went out of his way to work with Lin and 'Shay, giving them both respect. His Mistress wasn't so kind. She stubbornly refused to believe what had befallen her one time servant, seeing all this as some stupid game Kimble was pulling to punish her for neglecting him. She didn't understand what his problem was, Remy had taken control of him, even going so far as to claim him and be his Master. It should have been enough, but Kimble was being a stupid ugly child. Fallen had long since run out of patience. Poor Seth did his best to act as mediator, trying to keep the peace.

Lin shivered and came to the fore, called out by Seth's gentle touch. He rubbed his eyes and blinked around him, sleepily. "What's goin' on?"

"Time to get up."

"We done the baddest things. Killded th' 'Fessor's cat. We's dangerous. Gots ta stay in the small spaces," he said in his standard greeting. He wasn't really protesting, merely confessing his sins.

Seth was used to this and worked around it easily. "It's time for a shower. It's dusty in there."

Lin nodded and finally came out of the space. He stood hunched over, his body was disfigured from having been crammed into such a small area. He shook himself and stretched awkwardly, wincing a little as his skin shifted over him like a liquid while his muscles flexed themselves back into shape. His abdomen was still scored with the ugly red welts from when Kimble had clawed at himself before, his neck and eyes still bruised. Their body still stubbornly refused to heal and Henry wasn't about to give him plasma for so minor an injury. Not with him still being so mentally unstable. Lin rubbed his eyes and shuffled drunkenly to the bathroom under the guidance of his brother, complaining in a low mutter with each step.

"Not much of a morning person, is it?" Logan observed.

"It's been getting worse since he's come home. He never wants to get up. I remember when we first got here, he never slept more than a couple hours at a time," Fallen explained a little tersely. As much as she was frustrated by Kimble's strange behavior, she hated how Logan called Kimble "it" all the time even more.

"Lin and 'Shay have been getting better, though, in other ways," Henry said as he started some coffee brewing. He spent a good amount of time with the pilot now, enough to be firmly convinced that the personalities were as good as real people. "Lin's been letting 'Shay out long enough to work on the big cloaking devices for the new Blackbirds and upgrade more cloaking bracelets for the stockpiles. We should have most of them finished by tomorrow."

Lin and 'Shay had indeed been operating on a kind of truce these past weeks. Lin was in charge, but always wanted to sleep and hide the body away. Seth and Remy had been working with 'Shay, drawing her out to work in an attempt to show her that she still had value. Karen had suggested that it might boost her ego and make her less willing to destroy the body. If they could convince the Quitter she had something to live for it might be of some help. Remy was going along with it only so long as 'Shay was supervised. So far, there had only been the one ugly cat incident. After that, nothing really bad had happened so things were allowed to continue as they have been. 'Shay came out to work, happy to have some "out" time and for the most part did behave, but she had her moments.

Lakotashay was especially suspicious of Karen and still openly hostile to the poor psychologist. Lin did his best to keep 'Shay down, but she slipped out now and again, most often when Karen came around. Whenever Wolverine's lovely redhead came close, she would drive the woman way with such wonderful insults and taunts. The reality was she was fearful Kimble would be attracted to her and it would make him resistant to her ability to control him and keep him down.

It was an unnecessary fear. For the most part Kimble slept in the circle of light in his personal Black Room, content to shut himself down and lay quiet until Remy came back. Sometimes Zander would call out to him if Karen was near, hoping to tempt him. If he succeeded, Lakotashay would never be able to withstand being so outvoted and the body would be that much safer. So far, his attempts had failed. It wouldn't stop him from trying. Zander didn't trust 'Shay one bit and did his best to support Lin in being vigilant against her suicidal tendencies. He couldn't stop Lakotashay's mouth though, she kept popping up at the worst times, abusing Karen with harsh words and taunts.

The pilot's rude and abusive actions towards his girl drove Logan crazy and he made a point of being around now whenever Karen tried to talk to Kimble to draw him out. Logan's presence disturbed the doctor and at this point, she still hadn't gotten a decent interview from Kimble. Remy had explained to her about 'Shay holding Kimble ransom against his cure, but she dismissed such a thing as fantasy. It couldn't possibly be true. The Professor was aware of her frustration, but begged her for patience. Perhaps in time, Kimble would come around on his own. For the moment, it was enough that Lin was out most of the time and the pilot was quiet.

Henry was aware of Lakotashay's persistent bad intentions and did his best to see the pilot was never left alone. He found some chores for her to do, carful not to allow her near any knives or sharp tools. He was very much aware of her suicidal notions and wasn't about to make it easy for her. 'Shay was resistant to being put to task, she would rather be off finding ways to kill herself or torment Karen - always a fun little game - but finally Henry and Seth had gotten her to sit down and try working a little, hoping 'Shay would see that she was still of some value.

It wasn't always easy. The plasma Neal had reluctantly given healed the body of the stricken Siskan, but Henry advised against continuing its use. Before he left, Gambit and Fallen had taken turns visiting their patient, force feeding him Ristle, hoping it would now be enough. The pilot didn't fall as low as before, but he wasn't as sharp as he had been right after the plasma charge. They were keeping the body alive in a low mode of awareness with their power, nothing more. He was awake, yet walked around sluggishly in a perpetual fog, no matter which personality was in charge. He simply didn't get enough of a charge to be anything more than a half alert sleep walker. He was worse than Seth, being very clumsy and bumping into things, not even able to properly orient himself in the room. He would crash into something and then stand there bewildered, wondering how it could have possibly gotten into his way. Sometimes he picked up after himself, sometimes not. He would just keep moving, forgetting what had just happened and moving on.

Lin was biding his time until the Master returned with his magical cure. He was withdrawn as was his custom, stubbornly refusing to talk to anyone about their past adventures. This bothered Gambit because he was worried something ugly would pop up like the ugly cat incident while he was gone. There was much they still didn't know and the Siskan wasn't co-operating. Lin wasn't sociable and avoided anyone who tried to acknowledge his presence. If they did he always admitted their crimes, a turn off to most conversation. He was quiet and shy, still believing that he was dangerous and poisonous. He would find new and interesting places to hide and slept most of the time. It almost became a game to see where he had managed to squeeze himself into next. 'Shay was cool with it. If they kept this up, sooner or later, the X-men would drop their guard and she would be able to finish this. It hampered her progress that she couldn't manufacture weapons anymore, but she was confident she could get her hands on something sharp if she was patient. Until then, she would wait.

Henry smiled as Molly next came into the room. She stopped Beast and took over the coffee preparations. He let her willingly, she made the best coffee of anyone in the place.

Fallen went to the work bench and began rebuilding one of the cloaking devices. Seth had returned from seeing Lin to the shower and sat next to her, a faint smile on his lips as he watched her work. Logan observed them and liked what he saw. Unlike Kimble with all of his troubles, it was easy to forget that Seth was technically an artificial person. It didn't matter to Fallen. She looked upon him with nothing but the purest devotion. Fallen was now in the best condition she'd been in since Logan saw her for the first time. She was eating well and had gained weight. He could tell she stopped smoking and cut way back on her drinking. He didn't think she was using either. Amazing what love will do, Logan thought to himself. Between her telekinetic ability and the technology sharing, she had become a real asset to the team. It made putting up with Kimble's mental instability worthwhile.

Speaking of which, Lin came out of the bathroom showered and a little more alert. He had put on a sweatshirt and pants that had the school logo on them. The Siskan was almost always dressed in real clothes now to keep warm and he spent so much time in the lab now that Henry had kept some clothes for him here. Molly had altered the shirts with a special sleeve on the back so that the pilot could wear them if he kept his wings closed. Since he was no longer able to really fly, he had no need to spread his wings anyway. The clothes helped to keep him warm and as comfortable as possible. Lin had now taken one of Henry's large towels and used it to form his makeshift shroud, swallowing up his head and shoulders under the thick heavy cloth.

Lin passed Logan by without a greeting and sat opposite Fallen at the work bench. He said nothing to anyone, but gave a small whimper of distress as Seth came to him and gently pulled the towel away. His hair was a clumped up disaster under there as Seth had suspected and the young Siskan now began to use a brush to carefully work the mess. When 'Shay was out their hair was kept loose, making it susceptible to tangling and matting. Lin simply didn't care, he just covered it up, oblivious to the tangling of it. Seth had taken over Kimble's personal hygiene while Remy was away, helping Henry out by making sure Kimble was washed and properly clothed.

Seth caught the brush on a tangle and 'Shay popped out in anger. "Asshole! Why don'tcha just rip our whole fuckin' head off!"

Seth froze, upset. "Sorry."

'Shay grumbled, unhappy. Irritated now, she grabbed at one of the bracelet cloaks and started working on it. She was doing a poor job of it, her fingers were slow and uncoordinated. No one bothered to correct the mistakes she made, they were happy to just keep her busy.

"You still got a big smart mouth," Logan growled at her. The devastated look on Seth's face pissed him off, he knew Seth wasn't going to say anything so he would.

"Yeah, well, fuck you, too!" 'Shay snapped, daring him to act.

Logan bristled, but kept his mouth shut. It was no use arguing with this one, she was as mean as they came - an ugly, broken hearted little child.

'Shay tuned him right out as soon as he was quiet, not even giving him the dignity of her notice. She wasn't looking at what she was doing, her mind was now somewhere else. She was fantasizing that their former Master, the big and lovely Sabretooth had broken free from the SHIELD prison and was coming back for them. He was going to walk right through that door any moment and take them away. It was the only hope she clung to in her dark, empty world.

Seth went back to work on 'Shay's hair, being much more gentle. A tear spilled down his cheek from her harsh mouth but he ignored it. He was here to take care of his poor broken brother the same as Kimble had always looked out after him. He was sure there had been times that it hadn't always been pleasant for Kimble and so now it was with him. He only just had to deal with it a few more days. Remy would come back and all of this was going to be better. Things would go back to the way they had been, he had to believe this. It was the only thing keeping his heart from breaking.

Logan watched 'Shay closely as she worked, grunting softly when he saw her movements slowly cease until she was quite still, lost in some kind of trance. With their power so low, the Siskan 'gram continued to stutter. He would move about and stop, only to resume a few seconds later where he had left off. That wasn't true of this moment however, 'Shay had fully embraced her dream and was gone in every sense that mattered. She stayed that way a few moments then picked up where she left off, clearly unaware that she had stepped out for a moment. Lakotashay glanced once at the door, expectantly, but then went back to work, a sad, perplexed look on her face.

Logan could see the pilot was still wearing the tracking bracelet. As a condition of her release from the holding cell, she was made to wear the bracelet so she could be located at any time. An alarm would sound if she tried to take it off or leave the house. So far the pilot had stayed put. He hadn't left the lower levels since the cat incident.

Now 'Shay was out and working, under some control from Lin's watchful eye and Henry's care. After the cat incident, the Siskan had spent a couple of days in the holding cells under close watch before being allowed to come out again. 'Shay had come out and had committed no further crimes other than being frightfully rude to everyone. She was most often working numbly in the lab like a zombie. Her face and neck were still horribly bruised from Logan's beating. Like the scratches Kimble had given himself, the wounds remained. If she recalled the cat incident, she gave no sign. She had realized that it wouldn't bring the death she had wanted, it was a repeat of the failure she'd had with Cameron and the prostitutes. Like everything else, she just blotted it out and forgot it. She preferred now to daydream of the Master, their real one. Kristalay. The one who would come back for them, belt in hand.

Molly came close and set a cup of coffee next to her with a soft bark. 'Shay didn't acknowledge her and Molly stepped away, a sad look in her eyes.

Molly had been intensely curious about the pilot from the first time she saw him, but he never noticed her. He had been so wounded and broken, his weakness a strange draw for her. Her fascination kept her close, the fact that Remy spent so much time with him making it that much easier. Here now was that mysterious friend of Gambit's that everyone had been whispering about all this time. The picture on Gambit's wall hadn't done him justice, he was even more handsome in real life. He was sparkling white and beautiful in spite of his bruises, she could see why he had captured Remy's heart. He was working his way quietly into hers as well. She had made Kimble the clothes he now wore but he didn't even know it. He had taken them from her numbly and put them on, never raising his eyes. It didn't deter her interest.

Seth had noticed her curiosity and knew Remy had asked her to give him a hand with his less than co-operative brother. Lin was out most often and some attempts were made to teach him how to read Molly's sign language. He did his best to learn, but with his power so low, it was a difficult process. He rarely even played on the computer anymore since Remy had gone. The more his Master was gone, the more the pilot was falling into a terrible lethargy. He was losing his will to come out and interact with others.

Molly did her best to help Seth keep him moving. She made Kimble coffee every morning even though he never seemed to see her. He would just take the cup a few minutes later, it taking that long for him to even register that it was there.

It wasn't a discriminatory thing, Lin and 'Shay simply walked around in a total fog most of the time. Karen had tried to explain to Molly that Kimble was sick and that he just needed time. Molly didn't really understand. He didn't look sick, but then she couldn't smell him. Well, he was bruised, but he'd been a zombie even before that so it didn't count. She knew that it bugged Mr. Logan that he couldn't smell Kimble, but it didn't bother her. She just accepted it. Kimble intrigued her, his being a bit of competition for her as far as Gambit's attention. It was hard for her to be mad at him or dislike him. No, she was becoming somewhat enchanted with him instead, just as Gambit had been in the beginning. He was so beautiful, but he was so wounded, something broken that nobody knew how to fix. It brought out the little mother in her, she couldn't help it, and she was happy to help out.

Lakotashay finished a couple of bracelets and Lin displaced her. He announced his return by reaching for the towel again and silently covering up, rumpling the hair that Seth had worked so hard to straighten. He tucked his legs up under him in the chair, making himself small. As he moved, he noticed the cup of coffee there. He looked at the cup, puzzled and not sure how it got there, but then no longer cared. He was always cold now without the plasma and liked hot drinks. He took the cup, spilling some of it sloppily, and took it with him as he left to smoke a cigarette out in the hall.

Lin was a child, but liked cigarettes as Kimble did. They were red and glowed with such a happy red light. Henry didn't approve, but Remy had indulged the pilot. Gambit was happy with anything the Siskan did that didn't involve killing or staring off into space. He had left some packs of smokes for Lin behind and Beast allowed it so long as he smoked only a couple a day and out in the hall where he could be seen. Lin often used the desire to smoke as a means to go off by himself so his departure was not unusual. He curled up next to the soda machine where he could still be seen from the lab. He knew if he went too far, someone would follow him and he just wanted to be alone.

Fallen watched Kimble through the lab door as he sat down slumped against the wall, his head back. He let smoke drift lazily from his mouth and closed his eyes. He shut everything out and dreamed he was somewhere else.

"I don't know what's worse, its bein' a pain in the ass or walkin' around like a friggin' zombie," Logan complained.

"He's still recovering," Seth said, excusing him. "It will take some time."

Fallen got up and joined Lin out in the hall, still hoping that if she gave him enough love, he would snap out of this game he was playing. She crouched down in front of him. She took one of his hands and watched it glow a faint blue as he took some Ristle from her.

He spoke to her in Lin's tiny voice, once more confessing his crimes, but didn't shiver or show any sign of getting a rush from being fed. He almost looked bored. Fallen whispered to him in Siskan, but he shook his head and turned away without speaking. She patted his shoulder and returned to the lab with an unhappy look on her face.

"What now?" Seth asked impatiently.

"He can't feel the Ristle at all. I wonder if it's even doing anything."

"It must or he wouldn't keep taking it."

"He never asks for it. He only gets it when I think to give it to him."

"I hope Remy comes back soon," Seth said, his voice a little sad.

Like Karen, Logan was also skeptical about the whole Games Master thing and voiced his opinion. "I still don't see how some Dognan guy is gonna fix yer Kimble just like that. Still sounds like a load of crap ta me."

"At this point, anything would be a help," Henry replied. "It's sad to see Kimble like this. He was meant for much greater things than this."

Lin saw that they were talking about him again. They were upset and worried, signs of his disease at work, it was time to go hide again. He got up and limped off, not caring that 'Shay's work wasn't finished. He didn't feel like being around anyone right now. He didn't feel like doing anything. He just wanted to go back to sleep and forget about everything.

'Shay didn't argue and let him have total control. She missed the plasma and its warm happy glow. Now she was just empty and cold. She missed Kristalay's hard fists and that hot rough love, but since Sabretooth hadn't escaped and come for them, she figured they weren't worthy of that beautiful painful magic anymore. With no real Master, she served no real purpose now and living was an empty waste of time. Henry's attempts to make her find value in working hadn't succeeded.

Lin wasn't one to travel far. He went two doors down the hall to the laundry room. He went to the dryers, they were still double stacked, and turned the top two on. He set them for an hour's dry time and crawled up into the crack just as Kimble once had so very long ago. The crack soon filled up with warmth from the machines and the gentle rhythm lulled him back to sleep once more.

He never saw Seth as the young Siskan followed him in. He didn't trust Lakotashay at all and wasn't about to let his brother go off alone. Seth had done as much as he could for his brother, even going so far as to wear a tracking bracelet as well, just to generate some sympathy and an atmosphere of being on an equal standing. Fallen was happy about it, she always wanted to know where he was, but Lin never noticed.

Seth had plenty of work back in the lab but he chose now to stay here. He used the intercom to tell Fallen where they had gone and then picked up a magazine from the rack to read. There were always plenty to chose from, the Professor was adamant about learning and had a great many subscriptions to books of all kinds. Sooner or later, they all ended up in here as folks came to wash their clothes. He selected one about traveling and looked at the lovely, glossy pictures. He stopped reading when he heard soft whimpering from above, Lin was dreaming and it wasn't a happy one.

Seth pulled his chair up to the crack and climbed up, careful to use the machines to steady himself. He couldn't see well in the dark, but didn't need to, to hear his brother cry. "M-master..." 'Shay was sobbing. "Why didja leaves us? S-so cold here... S-so alone... D-don wants ta be alone no more... They won' lets us die... just wants ta die... come back. Come back, please. S'okay if ya wants ta use the belt... I won' care. J-jus don' leaves us all alone no more... We'll be good, I promise..."

Seth stood in his chair and reached out to his brother, fresh tears streaming from his eyes. Kimble was suffering, dying in his soul day by day and he just didn't know what to do. None of the selves responded to his touch nor his grief, 'Shay just continued to cry in the darkness, the sound of her broken heart more than Seth could bear.