Disclaimer—See Chapter One

A/N: I just finished writing chapter 13 and didn't finish my outline, so this story will for sure be 15 chapters now! Thank you all so much for your support! I can't tell you how much it keeps me going! Thank you to Ih, hi, Meg, Rain (So happy to hear that, I was unsure. Thanks!), kerry, Mayra (I'm trying to keep a mix of interactions between all of them, thanks!), Mxfan214, CatJerica (Glad you got your computer fixed!), blackpanther (Answers will come soon!), Saphire Ravven8 (You guessed right!), Redhead2 (I love playing with ranges of emotion, it's always a challenge! So thank you!), Fiery Feral (Me too, lol!). AliasFan-MutantKitty, I can't thank you enough for the amazing reviews! And the poem at the end of All Things was so beautiful! Thank you! I hope all of your questions will be answered by the end, I'll do my best! Thank you all so much! Here's another long chapter for you!

Traveling Souls—Chapter Twelve

Icy water rushed over his head in a deafening roar, and Brennan struggled to close his fists as he felt it wash down over them. There was a ripple, a hiss, and then eerie silence as sparks flickered harmlessly and died. He lay still for a moment, numbing shock stealing through his limbs, feeling the swelling current as something struggled beside him; Alex. With a great gasp, Brennan heaved himself into a sitting position, greedily sucking in air when his head broke the surface, grateful for the relative shallowness of the river. Racketing pain fought with bitter cold, and he groaned heavily, rocks digging sharply into his palms as he struggled to push his hands under him. Water surged again, and he slipped, hands tearing against slimy rock. He felt a sting, sluggishly blinked, and saw red blood pillowing from the water. A slippery hand gripped his shoulder, and he turned his head, meeting Alex's grim eyes, remembering. The mists. As one, their heads turned and looked up, gasping as they saw the thick fog lingering directly above them, hovering, as if it didn't know which way to float. Mouths gaping, they watched silently as it suddenly shot straight up into the air, slammed back toward them in a silent stretch, and then backed off, following the flow of the river, disappearing into the darkness.

"Did you see that?" Alex's fingers dug into Brennan's shoulder, face fixed in shocked fear. "It…it—"

"It had a face." Brennan pressed his lips together grimly, no longer feeling the cold.

They looked at each other in disbelief even as the others rushed towards them, voices blurring together in frenzied panic.

"Brennan! Alex!" Shalimar reached them first, charging into the water without thought. Her nostrils flared as a coppery scent stung her senses, and she dropped to her knees beside them with a splash. "Brennan, you're bleeding!" Her hands sought him, frantically roaming his chest and arms in the watery darkness for signs of injury.

"Shalimar!" Adam's voice called sharply, hesitantly, drawing them all still. "What happened here?" His eyes darted between the two men, begging an explanation for what he had seen.

Shalimar ignored him, tongue clicking as she found the source of injury, drawing Brennan's cut hand into her own.

The cold returned, and Brennan shivered violently, pulling his hand free and staggering to his feet, water pouring off him as he roughly hauled Shalimar against him, eyes desperately roaming the darkness. She gasped at the abruptness, his grip almost painful with nervous energy.

"Brennan?" Jesse took a step forward into the water.

"It's ok," Alex finally managed to gasp, shuddering as he managed to find his own feet, hobbling protectively in front of both of them.

"What did you see?" Jesse finally began to catch on as he watched the defensive positions of both men. They were forming a barrier around Shalimar, eyes searching. He heard Shalimar's grunt of frustration as she recognized their protective stances as well, pushing forward to stand beside them.

"There was more mist," Alex's shoulders finally relaxed their tenseness, satisfied it was no longer an immediate threat. He turned toward Brennan, eyes frank with admiration. "Brennan zapped me to knock me out of the way, saved my life."

"It was the only way I could reach you in time. Too bad we landed in the water," Brennan groaned as a rush of cold air tugged at his wet clothing. He shivered miserably.

"That's strange," Adam frowned as he glanced around. "There wasn't enough nitrogen vapor left to do any damage."

"There's more, Adam." Brennan trudged tiredly through the water, sinking to the ground as Shalimar and Alex stumbled up the shallow bank beside him. He hesitated, glancing over at Alex. The dark-haired man sat with his arms stretched across his knees, head hanging down wearily. "That mist, it's not normal."

Adam's brows knit together. "What do you mean?"

Brennan shook his head. "It moved purposefully, following us… It—it looked at us, Adam." It sounded stupid even to his own ears, and what he was thinking sounded even more implausible. He didn't miss the skeptical look that flashed across the older man's face, the concerned glances between Jesse and Shalimar even as her hands reached for his forehead. He pushed them away. "Emma?" He turned toward the redhead.

"I—I'm sorry, but I don't sense anything, Brennan." She regretfully squeezed his shoulder, feeling his growing frustration.

"Never mind." He dropped his head, suddenly too tired to explain as Alex stayed quiet.

Water dripped, and Adam cleared his throat in the silence. "Well, let's get the three of you dry, it's too cold in here to stay in those wet clothes."

It was nearly impossible to tell time in the dim darkness of the cave, but Shalimar estimated it had been at least a couple of hours. They were gathered back in the large cavern, resting around a small fire that Alex started for them, burning a mangled wooden chair Jesse had found in the lab and phased back for them. Adam was anxious to get going, but was giving them time to rest and dry off. Her shirt and jeans were steaming by the fire, finally dry enough to put back on, and she rose, blanket fluttering behind her like a cape as she walked a little ways away from the others to get dressed. It had been awkward sitting with the others dressed in only a blanket, even if Brennan and Alex were similarly clad. More than once she had caught Brennan's eyes on her bare legs, and she wasn't overly surprised when he rose to follow her, hands reaching out to grasp her waist as they melted into the darkness.

"Hey," He whispered into her ear, pulling her to a stop. He bent his head, lips nibbling against the warmth of her skin.

"Brennan," She laughingly whispered, turning to face him. "The others—"

"Can't see us," He smoothly countered, hands splaying her hips as he pulled her closer.

She let him kiss her, unable to resist. His kiss was tender and assuring, hinting of held-back desire. When they finally broke apart, she was breathless, resting her hands against his chest, feeling his heart pounding madly. His eyes were dark, burning through hers in the shadows, and his head dipped again, kiss slow and deep. She tasted the heat of his mouth, the desire stirring in both of them.

"Brennan," She gasped as she managed to break away. "We can't—"

"Yeah, I know." His voice was thick, muffled as he buried his face in her shoulder with a groan. She couldn't help but chuckle at his obvious frustration; this was a new side of Brennan, she was quickly finding she was enjoying it. Her fingers dug into his hair in silent agreement at his whispered words.

"Later."

He released her, eyes holding hers as he stepped back a few paces and dropped his blanket, reminding her of his challenge a few days ago in Sanctuary when she had interrupted his shower. She met his dare, chin lifting with a teasing smile as she dropped her own blanket. He growled lowly, but didn't touch her, sending goosebumps up and down her flesh. It was nearly impossible to see in the pitch black, but she kept her eyes on him, feeling his gaze burning into hers as they bent and pulled on their clothes. She sat on the ground to pull on her shoes, letting him help her stand back up when she was finished, welcoming the strength of his hands, warm and firm under her arms. She wasn't too tired to enjoy the closeness, the cover of dark that hid them from the others. She ran her hands up his arms and clasped them behind his neck. He kissed her again, and she marveled that she was actually with him. Had it only been a few days now?

"Come on," he whispered.

The fire was hot and crackling, and Adam motioned for them to sit. Shalimar was grateful they couldn't see her flushed face in the dimness, relieved no one commented on their little disappearance, relaxing as she listened to them talk. The deep resonance of their voices was soothing, their sudden bursts of laughter assuring. Once she tilted her head to smile up at Brennan. He returned the smile. The fire made his face gentle, and a feeling of possession quickened within, a feeling of being possessed, and she had a shocking impulse to curl around and rub herself against him like a cat. Marking him. Claiming him. She bit her lip at the sensation, resting her head into the soft hollow of his shoulder. It was made for her. The flames danced high in yellows and whites, spitting at times. She felt Brennan relax as well, was conscious of his arms circling her, caging her in, his hands clasped loosely in front of them.

Across the fire, Emma smiled as she watched them, happy her friends had finally figured things out. They had been in denial for so long, fighting and ignoring what she knew they both wanted. It was nice to see them finally together now, and happy despite their current circumstances. Warm fingers brushing against hers reminded her of her own similar situation, and her smile widened knowingly as Jesse purposely let her feel his straying thoughts. He grinned when she blushed, dropping her eyes. Yeah. Who knew the Molecular had such a salacious side to him? She licked her lips, sending him her own feelings, grinning evilly when his fingers faltered momentarily against hers, and he chuckled softly, wryly in the darkness. Never mess with a Psionic. She flashed him a triumphant smile as he pulled her closer, dropping a kiss on top of her head. She loved messing with his mind. His hand dropped to her waist, fingers burning through the thick roughness of the blanket she had wrapped around herself for warmth, and she shivered deliciously at the touch, leaning closer yet. Adam asked her a question, and she answered, reveling in the small moment of quietness they shared. The past few days had been rough on all of them, and she had a feeling it wasn't over yet. The fire cracked again, and she jumped slightly, tensing.

"Emma?" Alex looked at her in concern as he walked past, coming back from changing into his own clothes. "You ok?"

"I'm fine." She quickly shook her head, not wanting to ruin the moment. She ran her fingers soothingly over Jesse's as they tightened against her waist.

Alex nodded, accepting her words, grinning as he paused between the cuddling couples, brows rising. "I'm beginning to feel left out."

"Well, there's always Adam..." Brennan grinned as Shalimar jabbed him with her elbow.

"Don't forget who gave you rescue breathing." Alex shot back.

Brennan's smile instantly dropped, causing the others to laugh even harder.

Adam rolled his eyes at their antics, sobering slightly as their leader raised his hands to signal control. Alex sat down, stretching his feet toward the fire, listening.

"I know you are all tired, and I appreciate everything you've done for this mission. You've been through a lot already, and you should all be proud of yourselves." Adam paused, glancing at each one of them as he spoke, his face soft in the flickering firelight.

Shalimar straightened slightly at his formality, brows pinching together in concern. "Everything ok, Adam?"

"Everything is fine, Shalimar." He smiled in reassurance, but she noticed it didn't quite reach his eyes. Brennan nudged her slightly, and she nodded in understanding. There was something Adam wasn't telling them. She frowned slightly, shifting against the cold rock floor. Brennan's arms tightened around her imperceptively, sensing her unease. She rested her hands on top of his, drawing strength from his warm fingers as he tangled them around hers.

"We've got the disk and the statue, and now that we've managed to regroup, we need to continue on, find that research, and get out of here."

"Sounds good to me," Jesse piped up, releasing Emma as he stood to his feet to stretch. "I don't think I can handle one more night on this floor anyway."

Adam smiled briefly, chuckling in understanding as he stood and his own knees popped in protest. "So we're agreed?"

"Yeah, let's do this." Brennan ignored the twinge in his back as he straightened, watching Shalimar as she tested her injured foot against the ground. She caught his gaze, flattening her foot against the ground defiantly, arms crossing. "I think we're all ready to go." He continued, not breaking eye contact.

Feeling immediately foolish, Shalimar smiled, shoulders losing their defensiveness. She should have known by now Brennan wouldn't try to coddle her. It was one of the things he had proven in this mission. She leaned into him, pressing a brief kiss against his chest as his hands rubbed up and down her arms in understanding.

It had taken a while for him to trust enough to let her go. It was never about not trusting her abilities; it was about trusting she would come back to him. He had to fight his protective nature, and she had to fight her driving hunting nature. He released her, and she bent, stuffing their blankets back into her pack.

"Where should we start?" Emma looked around the cave. "I think we've checked out most of the tunnels by now."

"Adam, what about the bones?" Jesse's eyes were troubled. "A lot of people died here, and we don't know why."

"Do you think they're connected to this case?" Shalimar turned to look at Adam as he picked up the pack containing the heavy bronzed tree statue.

"It's possible," Adam grunted as he hefted the pack onto his shoulder, "The disk mentioned something about experiments, and unfortunately, as we know, Eckhart was capable of most anything."

"Maybe it's tied to Dr. Shaw's research." Alex looked pained at the thought.

"No." Adam's face tightened as he stared into the darkness, voice unreadable as he finally spoke. "I don't think so."

Emma's brows furrowed, watching him. She knew Adam could feel her gaze, but he ignored her, briskly pulling his pen light out of his pocket. Light flickered around them, dying as Alex stomped out the remains of the fire until there was only the directed glow of the small flashlight. She swallowed, invariably frowning as she studied Adam, turning up her face and forcing a smile when Jesse stepped up next to her.

"Let's spread out and do one more sweep," Adam instructed.

"What are we looking for exactly?" Brennan scratched his head, stifling a yawn.

"I don't know," Adam pressed his lips together.

"Great," Brennan sighed, "One of those, 'we'll know when we see it,' kind of things."

"You got it." Adam smiled at his expression, disappearing into the darkness without another word. A tiny bopping thread of light was the only indication of where he was heading. Emma watched him for a moment before following him, Jesse trailing after her.

Alex shrugged as Brennan and Shalimar looked at him. "Guess I'll go that way," He pointed towards the river, hand raising as small flames flickered and danced on his fingertips, lighting his way.

"Guess it's just you and me now." Brennan's voice tickled Shalimar's ear.

She smiled, waiting until Alex disappeared before turning to Brennan. "Well then, it's a good thing I can see in the dark."

Brennan grinned, pulling her closer. "Or we could just wait here…" His voice trailed away as he bent his head, kissing her ear, encouraged when she shuddered slightly beneath him. He smiled against her skin, lips moving down her jawline as she lifted her face, arching into his touch, gasping softly when he finally reached her mouth, lips claiming hers with undeniable hunger, hands spanning her waist and pulling her closer.

"Brennan—" She murmured after a moment, hands pushing gently against his chest.

"Yeah, yeah, later, I know." Brennan groaned as he reluctantly pulled away. His breathing was raspy as his fingers pushed under the edge of her blouse, teasing the soft skin of her midriff. His mouth twisted wryly, eyes dark. "You know, I changed my mind, the faster we look, the faster we can get out of here."

Her brows rose at his tortured expression. "You're being awfully presumptuous."

He froze, mouth gaping, fingers faltering in the ensuring silence, finally swallowing tightly. "I—I'm sorry."

Her eyes twinkled as she pushed up on her toes to whisper in his ear. "I like it."

He growled playfully, arms wrapping around her, pulling her hard against him. But when he kissed her, his lips were soft, moving gently over hers with infinite tenderness. Her heart ached with love when he hugged her, setting his chin on top of her head. "Thanks," He finally whispered.

"For what?" She tilted her head up to look at him.

"For being you." He felt the pull of muscle against his chest as she smiled, knowing she understood. He's not you. Suddenly, her words made all the sense in the world. "We should go." He finally broke the silence between them.

She nodded against his chest, stepping back out of his embrace. "Why don't you go on ahead with the others?" Her eyes caught Adam's tiny penlight bobbing across the cavern. "I just need to make a quick stop and then I'll catch up with you." She indicated their designated tunnel with a jerk of her head.

"Alright." Brennan started toward the tiny beam of light.

Shalimar watched him walk away, smiling at the slight waddle he tried so hard to hide. His back must still be bothering him. She made a mental note to check it out later on. Her foot was still sore as well, but already she could walk much easier, and she turned and headed down the small side tunnel. It was much darker away from the main cavern, and she allowed her eyes to convert to familiar gold, walking with ease through the darkness.

It was then that she felt him.

Shivers spiked up and down her spine, but she feigned nonchalance, forcing herself to keep walking as she scanned the walls, barely hesitating when she spotted the hazy red of his heat signature a few yards ahead of her.

He was camouflaged into the rock wall.

Her hesitation was slight, the hitch of breath minimal, but it was enough to let him know she was aware. Before she could take another step, he pounced.

Brennan was already bored.

He sighed heavily as Adam turned his flashlight on yet another slab of rock jutting out of the wall. It looked exactly like the ten others he had examined before it. "I don't think we're going to find anything." He groaned inwardly, biting the side of his cheek as Adam ignored him and began yet another painstaking examination. He sighed loudly again, shoving his hands into his pockets, bouncing on the balls of his feet impatiently. Emma shot him an amused smile, and he shrugged his shoulders as she looked at him. "What?"

"You're being annoying, Brennan." Jesse bluntly informed him, running his fingers along the rock slab next to Adam. "If you'd help, this would go a whole lot faster."

"Whatever, bro."

Adam moved onto the next section of wall, barely noticing as Brennan and Jesse continued to banter back and forth. He rubbed his fingers against the cold slate, hoping the walls would whisper their secrets and lay bare the past. He thought he had known everything about this facility, but it obviously still had more secrets to reveal.

Even more than he did.

He pressed his lips together at the guilty thought, moving further into the tunnel.

"Hi, there." The baby's arms flapped joyfully at the sound of his voice as he bent close, grabbing onto his nose with surprising strength. "Patience, little one." He chuckled, rescuing his nose from grabbing fingers, cooing gibberish at the baby. He looked up sheepishly as his partner entered the room, smile growing wary at the look on the other man's face. "Is it time?"

"It is."

He swallowed, looking away. "You trust this adoptive family?"

"Eckhart chose them personally."

He nodded. Somehow that did little to reassure him. He hadn't shared his reservations with his partner yet, but he was beginning to have serious misgivings about some of the company practices. He looked back down at the baby, face tightening. They had just sent the mother away moments ago with one of the babies. Now they had to take care of the other. "I still wish we could have handled this differently."

"It'll be fine, Adam."

"We can only hope so." He watched as Evan unwrapped the soft pink blanket from around the baby.

"Do you want to meet them?"

"No." He shook his head, handing over a light blue blanket, shifting his feet uneasily as Evan wrapped the fuzzy material around the baby, placing him against his shoulder.

Illusion.

Misdirection.

The infant's dark eyes haunted him as he stared solemnly back over his partner's shoulder as he walked through the door. His eyes closed in guilt. It was bad enough that he had purposefully deceived the mother, and that she would never know the full truth about her firstborn.

Truth inside a lie, masking truth.

He could barely stomach what he'd done so far. He couldn't bear to watch as her son was given away.

Adam blinked, thrown back into reality when a chilling feral snarl broke the air.

Brennan's head snapped up at the sound.

Shalimar.

He would know that scream anywhere.

In the time it took for Brennan to run through the main cavern and down the dark side tunnel, he relived his nightmare. Not the exact one that had haunted him of late, but a similar one, one that had kept him awake on many a countless night, one of Shalimar in the hands of some faceless monster, stirred by numerous encounters over the years, when the abyss yawned and stretched, making its presence known. He careened around the corner, skidding to a stop as he came face to face with the current threat, mind whirling.

So much fire for a tiny woman...too slow and clumsy.

You shouldn't do that.

Every word the monster had said to her.

Try me.

He's only pretending to be human.

Every word she had said back

"Shalimar!"

He heard Alex scream her name, the rage brewing out of him blocking anything beyond that. Electricity burned beneath his skin, bursting through his fingers with painful relief, tangible and dangerous. He strode forward, hesitating when with twisting dread he saw the knife being pressed into the tender hollow of her throat. The same soft place his lips had been kissing just minutes before. Sparks flickered in his eyes, and it took conscious and painful effort not to level his fingers at the mutant's head as he came to a stop a few feet in front of them. That was the only target he could take that would guarantee the fastest death. He glared down at the target. So close. So close he could almost reach out and touch the man. Too close to be sure. He might not be fast enough, not with the knife that close. He heard Alex draw to a stop, flanking behind him, the others just behind him.

"What do you want?" Adam's voice boomed authoritatively.

"Stupid question." Lazy eyes blinked back at them.

"You can't have the disk," Shalimar spoke for the first time, teeth bared as she arched her back against the chokehold around her neck, angry that this mutant had managed to grab her a third time. She stilled as the knife tip dug into her skin, eyes defiant. "And you might want to be a little more creative next time, this is getting old."

Brennan's fingers twitched, aching to attack, on edge by Shalimar's blatant antagonism, held frozen by fear. If he lifted his fingers, he would have to take the shot. No waiting. Just an elimination of threat. The abyss cackled in his ear.

He waited.

And just as suddenly the knife flipped up into the air, and Shalimar was released. Instinctively, she whirled around, the hilt of the knife smacking into her upraised palm. She blinked, as if astonished to find it there, and the mutant sighed.

"Still too clumsy."

For a long moment, Shalimar and the mutant simply stared at one another. Brennan blinked, and then he was gone.

"Where did he go?"

He heard Emma and Jesse murmuring behind him, but stared only at Shalimar, wincing as the knife fell from her limp fingers, clamoring loudly on the slate ground.

"Shalimar?" He closed the distance between them. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah." When her eyes finally rose to meet his, her face was the coldest mask he had ever seen. He opened his mouth to speak, but the roar of falling earth drowned him out. He stumbled, catching her as they were knocked flat, rocks tumbling around them.

"You've got to be kidding me!" Shalimar gritted her teeth, yelling in disbelief.

"I'm getting really tired of this guy," Brennan grunted as he hauled himself back to his feet, holding out a hand to help Shalimar.

"Michael."

"What?"

"He said his name was Michael." Shalimar's eyes flashed golden, searching for him as the rumbling stopped. She spotted him back in the main cavern by the lab entrance, arms casually crossed, watching as a handful of men stepped into the cave from the newly exposed hallway, forming a formidable line. He had knocked down the caved-in wall, suddenly opening them up to the facility once again. She groaned; it figured Eckhart's goons would be waiting. She growled deep in her throat, starting forward.

But Brennan beat her to it.

Itching for a fight, he didn't hesitate. Two arches of blue electricity shot out as one. Two men, one at each end of the line, cried out and spun as close range bolts struck with bruising force. Startled, the rest of the men turned appraisingly to Brennan, reconsidering their plan of attack. Two more streaks shot out before anyone could decide where to look, and two more men fell, engulfed in flames. Four more men dropped by the time hands fumbled for weapons, and the rest were dead before anyone could react.

Michael was nowhere to be seen.

Alex's footsteps echoed loudly as he stepped up next to Brennan. His face as he glanced at the bodies was cold in contempt. Adam stepped widely around them, bending over to check on the fallen. Brennan's hits were clean, the men unconscious. It was Alex's hits that were deadly. His expression was thoughtful as he looked back up. Something cold flashed in Alex's eyes, a hint of darkness slipping the leash he normally held. Adam was not the only one close enough to see it, but he thought he was the only one to recognize it. Flat dark eyes stared back into his without apology even as the others rushed up to them, and then he broken the contact, turning toward Shalimar in protective concern, tilting her head up to get a look at the reddened abrasion on her throat.

"You ok?" Alex's voice was husky as he studied the bruising on her neck.

"Yeah." She graced him with a smile, feeling Brennan's hands slid around her waist, turning her around.

Silently, Brennan pulled her into his arms, burying his face into her hair, smelling the sweat and adrenaline, the wind out of the abyss screaming at his back.

Adam was willing to bet that Alex had not known ahead of time what Brennan was going to do. But he had struck his targets without warning and without mercy. Eckhart's men had been fools. They had looked at Brennan and seen the threat.

They never saw the shots that took half of them out from behind.

In the corner of the cave, Michael looked up and smiled.