Breakfast was somber, but everyone tried to eat anyway. They probably wouldn't get another chance for a meal before all this was over.

Emma told them her dream. Dark as it was.

It freaked most of them out, especially Domino, who was not at all comfortable with this kind of mind control.

"And you almost walked out a window?" the young Rogue asked.

Emma nodded.

"Gee, Scott, it was lucky you thought to check," young Rogue said. But she looked at him oddly.

Scott shrugged. "I figured Apocalypse wouldn't have said it unless it was a threat."

"Uh...so you can explain this, right?" Morph asked Shine and Wally, like that was his last shot at sanity.

Wally winced. "Mind control isn't something I'm a stranger to, if you know what I'm saying, but I hate it. One plus to being a DJ is that our minds get insulated to that kind of thing. Can't have someone getting our secrets, right?"

"There are exceptions," Shine said. "Lethe's power worked on me, a little. But at a price to him. Straight telepathy tends not to. But as for what you saw, Emma...the first part sounds like memory to me--a suppressed one most people would never remember, but perhaps, as a telepath, your mind has better access to subconscious memory."

"It didn't seem the same as the last bit," Emma admitted. "But what was I remembering, then?"

Shine raised an eyebrow.

Emma leaned on her hand. "The kidnapping.... Blast it...if only I could have heard what they were saying."

"If you weren't fully conscious, it makes sense you have no record of that," Shine said. "But it seems it was going to show you something useful, perhaps.... I think Apocalypse intercepted it. Threw Jean into the mix to confuse things. That's what it sounds like. Jean didn't listen, huh?"

Of course neither Scott or Emma had fully explained why that was--but they both knew Shine had guessed it easily. She would.

"How stupid of her," Domino said flatly.

"But she's alive," Young Rogue said. "That's good, right?"

"Cristy, is there anywhere they could keep Telepaths hidden?" Logan asked. "Or...anywhere in the Temple that no one is allowed to go."

Cristy snapped her fingers suddenly. "I've heard there's a lower level that no one goes in except the highest elites. They say it's haunted. But more importantly, that anyone who goes in without clearance is killed on sight. No questions asked. And then their bodies disappear too."

"Ugh." Storm shrugged. "Gruesome. But it sounds promising for us."

"Yeah, but you'd never get inside," Cristy said. "Unless you can hide yourselves."

"Most of us who could do that are now gone," Shine said somberly.

"If I knew someone who had clearance, maybe I could get in," Morph said. 

"Well, we know Sinister or Apocalypse themselves," Shine said. "But...of course, if they're in the Temple..."

"Lord Sinister usually is in the labs," Cristy said. "There's a bunch in the Temple. Some in the Arena also. For the testing. They get samples from the breeding houses, the schools, the prisons.... It's disgusting...but if you want to find the fastest way to all the people you're looking for, the labs have records of all of us."

"It's funny, with all that, you don't have more DNA testing in your security," Wally said.

"You'd think," Cristy said. "But Sinister is scared of people stealing his experiments, we think. If they did, he'd be replaceable to Apocalypse. Maybe you know how these things go."

"No one is ever less safe from a dictator than their right hand, psychopathic support," Shine said sagely. "They know how untrustworthy each other are. And there's no love lost between them. You never really like people who exploit your evilness, you just use them."

"Well, isn't that the truth," Emma said.

"Yeah, I feel that," Domino said. "But this lab sounds like a bad place to go. We barely escaped a holding pen for grunts. You want to go where they're going to be prepared to hold actually powerful mutants?"

"Where else would we find anyone that we're looking for?" Shine said.

"You should have a floor plan for the Temple," Cristy said.

"Actually...we got one, from Caliban," Shine said distastefully. "The price of blood, really.... I hate to use it, but, if we don't, we're back where we started."

"I don't suppose that dream tells us anything useful?" Hank asked.

"I'm walking right into a trap?" Emma said.

"Maybe you should stay here," Scott said.

"No," Emma said firmly. "As if that wouldn't be expected.... Cristy is no use to us anyway if we stay here and get caught. There's no way around this. Is there?" She looked at Shine.

Shine shook her head. "As frustrating as it is, I'm afraid all you really can do is face it. Who knows...? Maybe we'll find out what's causing your problem, finally. I'm certain it's tied to Apocalypse directly somehow."

"Retracing the steps of what happened, it might fix it," Emma said. "Or...at least answer some questions."

Scott sighed.

"Is there something going on there?" Domino asked bluntly. "There's something weird with the two of you."

They both looked at her strangely and then looked embarrassed.

The others exchanged looks.

"Well, great," Logan said dryly.

"Ah, what's the problem?" Older Rogue said to him. "Which of us ain't havin' trouble with that right now? Don't get on other people, Logan."

"I'm just sayin'," Logan said, "there's a lot of complicated things about this. Everyone needs to keep a clear head."

Scott frowned. "I think I've got as clear a head as can be expected right now. We have to do this."

"Yes..." Storm said soberly. "We do. I'm sorry...but we cannot afford to spare anyone risk, even those of us who may not really be ready for it. It's not fair, but..."

"Don't." Emma held up her hand. "I know already. We have one day. If we don't use it, it won't matter anymore. This is it."

"Or is it?" Shine mused. "Is it ever really it? This brings me to what I wanted to talk about.... Given that all of us may not have another chance..."

She put her Bible on the table. "I know not all of you will like this, but it's fitting to commit all this to God before we go out there. Better to do it now. And...Kurt would want it."

That was true.

"If it floats your boat," Domino said. "I don't really buy all that stuff."

"Yes, well, all of you always say that," Shine said. "Until it hits you that it's real."

She said that, so simply and seriously, no irony whatsoever, that Domino was kind of freaked out by it.

Even a few hours of knowing Shine, and her impression was always pretty much the same.

The others who were used to it found it slightly amusing to watch.

"Oh, yeah," Forge said. "The other Scott, he mentioned how religious you guys are. I respect it and all, but I don't really see it.... Besides, isn't that kind of fanaticism, kind of what Apocalypse is all about?"

"Ohh..." Older Rogue muttered, because she knew how dead he was.

Shine might have been beyond caring about most things right then, but it couldn't be said her faith was ever not going to be a passionate subject for her, and she went into full form.

Slamming the table in front of Forge, she leaned in with a warning look.

"Do not ever compare that blasphemer to the real thing," she said. "Pray to God you don't have to eat those words painfully one day as it is. And watch what you say at all. The worst sin is to assign evil, false gods the same legitimacy as the One True God. If there was not a real God, there'd be no point imitating Him, and Apocalypse knows that, the arrogant fool. He wanted the glory for himself...well, he'll find it's no small thing to claim to be god. Every madman in history claimed that. Hitler was one of them. The kings of the barbarian societies that enslaved half the world. All of it. It's the same game now. Don't you think for one second we didn't see this one coming. It's always the way, and it does not for a second mean that God is not real. You can't imitate something that's not real to begin with. No, I can't ask you to believe in it if you don't want to, but you will not be disrespecting my God to my face again, is that clear, Forge?"

Forge was terrified of her already.

"Uh...yeah...of course," he said meekly.

"D---," Domino muttered.

Shine straightened. "That said, we need to talk about that."

"I'd not mind hearing this too," Cristy said. "I've never heard much about it...though you seem a little radical."

"For this situation, I had better be," Shine said.

A pause while that sank in.

"I suppose that's true," Storm said. "We had all better be."

"Even I don't see any other way to go about this," Emma said, "at this point, either your God is stronger than Apocalypse, or He isn't. We certainly aren't."

No one thought she'd say that, of all people.

It chilled them.

"Really?" Scott said to her.

"Can you deny it?" Emma asked him, point blank.

Scott shook his head, not agreeing, just not happy.

"God and I have been talking," Shine went on, saying this like it was totally normal. "And He indicated to me that He will lead us to our friends, in the right time. But I don't yet know where they are. I want to do this right. So..." She opened her Bible. "Words to live by. I have some selections here that remind me of different people we know. Here's one of my life passages, though:

"'Be strong and courageous, do not be afraid or be discouraged, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.' Joshua 1:9."

No one spoke. Some of them nodded, some looked at her nonplussed.

Shine ignored them. "Then, for you, Logan, I remembered this passage. And fittingly, it's Kurt's suggestion too. You remember it? Isaiah 12?"

"Yeah," Logan said.

He recited it in time with Shine reading it.

"'O Lord, I will praise (or give thanks to) You. Though you were angry with Me, your anger is turned away, and you comfort me.'

"'Behold, God is my salvation, I will trust and not be ashamed.' " [Verses 1-2]

Shine had to pause to wipe tears away.

"And this next passage, I'm not sure who it's for, but it came to me earlier. I know in one way it's about God. From Song of Solomon."

"From that book?" Morph said with a weird look. 

"Relax, Morph, it's not that part," Shine said. She read slowly, "'Set me as a seal upon you heart, as a seal upon your arm, for love is as strong as death, jealousy as cruel as the grave.... Many waters cannot quench love, nor can floods drown it. If a man would give for love all the wealth of his house, it would be utterly despised.' " [Song 8:6-7]

"I like that," Cristy remarked. "Though the part about jealousy didn't really fit with the rest."

"No?" Shine said. "I think it does. God is a jealous God. That's a great hope to us."

"Uh...why?" Young Rogue was finding this weird.

"Because He won't stand to have His glory stolen by the likes of Apocalypse," Shine said. "That is why we are here. Well, not you maybe. You didn't choose to be on this mission. But, if you walk out with us, then, essentially, you're adopted onto it. I know why I'm here, Miss Rogue...do you?"

Young Rogue stared at her and then at her hands.

"Shine, y'know, I always was partial to that passage in Psalms," Older Rogue spoke up, leaning on the wall. "One that helped me, way back when...139? About Him knowin' all we do?"

"That's a good one." Shine opened to it. "Here, which part?"

Rogue looked at it.

"'O LORD, you have searched me and known me, you know my sittin' down and my risin' up...and are acquainted with all my ways. For there is not a word on my tongue, but behold, O LORD, you know it altogether.' "

Shine started reciting this along with her, with a look of peace that quite mystified the new people.

"'You have hedged me behind and before, and laid Your hand upon me.' "

"Raven would like that one," Emma muttered in a low voice.

"'Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, it is high, I cannot attain it. Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from your Presence?... Even if I say ,"Surely the darkness shall fall on me", even the night shall be light about me. Indeed darkness shall not hide from you...for you formed my inward parts, you covered me in my mother's womb. I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made...' "

Rogue left off here, but Shine went to verse 19.

"'Oh that You would slay the wicked, O God! Depart from me, therefore, you bloodthirsy men.... Do I not hate them, O LORD, who hate You? And do I not loathe those who rise up against you? I hate them with perfect hatred; I count them my enemies.

"'Search me , O God, and know my heart. Try me, and know my anxieties, and see if there is any wicked way in me. And lead me in the way everlasting.' "

She stopped.

A pause.

"Anyone else?" Wally asked.

Storm looked up. "I've always liked this one passage...Psalm 27.... I think we studied it once, talking about fear. But it goes, 'When my mother and my father forsake me, then the LORD will take care of me.' And then, 'I would have lost heart, unless I had believed I would see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. Wait on the LORD, be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart...' "

"Another good one," Shine agreed.

"Well...I know this has nothing to do with the theme here," Morph said, "but some of my favorite verses are in Romans.

"'For what I am doing I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do.... O wretched man that I am, who will deliver me from this body of death? I thank God--through Jesus Christ our Lord.' " [From Romans 7]

"Amen, brother," Older Rogue muttered.

Shine smiled and continued the quote, "'There is therefore no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus...and we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.' " [From Romans 8]

Then, thoughtfully, she turned to that book. "Here's something else that might be useful to us:

"'And do this, know the time that now it is high time to wake out of sleep, for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed.... Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light.' " [Roman 13:11-12]

"I got one," Wally said. "I was thinking kind of about how everyone is divided in this world...and I thought of that thing from Acts 17."

"Oh, I got it." Shine turned the pages. "Twenty-six through twenty-seven, right?"

"Yeah," Wally said.

Shine read, "'And He made from one blood every nation of man to dwell on all the face of the earth...so that they should see the LORD, in the hope that they might...find Him, though He is not far from each one of us. For in Him we live and move and have our being.' " [last part is also vs 28]

Shine then shut the Bible.

"You know," she said, intently, "all of us who've come to rely on this, we have different things we focus on, but we agree on a few things. One is that we cannot do it ourselves. Another is that we all need forgiveness. Whether you've lived 150 years or 15, everyone needs that. And another is that, in turn, we have to try to extend that to other people. Love our enemies."

"Sure," Domino said snarkily. "We'll love them while they're enslaving us and treating us like garbage."

"But that is what we are," Shine said quietly. "Who actually deserves better than that? Not me. If you were inside my head, you'd know."

They stared at her.

"But I know all of you are no better." Shine shrugged. "I don't judge you for that. The cruelty of this age is just all on the outside, but it was always on the inside.... If you let it infect you further, this never goes away. We may succeed...and then what? We go home, and we keep the same jealousy, the same hatred, and the same envy as before? Harbor the same resentment of our fellow man? Rely on ourselves to play God, and not on God Himself? The world will be right back here in no time."

She sighed. "We cannot stop the world from corroding over time, but to this extreme? To where it's enforced on everyone to be corrupt? We must try to prevent that. People need the most basic freedom of all: The freedom to choose if they'll be good or evil. All other rights can be taken away by power and violence...but you decide what you'll be, inside your head. And when someone tries to usurp that...they have gone too far, and there is no light in them. We don't use mind control. Anyone who does knows that they can't really make a case for what they do being good...so they just ignore it. But we have to be better than that. Remember: What you will resort to, when pushed up against the wall and in the face of losing everything you have, is what you really are. If you'd kill then, then you are already a killer. Not to say there's never a time for that...but then, it is what it is. No use saying it's not. If you'd resort to overriding someone's free will, then you are that also. And you are the same as the bad guys."

Emma looked guilty when she said that.

"Maybe there's levels," Shine said. "There's making people fall into line, and then there's changing their moral compass...but there are lines that cannot be crossed. We cannot defeat evil by becoming evil ourselves. Yet another passage says to 'overcome evil by doing good.' We can fight, and we can struggle...but we have to be doing good...or we'll create this world all over again. I hope each of you understand that...every action you take has more weight than it ever did. You've been shown what the world looks like, if people give into their fears and their pride and push around others. You have no excuse now to go back and live the way that would promote this mindset. And be assured, if you do, you will get no mercy from God on it. God only shows people this who He expects a lot from. 'To whom much is given, much shall be required.' "

She paused again. No one spoke, so she went on.

"Wally and I, we won't be able to guide you all now. We can do our best, but each of you is responsible for your own self, also. Don't look to us to restrain you, to make you be better. And don't expect anyone else to encourage that either. It's good if we can, but if we can't, each of you, if put to the test on your own, must be able to stand for what's right. If you cannot do that, I suggest you don't walk out this door. We have no time and place for people who are only half committed to what is Good. Whatever your past it, I don't care. With us, you will be Holy, if only for the time being...or you won't be included. We haven't come so far to risk this on people who will resort to anything to win, even if it's inhuman. So I ask all of you...search yourselves. Can you abide by that?"

They all looked at her.

"You can have a few minutes," Shine said. "But meanwhile, I will say this: It's been an honor to work with all of you. You're brave people, even the ones I've known only for a few hours...and I believe we are all here for a reason. God makes no mistake.... Perhaps even the people we've lost have their own purpose in all this. I can't believe they won't go down without a fight. So all we have to do is our part. But we are not the answer...we're just the vessel the answer comes through, if even that. I've never gone into a fight like that, and won it, without seeing signs and wonders in order to make that happen. I don't expect to this time. But I can't predict what it will take. We may leave this dimension before we're done.... Some of us may have to sacrifice even our own lives."

Wally took her hand.

Shine took a deep breath. "If Wally and I have to do that, I believe you'll find a way home anyway.... If not, you'll have to make the best of it, but that's unlikely.... And, if we don't make it back, but the rest of you do, Ororo, Logan, we want you to take charge of our activities."

"I?" Storm said.

"You have the most training for it," Shine said. "And you have the temperament, which is more rare."

"But I don't," Logan said.

"No, but you care more about justice than anybody else," Shine said. "Can't have one without the other, Logan. What else were you chosen for?"

Logan blinked at her.

"We trust you guys," Wally said.

"And of course the rest of you will have to help," Shine said. "Please, never give up on your progress, if that happens. You don't really need us. You know enough to know to begin on your own, and the rest will come eventually."

"Oh, don't say that." Marie-Rogue had tears in her eyes. "We still need ya. We got lots to learn."

"Yeah, you guys can't ditch us," Morph said.

"And we don't plan to," Shine said. "But we can't imagine that we're risk free here, and if it worked out that way, we have to have this conversation now. But if Storm and Logan don't make it, then whoever does, you have to. Please...or all this was for nothing. I believe only the Love of God can unite mutants and humans enough to prevent this future from ever happening.... All other solutions didn't work, we know that already...and it is the only one that does not seem to be accounted for by the records here.... That can only mean it was the biggest deviation from the sequence of all.... This is the difference."

She glanced at them seriously. "I hoped you all would understand this in time, on your own, but it's better to say things now, if we can."

Storm nodded somberly. "Well, in that case, I swear that, if that happens, I will do my best...but do not give yourselves up unless there is no other way, promise."

"Oh, sure," Wally agreed.

"Normally when we send off, we have gifts and special words," Shine said. "But there's no time for that.... The words we've already told you will have to be enough. But hang on to them, all of you."

She stopped again. "And remember that, even if we're stopped, and you're caught, and things look bleak, we love you. And God loves you...and as a wise man of my world once said, 'we will be beaten, but He will not'. [Casper Ten Boom] But love transcends even defeat and death.... There are things stronger than death, so, don't fret too much about that possibility. We should fear more the coldness of giving up on love than any other danger. We lose that, we lose ourselves. Remember that also."

She seemed serious. "I've been trying to say that all along, but I know if I wait too long to be that explicit.... Taking the gradual path is not always the best idea. But I did what I thought was right by all of you...and all the others. Still, I'm only human."

"Ditto," Wally said. "We did our best, guys."

"I wish ya'd stop talkin' like you're sayin' goodbye," Marie said, wiping her yes. "Y'all will make it, you'll see. You're the plumb hardest people to kill I ever saw. Other than maybe Logan."

"Heh," Logan laughed without humor.

"Boy, this got heavy," Forge said to Domino in a low voice. "I feel like we missed a lot of context here."

"What even is this group?" she replied with a weirded out look.

The young Rogue kept looking at Scott like she expected him to find this as weird as her.

But, if anything, Scott was just thinking this was kind of sad...but moving too.

Made he kind of wish he did believe it...just because they all seemed to feel so much more at peace.

Shine glanced at them all.

"Well?" she said.

They remembered her question.

"I don't have a problem with complying with those principles," Storm said.

Most of them nodded.

Domino ran a hand along her gun. "Are you saying I can't shoot people?"

"No," Shine said, looking at her intently. "I'm saying you can't shoot people just because they're someone you don't like. If you resort to that--and you may have to--it had better be because there was no other option. We're not taking revenge."

Domino frowned at her but then shrugged. "Fine. Probably won't get the chance anyway.... Can I still punch Quicksilver, or is that not spiritual enough for you?"

Shine gave her a look that said she'd better not push it. But answered, "I wouldn't be above that myself, so if you're not spiritual enough, neither am I. However, I blame his father more."

Domino cracked a small smile.

"I guess it's not very X-men to go after revenge," the young Rogue conceded. "But these people took everything from us. If anyone deserves that...well, it's them. We're not going easy on them."

"No, of course not," Shine said. "I just don't wish to act out of anger."

"Well, we're goin' to get a little bit angry," Logan said. "Aren't ya just furious because of what they did to those kids?"

"Oh, yes," Shine said. And her tone made them think it was true.

Wally frowned darkly too.

"But there it is." Shine shook it off. "If that's what I think about, it's just what Apocalypse wants.... You know what he won't be able to tolerate? People who walk up to him, no fear, no anger, no wrath, and just take him down because he is a false god and megalomaniac. As for Sinister, he cares nothing about how people feel anyway, and I'm not going to waste my emotions on him. You must learn at some point that anger against evil people is mostly pointless. Anger only bothers good people. Only good people care if you have a reason to be angry. But evil people are more afraid if they can't get to you. I'm telling you all what will help you the most, but whether you listen or not is your choice."

"I think you just explained why Selene hates me so much." Emma was amused. "Speaking of which...that's going to be a problem. We're vastly outnumbered."

"That's true," Shine said. "We're counting on them wanting us personally...but then again...some backup never hurts." She got an odd look. "I bet there's a lot of people who'd join us for one last shot against these tyrants, rather than rotting in prison over it.... Food for thought..."

She looked up. "Okay, let's pray. We're not doing this without praying. If you don't go for that, you don't have to say anything, but we got through yesterday somehow. I'm not messing with that."

"Any help we can get," Domino muttered.

Sure, she still didn't get it, but after listening to this for this long, she was getting the idea that Shine didn't really take no for an answer and she'd better just go with it.

Shine and Wally led them in a prayer much like the one the previous day.

Some of the X-men joined in. At such times, who could afford not to ask for Divine help? No atheists in fox holes.

Even the skeptics in the group couldn't help but wonder.

Nothing about this seemed like God had had much to do with it...but was it possible?

Emma's acceptance of it surprised some of them. She never struck anyone as the type.

But Emma had had a few realizations of her own in the last week, and one was that, after Shine and Wally helped her before, she felt better. And she felt better after their sealing and other things.

She wasn't stupid. She had the idea.

[And, as an aside, the people who say prayer doesn't work, in my experience, usually don't actually pray...so...yeah...]

[If you didn't remember enough of the book to guess, this chapter was actually sort of a recap/homage of the DJs relationship with the X-men, touching on the main things they taught them about.
Clever, right?]