Nick shot up in his bed, the sheets tangled around him, screaming his head off. When he had finally come to his senses, he saw his twin sitting on the edge of his bed, his elbows resting on his knees and his hands in his hair. Nick wiped a bit of sweat off of his brow, breathing heavily.

"It happened again, didn't it?" Hunter's voice rang out in the dark room, shattering the silence. Nick leaned forward, running his hand through his sweaty hair.

"You too, huh?" Nick replied, not needing an answer.

Ever since the failed mission, the girls had been trapped with Peter the psycho.

Ever since the failed mission, the twins had been having nightmares. Not the kind when you are chased; the kind that seeps into your darkest, deepest fears and ruins your mind from the inside out. The kind that is so lucid, yet too horrifying to think of as real.

Nick gave a small whimper, and Hunter looked at his brother.

"She was there... looking so hopeful as I -- no, it wasn't me. Whatever that was wasn't me. She looked so hopeful as it took away her freedom..." he murmured, his voice catching halfway through. He then looked up at Hunter, looking defeated and worn out. "I broke her legs, Hunter," he said, his voice dripping with poison. "That is something I can never forgive myself for..."

Hunter looked at his brother's broken spirit. They needed to do something, before it drove both of them mad.

"Come," Hunter said, standing up and putting on some sweats.

Nick raised an eyebrow. "Where to?"

"The one person who can help us," he replied, tossing him a pair of sweats. Nick snatched them out of the air and slid them on, before grabbing a shirt and slipping it on. Hunter led him to Professor Xavier's sleeping quarters, and silently wheeled him out and kept moving.

"What are we doing?" Nick finally asked after several minutes of letting the question burn in his mind.

"Hoping he's still mentally conscious, even if he's not physically."

"Does this have to do with that thing you found yesterday?"

"Of course it does." Hunter had taken to wandering the school, trying to find its secrets, as a way to take his mind off things.

The two boys wheeled the unconscious professor into a large room with a panel with lots of buttons, and an interesting looking helmet attached.

Hunter wheeled the professor right up to the panel, and slid the helmet on him.

"Please professor, if you're still awake in there, help us find the girls so we can end this."

Hello boys. Nick, although denying it ever happened, screeched like a little girl when the professor's voice echoed through the large room.

"Oh thank god," Hunter murmured under his breath.

I believe I can help. But I can't have wild minds in here while I do it. What's troubling you? The twin brothers shared a glance.

"Well... we believe we may be experiencing a kind of secondary hallucination from Peter McFelonius while he attacks the minds of Chrome and Hayley." Hunter explained. Nick's wings began twitching with nerves.

Describe them. This is what they both had been dreading. Having to tell their nightmares to their professor. Telling them to each other was fine, but there was a chance he'd never look at them quite the same. Nick took a deep breath.

"Well, mine's pretty simple. Hayley is trapped in a cell, and I go to her. She looks weak and exhausted, but she lights up completely after she sees me. She runs up to me, I teleport in, and then there's a scuffle between us. She tries kicking me in the chest, but I manage to grab her foot and take her down with me. Then I... I... I b-break both her legs. And she's screaming. And... that's it I think..." his voice had gotten progressively quieter as he continued speaking, and he could barely stutter out the last few sentences. None of the men in the room would ever tell a soul, but there was a single tear dripping down each cheek. Hunter explained his nightmare, and they both were on the verge of tears before the professor spoke again.

I'm so sorry. Then the room lit up with white lights, which then transitioned to red, then honed in on a single light, which was glowing slightly brighter than most. There he is. I can transfer his exact location into your minds, but I urge you to be careful. There's not many people left for gallivanting into battle with no plan. He transferred the location into their minds. The boys nodded, Hunter removed the helmet from the professor's head, and they wheeled him back to his sleeping quarters, then set off to make preparations.

~&~

Nick gripped his brother's shoulder tightly, but his other hand was clenched harder. He wouldn't deny it; he was scared out of his mind. He'd drop off his brother, who'd find Chrome, then he'd hunt down Hayley. He could only hope she wouldn't hate him on sight.

He teleported to a part of the castle that was above the rest. After leaving Hunter there, with wishes of being safe and finding the girls, he teleported downward, directly into the cell from his nightmare. Or, directly outside of it, as the case may be. But he wasn't prepared for what he saw.

Hayley, propped up in the corner, looking like she'd been to hell and back. Her eyes had been closed, but they shot open instantly, shock turning to fear and anger. Her knuckles were bruised and a bit bloody, the blood tinted with silver. Her hair was a mess. Her nails were ragged and with dried blood of the same hue as her knuckles crusted around the edges, and that same blood was smeared over the ice. Her dress was practically shredded, but most of the missing fabric was wrapped around her calves, obviously holding some kind of makeshift ice cast in place. Her face was blotchy and obviously tearstained. When she spoke, her voice was ragged and hoarse. Her body looked like she'd hardly eaten during the whole week, which wouldn't have been all that surprising.

"What could you possibly want?!" She snarled, silver eyes burning holes through Nick's. He was frozen with horror. Hayley, the most spirited and sharp-tongued girl he knew was broken, a mere twisted reflection of what she once was.

"Oh... Oh God..." he whispered. He felt like crying. He felt like running. But he knew he couldn't. He knew she needed him.

"Well? Are you just going to stand there wearing a face that doesn't belong to you, or are you going to do something?" She snapped, but she sounded a bit less defiant. He steeled himself, then teleported inside the cage. She flinched, and glared at him.

"Hayley..." he whispered, kneeling down and looking at her. Her anger melted away quickly.

"No. Don't say my name. Don't say my name with his voice or look at me with his face you sick, sick monster." She croaked, her sentence ending with a sob. He reached out and cupped her face with one hand, only to have it be slapped away.

"Hayley, it's me. I promise it's me." He murmured in soothing tones, only causing her to cry harder. "It's okay, it's all okay now. I'm here now."

"B-but... how d-do I know it's actually you?" She sniffled, looking up at him with a hopeless, despairing gaze.

"I... I don't know." He looked down, her despair infecting him.

"Prove it."

"What?" He looked back up at her. She wiped her eyes and looked back pleadingly.

"Prove you are who you say you are. Please." She whimpered, all but begging him to do it.

"How?"

"I don't know... be unpredictable, but do something or say something you would." He thought about it for a moment. "No, dumbass. Don't think about it. Nick Blackwood doesn't think for shit. But he's smart, and he knows it, and he's fast, and he's the only damn person on this goddamn space rock who can fully take my shit and launch it back at me with some of his own and dammit I'm pissed off that someone would use his face to hurt someone else." She could have gone further, but Nick wouldn't let her. He did what she asked, he didn't think, he just acted on instinct. And kissed the girl he came for right on the mouth. He pulled away a moment later, and looked at her, her eyes were closed, and her face was still, but he couldn't help but notice that when he pulled away she leaned forward slightly as if to prolong the kiss. "Nick Blackwood you absolute little piece of goddamn shit -- I swear to God." She whispered after a moment, then opened her eyes.

And smiled.

"Let's get you out of here." Nick whispered, grinning back. She nodded and let him pick her up. He didn't know how light she felt before the events of that week, but she sure felt about as light as air now.

"Where's that brother of yours?" She asked, a small amount of pain lining her voice like poison.

"Getting Chrome," he said. Hayley's eyes widened in fear.

"We need to go help him!" She cried, thrashing in Nick's grip.

"Whoa! What the hell, Hayley!" He growled, trying to contain the girl. "We need to get you somewhere safe, first!" Hayley shook her head.

"He's going to do something! I don't know what, but he's obsessed with Chrome!"

~&~

Hunter crept through the hallways as a fox. His senses heightened in this form, and he didn't mind it. The fox paused, hearing a soft, subtle sound. He tilted his head, trotting over to a far door. Inside, he heard sobs.

He knew whose they were.

Hunter opened it quickly, seeing it lead to a long spiraling staircase. He growled, dashing down it. His fox form completely halted when he saw what was at the end.

Chrome was hung by her wrists and feet, almost as if being crucified. Her head was hung downward, her hair cascading down messily. Her entire body was limp, bruised and battered; a lot of skin was revealed with the seemingly tiny cloth that barely covered up what needed to be. It sent a pulse of rage through him, making him snarl and bunch up his fur.

Above Chrome was a large magnifying glass, focused on a spot in the sky where something in the far off distance could be seen. Two objects, actually; they seemed to be getting closer. Suddenly, his sight was snatched back to Chrome as a figure stood in front of her, blocking his view.

"The day has come..." A voice rang out, sounding a bit too fond. "My goddess will be reawakened." He giggled maniacally.

Hayley was still being held protectively by Nick.