Hey all!! Here's the next bit of Dreams of an Angel. It's VERY short (the shortest I've ever wrote so far) but it'll have to do for now :) Sorry about that. Any comments and suggestions, well, my email addy is below so you know where to drop the note... and you're welcome to do so! And... of yeah, thanks for all the positive feedback guys and gals. You're the best, and I'll try to keep the show as enjoyable as possible :)
Anyway, onwards to the boring part! Legal matters! Hehehe. You can press 'fast-forward' now.
Well, first of all, this story, as you will certainly find out soon, is TOTALLY fictional. So! If any of you truly believe in it... dude, I'm worried about you. Secondly! None of the guys in the Backstreet Boys are gay! (No matter how hard I wished it :P). But nobody say we couldn't dream it, heh heh. Thirdly, Warren Worthington is actually a character from Marvel Comics, X-men known as Angel or recently Archangel. Okay fine, I admit it. I'm bored and I am making a pathetic attempt to make life a lil' bit interesting. Its not like I'm gonna publish it or something. What else to talk about hmm? Oh, there may be some adult gay scenes in this story. Unlike my brother, I don't mind writing naughty stuff ;) so! If you're underage, naughty, naughty! I can only ask you to go away, but I cannot do anything else to stop you from reading on anyway. Hell! I've been sneaking into the internet to watch gay porns since I was 13! So, if your parents or whoever responsible for you catch you, don't say I didn't warned you. However, if you're homophobic... well maybe I can seduce you enough to turn you around heh heh. I do so love a challenge ;)
Anyway, enough talk. Any comments or boos or suggestion or whatever, just sent it to the same address as in NNTs, goldenknightuk@yahoo.co.uk . Yeah, we shared the same address. Don't ask. Long story.
Okay then! On to the show. Now, don't be shy now. If you got any comments or suggestions, just drop me a note. You do the request, and I'll do the show.
Andy
A wave of cold fear startled Nick awake from his sleep a couple of hours later. Still befuddled from his sleep, he wondered what is happening. Another wave of emotion assaults him - anguish, laced with fear - oh no... not again!
A soft whimper followed by a trashing beside him caused Nick to turn towards Warren in alarm. Looks like the nightmare is back and from the looks of it, it's worst than before.
"Warren," Nick called urgently, gently shaking his shoulder to wake him up. "Warren, wake up!"
"NO! DON'T TOUCH ME! GET AWAY FROM ME!!" Warren shouted in his sleep. The emotional pain and bitterness flared up again into a blast and with Nick unprepared for such assault, it struck Nick's mind full force causing him to yell out in pain and fell backward, off the bed and onto the floor, cradling his head as he did.
Not only did the emotional blast made him lose the grasp of his mind; it also caused him to lose his control over his empathic ability. With his mind thrown into chaos, he inadvertently projected all of the ongoing pain and bitterness to the surroundings.
"Warren..." Nick whimpered as he scrambled up weakly towards the trashing man, his eyes blurred and he barely aware of the tears streaking down his cheeks. This must be the Queen Mother of all nightmares!
The door of his room burst opened as Hank, Logan, Bobby, Jean and Scott rushed in, all expecting an attack. Through the haze of the pain, Nick dimly aware of Logan glaring around the room with three glittering claw extending from both wrists as he search for an enemy. Bobby stood beside him, fully shifted in his ice form.
"Oh, my Stars and Garters..." Hank stammered out as he saw the scene in the room.
"Nick! What happened? Wha..." Scott called out but Warren screamed again in his sleep and the emotional pain intensified, causing Nick to screamed right along Warren. The emotional projection intensified and Bobby, Logan and Scott staggered back in pain.
"Mon Dieu!" Nick barely saw Remy cursing near the door, hand clasping his head. "Turn it off! Turn it off!!"
Beside Remy, Ororo staggered as she helped the professor in. Outside, Rogue and Jubilee staggered where they stood in the corridor. Jubilee is sobbing at the pain and Rogue looks like she's going to cry too. But Nick couldn't stop the emotional projection even if he wanted to. His mind is in chaos and it was a miracle that he could still clings to his sanity.
Jean and the professor, being a well-trained telepath, were unaffected though. Jean was beside Nick in an instant, and Ororo struggled on and brought the professor to sit next to Warren, who is still trashing around.
"Professor, please!" Ororo whispered painfully. "Make it stop!"
"Warren! Warren, wake up!" said the professor firmly, but Warren responded with another heart-rending scream, causing Nick to scream along with him, throwing another burst of emotional pain around the room. Near him, Logan winced and Bobby whimpered, tears streaking from his eyes.
"Do something!" Bobby cried out. Sometime during the confusion, he has somehow shifted back to his human form and is now cradling his head in agony.
"He's trapped within his own emotional storm. There's too much chaos in his mind for me to risk entering it." Said the professor. "Even worst, Nick, you're projecting his pain to everyone, including back to Warren. You're basically feeding it back to him, making the pain worst. You must stop it."
"I... caaaan'ttt!!!!!!" Nick screamed as he desperately tried to stem off the flow of Warren's emotion into his mind. But the raging emotions were too strong. Nick felt like an ant facing a tidal wave.
"There's too much chaos in Nick's mind for me to risk entering it too, professor." Jean said breathlessly as she cradled Nick's head gently.
"Warren is not responding to me!" The professor muttered in frustration. At that moment, Warren's body suddenly began to convulse.
"He's... going into convulsion!" Hank shouted as he tried to hold Warren down. "Rogue! Fly to the medlab and get the medical kit, NOW!!"
"The feedback is too much for his mind to bear! Ororo, help me get to Nick, quickly!" said the professor urgently as he struggles with his wheelchair to get to the other side of the bed.
"What about Warren??" Said Bobby cried out in panic at seeing his best friend's agony.
"Professor..." Nick stammered weakly as the strain in his mind began to threaten him to pass out.
"Nick, Jean and I will enter your mind and try to stem the flow. Once we do that, you must use your empathic link to calm him down. I will guide you if you don't know how to do it. But we must hurry. If Warren's mind is overwhelmed, he'll go into coma and there's no telling when he will wakes up. Quickly!"
Fighting desperately to control the chaos, Nick vaguely felt Jean and the professor's presence inside his mind.
'Nick,' Jean's telepathic voice pierced through the chaos.
'Jean!!! Help!!!' Nick mentally cried out as he fought.
'I'm in now, Nick, and so is the professor.' Jean answered back.
'The emotional chaos is too wild, Nick,' the professor strained voice appeared. 'We need to do it together. On my mark, exert all of your mental strength and stem the tide. Ready? One... Two... Three... NOW!!!'
Closing his eyes tightly and gritting his teeth, Nick poured all of his mental strength and will to stem the chaos and clear his mind. Alone, he knew he has no chance against the wild outpouring of emotional chaos, but together with Jean and the professor, the surge slowly receded, but didn't disappear altogether.
'Now, Nick. I will guide you to regain control of your empathy and stop your emotional projection.' The professor continues to instruct. 'Just do what I instruct and don't tarry. Time is growing short.'
'Hurry, Nick.' Jean said shakily. 'I don't think I can hold the chaos off for long!'
Following the professor's guidance, Nick quickly willed himself to stop the projection. In the room, he could hear Bobby, Scott and Hank giving a collective sigh of relief.
'Good. Now, I will guide you to use your empathic link reach out into Warren's mind. You must use it like a siphon to draw off the excess negative emotions into yours. Ignore it as it enters your mind. Don't worry of it overwhelming your mind. Your vast empathic potential should be more than enough to act as a sufficient emotional buffer. If it's not enough, Jean and I will use our telepathic abilities to buffer any excess surge.'
'Nick...' Jean's shaky voice appeared again.
'Jean is losing control. We must hurry. Follow my direction, Nick.' The professor urged and Nick quickly complied.
Again, under Xavier's guidance, Nick reached out empathically through the link into Warren's mind. He knew how to do this part because he remembered doing it before going to sleep, sharing his feelings of contentment and warmth with Warren.
As soon as he touched Warren's mind, a burst of emotional chaos greeted him, causing him to gasp.
'Now let it flow through the link, Nick.' The professor's voice appeared again. 'You can use the link to control the amount of emotions flowing through it, and I suggest you use it. That way, you can control its entry into your mind instead of dealing with it all at one time.'
Struggling hard to control himself, Nick adjusted the link and allowed the emotions flow through it in a steady stream. Instead of releasing it into the surroundings like last time, he followed the professor's instruction and used his own empathic potential to buffer the excess. At least that way, he will not run the risk of projecting it to someone else's mind.
'It's working, Nick. The tide is receding.' Jean's relieved voice appeared suddenly and it was then Nick became aware of the emotional tide becoming less and less.
'Steady now, Nick.' Xavier spoke gently. 'Keep it flowing steadily.'
"The convulsion stopped," Nick suddenly heard Hank spoke softly. "His vitals are returning to normal... he's not in coma, thank God. He's coming around."
'Keep it steady, Nick.' Xavier continues to guide him.
After several minutes, exhaustion finally crashes upon Nick, causing his focus to slip. Luckily by that time, Warren's mind was already calm and in control. Withdrawing his empathy, Nick sighed out in relief and finally realized that he is lying on the floor with his head resting on Jean's lap. He gazed up tiredly only to see Jean smiling at him proudly.
"You did it, Nick. Warren's awake." She said softly as she stroke his hair that has been matted with sweat.
"That's good, Jean," Nick whispered out as fatigue finally caught up with him. Slowly, he let himself fall into unconsciousness. "I'm... glad."
"Bobby?" Warren's voice rasped out in confusion. "Hank? S... Scott?"
"Relax, my friend. You've just been through hell and back." Hank smiled as he checked Warren's vitals again.
"Hey, buddy. How're you feeling?" Bobby smiled as he quickly wiped away his tear.
"What happened? Why are you crying?" said Warren groggily. "Why is everyone here? Professor?"
"You had a nightmare again, Warren." Said Xavier. "Nick tried to wake you up, but your... pain... overwhelmed him, causing him to lose control and ended up projecting your pain all over the mansion."
Warren's face paled at that explanation.
"Warren, I... I knew you had nightmares but... but I never thought it was that... that... bad." Bobby whispered.
Warren was speechless. He looked around only to see guilt in everyone's eyes. Logan, Storm and Remy avoided his gaze silently, while Rogue fidgeted uncomfortably where she stood. Bobby and Hank looked at him with sympathy in their eyes and that alone is enough to make his blood boil.
"I don't need your pity." He spat out angrily as he sat on his bed.
"Warren..." said Scott but Warren quickly cut him off.
"I meant to keep it to myself, Scott. None of you were supposed to see this! I made a mistake in accepting Apocalypse's offer in the past, and I am still being punished for it. Leave me and my punishment alone."
"Is that...?" Scott stared at him in shock.
"But Warren, that was years ago! We've long forgiven you for it..." said Jean but she trailed off when Warren looked at Nick.
"Nick?" Warren whispered in horror. "What... what happened to him? WHAT HAPPENED TO HIM?"
With one flap of his wings, he flew towards Nick, pushing Jean away to cradle Nick in his arm.
"Nick?" He called out gently. He looked up as the professor put a hand on his shoulder.
"The emotional strain was too strong even for him. He's just unconscious. He'll be all right. Just let him rest."
"It's my fault." Warren whispered bitterly. "Damn those nightmares! He was only trying to help. It was all my fault."
"Warren..." Hank began but Warren interrupted him curtly.
"Get out, Hank. Everyone get out. I'll look after him." Said Warren.
"Wings..." said Bobby but again, Warren interrupted him.
"I said go!"
"Maybe it's better to leave them alone to calm down." Said the professor.
"But, sir..." Hank protested.
"Nick is medically well, Hank. He merely overstrained himself. He is not fully trained to use his empathy to such great extent just yet. A good rest is all he needs and he can do that better here rather than shuffling him all the way to the medical lab. I trust you will look after him till he wakes up, Warren?"
"Yes, sir."
"Good. We'll see you in the morning then."
With that the professor wheeled himself out of the room with Storm, followed by the others. Jean paused before Warren and gently grasped his shoulder before following Scott out. Bobby stopped next to him after the others left.
"We'll talk in the morning, Wings." He spoke firmly.
"Bobby..."
"In the morning." Bobby said forcefully in a voice that brooks no nonsense. "We've been best friends since the very beginning. We are always there for each other. Have that changed, Wings?"
Warren picked up Nick unconscious form and gently laid him on the bed.
"In the morning." Warren whispered at last.