Waking Nightmares|NewScapeSquad Fanfic

Unsure

Nick strained to turn his head towards the direction of the voice. UNi stood a few feet away with wide eyes. The British male immediately noticed the latter's brown eye. He stepped forward, his legs threatening to give out from stress. Ashlie slowly lifted her eyelids and focused on the male. "UNi..." She whispered. "Ashlie." UNi responded, dropping to his knees. His large brown eyes were wild with fear. Nick cast his eyes away from the male.

He wanted to say something to make the situation more understandable, but judging by the male's expression, he'd blow everything out of proportion. UNi seemed to have frozen in place, noticing the female's blood-stained sweater. "Nick, what did you do...?" He asked. He opened his mouth to respond, but no words came. How could he explain his confused state to the clearly frightened male?

"UNi, where's Tommy?" Ashlie asked while Nick was distracted. She weakly pulled his hands away from her throat and held them tightly. Nick looked at her in surprise. Her grip was surprisingly strong for her weakened state. "Tommy..." He started, his voice cracking. "Tommy, sent me to get you guys. He said the Siren was toying with him." He finished unsteadily. Ashlie's blue eyes widened in horror. "She was right, Nick..." She whispered. "Of course she was right." The strange voice that belonged to the puppet Nick responded.

Nick squeezed her hands lightly, closing his eyes. "Ashlie." He spoke calmly when he gained control of his vocal cords again. The female focused her blue gaze on the brunette. "Yes Nick?" She asked. "I need you to kiss me." He replied. UNi and Ashlie's eyes widened. "K-Kiss you? Why?" She whispered as if she had no breath. "I need to gain enough control to help you and Cory..." The male responded, opening his eyes. The blue eye seemed to be flickering as if a strobe light was trying to change color.

UNi started to say something, but quickly stopped when Ashlie slammed her lips onto Nick's with an odd gentleness for her rush. Nick returned the kiss without a moment's hesitation, closing his eyes again. Ashlie unwound one of their hands and moved hers to the back of Nick's head. He kept his hand still and slowly pulled away, opening his eyes. The blue still lingered in one of his eyes, but it was faint. "Did you get that med-pack, UNi?" He asked hurriedly, getting straight to business while he had control. UNi quickly handed the material to his friend and sat anxiously as the male cleaned and bandaged Ashlie's wound and moved to Cory's wound to clean it with water.

Cory groaned as Nick dabbed at the red stitches. He seemed to be coming out of one of his fever dreams, although his eyes didn't open. Ashlie closed her eyes as well, trying to catch her breath. She was still in shock over kissing Nick, the real Nick. She thought of the other Nick and suppressed a shudder. He had always seemed to have a strange expression on his face when he had seen her. It bothered her thinking that he would have been willing to sexually attack her if he had really wanted to.

Nick glanced over at UNi. "You're going to have to help Ashlie walk. I'm going with you to help Tommy while I still can." He spoke. UNi nodded mutely. He seemed to note at the same time as the ginger that he kept referring to himself as if he were losing to a disease. Ashlie forced her eyes open and looked over at Cory, who rested easily. The water had seemed to help the aggravation of the stitches, but it was clear the infection wasn't just going to fix itself immediately.

UNi helped his female friend stand and she leaned against him to support herself. The male bent to pick up her body, but she shook her head. "I can walk, just help me." She responded to his confused expression. He nodded. "Are you going to be able to walk that far?" He asked. "I'm sure I can, and if I can't, that is when you can pick me up." She said, biting her lip. She hated showing how weak she was, especially in this situation.

Nick hefted Cory onto his back and released a sigh. "Let's go. Grab the med-pack, UNi." He spoke without hesitation. UNi did as he was told and helped Ashlie walk along behind Nick, letting her use his right shoulder to support herself, offering his arm if she lost balance. The group moved silently, a hint of tension in the air. Nick was fine for now, but how long until the Siren gained control again?

Nick seemed to sense the question hanging in the air and turned his head to look at the two. "I'm fine right now, I promise. The Siren's influence is the least of our problems currently." He replied, his mouth twitching slightly. "It is a big problem, Nick. What if you lose control and attack us? Tommy won't be able to help us and Cory is clearly out of commission." UNi argued lightly, his tone worried. Ashlie nodded silently.

"I won't let it happen. I'm helping Tommy." He cut in sharply. Ashlie pursed her lips and remained silent. "It isn't going to be that easy, Nick..." She thought in response. UNi glanced over at his companion with a frown.

"How much further, UNi?" Nick asked. "It's just ahead. When you hear a generator, we're nearby." He responded, looking at his surroundings. The trio quieted and listened for the familiar hum of the generator. Within a few feet, they heard it. UNi moved ahead of Nick and led the rest of the way to the metallic object.

Tommy was leaned against the generator, his eyes closed and his breath fast. His hands were tightly clenched on his head, and his features were contorted in pain. "Tommy!" Ashlie exclaimed, hurrying over to him and tripping at his feet. She released a few quick breaths before moving over to him. Tommy opened his eyes with an extreme effort. The blue she hated so much was speckling his eyes and practically changing their color.

"Ash!" He gasped breathlessly. She placed a hand on his left knee comfortingly. "We're here to help." She spoke. UNi moved over next to Ashlie and smiled at Tommy. "How's it going, friend?" He asked. "I could be..." He grimaced. "Better."  Nick carefully set Cory down on the ground and walked over to Tommy.

Tommy glanced up and noticed Nick. "Why are you here?" He ground out between clenched teeth. Nick smiled his sweet, gentle smile. The blond blinked, finally noticing his eye color. "You're-You're actually Nick..." He mumbled in disbelief. "How?" Nick squatted next to his friend. "It's a long story, I'll tell you later." He answered. Tommy nodded, closing his mouth as a fresh wave of pain washed over him.

"How do we stop this?" Ashlie asked. She looked over to Nick for an answer,noticing him clench his left hand into a tight fist. "We have to do something that will break the influence." He replied after a slight hesitation. UNi shook his head, his blue hair moving. "How do we do that?" He asked. "Think of something that will either surprise or shock him to the point that the influence will be severed." Nick responded.

"How about I kick his ass?" A familiar male voice asked angrily, causing Tommy's eyes to widen in shock.