Emma turned and looked down the hallway transfixed.

She had been arguing with a nurse about being allowed to leave, and the nurse continued to argue, but Emma was totally distracted.

A storm of blue energy bore down on her. It lined the walls, ceiling and floor of the hallway, but more than that – it formed the gray grayish-blue spirit wolf that tore down the center of the hall.

Never seen anything like this when I was awake… What could… Who, I mean…

The wold bore down hard on her and stopped only a fraction of an inch from her face before roaring with all its might.

"KEEP THE MEAT WARM!" It insisted.

Emma nodded out of fear, shivering.

And the storm swirled around itself, vanishing in to itself, pausing ever so briefly to form the image of Forge standing there, eyeing her with a wolf's gaze before he too vanished in to the astral swirl.

"Right! Right!" Emma demanded. "Take me to the other one."

"The other what?" The nurse demanded.

"Excalibur… They brought in another patient. Take me to the other patient."

The nurse made a dour face. "Fine. To the morgue it is then."

Emma looked outraged. "The morgue! You will bring him to me this instant!"

The nurse was taken aback. "O-okay. But… He passed as he came in."

"I can save him." Emma glowered. "He isn't gone yet."

The nurse's jaw flopped in place. There was no doubting Emma's sincerity. Finally the nurse's mind caught like a wheel on a wet road and it tore forward.

"Betty, Bernice! Get that last body back up here! On the double! We might have made a mistake! He might not be dead."

"Good lord!" Bernice grabbed her keys and took off on a sprint towards the elevator with Betty in tow.

The nurse turned on Emma. "You had better not be making me look bad. If he weren't Excalibur and they didn't bring you here I'd say this is utter nonsense!"

"I can do it." Emma told her. "Just keep another one of those adrenaline shots ready. A defribulator too."

The nurse looked slow to process this.

"Because." Emma explained. "This might kill me."

Lucy's apocalyptic shadow was a superb fighter. Every blow that Lucy struck was blocked, and slowly but surely, Lucy was getting tired.

"You think he's going to save you if you keep me busy, don't you?" The ashen faced destroyer asked.

"Who?" Lucy asked back.

"Your love. The one who has forced this upon us."

"Forge?" Lucy shook her head. "What are you talking about?"

"Please. You can't imagine that you brought us here, to this place? I was dominant, you were cringing in my reptilian cortex panicking over the idea of drowning – a weakness I would never lower myself to demonstrate – and he…" The dark reflection shook her head.

"He did something…" Lucy nodded. "He leveled the playing field between us."

Her counterpart spit at the insinuation.

"If he's doing this then…" Lucy looked around. "I can kill you here. He'd have seen to that. I can… out think you."

The evil girl smiled back at her. "I am as old as the sand. You can not possibly hope…"

"I never had a father." Lucy said with a sudden surge of inspiration.

And her dark image staggered as though punched in the guts.

Rachael and Kurt strode defiantly across the large stone room towards the sarcophagus. A few of The Aristocracy were still scattered in to the shadows. Rachael telekinetically swatted them away anyway, forcing them to call out in terror.

For a group of people who worshipped Apocalypse, they were mostly cowards.

"Rip it open." Kurt told her.

And the top of the great stone casket fractured and tore itself free, allowing a nasty blue mucus like liquid to drain out all over the floor and Lucy's body to fall forward slightly, coughing.

Kurt rushed forward. Vhat have they done?

"No." Rachael shivered.

Lucy's skin was an ashen blue. She looked more lizard-like than anything else. Even her eyes seemed to be tinted and tinged.

She suddenly vomited a lung-full of the nasty liquid and sputtered, coughing.

"Lucy!" Kurt grabbed her. "Lucy! Can you hear me?"

She shook her head. "Not Lucy." She breathed. "Forge."

Kurt paused and made eye contact.

Lucy/Forge smiled. "I couldn't leave her here alone."

Kurt nodded, smiling and unfastening his captive friend(s). "I get it. You had to be the big show off and get here first."

"Something like that." Came the reply. "They tried to reprogram her memories."

"And?" Kurt asked.

"And she's fighting the programming as we speak."

"Good." Kurt nodded, finally freeing Lucy's body. "Now let's get out of here."

And Rachael grabbed them all telekinetically and together they flew along the room towards the doorway.

"Now don't tell me your going in to the men's room Kitty." Rogue/Williams said.

"Rogue?" Kitty swallowed.

"You after Watts too?" Williams/Rogue asked.

"Yeah…" Kitty swallowed.

"So is this guy." Rogue indicated herself. "But it's a long story."

"Yeah." Kitty paused. "Watts is after us. Excalibur."

"Let me go in and check." Rogue/Williams said. "I'll get him to come out."

Kitty paused for an instant. "Ummm… How…"

But Rogue/Williams had already pushed past her in to the restroom.

Okay… That was … Odd… And…Suddenly Kitty perked up. Wait… Who was that guy?

And Kitty forced herself to push in to the men's room.

There was Watts on his knees and Williams/Rogue standing over him and holding him by the face.

"NO!" Kitty jumped forward and drove them apart.

"What do you think you're doin?" Rogue/Williams demanded.

"Who are you?" Kitty demanded back.

"Where…"

But when they turned… Watts was gone.

Kitty ran out of the lounge and on to the street. She keyed her radio. "Watts is on the move. I've got him moving North just outside the Templeton!"

Brian and Illyana's eyes met.

"They've got Watts!" Brian breathed.

"We have to save him!" Illyana added.

"Let's stop and get Betsy and Tabitha." Brian added. "They'll want to help."

"A bet's still a bet you know." Illyana smiled.

"Perfect." Brian smiled back.

And Illyana opened a portal to the lighthouse and they both stepped through.