Author's Note to Cat2fat900: You seem to really understand Nightmare. I thought no one would get him at all, but I'm glad he makes sense to you. I don't understand why no one else has reviewed this story yet. But hey, I'll keep it interesting for you.

For a while darkness was his only companion. That cheap shot from Jean left him in a blackened state.

Soon the blackness began to slip away as he returned to consciousness.

Nightmare shook his head as he sat up. After a while of collecting his thoughts he saw that he was no longer in the institute.

He was outside, in the fresh air. It was so bright. The sun had shown in the sky.

The only thing that was dark now was himself, as he stood wrapped in his black cloak.

How strange this was. He was just in the institute. How could he have gotten here?

"This isn't right," he said. "I was just in that danger room training with the X-Men."

He moved about his new surroundings. What was going on?

He moved through the area. His confusion began to swell in his mind.

It was then that he heard the sound of a woman's voice. It was calling out through the air, like a bird's wings fluttering in the wind.

"Ivan," it called. "Ivan."

Nightmare had heard that name before. It had been so long since anyone had uttered it.

He began to follow the voice. It was so familiar.

"Ivan."

He continued to follow, moving through trees covered in flowers, raining petals as he moved.

"This can't be," he said as he moved, "it can't be her."

"Ivan."

At least he reached a clearing. The voice had come from there.

Nightmare looked through to see the source. And he saw it.

It was a woman. A woman dancing with a man. They were a couple in their thirties, holding each other close as they danced slowly in the sunlight.

Nightmare's hollow eyelids turned wide. He knew these people. He knew he would never see them again, but in some twisted mistake in fate they stood before him.

The woman looked over to him.

The couple stopped dancing and faced the cloaked figure.

A smile formed on the woman's face.

"Ivan," she said. "What took you so long. Come to us."

She held out her hand for Nightmare to approach it.

And he did, slowly.

How strange it was to him, to here his real name being spoken again.

"Mother," he said to the woman, and then looked to the man. "Father."

He reached for the woman's hand, wanting to touch it once again.

But before he could the hand was retracted.

Nightmare looked to the man and the woman.

They began to change.

Instead of the beautiful couple that stood in the middle of the clearing, there were two hideous figures.

Their skin had become a pale gray. It hung off their bones as if they had been dead for quite some time.

Their lips were curled back in a snarl exposing their badly decayed teeth.

The woman let out a hideous scream and leapt at Nightmare pinning him to a nearby tree.

The man soon joined her.

The man spoke as he stared at his former son against the tree.

"Why did you let us die," he said. "After all we did for you, you went and let us die. Why didn't you do anything?"

Then the woman spoke.

"And now look at what you have done. The people you hurt, the pain you caused, was it all worth it in the end."

The man grabbed hold of Nightmare's face.

"I'd say it's time you went back to your new daddy."

Nightmare looked passed the tow ghoulish figures.

Behind them another familiar figure descended from the sky.

The young madman became alarmed.

"Shamen," he yelled out as he saw the tall man approach him.

Shamen lifted his hand up to Nightmare's face as the man and woman disappeared.

"And so the nightmare ends," he said as he pulled a knife out of his trenchcoat.

He stabbed it towards Nightmare's chest.

Suddenly the cloaked psychopath awoke in the infirmary of the Xavier Institute.

He was lying on a table under a bright light. It had all been a dream.

Nightmare reached his hand to his face. His hood had been pulled off his head, but his black cloth mask was still in place.

He looked around. Mr. McCoy was away from him; collecting instruments he thought would be needed for Nightmare's wound.

To the left of Nightmare were Ororo and Rogue. No one seemed to know he was awake.

Rogue was sitting on a chair as the weather witch examined her ankle.

"You're lucky you didn't break it," Ororo stated. "But it still is pretty bad. You'll be walking with a limp for a while."

"Ah can live with that," Rogue said. "What about Nightmare, is he alright?"

"I'll be taking care of him now Rogue," Hank said from across the room. "Don't worry."

Nightmare sat upright giving everyone a quick shock.

Hank turned to him.

"Nightmare," he said with a start.

The cloaked figure looked to him.

Hank moved over to the boy and laid him back down gently.

"Don't sit up just yet," he said, "you've had a nasty bump, just rest."

"I need to rest," Nightmare said as he sat back up.

He could feel the warm blood soaked into his black mask. The hit was obviously more serious then he wished to reveal.

"Please Nightmare," Hank insisted, "we must check the wound to see how bad it is."

Once again he laid Nightmare back down.

The boy did not sit up this time. He watched as Hank brought the instruments over to the side for the table.

The furry man picked up a piece of clean white cloth and put his finger upon Nightmare's mask.

In an instant Nightmare hit Hank's hand away and stood to his feet.

The boy stood with his hands by his side looking at Hank.

"No one is to see my face," he said.

"But Nightmare," Hank stated, "I have to see the wound."

Nightmare still kept his ground.

"Hank," he said, "I never let anyone see my face. This mask has covered it for years. Even when I eat I simply slide food under it, so no one can see. My mask will not be removed."

"Nightmare please," Hank said.

Still the cloaked figure refused.

"I ask you," he said, "respect my wishes. The professor has had my personal items taken away for "safety reasons". Allow me to keep my face covered."

Hank listened to the boy. His voice was so serious. He really did not want anyone to see his face.

The furry man sighed in defeat, wanting to respect Nightmare's wishes.

"What about your wound," he asked.

"I will take care of it," was Nightmare's answer. "I have done it before."

Hank nodded. "Very well. We'll leave you alone to let you tend to your wound."

With that he left the room.

As he did so he heard Nightmare's voice say, "thank you."

Beast was followed by Ororo and Rogue out of the room.

They moved a few feet away from the door when Rogue stopped.

She waited for the two to leave. Neither of them knew she waited behind.

The Goth limped back to the room Nightmare was in.

She knocked on the door and waited for a reply.

"I thought I made it clear that no one was to be in here while my mask is off," Nightmare said.

"Nightmare," Rogue said. "It's me Rogue. Is it alright if Ah come in?"

There was no reply.

"Look Nightmare," Rogue said, "Ah promise Ah won't look at your face."

There was silence at first.

Then Nightmare's voice came through.

"Come in, and lock the door."

Rogue did as instructed.

When she entered the room she saw Nightmare facing a wall on the far side of the room.

He looked at a mirror that had been placed in the room.

In his hand was a needle with some stitching thread.

His mask was on the table nearby.

He stitched his own wound. He gave slight groans of pain as he did it, but he could stand the hurt.

Rogue looked at the back of his head. He had long black hair, much like Kurt's except more messy.

Rogue walked back to the chair where she sat when Ororo looked at her ankle.

When she sat down she looked back to Nightmare.

"Are you okay?"

"Fine," Nightmare said. "I've had worse in my lifetime."

He pulled the needle upward tightening the stitch slightly.

"What happened with Jean," he asked.

"Nothing," Rogue said in disgust. "She made up some lame excuse claiming that she lost slight control of her powers after that rock hit her. Every one believed her of course."

Nightmare said nothing, but it was obvious that he was mad. He always hated when crimes got away unpunished. He had seen it too many times.

Rogue tried to take her mind away from Jean.

"By the way," she said, "thank you."

"For what," Nightmare asked.

"For letting me lean against you when Ah hurt mah ankle," she said. "For getting Bobby off me when he wrenched mah arm. And of course for stopping Jean from crushing me with that rock."

Nightmare finished up the stitching and cut the thread. He quickly slid his mask back on and put his hood back over his head, keeping his face in shadow once again.

"I had to do those thing," he said turning to Rogue. " I could not sit by and do nothing."

Rogue nodded. That made sense to her. But it was still strange that a psychopath would be willing to help another.

Nightmare took a few steps closer to the Goth.

"Why did you wish to team up with me anyway," he asked her.

Rogue shrugged before answering.

"Ah thought it was kind of cold how every one else didn't want to team up with you. It was like they were treating you like an outsider. The Prof. has taught us not to do that, but Ah don't know why they still did it with you."

Nightmare cocked his head slightly. "So you did it out of pity."

"No," Rogue insisted. "Ah did it because Ah know what it's like to be an outcast. For some reason Ah didn't want you to feel the same way."

Nightmare nodded.

"I see," he said. "It's strange. At first you seemed afraid of me. Why not now?"

Rogue gave a light smile as she spoke, "Ah have to admit Ah am still a little afraid of you."

She stood to her feet. "But Ah'm getting used to you."

"That quick," Nightmare asked. "I expected a much long process. Most humans look at a madman with scorn. They say he is nothing but a monster. They laugh at a madman, not knowing it is we who laugh and know better."

Rogue listened to the young madman's words. He was not at all like anyone she had met before. He was the only person who did not try to hide what he truly was. Sure he wore a mask, but he kept nothing hidden.

He seemed to be the most honest person she had met. Always saying what he thinks, not afraid to be who he is.

Nightmare turned away from Rogue and to the door.

"How does one get back to the main floor from here," he asked.

Rogue walked to his side.

"Just follow me," she said, "Ah have to get ready for school anyway?"

Every one was eating breakfast when Rogue and Nightmare entered the room. They still had a half-hour before they had to get going to school.

Rogue limped in wearing her normal Gothic attire. It was going to be difficult getting around today, but she knew she could handle it.

Nightmare followed her in. He looked around the kitchen slowly, gazing at every one at the table, until he saw who he was looking for.

Jean sat at the table, eating her breakfast, as if nothing had happened.

Slight anger swelled within Nightmare, but he was wise to keep it at bay.

Finally he heard the Professor speaking to him.

"Nightmare, if you wish to sit down and have some breakfast you can," he said. There is no need to keep yourself at a distance."

"I prefer to stand," he said.

Jean and Scott finished their breakfast and stood from the table.

"If you'll excuse us, we've got some things to take care of in town today," Scott stated.

The teens said their good byes as the tow love birds left the room.

They walked towards the door, however Nightmare still stood in front of it.

Jean crossed her arms over her chest in a stubborn fashion.

"Do you mind," she asked rather rudely.

Nightmare did not move at first.

He leaned his face closer to the redhead's so only she could hear his words.

"If you pull a stunt like that on me again," he said, "you will feel the full force of my rage."

Jean gave a cocky grin and said sarcastically, "I am petrified."

Nightmare moved out of the way and allowed Jean and Scott to pass.

As soon as they were gone he moved to the table. He did not sit down; he simply stood nearby, watching the meal.

He looked across the table and saw the girl known as Tabitha sitting with Remy at the table. They spoke with each other talking happily, like a couple that had been dating for years.

Nightmare turned his gaze to Rogue. She kept one turning her gaze back to Remy as she ate her breakfast. As if she was yearning something that she could not have.

The killer knew what it was instantly. Rogue had a crush on this Remy character. How sad she seemed.

Once again Nightmare's attention was taken away by the Professor's voice.

"Nightmare," he said, "Seeing as the other students will be at school today you will pretty much be the only teen here. I just would like to know what you plan to do with yourself all day?"

Nightmare took his gaze off of Rogue and said, "I only wish to do a little wondering around this institution. Try and get my surroundings."

And with that he left the room, feeling no more reason to stay. There was something he had to do.

He made his way out of the kitchen. In the next room he saw Jean and Scott again.

Jean was racking through her purse as Scott waited impatiently next to her.

"Come on Jean, we've got to get going," Scott pushed, trying not to sound irritated.

"Just a minute," Jean claimed. "I can't find my credit card. I know I put it in here."

Nightmare ignored them and made his way upstairs.

He moved through the hallway. He knew exactly where he was going. He had a sense of something that he needed coming from a certain room upstairs.

After walking for a while he stopped in front of a specific door. The door that entered into Logan's room.

Nightmare slid his hand along the door. He remembered seeing Logan downstairs at the breakfast table, so he did not have to worry about getting caught yet.

He reached his hand into his sleeve and pulled out Jean's credit card. He had taken it when he leaned close to her to threaten her.

He slid the card in the crack of the door and fiddled with it slightly until the door was unlocked.

Happy his break in was a success he made his way into the room.

Inside the room he walked to Logan's closet. He turned the knob and opened it.

Inside was the box that contained his personal items.

He pulled it out and opened it up.

Inside it his weapons rested. Their clean metal surface gleamed with beauty in Nightmare's mind.

He reached his hand inside and pulled out his ax.

"It has been so long since I have held you," he said. "But now you are back in my grasp where you belong."

He slid his ax into the back of his cloak, where there was a sheath sown in the back of his black robe.

He grabbed the sickle and the machete and put them in the odd holsters in the belt around his waist.

With a smile under his black mask he said, "I am now complete."

And so he left the room, and headed downstairs, hoping not to be seen by the X-Men quite yet.

Rogue waited in the garage for the other students to get ready for school. She was the only one of the younger students that had her license now other than Kurt.

Kitty of course was far from ready to take her driver's test.

So that left Rogue to be the chauffeur on occasions. And today was he day to drive.

Normally she would have walked, but since her ankle was injured, she had no choice.

She sat on the roof of the car the Professor bought for her as a gift.

It was black, and sleek; made beautifully right down to the tires. It matched Rogue well.

After what seemed like forever Kitty, Kurt and Amara entered the garage. The rest of the students found their own ways of transportation.

Rogue stood up from the hood of her car with slanted eyes.

"What took you guys so long," she asked in a very irritated voice. "We should have left ten minutes ago. Ah can't afford to be late for class again."

"Sorry Rogue," Kurt stated, "Kitty just took some extra time fixing her hair."

"Hey," she blurted out, "it took some time to get it the way I like it."

Rogue just rolled her eyes and got into the driver's seat. The others got in as well and off they all went to school.

But none of them knew about the unexpected guest hidden under the car.

Below the vehicle Nightmare hung onto some pipes as the ground whizzed by him. The car was low to the ground and he hoped that his back would not scrape against anything.

Rogue's car continued down the road as Nightmare held on.

He was now in the outside world. Where he had waited to be for so long.

However his intentions for today were not of an evil nature. He simply wanted to observe the students of the Xavier Institute as they went to school, in order to learn more about them.

The car made its way to the school with a psychopath hidden below it.

The Crimson Hands stood hidden from view as they watched the students of the Bayeville High School.

Many were young and fit. Perfect for hunting. Oh how they wanted to begin now, but they had to wait till nightfall.

It was lunch now, giving them a perfect opportunity to observe the students.

Stalker stroked the handle of his Pitchfork as he watched the many teens. His eyes focused in on one particular girl. A rather odd young woman in his opinion.

She was very pale and had white streaks in her hair. But there was something else about her that interested her.

He watched her as she sat against a tree, alone, reading a book. She seemed oblivious to everything around her.

Butcher leaned in behind his comrade.

"Is that the girl you saw in your vision," he asked.

"Yes," Stalker answered as he nodded. "The one I saw with the blackened figure. Her eyes were missing, but she did not seem in pain."

"Do you know what it means," Butcher asked.

Stalker shook his head. "I only see omens of the future, not what might actually happen."

Nearby them Scarecrow, Clowny, and Hunter watched the many teens.

"All these hearts beating," Hunter said as he paced back and forth, "it's driving me mad."

"Calm down," Scarecrow insisted. "We'll leave as soon as we can find a few victims for tonight."

Hunter continued to pace as he said, "lets find more of a challenge tonight. Those Jocks were a little too easy. We should find something that will make father proud tonight."

"We will," Scarecrow claimed, "I assure you."

They kept watching hoping to see a worthy kill soon.

Across from them they were unaware that another was watching as well.

Nightmare kept himself out of view as he watched Rogue.

There was just something about her that kept him intrigued. She was unlike anyone he had ever known. She was much more complex then anyone else.

At the tree Rogue kept reading. She did not see the three figures walking towards her.

"Well, if it isn't the pale freak," she heard a cruel voice say.

"Oh great," Rogue said unhappily as she turned around.

Sure enough it was Sarah and her goons.

Nightmare watch from his hiding place.

"Who are these people," he asked himself.

Back at the tree Rogue stood to her feet.

"What do you guys want now," she asked the three members of the popular crowd.

Billy walked up to Rogue and put his face close to hers.

"Come on freak," he said, "we figured you would know by now after all we've been through together."

"Yeah, well can you save it for today," Rogue demanded, "Ah'm not in the mood."

The three didn't say anything.

Jeremy walked over to Rogue and saw the book in her hands.

He took it from her and start5ed flipping through it. "What the hell is this trash you're reading?"

"Give that back," Rogue said angrily, trying to reach for her book.

Sadly Sarah pushed her away.

"It looks to me like a Vampire novel," she said, "what's the matter Rogue, missing the family."

"Just give it back," Rogue said with more persistence, "it's not mine, Ah got it from the library."

"Is that so," Sarah said.

She looked over to Jeremy with cruelty in her eyes.

Jeremy knew what she wanted him to do.

In only a few seconds he ripped a few pages out of the book.

Rogue's eyes turned wide. She reached for the book again.

This time Billy pushed her away.

She slammed against the tree very hard, but still managed to recover. It was strange how no one seemed to notice what was going on. But that did not matter at this time.

Jeremy ripped a few more pages out of the book. He threw them into Rogue's face before slamming the book on the ground.

They all walked away as Sarah called back, "see you later freak."

Rogue was so mad at this time. Why did those people have to keep tormenting her?

Right now she did not care. She looked down at the pages of her book on the ground and began to pick them up.

Nightmare had watched the whole thing from where he was hiding. He would have tried to help Rogue, if there were not so many witnesses.

But still he felt he had to do something.

"This cannot be allowed," he said angrily.

He turned to Sarah and her thugs as they were walking away. And he followed them, trying to keep hidden at all times.

He followed the trio to Billy's car at the other end of the school. Billy opened the door and through his backpack into the car.

"I've got no more reason to stay," he said, "I'll catch you guys latter."

Jeremy waved goodbye and left.

However Sarah's goodbye was much more.

The two shared a long and passionate kiss before she left her boyfriend.

Billy watched his friends leave and turned to his car. He reached for that door handle, but he did not get the chance to open it.

He felt something hit him from behind. His face was slammed against the top of this car twice, and then he was pinned. He was held so he could not look behind himself.

Nightmare's voice spoke in his ear.

"I've always hated people like you. Always assuming that you can treat people like trash, just because you think you are better then they are. How many people have you hurt in your life. Ten, twenty, maybe more. Better make sure you know when you die. Those marks are not good at heaven's door. You just better hope your popularity serves you well, in Hell."

Nightmare slammed Billy against the car again. He found no need to use his weapons now. He did not want to cause too much of a commotion. Luckily for him Billy was now too afraid to speak.

Nightmare spoke again. "Leave the girl alone, or you will be seeing Hell much sooner than you would like to.

He then reached into Billy's pocket and pulled out a few ten-dollar bills.

"This should pay for the damages you've done," were Nightmare's final words before he left.

Billy turned around only o see that no one was there. He jumped in his car and drove away in terror.

Meanwhile Stalker had watched the whole thing from a hidden point.

His eyes turned wide behind his skull mask. That boy. He knew him well.

"Nightmare," he said in a voice full of rage.