Dunsinane
Act II
by Timesprite

"You're sure about all this?"

"To a telepath, it's like a road flare, Sam. I'm just not sure why no one else has come looking for him. That has me worried." Rachel leaned back in her chair and ran a hand through her hair. Grown long, Sam noticed, it made her look even more like Jean. "I have to admit, I'm really kind of baffled. He seemed fine the last time I saw him."

Sam sighed. "Yeah, it ain't making a whole lot of sense ta us, either. About all we've got to go on is the word of a lab tech in Macedonia who claims he got rid of the virus."

Rachel gave him a confused look. "What?"

He shrugged. "It's what she told me."

Rachel seemed to ponder this for a long moment. "Well, in a way, it makes sense."

"How?" After remaining silent through most of their exchange since returning to the hotel, Domino spoke up, though she didn't turn away from the window, beyond which lay the dark expanse of the Atlantic.

"I wasn't able to figure out how he could be doing what he's been doing to the astral plane. He shouldn't have the power to do something like that."

"But if the virus isn't there ta keep in check..." Sam interjected.

"He could. Easily. It would also explain why it's causing so much destruction. He's not used to having to deal with abilities of this magnitude."

"Well, if it's so damned obvious, why haven't you found him yet?" Dom cut in.

Rachel cast an uneasy glance at Sam, who met it with a concerned look of his own, and replied, "That's what I was trying to explain. The astral plane is in ruins--imagine the way a tornado rips through a town--I can see the damage Nathan's done, but I can't see him. All I can do is follow... although I think I have an idea of where he's headed."

Domino turned her back to the window, folding her arms across her chest. "Where's he going?"

"Egypt. The desert."

Domino closed her eyes, a pained look flashing across her face. "Akkaba."

"It makes sense," Sam said quietly. "So much of his mission centered around that place. Apocalypse's fortress ain't far away."

"Why would he go back there? Apocalypse is dead, goddamnit. There's no reason."

"But if Ray's right, an' he's confused..."

"Fine," Dom replied sharply. "We'll go. Make the arrangements. I'm going to bed."

The remaining two watched in silence as she left the room, heading for the adjoining bedroom. Once she was out of sight, Rachel spoke up. "Is she alright? I know I only met her the one time but she didn't seem quite so..."

"Hostile? She wasn't, not then. Things kinda went downhill since you've been gone."

She shook her head. "Everyone seemed so happy."

"Things change. She an' Cable haven't really been on speakin' terms the last few years."

"Then why is she bothering now?"

"Ah don't think she knows how ta let him go."

----

"Dom?" He stood at the door, waiting for a reply. Rachel had gone back to her own room, leaving him alone with his former team co-leader. No reply, so he knocked again, waiting patiently. It was only quarter past eleven--far too early for her to actually be asleep. At least by Dom's standards.

"Damnit, Guthrie, didn't your mom ever teach you to take a hint?"

The door opened a crack, and a pair of intense purple eyes glared out at him. He wrinkled his nose as the smell of cigarette smoke greeted him. "The room's non-smokin,'" he pointed out, ignoring the barb. She wouldn't have opened the door if she really didn't want to talk to him.

She pulled the door open the rest of the way, gesturing vaguely with the cigarette. "I opened the window."

He followed her in, sitting on the edge of the bed while she continued to the window, staring out at the ocean beyond. "So what was with the attitude?"

Dom shrugged, not offering any explanation. Instead, she reached out, grabbing a bottle of amber-colored liquid from the nightstand. Apparently, one vice wasn't going to be enough for her tonight. Must have been in her luggage someplace--he was sure she hadn't had the opportunity to hit a liquor store since they'd been in the country. "Fine, you wanna know what Ah think?"

"Probably not, but I'm sure you'll tell me anyway." She took a long swallow and set the bottle back down. "So fire away, hayseed."

Sam narrowed his eyes slightly, but continued. "Ah think you're actin' like this 'cause you're scared ta death Ray might be right--that Cable's outta control an' that we're gonna have ta do somethin' 'bout that."

"What makes you think I care, Sam? I left him, remember?"

His gaze shifted to the cigarette in her hand, then to the bottle before settling on her face again. "Right. You don't care."

She snorted. "Why should I? Do you know what he said to me the last time we talked--I mean really talked, no alien possession, no end-of-the-world bullshit? He told me he needed space... told me he'd found something finally worth fighting for... wanted to know if I could say the same." She made a face and took another swig from the bottle. "Of all the fucking nerve... y'know, I dunno if you knew this.... but I never joined X-Force with the intention of helping train you rugrats. Couldn't've cared less at the time. I came because he asked me too. After a year of being trussed up as his son's fucking prisoner, I stepped into the life Vanessa started because he damned well asked me to. And that bastard had the balls to ask me if I had anything worth fighting for. My reason was staring me in the face, telling me I didn't matter half as much to him as he did to me. Well, fuck that, y'know? I spent nearly twenty years dealing with Nathan's bullshit. I don't care anymore. I'm too goddamned tired to care."

"Maybe he was havin' a bad day."

Domino blinked, then burst out laughing. "Good god, Samuel. Ever the optimist, aren't you?" She shook her head sadly. "I dunno. I get the feeling he just ...moved on at some point. Maybe I fucked up. Maybe I shouldn't have walked away the last time. Maybe he just got sick of offering the help I wouldn't take." She ground out the cigarette on the sill and flicked the butt out the window. "But you know what? All I really wanted was for him to ask me to stay. And he didn't."

"So now you've got to try like hell to pretend you don't care what's going on here? You've gotta be heartless right back?"

"What do you want me to do? Walk up, shake hands, exchange pleasantries? 'How ya doing, Dom?' 'Oh, I've been just peachy since you ripped my heart out and handed it to me on a plate. You?'"

Sam shook his head. "Ah didn't say ya had ta act like nothin' was wrong. But pretending like ya don't care 'bout what's goin' on here isn't helping anyone. If ya want out, just say so. Rachel will help finish this." She pushed away from the window, grabbing the bottle and crossing to the bed. She lay down on the side opposite him, back towards him, carefully cradling the alcohol. "I have a headache, Sam. We can argue about this later."

Recognizing the dismissal in her tone, he stood, knowing full well that they wouldn't be discussing this again. She wasn't going to leave, but she wasn't about to admit to any vulnerability, didn't even care that she was being openly hypocritical about the whole issue. And somewhere deep inside, part of him was starting to blame Cable for the mess he was stuck trying to clean up.

----

He'd been walking for miles, wasn't sure when he'd left the city behind. It didn't matter anyway--the city's name was lost to him now, sucked down into the pit of his memory, hidden and irretrievable. Through his mind swirled a constant babble of voices, none of them singular or distinct, just there, overlapping one another in a maddening cacophony that seemed to be building ever so slowly toward crescendo. Inside him, he felt a force building like an untamed animal, waiting to be unleashed. Instinct had driven him into the waiting arms of the desert, and a vague feeling of familiarity guided his steps now.

He wet cracked lips, felt dryness in his throat and the sting of windblown sand in his eyes, knowing that somewhere amongst the myriad dunes lay either salvation or oblivion. He closed his eyes, stretched his arms out wide, as if he could somehow call to him whatever beast was laying in wait for him. Something lured him, something chased him. He was trapped in a race that had no beginning and no clear end, though he knew the finish line was approaching. Soon...

He was a madman stumbling delirious in the desert, no name he could remember, no past, no future, the victim of circumstances and of powers that seemed ready to devour him from within. It wasn't chance that he'd found himself here, so far from the world of civilized men. So far from the places where he could do harm--though part of him wondered if the planet itself were truly a match for the awesome might that coiled within him. He stumbled forward, fell, sprawled into a shadow cast incongruously across the scalding sands. Pushing up onto his knees, his head craned back, eyes taking in the towering, horrible monolith that stood broodingly over him.

Somehow, he knew he'd reached the end. Scrabbling to his feet in the shifting dune, he began walking towards its base. Something inside him stirred. Something that almost felt like a welcome home.

----

There was a quick knock on the hotel door--no doubt Rachel, ready to catch their flight to Cairo. He opened it and let her in, taking her suitcase and setting it aside.

"Sam?" Rachel's eyes scanned the room. It was only half-packed. "What's up?"

He shrugged. "Been pounding at the bedroom door on an' off for an hour now, but she hasn't made a peep." He glanced at his watch. "An' we gotta be outta here in an hour."

Rachel sighed, running a hand back through her hair. "Let me try." She walked back to the bedroom, and knocked twice on the door. "Domino? It's Rachel." No reply. She sighed. "Look, I know you're awake. We need to get moving or we're going to miss the plane, and I can't be sure how long Nathan's going to stay in one place. We really need to get moving." Still no reply. She glanced back at Sam. "She's awake, and fine, as far as I can tell." She looked back at the door again. "Fine. Enough games." After a moment's concentration, the lock opened with an audible 'pop' and Rachel opened the door. "Domino."

The other woman was lying with her back toward the door. Part of her back was exposed, mottled with heavy scarring that disappeared from sight under the bed sheet. Conscious of the hound markings she kept hidden, Rachel tore her eyes away. "I know you're awake."

The movement was so fast she didn't actually see it. Instead she felt the intent, and managed to freeze the bottle that'd been thrown at her in mid-air with her telekinesis. "That wasn't very nice." She deposited the projectile on the nightstand.

"I'm not feeling particularly nice." Domino had sat up, leaning against the headboard with the sheet wrapped around her body, glaring balefully.

Rachel rested a hand on her hip. "Well, whether you're feeling accommodating or not, we have a plane to catch. If you've decided you don't want to help track down my wayward brother, that's fine, but we're not going to sit around waiting for you to make up your mind."

"You don't... forget it." She shook her head, then turned to look out the window.

Rachel took a seat on the edge of the bed. "Understand? You're right. I don't understand any of this. I feel like I've walked into a movie halfway through, Domino. I came back to this time only to discover that Scott had sacrificed himself to keep Apocalypse from taking over some alternate version of Nathan, to find that half the X-Men no longer trust Charles, to find Nathan embroiled in a war with someone who wanted him dead simply because he existed. The teams I remember have all been disbanded, Genosha's been destroyed... You're absolutely right. And now Scott's back, but Nathan's vanished, and something's happened to him that I can't even start to guess at.
"I don't know what happened between you and my brother. But I also know he cared... we never had a lot of time to talk, but it was pretty apparent. And I can't believe that you don't want to know what's happening here as much as Sam and I do. You really don't care?"

Dom sighed. "Maybe that's just it. I care too damned much." She ran a hand back through her hair. "Gimme half an hour, alright?"

"Sure." She got up and departed the room, closing the door behind her.

"So?" Sam asked when she emerged.

"She threw the whisky bottle at me."

"Is that all?"

"Yeah. Give her half an hour."

Sam blinked. "What did you say to her?"

Rachel shrugged. "Not a whole lot. I don't think she really wanted a fight."

He arched an eyebrow. "Coulda fooled me." He paused, a thought occurring to him. "Hey... you didn't--"

"Sam..."

"Hey, wait a minute," he hissed. "If she doesn't want to do this..."

Rachel sighed. "If she didn't want to do this, she wouldn't be cooperating anyway. I just... nudged her in the right direction."

He crossed his arms. "Don't do that again. She's had enough people messin' with her head as is."

She arched an eyebrow. "Well, I apologize, in that case."

Sam frowned, considered pursuing the issue, then finally gave up, focusing his attention instead on straightening up the room. It wasn't necessary--that was what housekeeping was for, especially in hotels as pricey as this one--but it was a habit, and it kept him from thinking about how little he liked anything that was going on here anymore.
Finally, with nothing left to pick up, and Rachel staring vacantly out the window, no doubt looking for Cable again--he was sure he'd never get used to the sense of absence he felt when telepaths did that sort of thing--he headed for Dom's room.
He knocked softly, expecting a sharp reply, caught off guard when the door swung open instead. Dom stood on the other side, wearing nothing but a hotel towel, hair still dripping water down her arms.

She arched an eyebrow at him. "Problem?"

He shook his head, leaning in the doorway while she moved about the room, tossing items into her luggage. "No." He paused. "You okay?"

She glanced up, shoving wet hair out of her face. "There a reason why shouldn't I be?"

"Dunno... maybe the fact that ya went ta bed with a bottle last night, an' ignored me for an hour this morning?"

She shrugged, walking back to him. "Maybe you're right." She leaned a hand on the doorframe. "Maybe I don't want to think about all this too hard. I can still do the job." Her eyes pinned him in the doorway. It was a gaze he couldn't look away from. Maybe he just wasn't used to women who could look him in the eye... he'd always thought of her as shorter than she was--probably because seeing her next to Cable skewed his perceptions--he was now acutely aware of how little height difference there really was between them. He did, however, probably have at least thirty pounds on her. She'd always been thin, but it was difficult not to notice that she was starting to look downright skinny. He'd have to lecture her about that later, he thought.

"Sam, you're staring." He blinked, looked away quickly, his cheeks flaming with embarrassment. Domino chuckled. "It's okay." She backed away a few paces, frowning and rubbing absently at her right shoulder, marred by tendril-like scars that wrapped around from behind.

"That still buggin' you?"

She scowled. "Sometimes. Romany's hacks were more concerned about getting Junior off intact than they were about how many pieces they left me in. Still ten times better than having the obnoxious thing hitching a ride." She walked over to her suitcase and started selecting articles of clothing. "How much time we got?"

"Forty-five minutes."

"'Kay," she nodded, looking up. After a pause, she added. "I'm gonna get dressed now... if you don't mind."

"Oh, right." He sighed inwardly. The day was not shaping up to be the best on record. He straightened up and closed the door behind him, wandering back out into the main sitting area. Rachel had returned from wherever she'd gone, and was picking at the newspaper on the table. "Any luck?"

She smiled wryly. "No. The damage is getting worse, though. I can't imagine why no one else seems interested. I mean, even a novice should be picking it up." She shook her head. "It's frustrating. But I think we should still stick to our plan."

He nodded, eyes drifting to the view out the window for a moment. "Do you think dying changes a person?"

"Only in this company could someone ask that question in all seriousness. And shouldn't you be asking yourself that question? You died, I just got lost in the time stream for a bit."

He scratched his head. "Maybe. Ah don't really remember dyin' though. Just wakin' up confused as hell. An' Ah mean, Ah was meant to come back. But when ya ain't..."

Rachel gave him a bemused look. "What is this about?"

"Dom. She... died. Kinda. Ah'm still a bit sketchy on details, but this guy was hired ta kill her, an' he did. But somewhere along the way, she picked up this alien... thing that brought her back ta life, fixed her up good as new... better, actually."

Rachel shook her head. "I thought she looked ...different. But my memory's about four years out of date. Is that what those scars are from? I saw them earlier when I went to talk to her..."

"Yeah. Actually, that's from someone takin' the thing offa her. It was tryin' to take over."

"Ahhh. Hence the earlier admonishment." She nodded. "I don't know, Sam. I suppose it'd be traumatic. I don't really know her."

"This ain't her. It's... I dunno." He frowned. "Sometimes I get the feelin' part of her just didn't come back."

----

Even with the delay, they arrived at the airport long before their flight was due to leave. Some sort of engine trouble had delayed the previous flight, and now they were left with a few hours to kill.

"Just our luck," Sam grumbled. "Y'know, Ah never get delayed on the fights that don't matter, just the important ones."

"Murphy's law in action," Rachel agreed, dropping into one of the well-worn concourse seats.

Dom dropped her carry-on on the seat next to her. "Well, I dunno about you kids, but I'm going to find coffee. And aspirin. Definitely aspirin."

Rachel smirked. "You're as bad as my brother."

"No one is as bad as Nathan when it comes to coffee," Domino retorted. "I'm just a bit hung over at the moment, so if you'll excuse me..."

"Hey, wait up." Sam stood, grabbing up his bag. "Plane isn't gonna be leavin' for a few anyway, no use sittin' round here."

"Fine..." Dom shook her head and grabbed up her bag again. "Why does this suddenly feel like some sort of demented fieldtrip?"

"Well, look at it this way. At least you're not watching a pack of unruly children," Rachel added.

Dom snorted. "No, we'd need the rest of X-Force here for that."

"Ah think Ah'm insulted."

"Good," she smirked. "C'mon... there's gotta be coffee around here someplace."

----

The search for coffee finally ended in the concourse lounge. There'd been a Starbucks closer to their gate, but Domino had stubbornly refused, muttering obscene things about the chain as they'd continued on past it. Sam sat at the bar, nursing a soda, idly wondering how the passengers around him could start drinking so early in the day. Rachel and Dom had taken seats a few feet away--talking it seemed, though he couldn't guess what about.
He ran a hand back through his hair. It didn't seem possible that they'd only been on Cable's trail for a little over a week. It seemed so much longer, suddenly. Time had a way of stretching funny in the memory, though, he supposed. He'd had the same feeling the night before when Rachel had been filling them in on her sudden return to this era. Thinking over all that had happened in the time since she'd first vanished, it seemed impossible that it had been only four years. The entire world had changed.

"Flight problems?"

Sam jerked his head up, glancing at the owner of the voice. A man in his mid thirties, dressed in business attire leaned against the bar next to him. The accent sounded American. "Huh?"

"You just looked frustrated."

"Ah. Right. Flight troubles."

"Trying to get home?"

"Egypt, actually."

"Ahh. Taking a break from school and traveling?"

"Somethin' like that. Ah'm with some friends." He gestured in the direction of his female companions.

"Oh, I see." A smile flickered across his face. "You're very fortunate."

"Oh. They're not... Ah mean..." He glanced in Dom and Rachel's direction and groaned inwardly as he saw them both smirk and slide arms around each other's waist. He wanted to sink into the woodwork and hide.

"...oh. I see. That's really too bad." The gentleman drifted away from the bar, leaving Sam with his drink, face burning with embarrassment.

Grabbing up the soda, he marched over to where the two women were sitting, still grinning like mad. "That wasn't funny!"

"You didn't think so?" Rachel glanced at Dom. "I thought it was... what about you?"

"Oh, I thought it was funny as hell," she snickered. "You should have seen the look of your face, Sam."

Sam rolled his eyes. "Y'all are tryin' ta drive me nuts, aren't you?"

"Seriously, Sam, if you knew the things that were going through that guy's head, you'd agree that he deserved it."

"Ah think Ah got a good idea of what he was thinkin', Ah'm just wonderin' why you two seem hell-bent on embarrassin' me ta death."

"Aww. Poor thing." Dom reached up and ruffled his hair, then laughed at the indignant look he gave her. "If it makes you feel better, I do this to everyone."

"Oh, yeah. Loads better, thanks."

----

His footsteps rang hollowly in the empty citadel, the enormous chamber vaulting far above his head, vanishing into darkness. Still as a tomb... and part of the man he'd lost laughed at that. His eyes scanned about ahead of him, though he knew the place was deserted. He could feel minds on the other side of the planet--had anyone been here, they would have stood out like a beacon. The empty room narrowed to a passageway, pitch black, though he didn't need light to guide him. His feet seemed to know where to take him of their own accord, while he just took in the surroundings. The passage widened, and the ceiling soared above him again, though light filtered in this time, from where, he did not know. On all sides lay stacked hundreds of stone sarcophagi, placed there for a purpose which escaped him. And lording over the entire space, glaring with a hateful eye that made something inside him twist in inexplicable rage, stood a single, frightfully carved sarcophagus, several stories tall and larger than any carved for a king.

Whispers seemed to swirl around him, tantalizing fragments of the life he had lost, pulling, taunting him with knowledge they would not relinquish. He pushed past them, ignored them, tried to fight back against the howling in his head, and walked forward, place slow and even, until his hand came to rest on the cold stone surface of the hulking monstrosity. Then he turned, sat down on the edge of its pediment, and rested his arms on his knees. The ones who sought him were drawing closer. He settled in to wait.

----

"This the place?" Domino slid her sunglasses down the bridge of her nose and eyed the building.

"Should be, if your information is right."

"I don't see why it wouldn't. Well, I suppose we should go in, see what we can find."

She pushed through the doors to the hotel, Sam and Rachel trailing behind her. She turned to the red-haired telepath. "Can you talk them into giving us a room key?"

"Cake walk. Wait here." With that, she strode over to the main desk, and began talking with the clerk. A few minutes later she returned, plastic key card in hand. "Ta-da. Room 234. Apparently, he paid in cash, for a week. That was four days ago."

"Well, let's check it out."

----

"Good god, he inherited his mother's fashion sense," Domino commented, sifting through a suitcase. The room had been immaculate--nothing on the tables or night stands indicating that he'd used the room at all, only two suitcases sitting in the closet, which she'd pulled out, in hopes that he'd left something useful in his luggage. No luck so far. Rachel had opted to try and scan for him again, now that they were in the city, in the hopes that proximity might cut back on the amount of interference. "Oh, don't look Sam, girly magazines. Guess I really have been gone too long."

Sam turned an interesting shade of red and looked away. Dom chuckled. "Find anythin' useful?"

"Nope. Just clothes... no maps, no plans, no nothing. I suppose it would be too much to hope for a note or a big map with 'I am here' scribbled on it." She sighed and started folding the contents to put them back, when something slipped free, landing with a dull 'thud' on the mattress. She reached down and picked it up, staring at the phoenix pendant spinning in a slow circle, reflecting the light from the lamp. After a moment, she reached out, wordlessly handing the object to Sam. He held it for a moment, then slipped the chain around his neck, and dropped the pendant beneath his shirt. The metal felt cool against his skin.

"Jus' 'til we find him an' Ah can give it back."

She nodded, and went back to repacking the suitcases. Sam left her to the task, walking over to where Rachel stood, eyes looking out the window at the city around him. "Anything?"

She shook her head. "He's close. But..." she trailed off. "I'm not getting anything from him, Sam. Nothing that feels like him. Just this center of power. It's like his body's out there somewhere, but his mind..." She turned away again, and Sam rested a hand on her shoulder.

"We're gonna find him, an' we're gonna deal with whatever's gone wrong. Ah promise."

She looked back, smiling wanly. "I hope you're right."

----

Eyes fluttered open in near darkness. He'd slept finally, a chaotic sleep full of voices and places he didn't know, faces that had no names. The dreams left him troubled, and his eyes searched the gloom. Something had stirred him.
His breathing harsh in his ears, he concentrated, scanning around him until he found what he suspected he would. Someone had found his sanctuary, and they were coming for him.

He stood, and beckoned to the one who'd been pursuing him.

----

The dunes seemed so serene, but Domino knew all too well the horrors the shifting sands could harbor. Closing her eyes briefly, images rose unbidden--the nightmarish mockery of future atrocity that Genesis had created as fresh as if it'd been only yesterday. And yet at the same time, it seemed impossibly long ago. Opening her eyes once again, she glanced at Sam, his face as stony as hers probably appeared, no doubt fighting back memories of his own. Rachel, in contrast, looked to be staring vacantly ahead, no doubt searching for the familiar mind that continued to elude her.

Sam's hand touched her shoulder. "We'll get there faster if Ah carry you."

Her eyes scanned the horizon once more, looked to Rachel, who nodded, then let her gaze fall to the sand at her feet. "Let's go find him."

She slipped an arm around Sam's neck, reminded again as his arms slid securely around her waist just how much things had changed. He'd grown up, and life had tainted his ever-present optimism with bitterness. It'd stolen a piece of his innocence. It was a thought that pained her in a way she couldn't quite place. Then the orange flicker of his blast field sprang to life around them, and they were off, the ground a blur beneath them. She'd only been a passenger a few times, and most of those flights hadn't given much time for reflection. Now, as the desert raced below them, she couldn't help but be impressed. Rachel trailed slightly behind them--the Phoenix may have moved on, but its departure hadn't left her weak. Anyone looking up at that moment might have mistaken them for falling stars.
All too soon, their destination appeared on the horizon, growing as the neared the grim monolith. The sun had dipped below the dunes, leaving only a faint reddish glow to mark its passing as a sprinkle of stars appeared over head. Touching down lightly on the sand, the trio stared up at the imposing facade of Apocalypse's citadel, evil seeming to lurk about them.

"He's here," Rachel said quietly.

"Inside?" The inquiry was met with only a nod. No one moved.

"Well," Sam said finally, words cutting through palpable tension, "Might as well go on in. We came this far..."

With silent nods of acknowledgment from his companions, they all started towards the entrance.

The interior of the temple was surprisingly cool, and dark save for the dim light that trickled in through the entrance. Domino reached for the flashlight on her belt, and swept the beam along the walls and overhead. The air around them was silent, save for the sound of their breathing.

Sam suppressed a shudder as a feeling of dread settled in the pit of his stomach. As much as he would have loved to believe otherwise, he couldn't shake the certainty that nothing good was going to come from this. He glanced over at Domino, and the look on her face told him she was thinking the same thing.

"This way." Rachel's voice hissed through the stillness, seeming loud in the silence. They followed her command, slipping single file through a small passage that wound deeper into the citadel.

"You sure this was a smart move?" Domino spoke up, voice barely a whisper. "Maybe we should have let him come to us. We're sitting ducks."

"He was calling to me," Rachel replied. "He knew I'd been looking for him."

"But?"

After a pause, she replied, "He seemed... confused. He knew I'd been searching for him, but I don't think I knew who I was."

"Then I guess we prepare for the worst."

The words were left hanging in the air as they continued on their way silently until the end of the passage appeared, widening into another cavernous room, at the center of which stood a motionless figure, bathed in the eerie, flickering glow of psionic energy.

"Nathan?" Her mind was screaming at her that this was a bad idea even as Domino broke from her companions and sprinted towards him. Dimly, she heard Sam's voice calling after her, but her eyes stayed locked on Nathan and the uncomprehending look in his eyes. "Nate?" She reached out warily, other hand resting on the handle of her gun, despite the uselessness of the weapon against the sort of power he was displaying.

"Who...?" He stared down at her a long moment, then jerked his head upwards, his attention shifted.

There wasn't time to step away. There wasn't even time to register that she'd been struck until her back hit the stone wall, and Domino collapsed breathlessly in a heap on the floor, vision dim, ears ringing. She pushed herself up off the floor with a groan, turning to face the commotion. The sight that greeted her filled her with a sick sense of dread. Both Nathan and Rachel were hovering in mid-air, and while it wasn't out of the ordinary for Rachel, there was something very unsettling about the sight of her partner floating fifteen feet off the floor, surrounded by a fiery telekinetic glow. Rachel seemed to be taking the blows that Nathan rained down on her shields with an unconcerned calm, though Dom wasn't sure how long she could bear up under the brute force he was directing at her.

He was also ranting in Askani, and for once, she was glad she didn't understand a word of it. The sight itself was awful enough--she wasn't sure she could stand conclusive proof that Nathan had lost his mind.

----

Sam barely saw the swing. One moment, Dom was standing mere inches from Cable, despite the fact that she should have known better, and the next she'd been tossed like a rag doll across the room as Nathan's gaze shifted from the dark haired mercenary to Rachel. Shouting something in Askani that Sam didn't understand, he'd launched himself into the air--a true testament as to just the sort of powers the man was now wielding, and dove towards them. Sam had rolled away instinctively while Rachel went on the defensive, beating back her brother's telekinetic blows. Across the room, he saw Dom move, albeit very little, and considered his options. Cable appeared preoccupied, but he wasn't sure he wanted to chance a dash around the room. If he blasted, the worst that could happen, he supposed, was that he'd get bounced off a few walls.

He blasted low, half-anticipating a blow that never came, and touched down beside Dom, who was staring at the confrontation in the center of the room with wide eyes. "You alright?"

"Just--bruised, I think," she replied, glancing over at him. "This is..."

"Not good," he finished.

"That's an understatement. Shit. I knew this wasn't likely to be good, but I didn't expect..."

"Ah don't think any of us did."

"Rachel might have," Dom replied grimly.

"Ya think? She coulda said somethin.'"

"To what end? If she knew, then I'm sure she had a reason for not saying anything."

Sam frowned, but didn't pursue it. "What do ya think he's sayin' to her?"

"Nothing good. Fuck... we can't let this go on. And I'm utterly useless here. I don't think shooting at him is likely to get his attention. We need to take Nate out now--we can sort out the rest of this crap when he's not trying to kill us."

"You got something in mind?"

She gave him a wry smile. "Depends. You up to playing human ping-pong ball?"

----

Another telekinetic blow smashed into Rachel Summers' defenses, and she winced, feeling the strain as she deflected the force. Nathan was stronger than her now--there was no doubting that--but his command of the power was reckless, and so far he hadn't been able to breach her shield. It was only a matter of time, however, and part of her mind was reeling with the implications of what would happen if he got loose. Her arrival here had triggered something in him--one moment he'd been staring at Domino in bewilderment, and the next he had lunged at her, screaming in rage. He was still yelling--her grasp of Askani was fragmentary, gleaned from the few memories of the Mother Askani that she somehow possessed--but his mind was an open book, his mental defenses all but gone.

'Rachel, can you hear me?'

#I'm a bit busy at the moment, Dom,# she sent back hastily, cursing under her breath as her TK shield flickered.

'I noticed,' came Dom's dry reply. 'We need to just take him out. We can sort the rest out later. Sam can play decoy, but is there anything you can do on your end?'

#Maybe,# she gritted her teeth, trying to drive Nathan back. He was attempting to get her pinned against the wall, and she didn't want to give up any more ground. The blows were becoming more refined, as well, seeking to pierce through her armor. #Of course, he could be hearing this entire conversation.#

'The thought had occurred to me,' she responded. 'But I'm not a bloody pulp yet, and I'm hoping his damned single-mindedness will work for us. Or, barring that, pure luck.'

#That's your department, not mine, I'm afraid.# Summoning up greater concentration, she repelled Nathan backwards, managing to send him crashing into Apocalypse's regeneration chamber. The facade cracked, sending large chunks of stonework crashing to the ground below. Rachel took advantage of the momentary lull and strengthened her defenses again while Nathan shoved himself to his feet, shaking off stone shards and rubble. Snarling, he advanced towards Rachel again, only to be knocked from his feet as Sam slammed into him from behind.

"Sorry, sir, Ah hate ta do this, but there's not much choice." They slammed into the opposite wall, the impact jarring, despite his blast shield. Stone cracked and crumbled around them.

Cable seemed momentarily dazed, then spat something in Askani, and Sam found himself unceremoniously tossed across the room. He skidded to a halt on the floor, wincing.

"Rachel, I think if you're gonna do something, now would be a good time!" Domino shouted to the redheaded telepath as she sprinted toward where Sam had fallen, ignoring her own injuries. "You okay?"

He nodded, wiping at a trickle of blood that ran from the corner of his mouth. "Sucker-punched me is all," he replied, rubbing his jaw gingerly. "Ah'll be fine."

The pair looked upward, watching as Cable renewed his assault on Rachel. For her part, Rachel had gone on the offensive this time, lashing back at her brother instead of calmly absorbing the blows that rained down on her telekinetic shielding.

#Sam, hit him again. His mental shields are blown--I think I can shut him down, but I need him distracted.#

"You got it." The blast field flickered and Domino jumped back as he took off.

The room was suddenly washed with a blinding blaze of light, and the ground shook with a cracking report like the noise of a hundred gunshots.

Then everything went black.

----

The air was still, the silence nearly absolute, only the distant sound of shifting rubble and the harsh noise of his own breathing disrupting the stillness. This time, however, it wasn't dark. Sam's blast field lit the small space with an orange light, protecting him from the weight of the debris above him.

He crouched in the small shelter, trying to get a fix on just what had happened. One instant he'd been rocketing toward the two battling telekinetics in hopes of distracting Cable, and the next, the place had literally come down around their ears. He'd only had a split second to protect himself before he was buried. He could only hope that Rachel and Domino had had more warning. He didn't feel terribly optimistic, however. He could blast himself free, he was sure, but concern that someone might be above or near by stayed his hand for a time before he decided that staying where he was wasn't an option, and he'd just have to take the risk.
Shifting the focus of the field, he slammed his way through the mounds of rock that'd imprisoned him, flying free into the clear darkness of the desert sky, stars as cold as ice chips above him. Arcing back over the site of the citadel, he was met with the image of utter destruction. It looked as if a bomb had gone off, destroying the structure entirely, leaving only a mangled heap of ancient stone and alien-looking technology. Below him, nothing stirred, and a tight knot of dread formed in the pit of his stomach.

He landed to one end of debris field, eyeing the scene with dismay. Even if he'd had some clue as to where the others were, alone there wasn't much he'd be able to do to free them from the piles of masonry and twisted metal.

#It's okay, Sam.#

The voice in his head caused him to jump slightly, and the sound of sliding rock split through the quiet as Rachel emerged, telekinesis flickering out as she landed lightly atop a heap of rubble. "I managed to toss up a shield before I was buried."

"What happened?"

"Nathan caught wind of what we were trying to do," she replied.

"Are they..."

Rachel frowned, a pained look flickering across her face as if using her powers hurt. "They're alive... unconscious."

"Can you pinpoint where? We can't leave 'em like this. An' it'd take too long ta get help.

"I think so," she replied. "I caught backlash from Nathan while I was trying to switch his powers off, but I should be able to find them." She picked her way across the broken rock, a look of concentration stamped on her face. "Try here."

He kneeled down beside her and started excavating, made more difficult by the way the rock continued to shift and settle around them. After a few minutes, they hit an opening in the rock where two of the stone slabs had fallen together at an angle like a makeshift roof over Domino's prone form. By now, Rachel was using her telekinesis to keep the surrounding rock from collapsing. Sam hopped down into the makeshift shelter, crouching beside the unconscious mercenary. "Ah'm not sure if we should move her or not."

"Think you're going to have to. I'm not sure I can keep this from falling apart much longer."

Nodding, Sam picked the woman up gently and carefully climbed out of the hole. Rachel released her hold and rock slid in to fill the void. Sam picked his way carefully to the edge of the rock field and laid Dom on the sand. He couldn't see any signs of obvious trauma, though she was bleeding from a few cuts probably caused by splintered stone. Her luck seemed to have saved her from any serious injury, though he couldn't rule out internal injuries from a glance, especially considering the force with which Cable had thrown her into the wall earlier. Rachel had gone back out, no doubt trying to find where Nathan lay.

The dark-haired mercenary made a soft, pained noise and curled on her side, coughing. Sam touched her shoulder lightly. "You alright?"

"I'll live," she replied hoarsely, though she made no further movement, her eyes still closed.

"Ah don't doubt that, but we ought to--"

"Sam!" Rachel's shout cut him off, and he jerked his head up.

"You find him?"

"Sort of. He's a few miles that way." She pointed further into the desert. "And there's someone else with him."

"Heck." He frowned. "You okay to fly?"

"I think I'll be okay," Rachel replied, walking back over to him. "I'm more shaken up than anything else. How's she doing?"

"Think we should see about gettin' her some medical attention fairly quick," he replied. "Ah can carry her if you point the way, though. We can't leave him out here."

Rachel nodded and took off in the direction she'd indicated, and Sam scooped up Domino carefully trying not to jostle her too badly as he raced over the desert sands.

----

The spot was easy to find--in part owing to the strange ship that sat atop one of the dunes. Sam cursed silently as they landed and he saw just who the 'someone' with Cable was.

"Blaquesmith."

"Eh?" The diminutive figure looked up from where he crouched over Cable's still form. "Ahh. I was wondering how long it would take you."

"Just what the heck is goin' on here?"

"Sam, let me try." Rachel advanced across the sand. "Blaquesmith, what's going on here?"

"Dayspring is in need of assistance," he replied. "I'm attempting to render that."

"I can see that, " Rachel replied, pursing her lips. She knew that the odd mutant held reverence for her--for the woman she would have become had Nathan not defeated Apocalypse. It wasn't a mantle she was at all comfortable with, but she knew it was probably the best way to get a straight answer. "Where were you before all this happened?"

Blaquesmith craned his neck to look up at her. "I've been following Nathan, waiting for the best time to act."

"You knew what was happening?"

"For longer than you have been aware of the situation," he admitted. "I did not anticipate him causing such trouble," he added, in an almost scolding manner.

"Then you know what caused this."

"I do. I also know your intentions to deliver Nathan back into his hands."

"Hey, hold the phone here a sec," Sam cut in. "Ah get the feeling Ah'm not getting the whole picture here. Just what haven't you told us?"

A pained look crossed Rachel's face. "I'm sorry Sam. I didn't want to say anything until I knew for certain." She glanced back at Blaquesmith, who gave a slight nod. "Charles did this."

"Professor Xavier? Now wait a dang minute. Ah know Ah don't see eye ta eye with him, but Ah can't believe he'd--"

"I don't believe these results were intentional," Blaquesmith interrupted. "However, I cannot allow you to--"

"I can't allow you to take Nathan," Rachel replied. "If we take him to Westchester, at least Sam and Domino can keep an eye on what happens."

"With all respect, I don't believe--"

"I don't care." Rachel snapped. "I know you respect my judgment, Blaquesmith. Despite whatever the Mother Askani might have told you before, I want you to listen to me now. I need you to take him back to Xavier's. Sam and Domino will go with you. He can get the medical attention he needs, and neither of us will have to tip our hands just yet. I want to find out just what he was trying to accomplish by sending Nate off on this stupid mission to begin with."

"No--way in hell," Domino's voice cut in hoarsely. "I'm not cooperating with him." She glared at Blaquesmith while Sam supported her. "All he ever does is use Nate for his own damned agenda."

Rachel flicked her eyes from the mercenary to the man supporting her. "Sam?"

Cannonball had only an instant to react as Domino slumped suddenly, unconscious.

"I'm sorry," Rachel responded as he scowled at her. "She was only going to hurt herself."

"Great," he commented sarcastically. "An' while Ah hate ta interrupt, don't ya think we ought ta actually do somethin' for Cable instead of standin' round arguin' over him?"

"There's nothing more to argue about. Blaquesmith is going to take the three of you back to Westchester. I'm sure you can make up some sort of plausible story--just don't let Charles know that either of us is involved. I'll get in touch with you once I've had more time to work out just what's going on."

"Now, hold on. Just what the heck am Ah s'posed to do if he wakes up an' decides he don't wanna stay put?"

"Dayspring is in a deep state of unconsciousness for now," Blaquesmith spoke up. "I believe it should last for some time."

"Just wonderful," Sam sighed. "Well, Ah guess this is what Ah get for pokin' my nose into things. A heap full of trouble." He glanced over at Rachel. "Ah'm trustin' that you're gonna do the right thing here. If ya betray that..."

"I wouldn't dream of it, Sam. Nathan's very dear to me. I know you might not believe me, but I'd never do him harm."

"Alright," he sighed, adjusting his hold on Domino's still form so he could carry her. He turned to Blaquesmith. "Lead the way."