Hours passed before Pietro even considered going downstairs again…not after what he had said. He had completely freaked that kid out…damn his tormented and dis-functional mind. Instead, he'd decided to pop a few more prescription pills and sleep some more. Hell, if he'd been able to sleep soundly then, what should stop him form enjoying this same comfort now? Besides; sleep just seemed like such an easy way out of life…..and life bothered him immensely lately. Not soon after, a wave of dizziness took over, and was asleep………

------------------------

Pietro paced across the floor, leaving a long indent in the carpet. What was wrong with him? He directed his attention toward his fallen side table, then toward the door…somebody was on the other side….. somebody was singing……….

Your thoughts are desperate, panicked, scared

Again it comes, the urge is clear

The blood-stained blade holds comfort still

But you don't move, still grasped by fear

You turn away, so insecure

You're loosing strength but don't know why

A salty tear is wiped away-

But never be too proud to cry…

…there was blood, blood everywhere. He was completely engulfed within a crimson strait-jacket. Blood was in his mouth, his nose, his eyes…drowning him. So this was it; he was going to die, fallen victim to his own disgusting bodily fluids…….the irony….

He'd always WANTED to die before, and now suddenly he didn't….but he was still killing himself. What would Lance say?? And that girl, Lance's sister….what was her name?? Had she ever mentioned it? Lance must have mentioned it before, it wasn't like Lance to leave his little sister nameless, and……why was he so god-damned focused on that girl's name?!?! He was DYING!! And yet, he couldn't get his mind off those eyes…..

'She knew, Pietro. She could see how crazy you were….how un-curably INSANE you've become….she saw ME Pietro…and you know what?? You're afraid. Lance can't protect you forever, and he'll be warning his sister right now….you're going to die, and nobody's going to care. Nobody will miss you, Pietro; Lance is sick of you, his sister thinks your demented, YOUR sister hates you, your father--'

"SHUTUP!!"

The words sounded without his meaning to scream them, but they came just the same. His breaths were bringing less and less air now. This was it…he would die with that same voice sounding in his ear… that distorted reflection he'd seen earlier in the broken mirror…but it didn't matter anymore…nothing mattered anymore….he was dead………..

Pietro lifted his head barely an inch from the surface of the soft mattress, slowly becoming used to the transition from bright red to black…pure, endless black. Was he dead? He didn't feel dead. That's when he saw her, the bright silver wings glowing brightly through the void. Her back was turned toward him, and she seemed unaware of his presence. Pietro looked slowly around the room…not his room. He was laying on a mattress sprawled in the middle of one of their shabby guest-bedrooms, decorated with bits of tattered artwork and wallpaper. He focused his attention again upon the girl, who, as far as he could tell, was sleeping silently in a chair in front of him.

"What's your name?"

The girl turned around at break-neck speed, calming down a bit once she saw Pietro's form in the dark…she had obviously NOT been sleeping, perhaps dozing.

"Rikhel...you really shouldn't be up, how are you feeling?"

Pietro took another quick look around the room, still a bit confused. "What…what happened??"

"You overdosed. Lance brought you back from the hospital this morning. Everyone will be back later tomorrow; something about a Mystique??"

Pietro understood. Mystique had called the gang out for work, more than likely having to do with the X-men…well that was just fine….wait….he'd OVERDOSED?!?!?

"What are you doing here, then?"

Her calm, almost inviting smile faded. "I…told Lance I'd stay with you. Your father freaked when he found out…I'm sorry if you'd rather be with him, but…..he sacred me. If you'd like, I….I'll call him now that you're awake and-"

"NO! Don't, please." It took him a minute to realize that he'd jumped from the mattress and grabbed her arm. Standing this close to her, he was beginning to notice things about her he hadn't before. She was stocky, but not fat…just like Lance. Christ, could they be any more alike? She even had his eyes…wait, no. Those weren't Lance's eyes. From a distance, they appeared deep brown…but now, they were a dull shade of copper, barely tinted with brown; the dark did NOTHING for them. Her eyes…was she in pain? Pietro looked down; it had just occurred to him that his long fingers were wrapped tightly around her arm, turning it to pale. He looked back up at her, staring into her eyes again; was she really in you let go of me? Please?"

Relinquishing his grip on her arm, Pietro cursed under his breath following it up with a trail of speedy apologies; he was purposely focusing on anything and EVERYTHING but her….. why was he so damned nervous around her?? Nothing made sense anymore…although, nothing had made sense for the past couple of-wait…how long had he been un-conscious??

"How long was I out for?" Rikhel turned her gaze. She was obviously afraid of him; Hell, who wouldn't be?

"Erm, well…I'd say about 3 days, give or take. I haven't left the room a whole lot. Wouldn't want you to start having convulsions or something after I'd left." A wide smile spread across her face. Pietro, again, immediately thought of her brother…he'd really need to quit doing that. He was pulled from this thought by a deep shudder of the earth, then silence. This would normally mean that Lance was home…but this wasn't the case. The tremor had stopped far too abruptly, and besides, it had come from miles away….something was wrong. Rikhel ran toward the nearest window, pulling apart the curtains. She screamed and stumbled backwards; pressed up against the glass was the grinning face of Victor Creed.

"Hello, ladies. Quicksilver, I see you're feeling better already."

Pietro instinctively passed in front of Rikhel, blocking her from view. There was something about Sabertooth he'd never trusted…and he trusted that something even less right now. "What do you want, Creed? Shouldn't you be off doing Magneto's dirty work, or is that why you're here?"

"Actually yes, Magneto sent me to fetch the Alvers brat."

"Sorry to send my father a bad memo, but Lance stepped out and won't be-"

"Not that Alvers brat, Pietro, the one hiding behind your back. Tell me; is it in their nature to be so cowardly, or have you been teaching them what it's like to run away with your tail tuc---"

Pietro intended to pay Creed back for that one himself, but surprisingly, Rikhel was there first. Her fist connected with the glass, shattering it on impact. Sabertooth reared back, stunned and clawing at his eye- balls in what Pietro could only imagine was pain. Rikhel's face had turned a nasty shade of purple. "IF YOU EVER TALK ABOUT ME OR MY BROTHER THAT WAY AGAIN, I'LL HAVE YOU NEUTERED YOU FUCKING PUSSY!!"

…wow, it really WAS Lance's little sister; same temper and everything. Pietro turned to have a good laugh at Sabertooth, but he was already trotting off, still holding tight to his face. It took him a while to consider the fact that Rikhel's hand might be bleeding, but it registered once he saw the puddle of crimson slowly begin to form beneath the window's ledge. Hovered over it was the shaking form of Rikhel… she was rocking slowly and singing to herself. Pietro went rigid as he overheard part of what she was singing…

……..salty tear is wiped away-

but never be too proud to cry…

…….."No……..not again…."

"C'mon, yo; these walls can't be THAT strong. Hey Avalanche, try again, yo! Use your powers!"

Lance rolled his eyes and sighed. Although he admired Todd's enthusiasm, there was absolutely no way he could tear down these walls…at least not with the energy he had left. The Brotherhood had been stuck down under the Acolyte's lair for about a day now; couldn't Todd just understand that if there was a way out, they would've found it by now?

"Toad, it's no use. We're underground; using my powers would just tear up Magneto's top soil; I'm a seismic wave, not a gopher. I never thought I'd say this, but I wish Pietro were here."

Freddy raised his head, abandoning the truck he'd been drawing on the dirt-covered floor. "Ya, then we'd be able to give Magneto what he wants; his no-good selfish crazy son. Man, I wish your sister would just drag his crazy ass down here so we could go hom-"

Lance tore the ground from beneath Freddy, knocking him backwards. "Don't you EVER talk about Pietro that way again! Think about how many times he's saved your pathetic……." Lance closed his mouth, finally noticing the scared expressions on his team-mates faces. "….guys…I'm sorry. The stress must be getting to me, I….I'm just worried, okay."

Lance covered his face with his hands, turning from his friends and walking to the other side of the stale basement. He hadn't meant to get so mad at Freddy, but after seeing Pietro like that last week, Lance had formed a new impression of his 'crazy' friend. Pietro had always seemed so cocky, maybe even so far as Eric-esk, but never evil. But that night in the living room, he'd seen a different side of Pietro. He still hadn't seemed evil…creepy, definitely un-hinged, but not evil. But above all, Pietro had seemed so frail…so scared and hurt. Lance just wanted to help, then his sister had come and…..UGG! Everything had happened so fast, and Lance had never even had a chance to ask Pietro what had sparked that unusual behavior that night…he felt so guilty. It just struck him as un-fair for Freddy to bad- mouth Pietro like that when he, Lance, knew a completely different side of him. Why hadn't they just taken the time to-…oh ya…….they did, and he turned them away. Pietro, why would you turn away everybody that cares about you? Why are you so STUPID!

Freddy turned to his friend. "Hey Todd, I didn't mean to set him off like that or nothin'. You think he'll be ok?"

"Ya, he just needs some cooling down time, ya know? How would you like to have your 'lil sister stuck in a house with Pietro this long??"

Blob was silent for a long time, then shut his eyes and sighed. Todd realized that he'd never seen Freddy this way before. He looked so…sad. Freddy spoke, but didn't look up. "Todd, are we gonna die?? I mean, will Magneto kill us if he can't find Pietro?"

Todd blinked. He knew that Magneto planned on recruiting Lance into the Acolytes, and possibly his little sister too…but what would happen to the rest of the Brotherhood is Quicksilver wasn't found, and soon? Magneto had already done SOMETHING with Mystique, who's to say he wasn't capable of more? Todd shrugged, then looked up at Freddy.

"Nah; we'll be fine, yo."

Freddy smiled and got up to join Lance over by the door, most likely trying to pick the lock. Todd curled up into a ball, thinking intently. What WOULD happen if Quicksilver never showed up? If Sabertooth couldn't find him to deliver Magneto's message, then what would Magneto do to the Brotherhood? Or worse, what would Magneto have his lackeys do to the Brotherhood? The thought of being burned alive by Pyro chilled Todd to the bone, or being blown-up by Gambit, or being smashed by Colossus, or…….Sabertooth. Todd shuddered violently at that thought.

"God Pietro, I never thought I'd say this, but….please hurry…."

They had ended up wrapping Rikhel's hand in a pillow case, being that the two of them were locked inside that damned bedroom. Seeing Sabertooth had really scared him, but it also pissed him off royally. He hated Sabertooth.

Another tremor shook the Earth around them, rattling the windows behind the closed curtains. Pietro looked up out what was left of the East window, almost expecting to see Lance standing there, but the yard still remained empty. What was causing him to cause such a commotion? Something was wrong, REALLY wrong. Sabertooth wasn't just here to get 'Khel, there was more, Pietro knew that for certain. Whatever it was, it wasn't worth waking up Rikhel; not when he knew she would only worry about Lance the whole time. Pietro considered leaving and heading to the Acolyte's lair to find Gambit; he would help him with all this Magneto shit. There was plenty of cereal stuffed under the bed to last Rikhel until he could return with Gambit, and it would give him time to find her brother, ya; it was a good idea. He grabbed a sheet of paper of the desk, scribbling a short explanation-

"Khel-

Went to find your brother and the others, I should be back soon. If Sabertooth comes back--"

Shit. What IF Sabertooth comes back and she was here all alone? Pietro would come back to an empty wrecked house…no. He couldn't leave her here by herself, especially injured. He scribbled down one last comment.

FUCK IT!!!!!!!

He sighed, crumpling up the paper and shucking it out the window. "Well, it was worth a try, right?" He waited, but no answer sounded. Pietro sat down next to the young Alvers, who slept soundly. Perhaps it was worth another try. Pietro was having quite a difficult time keeping his eyes open at this point. Besides, it had to be at least 10 by now. Why would Magneto send somebody at 10 at night? With that false hope in mind, Pietro set his head down on the mattress next to Rikhel and closed his eyes. "Please" he though, "please let everything be ok when I wake up….please."

Well?? What do you think? Please review if you liked it, it means a lot to me!! 