"I'm sorry... I'm sorry, this is all my fault."

Nick's pain was slowly fading again to that dull roar he mentioned earlier and he paused, looking over at Aris before draping his shoulder over hers and pulling her a bit closer to him. "No... It's not your fault at all..." He sighed lightly, looking over his shoulder to make sure nobody was looking for them. "It's not your fault, you dont need to be sorry Aris. The only fault that you can possibly take is simply BEING. I blame them... I blame the humans... They're the ones that attacked US, not us them..." Nick growled lightly, the very thought of those men in the Alley upsetting him a great deal.

"Look Aris, if I didnt want to come out here to see you, I wouldnt have come... I've been wanting to see you ever since you left, so obviously it's not your fault that I'm here... It's my fault, I could've easily said no... But I didnt and I didnt want to... And I dont regret it one bit... I missed you Aris, you're the best friend someone like me could have..." Nick smiles lightly, rubbing her shoulder before giving her a light jab to the ribs, he knew she couldnt feel it but felt like doing it anyways, it was always their thing to pick on each other. What friends didnt pick on each other though? People that werent friends, that didnt care about one another, those were the types to not pick on each other, the types that didnt care.

"We'll both be alright... I'm sure you know that... And you know I can handle myself if I need to... Remember, I've gone unnoticed for 7 years, I think I can continue to do it..." He smiles lightly, the pain he's currently feeling, something he knows he'll eventually get used to. Every time he uses his ability, his body will be sore and tired afterwards, and eventually he'll get used to it and be able to continue standing or walking no matter whether he has adrenaline or not... And even if he cant... There will be a way to fix that some time down the road...

Meld struggled not to break out in tears when Nick put his arm around her. She couldn't remember the last time she had cried. "No... It's not your fault at all...It's not your fault, you dont need to be sorry Aris. The only fault that you can possibly take is simply BEING. I blame them... I blame the humans... They're the ones that attacked US, not us them..." She nodded her head at her friend's words enjoying the feeling of being comforted, even if the feeling was only psychological. She wished she could feel more, but she would never be able to feel again and had long ago accepted that fact.

"I know it was your choice to come here and I know you can take care of yourself, but if I hadn't called you..." She stopped for a moment to compose herself. She would have jabbed him back but thought better of it given his current condition. "Your friendship means more than anything to me and you don't know how difficult it was for me not to call you more often, not to see you. I thought by doing that I could protect you from the world I found myself in, the world I live in now. But I can't protect you, can I? You can make your own decisions and deal with the consequences of those decisions."

Meld squeezed Nick's uninjured shoulder gently, making her way to her feet. It took her more effort than it should, a testament to how exhausted she was. "We should leave now." She looked down to the street below her, spotting a pair of cops talking on wacki talkies. Her soul melded eye gave her enhanced night vision, but she couldn't shear what the cops were saying. "The cops are still looking for us and I don't want to be around if they think to come looking up here."

Nick grunted and groaned, forcing himself to a standing position yet again after listening to his long lost friend still feeling bad. "No, you cant protect me... Cuz it's my turn to try and protect you again." He laughs lightly, jabbing her once more. "Cmon, you know you can hit harder than not at all..." Nick laughs before turning and looking down at the cops, he then looks around at the things around him, realizing the only ways down are the fire escape or going through the building, either way will probably get them going past the cops.

"Hold on a sec..." Nick walked over to his duffel bag and kneeled down with a slight cringe before unzipping it and pulling out a sweatshirt and a clean T-Shirt. "Alright, you put this on over your jacket and tuck your hand into the pockets... And uh... I'll change my shirt so the cops dont see the bloody mess of a shirt I have on... Is there anything else you'll need?" Nick waits for Aris to start pulling the sweatshirt on before he drops his trench coat quickly and tears his shirt off and pulls the other shirt on as fast as he can, making sure to have his uninjured side facing her so she couldnt see the wound in his side and feel worse than she does.

"There, I almost look like a new person... Hmmm..." He searches through his duffel again and pulls out two baseball hats and puts one on, offering Aris the other. "I think this is the only way to get out of here... They'll be looking for us, you in particular... I know you dont like hiding who you are but to get away from the cops, that's a necessity if they know what to look for, despite being human OR mutant." Nick smiles lightly, hoping he made the situation a little easier on Aris to handle. He likes to be resourceful, using anything he can to his advantage to get over any struggle he has to pass.

Meld did exactly what her friend told her to, slipping on the sweatshirt and putting her hand into her pocket. She was also pretty sure that she could hide her eye as long as she didn't look directly at anyone it was usually not too noticeable. Her feet, however, were going to be the big problem. No matter what she did, there was simply nothing she could do to hide them. They were shaped too unusually to put any sort of conventional shoe onto and they had a tendency to clunk loudly whenever she walked on concrete. Luckily most people didn't really look down too much while they were walking, but the cops would be looking for a mutant with metal feet. She thought for a moment, wondering if she could, perhaps, put socks over them. It wouldn't be a perfect disguise but it didn't need to last for long anyway.

"Do you mind?" Meld asked as she went into her friend's bag without waiting for a reply. She knew he wouldn't care, they're friendship was like that. It didn't take her long to find a pair of large wool socks and slip them onto her feet. They were still plainly deformed but at least they were now passable. "I hope you don't mind if I accidentally cut these to ribbons. I can buy you a new pair if you like..."

Meld hoped that they had done enough to disguise themselves if they came by any cops. Surely things couldn't get any worse this night than they had all ready, right? She looked both of them over one last time and then nodded to herself. "This will have to do I guess. I think it would be less conspicuous if we entered the building and exited through the front door. Less chance of being seen in a suspicious manner that way." She walked up to the door that led into the building as she spoke and pulled on it. Locked. No matter, the lock was a simple padlock, easily broken. She took her metallic hand out of her pocket, took careful aim, and broke the lock in two, grinning as she opened the door. "After you, old friend."

Nick smiled quietly to himself as he watched Aris rifle through his belongings before pulling out a pair of socks and slipping them on. He couldn't help but laugh once more after he had gathered everything he owned into his duffel bag and suitcase and saw her holding the door open for him. Nick walked calmly over to the roof exit and down the steps, easily carrying all of his belongings with him the entire 6 floors down. As he stepped down the last step, he turned around and looked up at Aris, "if anyone asks, we're a couple getting ready to go on a trip.... The hospital think's we're siblings so that's the description the cops will be looking for..." Nick took a breath before pushing open the door and walking out, holding it open for Aris, after she walked out he quickened up to get next to her and smiled at the various faces as they were leaving the apartment complex.

Again Nick holds the door open for Aris and the two leave the apartments, Nick smiles to a cop who's walking by and continues walking with Aris. "Let's get a cab..." He quickly whispered to her before stepping up to the curb and waving his hand in the air and letting out a whistle when he saw a cab coming near. The cop paused in his walk and turned around to the two, Nicks heart stopping for a few seconds.

"Hey buddy..." The cop put a hand up, looking at Nick.

"Get in the car..." Nick whispered to Aris quickly, opening the door as the cab came up. The trunk popped open and the cop walked up as Nick tried to ignore him.

"Hey buddy..." The cop walked straight up to Nick and touched his shoulder, Nick jumped a bit at the tap.

"Oh sorry officer, you startled me... I'm a little hard of hearing sometimes... Is there something I can do for you?" Nick tried his best to play it cool.

The cop grinned lightly at startling Nick before grabbing his bags and hoisting them up into the trunk of the cab for him. "Just wanted to thank you for giving me a smile... Not too many people are nice to us anymore these days..."

'He wanted to thank me?! That's all... Jesus...' Nick smiles politely and shakes the cops hand before climbing into the cab next to Aris. "Well, thank you for helping me with my bags officer, have a good night..." Nick let out a breath of relief before turning to the cabbie and telling him to take them wherever Aris wanted. "Let's get out of here..."

Meld nodded at everything Nick said and followed him down the stairs, walking with a casual confidence. She was careful not to put her feet down too heavily; even through the socks a muffled thunk could still be heard if she wasn't careful. "Give me your hand," she said quietly, just as they were exiting the building. Couples often held hands so it could only enhance their disguise.

Meld nodded again at the suggestion of catching a cab. Definitely good thinking. Meld glanced briefly out of the corner of her eye when she heard the cop try to get Nick's attention but didn't race her face. It would all be ruined if they saw her eye and they'd have to begin fleeing all over again. And she wasn't sure how much longer either of them could continue running.

..."Just wanted to thank you for giving me a smile... Not too many people are nice to us anymore these days..." Well that was unexpected and a rare moment of good fortune. It seemed they were going to get out of this horrible mess alive and free after all. Meld let out a sigh of relief as she climbed into the cab, giving the cab driver an address nearby Sanctuary. The place had a reputation for mutants and she didn't want to take the chance that the driver would recognize the address and thereby recognize them as mutants. Surely with everything else that had gone down tonight they would be able to walk another 10 minutes.

The cabbie obliged the request of the two, driving off in the direction of The Sanctuary. "Well, we're doing alright now arent we Aris?" Nick smiled lightly, hoping to help her feel a little better. After a couple minutes in the cab, the driver stops and tells them the toll, and without a thought, Nick pulls out his wallet and hands the man the money plus a little tip, Nick always was a tipper. After paying the man, Nick opened the door to the cab and climbed out, after getting out, the trunk popped open and Nick waited for Aris to climb out as well, holding the door for her and offering his hand should she need it.

"So... Where is this place we're going to.." Nick made sure not to mention the name just in case the cabbie could still hear him as he moved around behind the cab and pulled his bags out of the trunk before closing it up. The cab took off down the street as Nick hoisted his suitcase back to his back and grabbed the handles of the duffel bag, getting ready to move again. "Now, what have you done all these years without me around?" Nick grinned lightly, glancing over at Aris, hoping to lighten the mood a little with a small joke.

"Now hopefully you'll remember that when Nick says everything will be alright, he means everything will be alright... If you smell... What the Nick is cooking..." After that last wrestling joke Nick couldnt hold it in any longer, laughing stupidly at his joke. "Let's get moving... It's probably too late to try and get any sleep though..."

Meld made her way out of the cab, silently agreeing with Nick. They were finally doing all right, things were finally settling down. She stumbled slightly, exhaustion getting the better of her, but managed to keep her feet. "We're going home to Sanctuary," she said, keeping her voice low so that only her companion could hear. "You can spend the night, or what remains of it," she grimaced looking at the sky just beginning to lighten with dawn, "in my room then tomorrow you can go and find yourself an apartment or something." After everything that had happened tonight she no longer felt like showing her old friend around Sanctuary. Enough had happened for one night and there would be time later for that.

Meld laughed weakly at her old friend's attempt at a joke. "I didn't have to force hospitals to redecorate while madly running for my life, that's for sure," she joked back. It felt good to be able to joke, even after everything that had gone down.

The walk to Sanctuary was thankfully short and uneventful. The golden arches were the best site she could have possible seen. Meld nodded to Lisa, at her desk as usual, as she entered. "He's staying with me tonight," she said, gesturing towards Nick. She led him to her room, not bothering to linger any longer than was necessary.

Meld's room room was rather bare still, having only been living there for a few days. There was a bed in the corner, a closet that was still mostly bare of clothes, although her bone saw was in plain site, and a small bathroom attached to the room. There was also a small window above the bed covered by a black curtain and an empty desk against the far wall. Meld hoped to give it a little character eventually, but needed actual money to do that. Not to mention the need for a computer.

"The bed's big enough to share," Meld said. "It'll be a sleepover just like the old days when we were kids." She grinned, remembering the mischief the used to get into together. She then proceeded to go into the bathroom for a few minutes to change out of her bloodstained and torn clothes, grimacing at the thought of having to buy new ones. She'd have to ask Aura if there was anyone here that might be able to help out with that sort of thing. Getting out of the bathroom, she let Nick know he could use it as well and change if he needed to, then proceeded to climb into bed and fall asleep after putting the oven glove onto her metal hand.

Nick followed Aris quietly into the Sanctuary, not saying a word and nodding politely to Lisa, and continuing further into the Sanctuary, following Aris to her room. Nick smiled and looked around the quaint room as Aris pointed things out to him. "Ha, those good ol' sleepovers. I remember that, we used to stay up all night just talking and laughing and teasing each other and making fun of people..." After Aris went into the bathroom and changed out of her clothes, Nick slowly went in, after she came out, and took off his shirt and jacket.

Lifting up his left arm, to reveal the wound on his side, Nick turned on the water and reached into his duffel bag, pulling out the already bloody shirt. Nick proceeds to run the shirt under the water in the sink and dab at his wound, cringing lightly with the stinging pain as he cleans out his stab wound. He then searches through his duffel bag and finds a small first aid kit (luckily as all hell), he splashes some hydrogen peroxide on his wound and holds back a howl of pain. After getting the wound good and clean, Nick grabs a gauze and presses it to his wound before pulling out a roll of medical tape and securing it to his flesh. Nick smiles at a job well done before putting his shirt back on, he puts his clothes and supplies back into his duffel bag and grabs his jacket before walking out of the bathroom and setting his jacket and duffel bag on the chair by the desk.

Nick lays down on the bed next to Meld and scoots back so his back is against the wall as he sits there and watches Meld sleep. After a few hours, Meld finally wakes up and looks up at Nick with a slight smile, Nick returns the smile and shifts on the bed, pulling his wallet out. "Aris, I remember you mentioning something about not having much money... And I know you wont want to accept this..." Nick pauses, sifting through his wallet before pulling out a few bills, totaling $200. "But you're going to accept it because I'm your friend and you need the money. Spend it on whatever you need and if you need more, I can help you out with more... Hopefully I can get a job soon though... I'm actually gonna go out lookin for one now..." Nick smiles, placing the $200 on the bed next to Aris before getting up off of the bed and grabbing his jacket.

"You mind if I leave my stuff with you?" Nick pulls his jacket on and looks at Aris for an answer before smiling and turning to leave. "Oh and if you need anything from my bag, feel free..." Nick adjusts his jacket quickly before opening the door and walking out to go and try to find a job.