Yay! 3 more reviews! I love my reviewers ;D
S.G. – This does happen before Ella was captured and the whole Institution thing went down. And this does connect back to the story itself. You'll see how.
RogueRecruit- Of course, I'll put Grace in!
Gregarious- You'll have to read to see if it goes according to plan.
The final chapter in this one-shot. I basically made it into a filler to show more detail about what propels them forward with everything that happened in the chapter with Shiloh. Hopefully, this is clear. Hope you guys love it!
X-Men: Restoration presents The X-Spector
Chapter Three: The Biggest Nightmares
They could hear the Professor laughing hysterically from the control room. Eric awoke as he groaned from the aches that shot paint through his body.
"I will never look at the Prof the same again" he mumbled as he picked himself off the ground. He could hear explosions around him but he couldn't see anything. It was pitch dark. He fixed himself an electric bolt torch as he peered around him. He saw that there was nothing around him. Suddenly, he saw a little movement out of the corner of his eye. He turned towards it but saw nothing. He then heard a voice from behind him that made his hairs prick up.
"Eric…why are you so shy?" a small voice whispered in his ears. He shivered as he slowly peered around to see who it was. It was Camlin. His heart skipped a beat as he stared at her. "Why can't you simply ask a girl out? I've been waiting forever. FOREVER!" She shouted at him as he back away from her. He stumbled to the ground as he gazed up into her glassy eyes.
"Camlin, you have to be in there somewhere. You have to be, don't let this ghost take over you. Don't let it. Remember me." He pleaded as she held up her hands both glimmering, she threw them at him. He felt the ghostly forms go through his body, cold and dark. They couldn't take control of him because he knew Coralie had that power not Camlin. He still had control in this game. He couldn't attack her. She was the girl he cared about. She was the one who he loved. She was the girl who brightened his day. It suddenly dawned on him.
"You aren't Camlin. Camlin would never pressure me. She would never hurt me or anyone else. You are just a ghost, a simple ghost." He said as he threw an electric bolt and as it hit her, his heart skipped a beat. She vanished in a puff of smoke before his eyes. He grinned to himself as he ran across the room trying to find someone. It was all an illusion. He tripped and fell over something and saw that it was Logan's body. He jumped back as he saw vines crawling over it. Not Grace. He felt something crawling up his legs and swallowed his fear.
He suddenly was hoisted up in the air by a plant vine and stared down at her small figure. He dropped his electrical torch which she kicked to the side. Vines started to constrict him tighter and tighter. He knew this couldn't be true. He closed his eyes as he felt the pain searing through his veins. He saw that Logan had ripped up the metal floor panels and saw that there was a blue light glowing from them. Oh…that was interesting.
He breathed in air as he coughed from the vines; he concentrated on his power output. He had to light it up. He didn't know what would happen after this but he had to try. He knew he probably would be knocked out after this but he depended on the others.
Coralie saw a flash of light as dragged Kitty's unconscious body out of the debris. It was a powerful flash that burned her eyes. It had to be Eric signaling them. She hoisted Kitty on her back as she ran towards the flash. Hopefully, no one would notice her. That was just wishful thinking as she heard the familiar sound of squeaking.
"Player Roberts! OUT!" She heard the Professor say.
She ran away towards the light as she tripped and trampled on things she didn't want to know about. She felt the presence of a figure moving next to her.
"Noah, is that you?" She whispered as she breathed heavily in.
"Yes, but don't give it away so easily." He said as he appeared running next to her. "I've been wandering along the upper decks but the Professor noticed me right away so I escaped from his vision"
"Ghosts can see what is unseen easily so your invisibility won't work around them. But animals live off of scent so it is no use around rats!" She hissed as she felt one of those pesky critters bite her ankle. She had to fight through the agony that it gave her as she felt the weight of Kitty being removed from her back.
"I'll take Kitty. You go ahead and figure out what that light is." Noah said as he and Kitty changed invisible. Coralie lunged forward and slid across the cool metal floor as she saw the glowing wires. There was ghost energy coming from them and quite a bit of it. She breathed in to calm herself. She needed Camlin to do this but she was taken so she had to try by herself. She gripped the wires letting the paranormal energy flow through her and attempting to release it into the air. She closed her eyes, scared for her life. She heard the screeching of music around her as she braced herself. She pulled on the wires as hard as she could. She heard electrical wiring snapping. She heard the screams echoing throughout the room. After that there was silence. It was a disturbing silence. She shivered in fear…she didn't want to open her eyes.
She heard soft voice in her ear and she opened her eyes. She was lying on the floor of the Danger Room in her pajamas. She saw everyone else around her knocked out. She was confused.
"Coralie, are you okay?" Reagan said concerned. Coralie stared up at Reagan's face.
"What happened?" She asked as she got up off the ground. She turned about and saw that everyone was in their pajamas.
"Your nightmares came to life." Reagan quietly said.
"No, that was real. It had to be. The ghost possessed the Professor. He sent us out in a crazy game." Coralie muttered as she gazed around to see if Camlin was near.
"Coralie, you are the only one that can transfer ghosts into bodies. No one else has that skill." Reagan continued as she pointed out the Professor. The Professor waved her over and explained what Reagan had just said in more detail. He explained that her mutation was developing and that her contact with the paranormal world set a nightmare in motion. Coralie still wasn't convinced as she bit her lips in concern and nervousness. She rubbed her fingers together to stop the nervous energy from flowing. She glanced down at her hands.
"It can't be me; I can't fully transfer without Camlin. Where is she?" Coralie said as she glanced around again. Everyone else was beginning to stir. She felt a chilling presence in the room. "WHERE IS MY SISTER!" She shouted at everyone as she glanced around. She heard a clash of music around her as she saw the ghosts of lost souls rise out of the floor. She heard a soft clear voice through them all.
"Right here." The voice said firmly as her sister arouse out of the sea of ghosts.
"You've been playing too many games…to count!" She said as she walked towards Camlin's body that was clearly possessed by his clutches. "You BETTER get out of my sister or I'll COME AND GET YOU!" Eric jumped up right away and blocked Coralie from grabbing Camlin.
"You need help!" Eric said defensively as he gripped Coralie's wrists. Camlin burst into tears. She broke out of Eric's grip as she slapped Camlin on the forehead. Camlin fell backwards onto the ground. Her eyes were glazed over. Coralie closed her eyes and tried to take the ghost out of Camlin. She wasn't insane and this would prove it. She saw other ghosts peering at her with their demeaning looks as she closed her eyes and concentrated. Camlin was still crying hysterically as her sister loomed over her.
She held onto her sister's hand and gently placed a hand on Camlin's head. She felt the ghost giving up his grip on her sister and she pulled him out. She heard a heavy metal screech as she held the ghost by his neck.
"WHY are you here?" She demanded as the ghost flailed his arms. She heard softer, straining music in reply.
"He says that he is sent by The Institution to spy on us and to find our weaknesses. His body is held in The Institution in comatose and that is why he is a ghost with retention of his mutation. He played with several of our nightmares and used you all to make it come true. Coralie's nightmare incorporated her mutation going haywire on everyone so that was the final piece of the puzzle. He has no choice but to report everything back to The Reaper." Camlin said in a shaky voice as she shook from the shock of having a ghost in her body for such a long time. Everyone had gathered around the Dante sisters looking puzzled and deeply troubled.
Coralie let the ghost boy disappear from her grasp. She thanked herself that it wasn't herself that had caused the fiasco to exist.
"Please stay calm everyone. We will continue to train and strive to anticipate The Institution's moves. I am sorry that everyone was put through such a mind twisting game but now we must plan to fight something that is much bigger than ourselves. You may fight people you know who were taken. As I have heard from the others, our dear friend Anna Marie was taken by them. I am trying to contact the mutants within The Institution with Cerebro to find their location but they are off the grid. I am getting honorary X-Men to come back because we need all the help we can get." The Professor said as Professor Ororo wheeled him out. He looked very pale and in shock like Camlin.
Logan sighed as he walked a few of younger recruits out who were a little shaken. Camlin cried on Eric's shoulder as he walked her out. Through her sobs she spoke to Eric about feeling the cold presence within her but she couldn't get him out no matter what she did. He kept telling her to calm her mind. Ella was speaking to Noah about finding the location of The Institution but he said it was impossible. Mark threw his dice up in the air several times as he whispered to himself, with a shaky voice. Coralie had a petrified look on her face as she felt the ghost's feeling of insecurity and fear yet a darker ominous aura lingered around him that terrified her more than anything had ever before.
The Spector had come to visit them but he brought more news about The Institution. What was it and what did they want? Why? Why were they using mutants for an anti-mutant revolution? What was their next move? All of these questions had to be answered and for the first time in a long time…Charles Xavier had no answers but one. He would save Rogue and the other captive mutants. He would restore order to the world. Mutants will live in peace with humans…it was inevitable in his mind. There will be peace or he would die trying to restore it.
