Summary: Kimble gets to know his Siskan kin a little better. Part six of the Game.

Rated M for profanity, violence and some sexual content.

Disclaimer : I do not own the X-men or any of their associated villains, but the Siskans, the Dognan, Jael and the Outkasts are mine. Please do not use them without my permission. Thanks. :)

Updated 10-26-13 to add (break)s as needed and fix the same ole crap I keep screwing up.

(One)

Well of course my vow never to sleep again didn't hold, how could it? I might be inorganic but I still have needs. I eat, I breathe, I drink and I must sleep. I did my very best but the longer I went without sleep the more incorrigible and violent I became. My Master finally lost all patience and was forced to drug me. It wasn't a waste - I learned that with the tonics he prepared for me, I could sleep without dreaming.

Babette came to me and tried to comfort me and she is a dear. She stayed with me for the next few days, loving me, caring for me, as I was too distressed to even leave my bed.

I hadn't yet found the courage to leave my bed when my Master came and stood over me, saying very gently, "We are leaving for Earth 618 in a few days. You may remain here if you like, but I am hoping very much that you will come with me as I have grown very fond of you. It would be a shame to leave you behind and I would be greatly saddened."

He then left me with a series of photographs of the home he was planning to inhabit. It came as no surprise to me that it was the large Plantation house I had seen in my vision. As I looked upon these photos I was overcome with a sudden desire to return to my black room and confront that window again. The truth is I'm a stubborn fuck, a title well deserved. As much as I hate to be controlled, I hate being afraid even more. Terrified as I was to go through that dreadful blur of images again, I couldn't deny the compulsion. I wanted to face my fear so it would no longer hold me back. I knew there was a message there in the vision, but what it was I had yet to discover. I certainly wasn't going to find out by being afraid.

So I tried my best to fall asleep without the tonics and found that it was surprisingly easy. My body was starving for it, for the release of dreamland. I soon fell asleep and found my wooden door in a matter of moments and walked through it.

The darkness came and so did my window. It shimmered first grey and then grew to the size of the wall again before it showed me the Plantation house once more. Just as I had hoped, the blue shimmering double arrow faithfully reappeared, offering me my choice of paths as it had before. This time, I closed my eyes and walked through.

There were no monsters coming to get me with their fur and claws and fangs, or whips or beatings, or shoutings with angry, hateful words. Instead, warm tropical air greeted me, filled with the heady scent of magnolias and jasmine. The grass was lush and sweet, the house lit up with lights and laughter.

"You will be happy here, Dreamer," the voices whispered to me, even out here on the grass, and I knew it would be true. I would depart with my Master. I had made the right decision.

This was only the first in a long series of visions I would have. They came the same way, a snapshot scene of something yet to come that would be followed by those shimmering blue arrows offering different paths. Most often I took the right path, sometimes not. When I did not, I was "corrected" by the blurry vision of horror and trauma. It had a positive effect on me, I rarely made the same mistake twice. Sometimes, though, in spite of my fear, I was forced to take a path I would rather not have taken. Even to this day and for reasons that still have not been explained to me, I was shown that to refuse would lead only to destruction and death.

(break)

Aiden jerked awake from another blurry nightmare, his body slick with sweat and the scream dying in his throat as he had trained himself to do. Not that he had any need to maintain his silence, David was gone and no longer beside him to be troubled by a rude awakening. No, the child was in a place much better than this one, one where swords and pain could no longer reach him. At least that what the Dreamer told himself to try and assuage the guilt he felt for having failed him.

Aiden rose carefully, trying not to disturb the body of his sister who lay next to him. It was late at night now, almost morning of his second day in this strange new place. Earlier, he had crawled into bed with Babette, still trying to do his best to comfort her as much as possible. She had stopped crying, but was still so sad and hardly speaking. It was all Aiden could do to coax her to eat or drink anything.

Kimble had joined them later, happy after his visit with Angel. There wasn't much to do in the Lab and Kimble hadn't wanted to be bored and alone. He, too, felt a desire to ease Babette's suffering and so offered his presence as medicine, telling her playful jokes to make her laugh until they had all fallen asleep together in a happy little tangle on her bed. Aiden was glad to have him so close, though he could sense the discomfort of the human guards around them. The three Siskans had done nothing more than pile together for warmth and security, but such a display of childish intimacy disturbed the humans around them, the ugly, simpleminded Chuckfet that they were.

Awake now from his nightmare, Aiden slipped away, heading for the small bathroom that was close by Babette's bed. He hadn't wanted to go far from her but he had to be alone, he had to find someplace small and quiet, private. He had to unload some of the storm he was feeling inside, the turmoil left over from such a horrible dream. He entered the room and set the lock before collapsing into a corner near the sink to cry.

It will be okay, Talalanay said, coming close to touch and soothe with his tiny ghostly hands.

Aiden had never heard the voices as Kimble did, no, his damage had been far too severe. He did not possess the same sort of Black Room as Kimble did, a separate place for those personalities to exist and see each other all at once. When he had shattered, he saw his fractured personalities as ghosts, vaporous images that followed him about in this world, chattering away and driving him insane. No one could see or hear them but himself and it had gotten him into trouble more than once. He would have conversations aloud to people no one else could see and the folks around him thought him crazy, too damaged to ever be fully repaired. It wasn't true - he had received help for his condition, but two of his collection of personalities remained to haunt him to this day. They had been much too powerful to lie quiet forever and resisted the forces that had tried to shut them down. Because of all the repairs that had been done to Aiden, they weren't very strong now, just capable of popping out to speak their minds when they felt he needed it.

"I'm okay, leetle one," Aiden replied through his tears, trying to be as brave as he could. Talalanay was a child, the First Born. He looked no more than ten, possessing the original skin Quishnalay had placed them in when they were made. He was dressed in the soft leather of Siska, clothing from home. He was tiny and fragile, very sympathetic, and he was the one who offered comfort when the Dreamer was troubled. Aiden felt protective of him and hid away his feelings of despair, not wanting to disturb the child.

You're not a very good liar, Dreamer.

This was not the boy who had spoken. Where there was one ghost, there was often the other. This second spirit had no real name and because of his paternal attitude, Aiden simply called him Father. Father was older, stronger and far more opinionated. He always had the goal in mind and was the one who pushed the Dreamer to get the job done, whatever it was. His ghostly image was that of an older, wiser man. Ever the adapter, Father's appearance often changed. He liked to imitate those around him and so today he had dressed himself in the clothing of the alphas here. He was wearing a black shirt and black jeans, a close approximation of an X-man uniform without the badges. Never fearful and always comfortable, he was seated casually on the floor, his back to the door in an easy slouch, one hand draped over his knee. He was bearded and headstrong, driven more by a strong sense of survival than heartfelt emotion. He was the protective force behind their strange little family, the one who had gotten them out of all their scrapes and bad situations. If not for Father, they would have been dead or insane beyond reckoning long ago.

Why are you so frightened? It was just a dream, Father questioned, his voice a little condescending. It wasn't like this didn't happen to them all the time. You would think the Dreamer might be used to it by now.

"Ze war is coming and Aiden muszt choosze. 'Ow 'is 'e szuppozted to know ze right way to go what to do when 'e don' know what'sz going to 'appen?" Aiden sobbed. In all of his dreams there had been paths, offerings of choices to be made. He was not longer frightened of the visions themselves, only of taking the wrong path and destroying all he had come to love.

The dream is just beginning. You worry too much, Father was chiding him. Watch, listen, learn. You will know what you have to do when the time comes. You're stronger than this. Get up.

Aiden shuddered an emotional denial and pushed himself further into the corner, trying to get as small as possible. He resented the fact that he had to dream the future, that he had to see those horrible visions of death and dying. Like all Siskans, these things upset him and sometimes made him feel physically ill. It was becoming rare these days for a premonition to be pleasant and he was wearing thin. The strain of losing his Master and his place of security was breaking him down. The nightmare and his strange new surroundings hadn't helped.

There was a knock on the door and a voice but Aiden ignored it, unsure if it was real. Sometimes when Talalanay and Father were around, things got a little dreamy and strange. A mere moment later and a warm hand brushed his shoulder, confirming that he was no longer alone. "You okay, Aiden?"

It was Kimble and Aiden couldn't help but turn and look at him. The ghosts of his former selves were wisping about, disturbed by Kimble's passage through the room. They were breaking away, unseen by the pilot, and Aiden automatically reached out for the nearest form of comfort. He spilled into Kimble's eager arms, still sobbing lightly.

"It's all right," Kimble was saying. The door had been locked but the pilot was worried enough about him to use his telekinetic power to come in anyway. "Didja haves a bad dream?"

"Yesz. Many bad dreamsz Aiden 'asz!"

Kimble squeezed him tightly. "It's okay. I hates bein' in strange places, too."

Aiden smiled, calming some at that. Kimble didn't fully understand, but was doing his best to soothe and the Dreamer wasn't about to stop him. Besides, he had just become aware that the two of them were completely alone for perhaps the first time since they had met. He sat back a bit, pleased when Kimble automatically reached out to clear his cheeks of tears. "Don' be scared," the pilot whispered and gently brushed his lips with his own.

Aiden accepted the kiss, but took more, opening his mouth to deepen the kiss and change it from comforting to something far more potent. He couldn't believe that Kimble was really here, that the creature who had so haunted his dreams - the few pleasant ones - was actually here to be touched and tasted. It was one thing to carry around an image on photo paper, quite another to have the living, breathing real thing right here, right now. Suddenly feeling much, much better, he came forward and possessively took control, plundering Kimble's mouth and carefully coaxing him to lie back on the floor.

Given a choice, Aiden would always prefer to serve his own kind rather than a Chuckfet client. He thrived on the exchange of Kundatesh that only a Lushna-esk 'gram could provide, it was lovemaking on a whole other scale and far more fulfilling. The fact that Kimble was even more than that, a Kintay du Lushna-esk like himself with a more potent Kundatesh, made the desire to play all the more tempting. Aiden was emboldened when the pilot not only offered no resistance to his seduction, but whimpered softly in surrender, a sound that ripped right through him like a tornado through a straw house.

Aiden almost went crazy with mad desire, it took all of his will to control the urge to just ravish the offering before him. He had foreseen that Kimble would be his, had known it the first time he had laid eyes on the pilot for real. But he had to remind himself now not to go too far so soon. He knew better than to abandon himself to lust, he had never actually seen their first lovemaking in a dream, but had an idea that coupling madly on this cold bathroom floor hadn't been it. He wanted to give the best of himself to Kimble, to impress and show him that no one else could do what he could, that anything other than being with the Dreamer would never completely satisfy.

Kimble seemed to sense it, that there was more to Aiden's desire than wanting a quick fuck. There were questioning whimpers mixed in with Kimble's sounds of pleasure, he was confused. He had kissed Aiden initially as an innocent offering of comfort and hadn't expected this bewildering turn of events. The kiss between them now was a far more than the simple gesture of inquiry they had shared out on the tarmac the previous morning. It reflected their mutual curiosity and attraction to one another and was a searing thing, melting them both into one creature, a thing born of more than simple animal need and desire. Its intensity confused and frightened Kimble a little. It came out in his shine, something the Dreamer could see.

"Shhh..." Aiden whispered, finally coming up for air. He was trembling with excitement, but the pilot was quaking below him, his body hard with an arousal impossible to deny. "Relax, preciousz. Shhh."

"No, don' stops...please!" Kimble whimpered, writhing against Aiden with unabashed desire. He was overcome with want, his inner turmoil seeking the release of a good tumble, the unsettling vibrations from Aiden easily ignored. This would make Kimble forget that he had killed, that he was a prisoner here, that Angel wasn't truly his anymore, not like she had been before things got all so horribly screwed up.

Aiden sensed all that in a heartbeat, his preternatural senses reading the pilot like an open book. It wasn't entirely what he had wanted. He hadn't desired to be a placebo for what was ailing this Siskan, he wanted Kimble to want him for who he was, what he was. It was enough to halt his urgency, enough to allow him to catch his breath and take stock of the situation. He wanted Kimble to want Aiden, Aiden and no one else when they broke down and let the inevitable take them. He opened his mouth to make an excuse for a temporary postponement when the consequences of being a prisoner caught up with them first.

There was a loud thump on the door. "What're you guys doin' in there?"

It seemed the sentry Logan had posted had finally caught on that they had been in here just a little too long. Aiden had only just started to retreat and let Kimble up when the door opened, the guard losing all patience.

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me!" Max complained, no embarrassment there, only disgust. He hadn't forgotten the way Aiden had looked at him back at the Mansion and all of his preconceived notions of Aiden's sexual orientation were confirmed by what he was looking at now. The pilot was still on the floor, his clothing all pushed back and rumpled, the signs of his arousal pathetically obvious. Wolverine's orders had been pretty specific, "Don't let them out of your sight", but this was more than Max had in mind to watch.

Kimble scrambled to his feet quickly, his shine swirling rapidly from lustful need to horrified embarrassment. They had been seen! He was sure to be talked about now, stared at like a freak. He had never been accepted for being sexually open, never in the whole time he had lived here with these alphas. It hadn't happened before and it wasn't going to happen now, judging by the look on Max's face. He found his feet and shuffled back, his head down with his eyes turned away. His hands were clenched at his lap in a feeble attempt to deny the raging hard-on that Aiden had given him. He didn't dare meet Max's gaze, but stood in a submissive slouch, his wings slumped below his shoulders.

Aiden made no such movements. He stood up, sure, but his chin was high and his eyes defiant. His clothing was sturdy denim and not so revealing as Kimble's sweatpants but he cared not a whit. What was left of his own arousal remained as it was - unhidden. "Well, well, well. It'sz our leetle shadow. Leetle Shadow, you lonely, eh? Muszt be, to be watching usz szo closze. Care to join usz?"

"Fuck you. Get back to bed!" Max snapped, shaking with rage at the suggestion.

Kimble didn't need to be asked twice, he knew his place. He fled, leaving Aiden behind with nary a glance. The Dreamer watched him go, a furious sneer on his face. He could see Kimble's humiliation and shame and knew that Max was to blame for it, not his own actions. So this was how it was here. How typical of the Chuckfet. How very typical.

The Siskan holograms had been created to provide sexual services willingly and freely to their Masters and clients. That desire was interwoven into their psyche to make them compliant and unresistant. Aiden thought it was ironically funny how it was that that built in promiscuity was perfectly fine when the Chuckfet wanted to play by their rules, when they wanted to be served, but when the Siskans wanted to initiate and play on their own, it was considered perverse. He had seen this time and time again and all it had done was widen the gap between himself and them, separating them forever.

Aiden started to speak his mind, to say something he was sure to regret, when Father materialized in front of Max, there for only the Dreamer's eyes to see. Shut your mouth, kid. Back off and just do what he says. You just got here, dumbass! Tell me you are not this stupid!

"Szpoilszport," Aiden chided him aloud in the Muzla tongue so that Max would not understand. "It wasz too nize a kissz to be ruined wit'out an inszult in return."

Father was quick to respond, You'll get plenty more kisses where that one came from, knowing you. Save your cracks for another time. Do as this jerk says and get moving. Besides, you've left Babette for too long. So selfish of you, to neglect your sister for your own pleasure!

"What's your problem?" Max asked, none too gently. He was insulted that Aiden had garbled nonsense at him and then blanked out as if he wasn't even there. He of course had no idea that to the Dreamer, they were not really alone.

Aiden refused to reply to Max's harsh tone and pushed by him instead, rudely shoving him out of his way. He was upset by his dream, of being interrupted with Kimble, and by Father's scathing comments. Neglect his sister? He had done all he could to watch over her, surely he was entitled to some pleasure, however fleeting! He returned to the bed to find his sister still sound asleep. Henry had taken pity on her and given her a tonic, she was out cold and still in the same position she had been in when he had left.

Kimble, however was gone. One quick glance showed a soft blue light on in the adjacent testing room. The Lab was large and had several rooms adjoining it. Most of these places were denied to the newcomers, but this side room was open to them. It had computers in there that the Siskans could use to play games. Kimble had turned one on, looking for any excuse to be doing something somewhere else. There were two sentries posted in the Med Lab at all times and Max's companion had moved to stand in the doorway, looking in at whatever Kimble was now doing.

Aiden grumbled and returned to the bed, crawling in beside Babette and pulling her into his arms. She mumbled something incoherent at him and folded into his embrace, smiling now in her sleep. He relaxed, pretending to fall asleep for the benefit of Max who had gone back to his chair, but his eyes were ever fixed on the glowing blue light of the other room.

(break)

Kimble had fled to the testing room, horrified that he and Aiden had been discovered fooling around like that. There was no way he could return to Babette's bed so he had gone in here instead, turning on a computer as an excuse to be here. He was shaking with the humiliation of being caught in such a compromising position but damn if he wasn't aroused beyond belief from that kiss.

He closed his eyes against the light of the computer screen, his head down slightly as he savored the memory of that brief connection. So long it had been since he was decently kissed, the only one to set him on fire as quickly as that was Remy and the thief could no longer be his. Maybe all that didn't matter any more.

Cain't haves no lover fer real, tiny Lin whispered from within, his soft Siskan voice too strong for Kimble to ignore.

"I don' hears you no more," Kimble replied, his voice too low for the guard outside to hear. He had to be stronger than the voices. He couldn't let them gain enough power to overthrow him as they had before. It was bad enough that Zander had popped out that one time, he wasn't about to allow any further mutinies. Angel was much too precious for him to lose permanently.

Kimble loosed his long hair and brushed a hand through it, trying to get back to remembering that kiss. He thrived on intimacy, needed to be loved so very much. Just the same, there was something different about Aiden's touch. Aiden made him feel pretty, made him feel good about himself in a positive way. Kimble couldn't explain why the vibrations he felt from Aiden reminded him of the same vibrations of love he had felt from Remy and once long ago, from Sheyman, the man he believed to be his creator. He and Aiden had only just met and there hadn't been time for anything so pure to be developed. Aiden was trying to hold it back and Kimble figured that perhaps Aiden was simply just prone to over emotion, the way he himself wasn't entirely in control. Living with humans had forced Kimble to modify his own behavior, to squash urges that had once been as natural as breathing. Maybe Aiden was like him, always struggling to do the appropriate thing. It was true he did not know Aiden well.

It had been a long, strange day. The powers that be had gotten together and decided that Babette and Aiden were to be confined to Med Bay indefinitely while Logan continued his investigation into Trishnar's murder. The team in New Orleans still needed more time to finish the job, a few more days at least would be required. No one thought the Siskans were to blame for Trishnar's demise, they just wanted to be sure if it was Jael playing the Game. As Jael made his way through the opposition, he was getting that much closer to them.

Henry was all right with his Lab now being occupied by these strange creatures. He was fond of Seth and Kimble and was eager to learn more about these Siskans as possible. It intrigued him to see Siskans that had lived away from Fallen and Remy, Siskans whose behaviors could give him insight into Kimble's struggles. Maybe he could even find a little help there.

Beast made them as comfortable as possible, he had wanted to be sure Aiden was healing from his injuries and do a medical scan like he did for all the new arrivals. He brought them food and drinks and made sure the power cubes were in easy reach. He brought them books and games, knowing from experience that they would need to be entertained.

Beast had other reasons for wanting Aiden nearby. He was worried about Babette and her fragile state of mind. Henry had lots of responsibilities and wouldn't always be on hand to assist. He need not have worried, Aiden fussed over her and saw to her every need. Babette wasn't recovering well from the shock of David's death and refused to leave her bed. She had to be pressured to charge with the power cubes and wanted only to be held. Aiden spent most of the day at her side, just wrapping her up in his arms and singing to her softly.

Just for precaution, both Aiden and Babette were outfitted with the same special tracking device that Kimble was. At first Aiden put up a bit of a fuss, seeing it as entrapment, but Remy managed to convince him that it was for the best. No one knew what the future held and it was important to know where they all were at any time. The locators of all the Siskans, Kimble included, were set against the Lab security boxes and would go off if any of them tried to leave the area without an escort. The devices weren't restraints, they couldn't stop an escape, only report it, and Wolverine insisted that Kimble and Aiden would be under close surveillance in the lab and while topside, the only two places they were allowed to be. Since Babette could use the cubes, she stayed behind in the Lab. She was still too melancholy to leave anyway and didn't complain.

Really, Kimble had more of an incentive now to stay in the Lab than to leave it. He was simply enjoying the company of his two new Siskan companions far too much. Kimble and Aiden had enjoyed the time free of responsibilities and made the most of it. When Aiden wasn't caring for Babette they played cards, fooling around and getting to know each other. They were fast becoming inseparable and Kimble found himself following Aiden around like a puppy, even climbing into Babette's bed with him when Aiden wanted to be there.

Aiden didn't argue at being confined to one or two rooms, he just did as he was told and was cooperating to keep the peace. Of course, having Kimble's company was a pleasure. He wasn't going to be bored with a new friend to explore and learn so much about.

Back in the testing room, Kimble sat quietly, brushing his fingers across his lips now, that kiss still burning there. Was it really so bad to want Aiden? To use him to kill the time and dull the pain of confinement?

Nope, came a reply from within. It was Zander this time, his voice more powerful than Lin's. Do what ya want with him, he makes ya feel happy. Happy and strong like ya should be. Who cares what anyone thinks? Cain't please them nohow, no matter what ya do, theys always criticizin'. Fuck 'em all. 'Sides, no one said that if ya fuck him, that it means yer gitten married, fer pity's sake. Whatever happened ta jus' havin' a good time?

Kimble smiled then, happy to hear some good news from the Punisher instead of his usual badgering. Yer right. I kin play, jus' that it don' hafta be serious. He's a Siskan, he gots ta understand. Why would he wants ta stay with just me nohow? He could have anabody. He jus' wants ta play with me fer now cuz I'm new. That's it. It's cuz I'm new. We'll play around some and then he'll move on and it will all be safe. Safe.

The thoughts warmed him, and Kimble relaxed, breathing a sigh of relief. It was stupid to always think about permanent things. He of all people knew just how temporary everything was. He could have his fun and walk away.