Chapter 2! Yay! Thank you to those who have read chapter one, every time the number of views increases I get very excited! Please enjoy this chapter, and leave a review!

XxxxX

Janos bent his head aside just in time for the toxic ball to miss him. He could actually hear the acid hissing loudly as it flew past his left ear, just missing a lock of his hair. The growing hurricanes in his hands caught it and tossed it away, where it spattered to the ground. Janos' heart was already starting to pound a little quicker than before; Angel was faster than he had given her credit for. But not quick enough to hit him. "You'll have to try harder than that!" he yelled over the roaring of the wind.

His hurricanes had now reached over two meters tall; they were similar in size to the ones he made on Shaw's boat in what seemed like a lifeline ago. Janos could feel the power and strength in each of them and grinned; if Angel can beat me, he thought as he scanned the sky for her, I would be so proud of her. He couldn't see the young woman though; she had vanished into the clear sky. Where is she?

A hissing sound approached from his right, a higher angle than last time – he quickly released his hurricanes from his palms, where they tried to reach for her. Janos couldn't hear her wings beating – they were silent, even in flight – but he knew she had flown out of the way of his sucking winds. He didn't know what would happen if he did manage to suck her into one of his hurricanes; if he wasn't careful, she could be smashed onto the concrete like an egg.

Janos didn't wait around to find out where her next attack was coming from. Crossing his arms over his chest, hands balled into fists, he closed his eyes and jerked his body violently to the left. Instantly wind started to produce at his feet; he let its force spin him around again and again and again. Janos could hear the harsh screaming as it rose higher and higher around his body. It was his shield, protecting him from harm. Without it, he would surely be helpless. He wanted to laugh with joy; nothing in the world matched the feeling of being inside a hurricane, but he forced himself to say sober and focused. Shaw had at least taught him that, to never let go of the task at hand.

Angel's acid bombs were hitting his shield at a tremendous rate; through the howling of the wind Janos could hear the sounds of rapid-fast gunfire as she attacked him relentlessly. Because his eyes were closed he couldn't see the acid balls. But they whistled and sang and hissed in his ears and against his skin. Their droplets were so close to touching his skin – but the wind always snatched them away in time. He didn't have to open his eyes to know they were being disintegrated around him. With enough force, his hurricanes could rip apart a human body.

His mind drifted off in the familiar sense of spinning; to anyone watching, they would just see an enormous hurricane with yellow light scattering through it. Erik once asked Janos if he got cold inside there, if he ever felt like he wanted to throw up from spinning so fast. But Janos had denied the claims instantly. In his younger days, sickness had been a problem. He hadn't been the strongest of children against illness, one of those surprisingly being that he had a weak stomach. But that was all in the past, which had been washed free from him as he grew older and more confident.

Something suddenly hit his shoulder so hard it felt like he had been shot with a bullet. Janos instantly jerked himself the opposite way he was spinning; the hurricane immediately began to give away. His arms uncrossed in order to stop his body from continuously turning; standing still he could feel the wind peeling from him, starting from the top. As always he felt a little exposed, but that quickly passed. Janos' eyes fluttered open to watch the last of the wind vanish into the air. He missed the sensation of spinning already.

The pain felt like someone had poured gasoline on his shoulder and lit it. He turned his head to look at the severity of the wound and was taken aback by the amount of damage Angel could do. The skin on his left shoulder was covered in bright yellow acid. It hissed and spat at him when he reached a hand toward it; he winced when some of the acid flew onto the side of his neck. Janos had known that Angel had been strong enough to complete his task, to hit him, and he was right. He smiled with pride but then the pain attacked him again. This time it felt like a branding. With a hiss of his own, he knelt on one knee, eyes watching the acid slowly burn deeper into his skin.

"Oh my God, Janos!" Angel came running from behind him; she had seen him stop his hurricane and quickly landed to see why so sudden. "You're hit!"

Janos raised his head when she crouched in front of him; she stared at his wound with wide, frightened eyes. He watched as she brushed hair back from her face with both her hands; she seemed panicked that she had hurt him.

"You did it." He told her with a calm smile. "You beat me, I knew you could."

"This is not funny!" She snapped at him. "I've hurt you really bad!"

"I told you to." Janos reminded her. "And besides," he looked at the wound again. "It'll heal in time."

"How can you be so calm?" Angel was starting to shake; he could see it in her hands. "I – I burnt you, Janos. Really bad. Erik isn't going to like this – he's going to be so angry at me –"

"Hey." Janos grabbed her hands in his own, wanting to still her fears. "Erik is not going to get mad at you. Okay? I promise he won't."

"But what are you going to tell him?"

"That you're more than ready for Friday. You managed at hit me through a hurricane, something no one else has been able to do." Janos smiled softly at her, wanting to see her smile back at him. "Erik knows that; he's going to be proud of your progress."

Angel didn't flinch when he brushed back a lock of her hair with his fingers, nor when his hand stilled on her hair. Janos had the urge to stroke it, to feel its softness for himself. I don't want to freak her out, he told himself. The pain had almost left his mind completely while he lost himself in Angel's beautiful dark eyes. He could see specks of light brown, like chocolate, but mostly her eyes looked black.

"Janos." Azazel suddenly appeared a few feet away, causing a startled Angel to pull back. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Janos told him despite the fact that the agony was starting to make his vision blur. Or maybe it was the acid? Either way he didn't want his friends to know, to worry about him. "I'm fine," he repeated; but it felt like he was trying to convince himself instead of them.

Azazel shook his head, face hardening when he saw Janos' head sway heavily away from them. Janos went to reassure him again, but instead his face drained of all colour and he crashed to the ground unconscious.

XxxxX

It was night time when Janos' eyes fluttered open. The sun was still shinning, but it was dulled by his grey and violet curtains. Groggily turning his head he saw that he lay in his own bed; he still wore his jean shorts but his tank top was gone. He closed his eyes again and, after a minute to collect his thoughts, threw the sheets from his body and swung his legs over the side of the bed. Agony instantly ripped through his left shoulder, making his open his mouth in a silent scream. He had been in pain many, many times of his life and had learnt not to show it, never to scream aloud. Janos' heart was already pounding a little quicker; slowly he looked over at his shoulder.

It was heavily covered in bandages that diagonally crossed his chest and back to hold it in place. Janos wanted to see how badly the wound was, but he knew better than to take off the bandage. Gingerly he hovered his fingers around the edges, allowing a little breeze to flutter underneath the tightly concealed wound. It dulled the pain the tiniest amount; he gave a small sigh and drew his hand away. Angel's acid defiantly had more of an affect on him than he thought. He knew that it would cause terrible pain, something he could handle, but he didn't know he would black out from it. The last thing he remembered was…was being on the rooftop with Angel and Azazel. It had been…Wednesday morning.

Then another thought hit him: how long have I been out? He hurriedly looked to the clock on the wall: ten o'clock at night. Janos shot to his feet, wanting to find the team; the agony gripped his head, giving into a pounding headache. With a gasp Janos sat heavily back on the bed, right hand pressed to his temple. He wanted to escape his room, to let his friends know he was awake, but the pain wouldn't let him.

Where is everyone, he thought. By now someone, Emma at least, should have heard him and come to check up on him. Closing his eyes, trying to ignore the headache, Janos projected his mind while concentrating on an image of Emma. If he could contact her within the hotel, she could help him out and let everyone know he was okay.

"Emma," he spoke inside his head, hoping she could hear him. "It's me, Janos. I'm awake."

Nothing met his thoughts except empty silence. The headache started surfacing again and Janos had to grip harder onto his temple to keep it out. He waited for Emma to reply; had she even heard him at all? Maybe she's just busy, he told himself. But still, it was very strange for Emma not to answer immediately. She was powerful telepath; she could talk to three people inside her mind at once if she wanted.

"Janos." Emma replied suddenly. "Where are you?"

"In my room," he answered with a small sigh of relief. "Tell everyone I'm awake and okay. They must be worried about me."

"Angel says she glad you're awake," Emma said after a moment. "So does Azazel. He was worried you'd wake up a lot later than you have."

Janos smiled, though she couldn't see it. "Good. Thank you, Emma. Tell them I'm coming down to see them."

"No, you won't be." Emma's words stopped Janos in his tracks.

"What? Why not?" Janos asked.

"Because we are not at the hotel." She answered. "None of us are, only you.

He went to speak but she cut him off.

"It's Friday, Janos, don't you know? We're at the site of Operation: Wide Awake."

His breathe stuck in his throat; he inhaled so sharply pain stabbed into his lungs. "You went on the mission without me?"

"You were still unconscious when we left." Emma explained, though it didn't make Janos feel any less guilty for not being there. "We predicted you would still be out when we came back."

"I can still come!" he cried to her inside his mind. "I can still fight! This is what I've been training for!"

"I'm sorry, Janos." Emma said, though she didn't sound sorry. "You're still not stable enough to stand up let alone fight. You're not a part of this mission."

"No, please!' Janos felt like an abandoned child, betrayed and alone. "I can do this!"

"Erik's orders." She replied coldly. "We're not allowed to have you here. We'll see you when we get back, Janos. This won't take long."

"Wait!" His cry only spiralled off into blackness; Emma didn't answer him. She had broken the connection, he could tell from the deafening silence. The headache still persisted but he didn't care about it anymore. Slowly he lowered his hand from the side of his head; his fingers shook slightly. His mind couldn't grasp the fact that he was left behind. His friends were going to battle for justice for mutants everywhere, and he wasn't a part of it.

It wasn't only that they had abandoned him here…it was the fact that it had happened again. This wasn't the only time in his life he had been left alone; it wasn't the only time he had been left in agony and guilt without a soul around.

A heavy wave of helplessness over took him; there was nothing he could do but wait for their return. Janos let his body fall heavily back onto the bed and threw the sheets over himself again. Roughly, he turned onto his stomach, not really caring at the moment if he damaged his shoulder any more. Sleep quickly washed over his body, carrying him away from his pain and agony.

XxxxX

"Riptide."

Janos' eyes shot open instantly; Erik was standing in of him, still in his battlesuit and helmet. Letting of the pillow he gripped in both his hands, Janos pushed himself up from the bed. Pain made him freeze as his shoulder was jerked too roughly; Janos didn't show the hurt to his leader. Luckily, Erik wasn't watching closely enough to see it.

"Is everyone okay?" Janos asked hurriedly, despite the pain his shoulder gave him as he sat up in bed. The mission had been a dangerous one; he expected at least one person to be wounded but he didn't know who.

Erik shook his head slowly and for the first time Janos noticed how bleak his eye's leaders seemed, how dull and lifeless. There was a dark liquid splattered over his uniform; Janos could only hope it was human blood, not a mutant's.

Terror and pain was starting to curl up in Janos's stomach; he knew something was dreadfully wrong. He had never seen Erik this…helpless. "What is it?"

"Angel and Azazel." Erik whispered, not looking at him in the eye. "They're dead."

At those two names and two words, Janos' world crumpled around him. Everything shut down: his mind, his body; he swore he felt his very soul die. Janos' heart ripped inside of his chest; his heartbeat faded from his ears to blackness. His lungs didn't seem to work anymore. As much as Janos tried to suck in air, nothing came. There was only the empty, hollowness inside of him. It was as if he had no heart anymore.

Janos' legs had given way and he found himself on his knees on the floor. His arms didn't have the strength to hold him up as he sobbed uncontrollably. His head had fallen forward, hair dangling in front of his face. Janos' chest jolted again and again as agony and grief ripped him to pieces from the inside out. His best friends lay dead and he hadn't been there for them. Somewhere Erik was muttering words of comfort, rubbing his bare back with a warm hand.

At that moment everything inside of Janos came undone. All his life his loved ones had lain around him dying. Their blood stained his heart and soul; he would never be free of this agony. And now Angel and Azazel. God, why was life so cruel? It had taken everyone he loved away from him, no matter how hard he had tried to save them. Janos' had known pain all through his life, be it physical or emotion.

But nothing hurt as much as right now, when everything he had ever held onto had been ripped from him.

With a loud scream of agony Janos tore the bandages from his shoulder. Closing his eyes he gripped the black burn wound and squeezed it till his hand was shaking. Blood welled from the wound, slipping down his skin like the tears on his cheeks. The agony burned like a thousand furnaces, but was nothing compared to the pain of losing his friends.

Hands grabbed his own, trying to prise them off his wound but Janos shoved them away. He didn't want anyone stopping him; he didn't want anyone touching him. All he wanted was Angel and Azazel. They were the only people who could truly understand him, the only ones who could make this all better.

But they were gone. And they were never coming back.

Omg, their dead! :( I actually cried in the movies when that happened. But how will Janos take it on the long term? His best friend -brother, more like - and the girl he loved, gone!

Thank you so much for reading this story, it means a lot to me!