Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Mutant X, its' characters, its' plots, etc. , etc. You get the point.

Rating: PG

A/N: Thank you everyone for your reviews. Sorry that it has taken me soooooo long to update, I had a major case of writer's block and had completely lost where I was going to take this story. After some thought, I finally came up with this really great plot that I've decided to include into this story. But trust me, the wait has been worth it. I hope you enjoy it, and please, please REVIEW! :-) ************************************************************************

Revelations

Chapter 4: Hope Broken

Nothing on earth can make life so worthwhile,

Than a true, loyal friend and the warmth of a smile,

For, just like a sunbeam makes cloudy days brighter,

The smile of a friend makes a heavy heart lighter.

-Helen Steiner Rice

XXXX Adam, Emma, and Jesse at Sanctuary XXXX

"He'll be fine,... right?" Emma asked as she stood by the med lab chair, her voice full of worry and her eyes reddened, obviously from crying. She looked down and slowly raised her hand and placed it softly on Jesse's bruised cheek, hoping that his unconscious body would suddenly just awaken.

"Yes, I'm fairly certain of that," Adam answered, as he walked over to check on Jesse's biostats. "Neither bullet penetrated deep enough to do any fatal damage. Other than having a very sore shoulder and leg for a couple of days, he should be perfectly normal by tomorrow morning, possibly even awake by then," Adam finished as he walked back over to Jesse and stood across from Emma.

As the two of them stared at each other momentarily, it was obvious to Emma that the day's events had taken a toll on Adam. The calm solidarity that Adam usually possessed was missing, replaced by sadness, guilt, and anger. There was even a touch of pessimism to him that night. Even on days when the team was having a really tough time and you could easily tell that Adam was feeling guilty for his past actions, even those days could not compare with how Adam looked now. His eyes were dark, without any twinkle to them, and dark bags were forming underneath them; his dimples were camouflaged beneath his pain; and his curly hair was in a jostled mess.

"Adam,.." Emma started to say, but Adam interrupted, seemingly knowing what Emma was going to ask.

"You're reading me, aren't you?!" Emma shook her head slightly, as Adam just continued speaking. "It's nothing! It's just..." Adam hesitated, his emotions building to a climax. Sensing this, Emma walked over and grabbed his hands, holding them to give him the confidence needed to continue. "It's just, I feel like I have to protect you guys,.. all of my children, and I've, I've failed you today. Brennan and Shalimar are missing, Jesse's been shot, and you're..."

"It's okay, Adam, it really is," Emma replied, giving Adam a sympathetic hug. A single tear fell down Adam's cheek as guilt over events long past tortured him. Adam pulled away from Emma, quickly dragging his hand across his face to hide his sadness.

"Should I tell her?" Adam thought. He looked up to see Emma's pale, innocent face, her eyes glistening, wet with un-fallen tears, her dark lips forced into a small smile.

"I just can't... not now at least." A smile spread across his face, his happiness returning, more and more with each second.

"What?" Emma asked, for once not sensing what Adam's feelings were at that moment.

"Just thinking about how elated I was the day I first saw you." Emma blushed slightly and started to giggle, as she gave him a little jab in the shoulder.

"Hey!" Adam said lightly as he let out a laugh.

"Oh yeah! I forgot to tell you about the hit I got while Jesse and I were out," Emma replied enthusiastically, as she changed the subject. Adam gave her a look, as if he were saying 'Please continue'. "It was horrible,.. what happened to Brennan and Shalimar. They were pulled over and arrested by two cops. But the cops weren't normal- they were both new mutants, and they were being assisted by someone else who was also a new..." Emma didn't even finish her sentence because the look on Adam's face frightened her.

"Great," Adam said with disappointed anger. "I had a feeling that something like this was going to happen... do you have any idea where they are now?"

"Yeah. They were taken to the OPP to be booked. You're going to go get them, aren't you?"

"I have to."

"Then I'll go with you"

"No Emma! I think that you'd be safer here..."

"To sit here and hold my breath until you and the others come back! I..."

"NO!"

"But I'm not..."

"Emma! Look at me! You've already gone through a lot today, and there's no need for you to go through more trouble. And anyways..." Adam started to say, as he noticed a small yawn creep from Emma, "you need your rest." After pouting for a moment, Emma decided to give up arguing.

"Okay, Dad-dy," she answered sarcastically, as she put her hands on her hips, mimicking a little kid complaining.

"Then it's settled. I should be back in an hour. I'll leave my comlink on if you want to talk to someone. And make sure you keep an eye on Jesse's biostats."

"Fine. See you later then," Emma replied, slightly annoyed, as she walked out of the med lab, Adam's eyes following her leave. After she left his view, Adam hit a table with his hand, upset at the turn of events. Leaning against the wall, he looked towards the floor, thinking and searching for something that he could never quite reach.

"Damn it! I should have told her!" Adam thought silently to himself.

(THWACK!) Adam was quickly taken out of his thoughts. "She slammed her door again." he said out loud to himslef, as he shook his head and decided to go and get Brennan and Shalimar.

*********************************************************************

Home is where the heart is.

-Pliny

XXXX Later, Emma Meditating in the Dojo XXXX

Emma's arms rested lightly on her knees, as she sat cross-legged, eyes closed. She was trying very hard to meditate, but was more in her philosophical mood again than a peaceful, meditative one. Before Adam had left, she had gone to her room and changed into her favorite pajamas- a white tank with a red rose on it and white flannel pants- before coming to the dojo to try and relax. The dojo was the perfect place to calm down; the trickling sound of the nearby waterfall complemented Emma's soft breathing, creating a most serene location. Filling her mind with thoughts and all her worries and hopes, she plunged into the philosophical world she had been in only hours ago, before her reality had been turned upside down.

Emma debated things, tossed ideas around, all the while trying desperately to win the battle of depression she was grappling with. She had been a loner for most of her life, having very few true friends. But if one of those friends got hurt, like her teammates had today, she would fight to help them with whatever she could, or at least comfort their sorrows and make them smile and laugh, even if she had to use her telempathy. But today was different. She hadn't been able to help rescue Brennan and Shalimar. And she had witnessed Jesse being shot- almost fatally- before her very eyes. Yet she had done nothing, and couldn't have now, for what was done was done. The past could not be altered, as far as she knew, only the future could be decided by what she chose as actions in the present.

Disappointed at her actions, those which she saw as a failure on her part, Emma grew angry with herself. The anger grew and grew, so great, that she wasn't controlling her powers, especially her new ability. A psionic blast bubbled at the tip of her forehead, and before she realized it and controlled her anger, the blast released from her head. Racing towards the floor, it crashed with a small "pop". Emma's eyes flew open, realizing what she had just done, only to view the small, blackened stain on the off-white floor with embarrassment.

'This is getting me nowhere!' Emma thought, frustrated with herself. Her lips formed a little smile as she thought about what Adam's face would look like when he saw the black spot, the spot which she had made in Adam's perfect Sanctuary, his home. More relaxed, Emma closed her eyes again, meditating for real this time. But before long, she yawned, overcome with exhaustion. Self-consciously, she laid down, resting her head on her arms. Here she quietly slept, the water still trickling softly in the background.



************************************************************************ *** Emma's Dream: Part 1 ***

A little girl, no more than four, was running through a field covered to her knees by daisies, black-eyed Susan's, and other wildflowers. Her long, curly brown hair was blown back by the small gusts of wind riding through the meadow. The girl's white linen dress trailed behind her, as she continued running, arms outstretched as she almost reached her destination. Slowing down, the girl came towards a mahogany thicket. A blanket and picnic basket had been placed under one of the trees, where a tall, slender lady stood, her wavy red hair blowing, also. The woman turned to greet the girl with outstretched arms and a broad smile on her face.

"Mommy!" the little girl cried as she ran right into the woman's arms. The woman lifted her up and spun her around once before setting her back down.

"My little pearl, how I've missed the natural you!" the mother replied, as the two grabbed hands and walked over to the picnic blanket to eat. The picnic basket was opened, and watermelon slices and honey sandwiches on homemade bread were taken out. The girl readily ate, looking and moving around, bubbling with energy and hardly able to hold still. The mother starred at the girl, perplexed at the sudden outburst of energy from the normally subtle and judicious small girl. The girl had always had a very strange intuitiveness about her. The mother knew where it had come from; those...

"Mum! Look, a bird!" the little girl whispered with utter delight, as a blue jay hopped over to the two of them, a worm in it's beak. With her sandwich still in her hands, the girl went over to touch it and talk to it, but it flew off before she could reach it. Sitting back down, the girl finished eating her sandwich, licking the honey off of her fingers ever so slowly, savoring it's sweetness.

" Sweetie, stop sucking your fingers like that. It's such a beautiful day to waste it doing that," the mother scolded lightly. The girl stopped moving, leaving the last finger to be licked right below her lips, as she sat there, staring at the woman, perhaps beyond the woman, ever so attentively.

" Your eyes are...are so blue. Enchanting almost, like a sapphire stone or today's clear sky, yet... they tell so much." The mother blinked her eyes once, rendered speechless by what her daughter had just said. Happy, yet sad at the same time, the mother began to laugh. Leaning over, she placed a soft kiss on the girl's forehead. Broad grins spread across both of their faces, the girl's baby teeth glistening in the afternoon sunshine. Gazing down at her child, her peculiar child, the woman caught a glimpse of something move in the brush, not to far off from where they were sitting. Turning her eyes slightly to see exactly what it was there, the girl followed her gaze, both of them seeing a strange, dark figure standing nearby.

"Huh!" the girl gasped as she pointed at the figure. Getting up, the girl ran over to where the figure had been standing. But by the time she had gotten to that spot, there was no one, nothing at all. The girl walked back with a confused look on her pale, innocent face.

"Who, or should I say, what was that?" she questioned diligently. The mother had no idea how to answer this, but made up an answer anyway.

"It was probably just a shadow, or maybe a deer... coming to meet you." The girl, still young and quite naive, readily believed it, and soon went back to playing in the field in front of her mother. Yet, the mother knew who it was who had been standing there, but kept it to herself, all the while keeping a close watch the rest of the afternoon, making sure that the figure didn't come that close again. Sitting on the blanket cross-legged, the mother saw her little girl running happily through the meadow, chasing butterflies, as she sat quietly, watching.



************************************************************************ For nearly an hour, Emma slept peacefully on the dojo floor, having dreams similar to this one. Dreams which seemed to have a meaning to her, lost long ago, as if they were forgotten memories that her subconscious remembered, but that her conscious just couldn't. Waking up slightly, Emma rolled over, going back to sleep, to her dreams. Only this time, those dreams would be somewhat different.

************************************************************************

XXXX Adam at the OPP (police station) XXXX



Adam quickened his pace as he walked up the concrete stairs to the OPP main station. It was late- very late- and the late autumn sky was pitch black. He had to get Brennan and Shalimar back promptly and make sure that they were okay. He only hoped that the worst had not already happened.



Walking through the turn style, Adam headed towards the main desk. Dozens of police officers were all around him- walking around, escorting arrested criminals, interrogating witnesses. Yet he kept walking, eyes looking straight ahead, concentrated only about what he came there to do.



"How may I help you?" asked a friendly voice from behind the main desk.

"I've been contacted and told that my two friends have been arrested and are being held on bail. I'm here to pay it and get them out," Adam answered.

"What are their names?" the woman questioned, as she sat ready to type. There was a pause before Adam answered.



"Shalimar Fox... and Brennan Mulwray." The disappointed anger in Adam's voice was so obvious that even the woman caught it.



"Are you okay, sir?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine. It's just been a really long day. That's all."

"No argument there. Well, sir, it seems your day has just gotten better!" the woman replied, as the info on Brennan and Shalimar popped up on the screen. Adam gave the woman a confused look.

"What!?"

"Yes, sir. Someone paid their bail already, and.. they were let go about an hour ago. It appears that some other friend paid for everything, and was even nice enough to escort them home. That must be some really good friend, considering how large the fines were." Adam sighed as his worries came back. Leaning against the counter for a moment, he took in what the woman had said, before he stood back up to ask the only logical question left.

"Could you at least tell me who did this for them?" Adam asked, staring straight into the woman's eyes.

"Yes," the woman responded, almost automatically. "A man named Mr. Gabriel Ashlocke." Those words hit Adam like a brick, as he assimilated the events in his mind. He stood there in a state of shock, dark eyes opened wide, as he placed his hand on the countertop to balance himself momentarily. He blinked once, slowly, before turning to leave. Walking several steps, he paused once and turned to face the woman.

"You've been a great help!" he told the woman, with slight sarcasm. The woman just sat there, mouth still open from speaking, a look of confusion on her face. Adam nodded his head and just kept walking towards the exit, back through the mess of police officers.

A frown passed over his face and his eyes darkened to what they had been earlier that day, giving him an almost evil appearance. It was as if a dark spirit had taken control of him. Strolling along, his surroundings were clouded, for all he thought of was what had just happened. Even being so blinded, Adam should have noticed the man approaching him from out of the corner of his eye, but he didn't, and it was too late to react now.

The two collided full force, Adam's left shoulder slamming against the police officers shoulder. Adam was swung around, rudely awakened to reality. The police officer tried to remain standing by grabbing onto Adam's jacket.

"Hey man! What's your problem, eh?" the black police officer asked, obviously pissed off.

"Nothing. I'm sorry... sorry that I ran into you," Adam answered apologetically, before he turned back to the direction that he was originally headed- out. As Adam walked through the turnstyle, leaving behind everything which had just happened, the black police officer just stood there watching Adam leave.

"I'm not sorry," the officer whispered to himself with a smirk. ***********************************************************************

XXXX Back at Sanctuary, Emma still Sleeping in the Dojo XXXX

*** Emma's Dream: Part 2 *** A small baby girl, only a few months old, lay cooing in a rocker. Two figures stood nearby in the shadowed background, talking quietly and discussing the child. "She seems so pale in the light.... Are you sure that she's... normal..." There was a pause in the woman's voice before it trailed off, too soft to hear. The other person hesitated before answering this, as both figures, one man and one woman, stood there staring at the baby girl. The man raised his hand and gently pushed the rocker. The baby giggled and threw her tiny, frail arms up to grasp the receding hand.

"Every living organism is born different from everything else. There are no two personalities, or faces, or anything at all that are exactly alike. The same goes for her, and all the others like her," answered the man with noticeable patience.

"But,... how did she... was she able to send me those images of her crying, even when I was so far away from her?" asked the woman, as she let the baby wrap her small hands around the woman's finger. Another pause from the man as he thought of an appropriate answer.

"The world was meant to be diverse, and anomalies..., like her, only add to that diversity. It's what's inside that matters." ********************************************************************* Blackness swept through Emma's mind, as the dream suddenly ended, those last words echoing over and over in her head. Her subconscious confused, she started asking herself a bunch of questions. "Who were those people? What do they have to do with me?" Those two questions kept popping up most often, as she tried to sort things out. She didn't seem to recognize anyone from her dreams, yet, she felt like she should have- that those people were somehow important to her and her being. What Emma didn't know, was that those questions would soon be answered, whether she wanted to know or not. Being pulled back into another dream, almost as if by force, her subconscious stopped questioning, letting her mind rest. ********************************************************************** *** Emma's Dream: Part 3 ***

The same baby girl from the last dream lay quietly in a wooden crib. Trying to sit up, the little girl found that she could barely move- her muscles were too weak. Looking down at her wrists, she saw an IV which was inserted there, acknowledging where the pain was coming from. The child's movement had distracted someone several feet away, and soon, a woman came walking over.

"Hush now, little one." The child managed to turn her head towards the voice, seeing a face, a familiar face.

"Muma!" the little girl said weakly, as she began to cry softly for she was in great pain. Seeing the baby girl whimpering, the woman picked up the child and carried her over to a rocking chair. The woman sat, holding the girl, calming the girl, wiping away the girl's tears of pain.

"Quiet now, my little red rose," the woman told the girl before she decided to sing the child a little song.

"Sleep and rest, sleep and rest, Father will come to thee soon; Rest, rest, on mother's breast, Father will come to thee soon; Father will come to his babe in his nest, Silver sails all out of the west Under the silver moon. Sleep, my little one, sleep, my pretty one, Sleep."

As the woman finished singing the last verse, having put the sickly toddler back to sleep, tears fell down her face, one by one. She knew that the child's father wouldn't be back, not for a long time at least. Feeling pity for the little girl, her daughter, the woman kissed the child on the forehead, before pulling the covers up to her chin. Taking her place back at the rocking chair, the woman sat, keeping watch over her ill child for the rest of the night. ******************************************************************** The dream stopped, but not for long. After having just enough time to feel compassion for that poor child, Emma was forced into another dream. Only this time, it would be totally different. ******************************************************************** All there was to be seen was darkness, as Emma sat quietly on the ground, holding her legs.

"Hello, Emma," said a familiar voice from behind Emma. She got up and turned to face the person.

"Who's there?" Emma asked, slightly scared.

" Oh, no one. Just God." Gabriel Ashlocke. It had to be the voice of Gabriel. In the distance, Emma could barely make out a figure. She hated when she couldn't see what was happening.

"What do you want?"

" Not much, except for you and your MX friends to receive their just punishment, especially Adam. But don't worry, your friends have already been taken care of." Suddenly, Brennan and Shalimar appeared before Emma, Brennan to her right, Shalimar to her left. They were being tortured. Brennan was strapped to a wall and was surrounded by a whole gang of GS agents, who were zapping him, repeatedly. Shalimar was surrounded on all sides by several circles of fire. Sweat was rolling down her face, as she just stood frozen there, in the center of the circles, panicked.

"Help me, Emma!" Brennan managed to say before he was zapped again and again, his whole body shaking from the electricity being put on him..

"Emma! You have to help us!" Shalimar said frantically.

"Well, who are you going to save- Brennan or Shalimar?" Emma wanted to save both, but knew that she couldn't. She stood her ground momentarily, as she contemplated what to do.

"Too bad. You're too late for both of them." At that moment, Shalimar gave out a terrified scream, as the fire moved towards her and engulfed her, leaving nothing behind but her burnt remains.[1] Brennan gave one last grunt, before everyone surrounded him, zapping him simultaneously. His head soon hung limply, and Emma knew he was gone. Cutting the straps which held him, the agents left, letting Brennan's body fall to the ground with a thump.

"Nooo!" Emma yelled, trying to run to save her friends, but she was too late. Grabbing Brennan's head, she shook him.

" Wake up, please!" she cried desperately. With no response, she softly laid his head back down and stood up. Standing over Shalimar's scorched body , a single tear dropped on the heap, as Emma turned around to face Gabriel. Before Emma had a chance to say anything, Gabriel answered for her.

"It's not over," Gabriel said calmly, as he smirked and turned and pointed to the figures appearing behind him. Jesse was fighting several GS agents, who had surrounded him tactically in a circle. Massing his hand, he threw a punch at one agent, sending him flying into another, both of them falling over unconscious. Turning around poised to fight, three more agents came at him with electric zappers. Knocking one of the zappers out of an agent's hand with a front kick, Jesse caught it and phased, letting the two other agents run into and zap each other. Walking past his fallen comrades, the third GS agent kicked Jesse in the stomach right as he had stopped phasing, sending Jesse flying backwards. Getting up, the agent upper-chucked Jesse's chin, throwing him back down. Having time to recoup, five more agents joined this one agent. Seeing that he was once again surrounded, Jesse did a front roll and stood up, blood dripping down from his nose and mouth.

Emma had watched all of this in disbelief, and had stood where she was, muscles frozen. Acknowledging that Jesse needed her help, she started to run in his direction, yet with no avail. Every step she took forward, Jesse appeared to take two steps away from her.

"Jesse!" Emma called out. Jesse had at least heard her, and turned in her direction, a smile forming on his face. What both of them had forgotten though, for that brief second, was that Jesse was still surrounded by agents. Turning back around to face his opponents, Jesse's face was greeted by a brutal punch to the nose. Blood spattered everywhere, even on several of the GS agents. Shaking his head to recover from the blow, Jesse was met repeatedly with kick after kick, punch after punch. Jesse was beaten to the bone, barely able to stand, and Emma couldn't do anything about it, she couldn't even reach Jesse. Finally, Jesse's legs buckled as he fell to the ground with a thud. The six agents formed a tight circle around him. Pulling out zappers, one of them zapped him to see if he was still alive. Giving out a weak moan, Jesse tried frantically to get back up. Seeing that he was still conscious, the agents started zapping him, over and over, until his body moved no more.

"Nooo! Stop! Please stop!" Emma screamed, crying while she was running, still trying to reach Jesse. The agents had heard her screaming, and all six had turned around to face her. Emma stopped running, for it was obviously no use now, for she could see Jesse's lifeless body on the ground. Seeing her alone, they turned to each other and smiled, presuming that getting her was going to be an easy job. Pulling away from Jesse, they formed a line, walking straight towards Emma. She turned around quickly to run away, but ran right into Adam.

"Don't worry, Emma," Adam said coolly, grabbing Emma's shoulder. "I'll take care of this." The six agents were now only ten feet away, and Adam walked over to them, ready to fight. Still waving around their zappers, the agents formed a half-circle, confident that they would finally succeed. Adam paused for a moment, standing in his fighting stance, while Emma slowly started walking forward to help him.

"When you can't beat your enemies..." Adam started to say, as he turned around to face Emma, morphing into Gabriel.

"You join them," finished Ashlocke. Emma gasped out loud as she tried to runaway by taking several slow steps backwards, only to run into what felt like a brick wall.

"Going somewhere?" asked Ashlocke. Emma glanced to her side to see Gabriel standing right behind her. Before she could move, Gabriel grabbed her wrists. Emma felt a sharp pain shoot through her body as both of her arms were slashed by a razor-sharp blade.

"Aaahhh!" Emma screamed in agony, after she grabbed her arms, warm blood covering her hands. "Oww!" she screeched, as the blade cut through her thighs. Emma fell to the ground, holding her arms, then her legs, trying to control the pain.

"So you don't like to be in pain." Ashlocke said in a taunting manner, as he stood over Emma's body. "Maybe you and your MX friends should have considered how much grief you've caused others." Ashlocke poked her again, feeling in his wild rage that she was simply receiving just punishment. **********************************************************************

Emma's body still lay on the dojo floor, only this time, she wasn't sleeping peacefully. Her body was jerking around and her white pajamas were matted with blood. Emma had let out a few muffled screams, as each cut she received appeared on her body, each scream gaining in magnitude. ~ * ~ Coming out of the garage, Adam walked slowly into Sanctuary, his head hanging down. Passing by the med lab, he saw that Jesse was still resting in his comatose state, and he wondered where Emma could be. That's when he heard it- a scream coming from the dojo. Adam quickly ran down the hallway and towards the dojo. Leaping up the stairs two at a time, he reached Emma and stood frozen for a moment, staring at her jerking body. Her arms and legs were all cut up and blood was spattered everywhere- on her clothes and on the floor. After seeing that she still asleep, Adam bent down hastily and grabbed her shoulders.

"Wake up, Emma! Wake up!" he yelled at her unconscious body as he shook shoulders. No result. Adam kept shaking her, desperately, but with no effect. TBC.... ************************************************************************

A/N: That's all for now. I hope you enjoyed it. Please drop me a review and tell me your comment- I would love to hear from you! So PLEASE REVIEW! :-)

----------------------- [1] I know that that sounds weird, but this is a dream, a psionic dream, where most things are beyond belief, and probably impossible to happen so quickly.