A/N: Sorry for not updating in such a long time. I had a severe case of writer's block, and I finally was able to produce this chapter. I hope you enjoy. Please review if you read.

Light Warning: This chapter stregthens the "T" rating just a little. It has one swear word. So that's why this is a "light" warning.

The woman ran as fast as she could. Her arms were protectively wrapped around a squirming bundle of blankets. Her now blue, fuzzy son; her only surviving child.

She had trusted the man that had done this to her son; yet another mistake she had made. She knew he was chasing after her, but somehow, she had managed to stay out of his grasp. She knew he could show up at anytime, so she willed her legs to go faster.

She came to a bridge. She thought that if she could get to the other side, she and her child would be safe. The woman made it halfway across before the man cut off her chance at safety.

She stopped abruptly. She looked around frantically for another way out, with no avail. The river ran wildly underneath her feet, acting as if it were under the man's control. Spinning around on her heels, she tried to run the other way. But another, much hairier, man blocked her escape.

Her hands dropped in shock, and her baby fell through them, leaving him at the mercy of the river.

"No!!" she cried, desperately trying to catch her baby.

There was a loud splash.

Mustering all of her strength, the woman ran past the man, and followed the river downward.

-

Mystique wanted to wake up, to get out of the nightmare, but the strong sedative prevented her from doing so. She could feel it slowly losing its tight grip on her, and she willed her eyes to open. They fluttered, fighting desperately to keep the lids up, until finally she was able to clearly see her surroundings.

She was in a small room, set up almost like a hospital room, only with a bit more of a homey-type feel. She went to rub her head to shake of the sedative, but found her arms strapped tightly to the bed. She laughed softly when she found that her legs, too, were tied to the bed.

Did they really think this would hold me? she asked herself as she shifted into a small child and slid her wrists out of their restraints. Mystique went back to her normal self and slowly slipped off the bed. Just then, a man and a wheelchair accompanied by a burly looking man walked in. She knew both men, and it was no surprise to her that they were the ones attempting to keep her captive.

"Aw, I see you're awake," Professor Xavier said.

Logan closed the door behind him, crossed his arms, and eyed Mystique, studying her every move.

She glared at the Professor. "What am I doing here?" she demanded.

"You were injured during our last encounter with you, and-"

"Let me guess," she interrupted. "And as a sign of good faith, you had your little minions," she broke her gaze with the Professor to stare at Logan, "bring me back here."

Logan growled. "You can at least pretend to be grateful, we could have-"

The Professor held up his hand "Logan, please, stay out of this. You're free to go whenever you like, Mystique. But I think you might be interested in this." He held out a small, metal object.

She looked at him skeptically, then grabbed the object out of his hand. "Where did you find this," she asked as she examined the object closer. It was no bigger then a tack, and there was dried blood on the bottom of it.

"It was on you when Scott brought you here. Have you seen it before?"

"I think so."

"You think so?"

She stared at the object, trying to remember where she had seen it. Her gaze softened, and she looked down at the floor. "I may sound crazy, but I saw it in a dream," she said quietly.

"Can you describe the dream for me?"

Mystique's body-language grew cold again. "Why should I?"

"You don't have to; I just thought it might help," the Professor replied.

"Help with what?"

"With you dealing with the situation."

"What situation?" she hissed

"Do you know what that device is?"

She was taken aback. "No."

"Well, we have reasons to believe that the device is used primarily to control the thoughts and behavior of the person wearing it."

"So, in laymen's terms: mind control."

"Yes. We think that Magneto was using you to test the long-term use of the device."

Mystique sat down on the bed. "This woman followed a man to this castle like thing -in my dream. He had said that it would be a safe place for her to rest for the night. Inside, it was set up like some sort of laboratory you see in horror movies. There was this desk right near the door, this was on it." She held up the device. "She asked what it was. The man just told her that it was something he was working on. That's when I woke up."

"I'm curious: do you have the same dream?"

"Sometimes. But I have quite a few that revolve around the same woman. And they all seem so real; almost as if they had actually happened…to me"

The Professor nodded.

"When did you start having the dreams? If you don't mind me asking."

"I don't know. Probably a couple of months ago. Why?"

"When I was examining the device, I found that it was malfunctioning. From what I gathered from my research, the device was meant to completely wipe out the wearer's memories of events that happened before the device was in use. I believe that your 'dreams' are -in fact- memories of your life before Magneto managed to get the device on you. They probably only came to you while you were sleeping since they were buried deep in your sub-conscious."

"Then why do I clearly remember that Kurt is my son?"

"Maybe because there are stronger emotions that attach you to him."

Mystique closed her eyes for a moment, and saw the woman running with a bundle of cloth in her arms. A small, blue arm popped out, causing Mystique's eyes to fly open.

"I'm such an idiot," she scolded herself, unaware that Logan and the Professor were still in the room.

"You can say that again," Logan said under his breath.

"I should have realized Kurt was the baby."

"What baby?" Professor Xavier asked.

"In my dream, the woman has a baby. A blue, fuzzy baby. How many woman have babies that fit that description?"

"Just you."

"Exactly." Mystique jumped off the bed and started pacing around the room. "When I get my hands on that bastard I am going to kill him."

"Perhaps you shouldn't be so hasty."

"Why shouldn't I? Because of him, I missed out on sixteen years of my son'slife. Now what am I supposed to do?" She sat down, despair etched on her face. "I could have been happy." She let a tear drop to the floor.

The Professor placed a comforting hand on hers. "You can still be happy. And I'll help you. You can stay here, if you'd like. We could use more help with the students, and you'll be closer to Kurt. And Rogue. I'll leave you alone to decide for a bit. There will be a room ready for you if you decide to stay."

Logan opened the door and waited for the Professor to wheel out.

"Wait," Mystique called as Logan was about to close the door behind himself.

The Professor turned around. "Already made you're decision, Mystique?"

"Yes, I have. If you don't mind, I would like to stay here."

"We'll be glad to have you."

"Thank you. And one more thing."

"Yes?"

"Please call me 'Raven'."

"Of course, Raven. By the way, dinner is at six when you're hungry."