xp_logs | Amanda and Nathan, Wednesday late morning

Amanda goes looking for Nathan to ask him about the dreams she and Manuel have been sharing. Nathan reassures her that it's probably a natural side-effect of the link, but gets a little tense when she brings up talking to Marie-Ange about Manuel's dream of the future. Finally realizing that she wants to talk about it, he asks her about the dream and her role in it. She shares it with him telepathically, and the Askani have what could charitably be described as a 'screaming fit'.

He was halfway down the stairs when he lost patience. "To hell with it," Nathan growled, levitating himself into the air and downwards. He was doing quite well with the walking--okay, so 'quite well' meant 'not falling over more than every fifteen steps or so', but still, it was an improvement. The stairs were still a fucking pain in the ass, though.

Reaching the bottom, he smiled slightly as he sensed Amanda approaching from down the hall. Carefully, he lowered himself back to the ground, and was standing on his own two feet by the time she appeared.

She wasn't fooled by his innocent look. "Yer've been up t' somethin'," she said with a smile, since the Innocent Look was so very cute. Besides, she wasn't up for another altercation, and she really wanted to talk to him about the dream thing. It was getting disturbing.

Nathan shrugged with his good shoulder. "Cheating a little," he confessed, a bit out of breath. "Still having trouble with the stairs, so I flew down." He studied her for a moment, glad to see she looked marginally more rested, but knowing full well what that look in her eyes meant. "You want to talk," he said. "Let's find someplace to sit down?"

"I'll let you off, this once. Don't let me catch you doin' it again, mind. An' that's one of the benefits of knowin' a telepath, you don't have t' go through all that explanation stuff," Amanda said with a wry grin. "There ain't anyone in the rec room right now - everyone's remembered they still have finals, I think - that ain't too far for you?"

"I'll consider it penance for cheating." He was touched to see that she matched her pace to his as they made their way towards the rec room, but by the time they were there he was more than ready to sit down. "So," he said, lifting his broken leg up onto the couch with a wince. "What's up?"

Amanda curled into the battered armchair next to the couch that she'd pretty much claimed as her own, tucking her legs underneath her, heedless of her boots on the upholstery - it wasn't like she could damage it any further, any way. "There's been somethin' happenin', with Manny. Somethin' weird. An' I figured I should talk t' you about it, since yer've done it yerself..." Seeing him frown slightly at her vagueness, she sighed and said it straight out. "Manny an' me have been sharin' each other's dreams. Not just the feelin's, but the dreams 'emselves. Like we were in each other's heads."

"It must be contagious," Nathan murmured, leaning back against the cushions. Amanda gave him a questioning look, and Nathan explained. "Moira and I have been doing it for the last few nights, too. It's the link, I'm sure. With any sort of link, the connection is tighter when it needs to be." Nathan smiled faintly up at her. "Suspect all four of us are a little needy this week."

"That's one way of puttin' it," she said wryly, remembering how she'd collapsed on Nate on Monday, and how Manuel had been reluctant for her to leave his side that same morning, after his nightmare. "But... Manny ain't a telepath. His powers don't work that way." She squirmed a little. "I think I might have done somethin'."

"Entirely possible," Nathan said easily. "You have magical telekinesis, Amanda... why not magical telepathy?" He stopped, frowning a little. "Unless the dreams are bothering you, in which case it isn't a good thing."

"Strange was showin' me ways of dealin' with the dreams I get, involvin' openin' a door an' walkin' away from 'em," she explained. "'Cept I think I walked into Manny's head instead. But it makes sense - a lot of the stuff Strange has been gettin' me t' do is the more psychic side of things, stuff he's into. The auras an' shielding an' all that." She chewed on her thumbnail as she thought. "It don't bother me, exactly... well, the dream of Manny's I walked into did, but not bein' able t' do it. I was just hopin' I hadn't done somethin' dangerous, like makin' the link in the first place."

"I don't think it can be anything dangerous," Nathan said after a moment. "The connection is there - if this deepens it, then it deepens it. Links have a tendency to do that naturally over time, anyway." He paused, thinking about how much more complex his link with Moira had become in such a short time.

Amanda looked relieved. "'M glad - I didn't want t'have gotten us into another mess." She considered what he'd said, what had happened last night. "An' it is helpin', sorta. This dream of Manny's... well, it made things a lot clearer 'bout what happened with Marie-Ange. a couple of months ago. I need t' talk t'her about it, but I ain't sure when. She's a bit... y'know."

"We precogs are vaguely frightening people," Nathan said, then couldn't help a faint, wry smile as he reflected that he wasn't really a precog anymore. "I could broach the subject with Angie, if you want. See if she'd be willing to talk to you."

"Nah, 's not like that at all - I was helpin' her with her powers, back when I first got here, seein' how I was the only person who knew anything about the card thing. I meant more she's takin' this whole clone thing really hard. I don't want t' upset her any more'n she is already. An' since it's about Manuel an'this power sharing thing they did, it will." Amanda hesitated, then decided it was better to talk about it. Especially to Nate, since he knew all about working to stop future events. "When they crossed...she got his powers, an' he got hers. An' that's what he's been havin' nightmares about. His future."

"Amanda," Nathan said, knowing that he probably shouldn't say what he was about to say, but unable to help himself, "that's a very bad euphemism. What happened between Manuel and Marie-Ange was not in the same galaxy as 'sharing'." He paused for a moment, and then went on. "She may not be able to help. If it's a vision he had when he... when that connection was made, she might not be able to add anything."

"Well, sorry if I ain't up on psionic etiquette," Amanda said acidly, worrying at her thumbnail again. "An' I know she probably won't be able t' help, 's why I ain't talked t' her yet. Well, that an' she's been asleep a lot. But not knowin' what happened is botherin' her, an' Manuel ain't ever gunna say 'cause the whole thing scares the piss out of him. But I know now, an' I can tell her. An' I can ask her..." She hesitated, eyes clouded with worry and fear. "I can ask her if it can be changed. If somethin' can be done t' stop it."

"Eti--" Nathan cut himself off, wrestling for control and managing to go on in a more normal tone. The Askani were growling at the back of his mind, which didn't help. "She and I have talked about what happened," he said. "It might help for me to be there if you two are going to have this conversation. She's a little more comfortable talking about her precognition to me."

"Fine. Like I said, I don't want t' upset her any more 'n she is. I know not knowin' pisses her off." Amanda finally caught onto Nathan's mood and frowned. "What? What did I do?"

No. No, no, no, no and no. She didn't need to have him shove it in her face that her boyfriend was capable of psychic rape. "You didn't," Nathan said with a sigh. "It's not important. But I think it would definitely be best if I came to talk to Angie with you."

She wasn't fooled. "I already said that was fine," she said, face closing off. "As long as Frenchie's fine with it, I'm fine." She started to uncurl herself from the chair. "I should go - I still have that Art project t' finish off an' some readin' from Strange t' get done."

"I might know some lucid dreaming techniques Strange doesn't," Nathan offered, relieved she was going to let it go. "If it continues to be a problem, I could try and teach them to you. They're psi-specific, but if you're mimicking telepathy anyway..."

"Yeah, I'm the teep you have when you ain't got a teep," she said wryly. "But that'd help - it ain't a bother, but he ain't been sleepin' that well since Sunday, an' if he doesn't, I don't. An' fuck knows I need anyone else on me back about lookin' after meself. Strange enlisted half the fuckin' staff, practically." There was a tightness to her body language, something that screamed she didn't really want to go just yet, but she'd dropped enough hints about what the dream had been about that had gone unanswered, and there were limits. And he was still in pain, she could see that. "You want me t' get you anythin', help you get anywhere?" she asked at last.

"Well," Nathan said with a ghost of a smile, "you can tell me, before you go, what you saw about Manuel's future. And yours." Amanda stared down at him, and he shrugged with his good shoulder. "Since you were waiting for me to ask."

~Smartarse telepath,~ she thought at him very deliberately as she sat down again. "Why'd you make me go through all those hoops if you knew what was botherin'me?" she asked.

"Wasn't intentionally playing with you," Nathan said with a sigh, the words coming out more weary-sounding than he'd intended. "I'm still... having a little trouble focusing, on and off. And you hit a button with Angie." Before she could query him further on that, he went on. "If you want to tell me about the dream, I'm listening."

Guilt flashed across her face at how tired he sounded - and looked. "You ain't the only one. Place is a mess after the other day," she said. "No-one's sleepin' much, an' we've got pillocks like Shiro thinkin' it's some sort of carnival ride." She shook her head with irritation and went on. "I can't tell you, not properly. 'S a bit much t' ask, I know, but can you pull it out of me head?" She didn't need to say she trusted him - that was implicit in the request.

Nathan swallowed, part of him pointing out that he really wasn't up to this, but he ignored it and nodded. Sensing Amanda open her mind, he reached out, as gently as he could, taking the images she offered up to him.

A chair. Gems, glimmering.

Manuel. Old, fearfully changed. Tormented?

Faces, minds he knew. Twisted, warped, nothing left of their former selves.

Amanda, older, harder. Standing in front of Manuel, defying him as his eyes flashed red...

And Nathan clutched at his head with a moan as the Askani started to scream at him. Psis and seers, joining their voices in horror and fury and denial. #Stop it... STOP IT!# he shouted back at them, but their cries only rose in pitch, in anger.

Fire exploded out of that starry sky, fire that took the all too familiar shape of a bird and swept over his thoughts, trying to smash him downwards into unconsciousness. But he held on stubbornly, fighting her for control, even as his telekinesis shivered outwards uncontrollably, shaking everything in the rec room.

"Bloody hellfire!" Amanda was out of her chair and kneeling on the floor in front of the couch without thinking, grabbing his hands (careful of the one belonging to the broken shoulder), the same as she'd done back when his visions were out of control. At the same time she closed off her mind, slamming up a shield as she'd been taught in Psionics class. "Nate, can you hear me? Come back t' me here, old man, or Moira's gunna kill me..."

He felt Askani's rage, heard Amanda's yelp as his hands suddenly tightened on hers. "Vasilia'haya!" Askani snarled, using his voice, and he seemed to be seeing everything through a fiery haze. "Not permitted! Luya vahulka, a young destroyer - he changes or he dies, mi'savra! Love is not enough - not for this!"

The power, the energy sweeping through Nate triggered her own, and Amanda's vision was filled with the image of fiery wings, great burning claws that held her hands in a fierce yet careful grasp. 'This ain't Nate,' she realised, and anger welled up in her. "Then show me what t' do!" she demanded fiercely. "Help him, instead of writin' him off like every other bastard in his life! I ain't gunna let him go, any more 'n you'd let Nate go!"

"Then CHANGE HIM!" Askani growled back at her with his voice. "Ensure he listens, force him to listen, before he becomes a threat that must be ended!"

#You stop that or you can GET RIGHT THE HELL OUT OF MY MIND!# Nathan screamed, battering at Askani, trying to break the connection. She resisted, hissing at him for a moment, before she retreated, and he sagged, another groan escaped him.

"Fuck... fucking pushy bitch," he rasped as Askani snarled at him from the back of his mind. Still trembling, Nathan swallowed hard, raising his eyes to meet Amanda's. "Hell of a first introduction for the two of you," he said hoarsely, trying to catch his breath. "I'm sorry."

Her hands were shaking, but with shock or fear or anger, she couldn't say. "What is it... with you an'... pushy women?" she asked at last, between gasps. With a visible effort, she pulled herself together. "You all right?"

"Going to go be... sick after we finish our conversation, I think," Nathan muttered, freeing one of his hands from Amanda's and rubbing his eyes. "They... don't seem to be able to remember their manners, when the provocation's bad enough." He met Amanda's eyes bleakly. "That was a hell of a dream," he said somberly. "I don't know whether they recognized something, but they're still screaming in the back of my head. Not making much sense, either."

"Yeah, well, the bit that did make sense wasn't exactly helpful either. What does she think I'm doin'? If I knew what t' do, I'd just bloody well do it." Amanda sat back on her feet, pulling her hand free of Nate's and running both through her hair. "None of the girls at me old schools ever had this kind of trouble with their boyfriends," she sighed. "An' t' think when all this started it was just about a bit of fun. Now look at me - I've got people who ain't bloody well born yet bullyin' me t' make sure he don't end up destroyin' the world as we know it."

Nathan rubbed at the back of his neck, squeezing his eyes shut for a moment and pleading with the Askani to calm down. They quieted, a little, and he swallowed at a sudden surge of nausea.

"We'll... sort it out, Amanda," he said wearily. "For the best. They do know how to help him, and I promised them I'd try. Askani's little berserk episode doesn't change that."

"Yeah, well, if the whole thought of him turnin' out like that is so scary for 'em, then it'd be in their best interests t' try," Amanda said darkly. "Instead of carryin' on an' makin' you sick." If she had known it, she looked very like that older dream-image of herself just then. "An' I ain't givin' up on him, no matter what anyone else says, and that goes for that bitch in yer head."

"I know... I know you're not," Nathan said heavily, his stomach still churning. "I won't, either. I promise..." He froze as some of the screaming Askani went silent, then started to whisper to him, explaining. Askani herself was still thrashing around in that inward starry sky, her firebird-self bouncing back and forth between the stars, snarling and crying... crying? He tried to ignore her, to listen to them... "I... don't think they really mean to, either," he said distantly. "Luya vahulka... it's a story of theirs, about redeeming the lost..." Askani shrieked suddenly, and Nathan's head jerked backwards as one fiery wing smashed across his thoughts. "Ohhh," he growled as the throbbing in his head jumped upwards several levels of intensity. "That was just damned petty, big sister..." But she was gone, vanished back into the stars, and he sighed, wiping the trickle of blood away from his nose and giving Amanda a faint, shaky smile. "They're dead and cranky," he told her. "But they do know how to help Manuel. They wanted to already, I think the dream just... scared them."

"This... Askani? of yers is really not makin' herself any more popular with me," Amanda said, digging through her pockets until she found a battered tissue and handed it to him. "An' if they're scared, how do they think I feel? Knowin' that all this might be down t' me doin' somethin', or not doin' somethin', or not tryin' hard enough, not bein' able t' show him I..." Her hands started shaking again, and she clenched them into fists. "When they settle down an' she can talk t' me without breakin' yer brain, I wanna know this story. I have t' know what t' do." She looked up at Nate, face determined. "I ain't lettin' that happen to him, not without a fight."

"I know. I know you won't, and I'll help, I promise," Nathan said awkwardly, reaching out and laying a hand on her shoulder. The movement made his head spin and his stomach start churning again, and he gritted his teeth. "Right now, though, I think I need to go throw up..."