Chapter 3: Big Pretty Bubble
(Gertrude has his moment. Nick does too.)

Kevin screamed in pain and surprise as a physical wall of energy sprung up around Lance's body, flinging him violently away. Almost without thinking, he unleashed the Creature, just before his body hit the wall. The Creature grunted at the impact, and there was a loud crack as its scaly body shook apart the wall. Scorched plaster rained down on its head and it bellowed, jumping to its feet and leaping toward the thing that had tried to hurt it—Lance.

Deep inside his mind, Kevin shouted in alarm, but the shield just swelled at the contact and threw the Creature away even more violently than it had the first time. The Creature screeched in pain as it hit the wall again, and would have tried a second time had Kevin not seized control of its limbs and spoken sharply to it.

" Stop that! Calm down!"

It growled in frustration, fighting uselessly against Kevin's dominance.

"No! Hey—" Kevin stopped and gritted his teeth. "Gertrude!"

"Ungh?" The Creature stopped fighting upon hearing its name, and listened.

"Okay, fine," Kevin sighed, finally resigning himself to his alter-ego's chosen moniker. "Gertrude, listen to me. That thing over there is Lance. Our friend, Lance. He's in trouble, do you understand? You have to run and get help."

"Ah-Gee?" Gertrude asked.

"Yes, find AJ. Get help."

Kevin released his hold, and Gertrude turned away from Lance and ran.

~*~

Justin heard a scream and stopped short, grabbing Joey's arm. "Kevin and Lance are in trouble. I just heard both of them scream!"

Joey's face paled. "Where?"

"They're...." Justin strained his ears to pinpoint the sounds. "I can't tell! Dammit, the sound bounces around in here too much!"

"Come on, let's find the others." Joey scooped Justin up into his arms and took off in a super-powered run without waiting for a response. He came upon AJ, Nick, and Chris within seconds. "Guys, Kevin and Lance are in trouble," he said, in lieu of a greeting. "Justin heard them scream."

"Oh, no," Nick breathed, eyes widening in alarm. "Where?"

"I don't know," Justin answered, thumping Joey on the chest to be put down. "I couldn't pinpoint the noises." He paused, then pointed toward a corridor just ahead. "But Gertrude's coming this way, and fast!"

Before he even finished speaking, Gertrude skidded around the corner and barreled toward them, screeching to a halt just in front of a startled AJ.

"Ah-Gee! Bi'wah! Lanmay wah! Tho' Gertrude! Kevsay RUN!" The words came out terribly garbled, the large, scaly arms gesturing madly.

"What?" Nick asked.

Gertrude seemed to sigh in annoyance and began to shrink. The green scales faded away until Kevin stood in the Creature's place, glowering at them. "He said, 'AJ, big wall. Lance make wall. Throw Gertrude. Kev say run.' Okay?"

"Oh," AJ nodded. "Right. Lead the way."

~*~

The wall of energy had become a large, crackling sphere surrounding Lance. Light danced across its surface, the crumpled body within it only barely visible.

"It repels contact," Kevin explained, gesturing at the shield. "It threw both me and Gertrude away like it was swatting flies. Hurts, too. Feels like little needles, all over."

JC shuddered violently and took three steps back.

"What happened?" Welsh asked curtly, walking slowly around the shield, careful not to touch it.

"I don't know. He came straight to this room without saying a word, and then he sort of... sagged. Said it was their room. The next thing I knew, he screamed and that wall jumped up and walloped me."

"Something's got him trapped in there?" Marks asked fearfully, looking wildly around the room.

"No," Brian answered grimly. "He's got himself trapped in there. Or rather, he's got us trapped out here."

"He's protecting himself from something," Chris realized, drawing his brows together. "But what?"

"Lance?" Justin called, trying to keep his voice calm. "Can you hear me? It's us, Lance, we want to come in!" He stepped forward slowly, reaching a hand toward the shield. "I'm coming toward you, Lance, okay? Please don't smite me. It's me, Justin. I just want to help. Let me in, please?"

Everyone watched with bated breath as Justin continued steadily forward, still speaking in a calm, soothing voice. His hand came into contact with the shield.

"Ow!" He yanked his hand away, shaking it and blowing on his stinging fingers.

"Well, at least he didn't smite you," AJ said helpfully. Justin glared at him.

Joey and Chris tried next, each with the same result. Then, they all looked to JC.

"Oh, no." JC took another step backward. "No way, guys, come on!"

"JC," Justin whined, "It's Lance! You have to!"

"But.... But.... Needles!"

"You shouldn't have said needles," Nick said to Kevin in a loud whisper. "You should have said toothpicks, or something."

"Thanks," Kevin answered dryly. "I'll remember that for next time."

"It's not really needles," Chris was saying reasonably. "See? It's a big, pretty bubble. You like bubbles."

"What am I, five?" JC crossed his arms and glared. "No!"

"'C...." Joey smiled kindly at him. "Please? For Lance?"

JC deflated, his eyes flickering over the unmoving form behind the shield. "I hate you all."

"We hate you, too," Joey responded lovingly, and patted him on the shoulder.

JC took one more step back and lowered himself to the floor, crossing his legs Indian style and breathing deeply, eyes closed.

"What's he doing?" Welsh asked, confused.

"Meditating," Joey answered. "He really hates nee—uh... you-know-whats. He's trying to calm himself down so he can face his fear."

"Huh. Does that work?"

"Works for him," Joey shrugged.

Welsh hummed thoughtfully.

JC opened his eyes and unfolded his legs fluidly, getting to his feet all in one smooth motion.

"Niiiice," AJ murmured. Nick smacked him. "What? That was cool, man. You think he'd teach me?"

"Lance, it's me, JC" JC crooned softly. "I know you're hurt and scared, but we need to get close to you to help. I want to help you, okay?" The energy field seemed to ripple as JC stepped closer. "That's it. I'm going to try to come in, Lance, okay? Please let me in."

JC took a deep breath and stepped through the shield.

~*~

Lance was trapped in a whirlwind of rage and madness. Where Kevin's presence had been like a blanket, the rage was like hundreds of stinging wasps all over his body, and starving maggots burrowing through his brain and under his skin.

He felt raw and exposed, every emotion magnified to ten times its normal intensity. He could feel people all around him—frightened, angry people whose harsh emotions abraded him and flayed away his skin. He repelled them as best he could, ignoring their pain and frustration.

But suddenly there was a spot of light amidst all of the chaos. It was a warm, calm, and soothing presence, and it was coming closer. Cautiously, he relaxed his protections and let it in, and it came to him, enveloping him in warmth and comfort.

Lance opened his eyes.

~*~

"JC...?" Lance's voice was soft and hoarse, his green eyes pained and confused.

JC smiled at him as the energy field slowly dissolved around them. "Yes. It's okay now, Lance, no one's going to hurt you."

Justin, Joey, and Chris cautiously stepped forward, surrounding the pair huddled on the floor. Lance cringed away from them, but JC shushed him and held him tight. "It's just us, Lance, try to relax. We just want to help."

Lance closed his eyes, visibly fighting to calm himself. "I...." He cleared his throat. "I know."

"What happened?" Justin asked quietly.

"I got.... I felt them all. Here. 128 is...." Lance shuddered. "He...." He lifted clenched hands to his temples, pulling at his hair. "It feels like worms.... Crawling in my brain!"

JC gently pulled his hands away. "You can get rid of it, Lance. Burn it away. It's not part of you, you know that. You can't catch insanity like a virus. You can drive it away."

"It's in me!" Lance whimpered, fighting him.

"No," JC answered firmly but calmly. "It's not."

"Use us, man," Joey begged, reaching out a hand but stopping just short of touching him. "If you don't feel strong enough by yourself, use us."

"We're hurting you, aren't we?" Chris asked suddenly, scooting backwards. "You're wide open and we're all angry and scared. It's painful for you."

Lance nodded hesitantly.

"Okay. So, if we can calm down, will you let us help? Could you use our energy, then?"

Another slow nod. "Yes. Please...."

"Close your eyes," JC said to the three of them. "Try to relax your body, and breathe deeply. Don't try to empty your mind, it won't work. Just concentrate on breathing. If you have to think—Chris—just think of something pleasant and soothing. Imagine yourself in a field of dandelions, or... whatever. You'll know when you're ready."

They were all quiet for a few moments. Joey was the first to reach out for Lance, doing so confidently, without ever opening his eyes. Lance stiffened when Joey's hand touched him, but relaxed almost immediately, some of the frown lines between his eyes smoothing away.

"That's it," JC encouraged him softly. "Let them help, too. It's not a part of you, Lance, you just got caught up in it for a little while. It'll be gone, soon."

Justin was next, a lot more hesitant that Joey, but it paid off as Lance accepted his touch easily. They all waited a few moments longer for Chris, but he shook his head and stood quickly, stalking away.

"I can't do it," he mumbled shortly, voice clipped. "Sorry."

"It's okay," Brian said quietly, reassuringly. "He knows you want to help. That's enough."

Chris just scowled at the wall, then walked stiffly from the room.

~*~

Chris had gone three corridors up and five corridors down, Nick discovered, taking full advantage of his mostly unused X-ray vision. It would take several minutes to reach him, as the hallways were long and twisting, but Nick walked slowly anyway, using the time to try to gather his thoughts.

Until only a few moments before, he had been planning to speak with the others and ask if maybe NSync should handle this one on their own. Not because he was scared—although if he were to be honest with himself, he really was—but because to involve themselves would only cause unnecessary pain to 169.

Nick felt a strange kinship with the clone that had very little to do with its borrowed DNA. He had never been through anything as horrible as what 169 had already experienced, thank God, but he did understand fear and loneliness. For awhile there, after he'd started work on his solo album, it had seemed as though fulfilling that dream would mean losing his closest friends. Of course, if he had just picked up the phone and called one of them, he would have known from the start that everything was okay, but that would have been too easy. In any case, until Howie had called him and set him straight, he had been beside himself, nearing the panic attack stage and contemplating blowing off the whole solo album idea, even if it meant going bankrupt after Jive sued his pathetic ass.

And, yeah, maybe that didn't compare at all with 169's experiences, but still. Loneliness, he understood. And fear. Boy, did he know fear. Fear of the unknown, fear of failure, fear of abandonment. Nick had almost lost Brian years ago, due to a defective heart, and he could still remember the paralyzing fear and pain he'd felt, knowing that there was absolutely nothing he could do to help. The ghost of that same pain still echoed, sometimes, causing his eyes to tear up and his heart to pound in remembered horror. 169 had lost his friend, permanently. Nick was afraid to imagine how that felt.

Nick wrenched his thoughts back to the present. Lance's experience had proven just how dangerous 128 really was. He knew now that there was no way he could even suggest letting NSync do this by themselves. What if something happened to one of them because they didn't have the backup they needed? He wasn't entirely sure that he could be of any help, short of playing decoy for 169, and he really didn't want to do that. Did he really have it in him to be so cruel? It would be like taunting 169 with everything he had lost. Maybe he could wear a mask? No, that was dumb. Nick only barely resisted the urge to smack himself in the forehead.

There was a flare of light and heat up ahead and Nick realized with some surprise that he had walked almost all the way to Chris's hiding spot while he'd been lost in thought. He stopped and watched through the wall for a moment as Chris created fireball after fireball in his hands, throwing them against the far wall and then calling the flames back into his body before they would cause any damage. It was kind of like a game of solitary catch. With fire.

"It'd probably be more satisfying if you just let the place burn down," Nick called in greeting, tentatively poking his head around the corner.

Chris paused, one flaming hand still in the air. "Yeah, well," he answered after a moment, resuming the game, "I always get in trouble when I burn things down. And I have to pay for the damages. And then there's the hassle of having to rescue everyone who's still inside."

Nick came the rest of the way around the corner slowly, staying a few feet away and shielding his face from the intense heat. "Yeah, I guess you're right. Shame. This place kind of deserves to burn."

Chris made a rude noise and all of the fires winked out at once, plunging the halls into sullen, smoky darkness. Then his hand lit up again, this time with just the soft, orange glow of a burning coal.

"Wow, that's pretty cool," Nick complimented him, coming closer and peering at the pulsating light. "Pretty."

"Yeah." Chris shrugged, averting his eyes. "Didn't know I could do it until I did it."

"So, um...." Nick fidgeted, suddenly questioning his decision to follow Chris. What had he been thinking? What could he possibly do or say to make this better?

"So...." Chris nodded, putting his back to the wall and sliding down to a seated position.

Nick followed his lead. "You know you did your best, right?" he blurted, then once again had to stifle the urge to smack himself.

Chris gave a twisted, humorless smile. "Right."

"No, I mean...." Nick stopped, struggling to salvage the conversation. "It's true! Not everyone can... be everything. So you couldn't relax enough to help Lance just then. So what? You've done so much for them already, and they know you'd do anything to keep them safe." He paused and put a hand on Chris's shoulder. "You died for Joey, once. If that didn't tell them how much you're willing to do for them, nothing will."

Chris was quiet for a long while, his body stiff, and Nick started to worry that he'd said the wrong thing, but finally the other man's posture relaxed and he huffed out a bemused chuckle. "When did you get so wise, anyway, Carter? I thought I was the genius around here."

Nick flushed, pleased and relieved. "I have my moments," he admitted, grinning. "They don't come very often, but I have 'em." Chris laughed again and his glowing hand flared with light, sparking slightly. Nick looked down at it enviously. "Man. I wish I had fire power."

Chris ruffled his hair. "The moment just ended."

~*~

Brian was tired. Body-tired, mind-tired, soul-tired. It seemed that for every ghostly child he guided to the next plane, another would come behind him. A lot of the time, they came in groups of five, four, or three, holding hands and looking up at him with hope and barely concealed fear in their eyes. Sometimes they came in pairs, an older child leading and comforting a younger one. And sometimes, heartbreakingly, they came alone.

The Kevin clones were never alone. They were always the big brothers, clutching the hand of a younger child, or holding in their arms the ones who were too young to walk on their own. He had lost count of how many times he had seen his own face staring back at him on frail body cradled in Kevin's arms, those familiar green eyes flashing and defiant even in youth.

The rest of his group, along with NSync and the FBI representatives, had pretty much let him be. He had seen Marks' confused stares out of the corner of his eyes early on, but someone must have explained the whole "I see dead people" thing to him eventually, because now, even he didn't blink when Brian began talking soothingly to what looked like nothing but air.

But they were finally leaving now, and Brian was tired. He had gathered around him some of the oldest children he'd found. Most of them were Kevins and Howies, but there were a few doubles of himself sprinkled in, and even one AJ. All of the Nick doubles had been far too young. These children would take his place here at the facility, patiently guiding all of the remaining lost souls until they found their way home. Then they, too, would move on to their rest. This place would not remain haunted much longer. That thought soothed his aching heart, but only a little bit.

He continued to instruct his "class" as the groups wearily exited the facility. He walked beside Lance, helping to support his shaky legs. Chris walked on his other side, with Kevin behind them and everyone else huddled close by. Their pace was a slow shuffle, but no one seemed to mind. Welsh and Marks walked out ahead of them, respectful of their closeness.

"There are a lot of them, aren't there?" Lance asked suddenly, his voice quiet. "I can feel them, but less than before. You've been... doing something."

Brian nodded. "Sending them home."

"Good. This place is.... It's no place for children."

"No. It isn't."

~*~

It was the can that had saved them. They had been sleeping fitfully on beds of newspaper and garbage when an aluminum can had hit the wall, jolting them both awake. 128 swore and leapt to his feet, sending a blast of electricity at the police who shouted that they were surrounded. The escape was a blur of confusion; 128 had showed no mercy to the police, savagely beating them back with balls of lightning from his hands, and running with inhuman stamina until the sounds of pursuit had faded entirely. 169 had followed, his fear fueling him and allowing him to run much faster and much longer than he should have. He was exhausted now, his legs trembling and his chest heaving, but 128 seemed barely winded. He paced back and forth in the darkness, snarling under his breath and clenching his fists. 169 pressed his body against the grimy wall, letting himself fade into near-invisibility.

"Are you hiding from me?" 128 snapped suddenly, stopping short and staring with narrowed eyes at the wall.

169 froze, holding his breath. Surely, 128 wouldn't see him. If he stayed perfectly still, maybe he could....

"What did you do?" 128's eyes flashed and he lunged, his fingers tangling in 169's shirt collar with chilling certainty. 169 cried out in surprise and flashed into total visibility. "It was you, wasn't it? You ratted me out!"

"No! No, 128, please, I swear I didn't!"

128 snarled and slammed him against the wall. "You're lying."

"No! No, please! I was with you all the time, I couldn't have!" 128's eyes narrowed and too late, 169 realized his mistake. "I mean, I wouldn't have! I wouldn't betray you, please don't—"

The first blow doubled him over and his breath whooshed from him. He fought the urge to vomit and he curled his body around his abused stomach. Then 128 kicked him and he fell face-first to the ground, his cheek splitting open on the gravel. 128 was screaming at him, kicking and hitting him over and over again. 169 couldn't hear the words, only the rage and hate behind them. He closed his eyes and drifted away. If he lived, he would leave. This time, he would not let fear rule what was left of his life. If he lived....

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