Hello again readers! I wanted to at least get two chapters up today so people could get more of a feel for the story instead of just a tiny little prologue. I'll probably start chapter two soon and post that sometime next week. I'm just trying to see if this is anything worth continuing because of course no one wants to write something no one enjoys. Haha! So please, read and review! This story is definitely a little different and perhaps out there. but enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own ISS or any of it's official characters. I am not making money from this, so forth and so on. However, I do have some OC's in here (I know how much people love those, but bare with me) that I do own. Thank you.

Chapter One ~ Fright Nights

The twenty-four year old woke with a start.

His own screams echoing back to him in a dazed, slow motion. His breathing was ragged with the edge of the sheets balled into his fists. It was just a dream, he suddenly realized looking around the familiarity of the room. Yet he was still shaking slightly.

The bedroom door flung open and through it appeared Betty, stapler in hand. She had flicked on the light looking ready to do battle with whatever had made Delsin scared.

"What, do ya keep a stock of those things-" Delsin referred to the stapler, but the old woman was too worked up to hear him.

"-DELSIN, DELSIN! What's wrong? What happened?!" She was holding the stapler like a gun while searching for the perpetrator.

"Betty...BETTY." he yelled the second time to bring her focus onto him. "Betty, I'm fine. Just a bad dream." He pulled his sheets up to his chin to cover his bare chest. "Do you mind?"

"Delsin," she breathed a sigh of relief. "Another nightmare?" The old woman let the weapon in her hand drop. "The way you were screaming sounded like someone was murdering you." She settled at the edge of his bed. "And no, I don't mind. I've taken care of you for practically your whole life. Nothing I haven't seen before."

"Eck, gross."

She narrowed her wrinkled eyes and shook her pointer finger at him, "Don't be a child."

Delsin gave her a half smile, "I'm fine, honestly. Nightmares happen. I know how much you wanna use that on someone-" he eyed the stapler on the floor "-but you'll just have to save your staples for another day."

Betty looked like she was a bit out of breath as she shook her head. "Delsin, dear, nightmares are normal but not when they're consecutive for a solid month. I believe this is the worst one yet."

"Mm, no, I think burning a hole through the couch still sits at number one." Delsin disagreed.

"At any rate," she rolled her eyes. "I'm worried about you, dear. Ever since Reggie-"

Now it was the twenty-four year old's turn to shake his head, "-Betty."

She sighed, knowing what was coming. "Delsin, please-"

"No, I'm tired now Betty."

"You have to-"

"Betty! Please...I need sleep." he said sternly and then whispered, "No more."

The old woman was aware of the line he had drawn, and she was willingly crossing it. She couldn't help it. For six months he kept everything bottled in. He didn't know this but after Seattle, when the nightmares began, she'd often wake to the sounds of him crying in his sleep. Then they got worse. Delsin never spoke of it but she knew, when he would cry out Reggie's name, he was reliving that horrific moment.

The nightmares didn't stop there, however, they started to become something else. The hole he had burned into the couch? Well, he had stumbled in late one night. Drunk. The few friends he had had convinced him he just needed to wash down his sorrows. Betty had been sorely against it because alcohol can do terrible things to troubled people, but he was, after all, an adult.

When he passed out on the tiny sofa he must have delved right into a bad dream. She heard him stumble, then fall onto the couch, then struggle. She remembered getting up and grabbing her trusty stapler to peer through the slit of her door. The commotion she saw before her was of Delsin fighting off an invisible force.

He was gritting his teeth while crossing his forearms in front of himself. Like he was trying to keep something away. Pushing and fighting while shaking from side to side. His arms lowered beside him as his hands became smoke. Then he unexpectedly lunged to his left throwing what looked like a ball of smoke in the back of the couch.

"DELSIN!" Betty cried, mortified. She took a few panicked steps towards him.

Suddenly, he shot up from the couch into a sitting position. His breathing was heavy as he turned to face the old woman, face covered in sweat. Her eyes were wide and her bottom lip trembled. She couldn't even remember ever being so terrified. Seeing so much power from someone she practically raised made her feel sick and sad at the same time. He wasn't her Delsin anymore.

Her eyes met dark brown ones, both sharing the same emotion. Then the smell of burning drew them back to reality. Something was on fire.

"Delsin, the couch!" Betty shrieked, pointing.

He quickly looked behind him and saw the gaping hole he had created, smoldering. "Fuck" was all he could manage but Betty became quick on her feet and grabbed a cup of water. As she doused the little embers Delsin used a pillow to smother some out. When the chaos was over, Delsin placed his hands on the arm of the couch as he stretched his legs a feet or two back. His head hung low while Betty leaned against the counter. Her left hand rubbed down her tired face and stopped to cup her mouth. They were both still panting and no matter how much air they seemed to take their hearts continued to flutter like humming birds.

Delsin was the first to speak, "Betty-"

"You know," the old woman began slowly. "in all my years of living..." she let her arm drop to cross both on her chest. "...I never thought that I could feel so helpless and scared. That I could never protect this tribe..." her eyes wandered to the singed kitchen wall. "...because of you."

The twenty-four year old's face went pale. He could feel his heart drop to his stomach. "Betty, no..." he panicked walking toward her. "Betty, please...don't be afraid of me." He waved his hands in front of himself wanting desperately to say more, but she cut him off by raising her own hand.

"No, Delsin." She walked over to the wall she'd been staring at. "I'm not afraid of you. I'm afraid for you. You are Akomish...part of my tribe..." she reached a hand out toward the battered wall. Her finger tips grazing ever so slightly. "...and I don't know how to protect you anymore."

It had been one of the hardest things she ever had to admit. Being leader of this tribe was everything, and not being able to help your own family, blood or not, is a devastating blow to the gut. It was that moment she realized it was out of her control. This wasn't her protecting Delsin from the cops or the D.U.P. This was her trying to protect him from himself in absolute vain.

Betty rested her wrinkled hand upon Delsin's shin, smiling weakly. "You know, one day, I will find out what really goes on inside of there." She pointed to Delsin's forehead.

This emitted a smile from the young man before her. "Oh Betty, be careful what you wish for. I don't even know what goes on."

They chuckled softly together and for a moment it almost felt like everything was back to normal, even if it could never be the same.

Later that day, during the afternoon, Delsin decided to make a little trip to see an old friend. He hadn't visited Seattle in three months after the fall of Augustine. When the dust had settled and he had set things right, he just wanted to mourn...and remember what he had lost. Something he couldn't do while fighting off the D.U.P. and freeing conduits.

Trying to keep himself together had started taking a toll on his physical and mental state. He had started slipping up. Becoming easily distracted and having trouble focusing on the tasks at hand. He wanted to free and continue to teach normals and conduits to co-exist but couldn't find the drive for it anymore. He couldn't make himself care.

Fetch caught on before Eugene, as usual, and suggested that maybe a vacation wouldn't be so bad? Resign for a little bit, but of course, even though he understood what she was trying to say he couldn't help but feel a bit...pushed aside. He expressed that to her.

"No. D, it's not like that." she reassured him. "I've lost someone too, remember? I know what it's like to feel pressured to keep going when you just can't. Like you need a break, a breath of fresh air, you know?" Then Fetch chuckled softly adding "Don't worry, your highness, when we need you back at the throne we'll be sure to call ya." She winked.

Delsin felt a smile grow. "Do I really sound like one of those hierarchy bastards?"

She shook her head, "No...but you're starting too."

"So that's a yes?"

Fetch let out an exasperated laugh, "D! Listen...all I'm saying..." She stepped closer to him letting both of her hands rest on either side of his vest. She let her fingers play with the collar as she met his eyes. "...no one can replace you."

Delsin felt his face warm and the corner of his right lip up turn. "Thanks Fetch."

That was the last conversation he remembered having with her before coming back to the Akomish reservation. Ever since they had met she had become, probably, one of his best friends...and then some. He could trust her and it was about time he started confiding in someone again. Someone who could possibly, yet again, understand. He was deteriorating...fast.

"That's a little out there, D." the purple haired girl commented after he had finished telling her his latest nightmare.

"Yeah, it's been the same thing for the past one and a half months."

"The same monster?" Fetch asked, squinting her eyes slightly.

Delsin shook his head, "I think?"

"You think?"

"Yeah, I mean, I've never seen it's face...or at least, I don't think I have." Delsin's eyes searched the table of the coffee shop they had stopped in to chat. Hoping to maybe see the answers appear in the lines of the wood.

Fetch made a confused laugh, "D, you're not making any sense."

The twenty-four year old placed his right hand onto his forehead, frustrated. "I know, I know! It's like I feel like I may have seen it's face but something isn't allowing me to remember that detail. It's eyes though..." He let his hand drop palm down on the table. "...so bright. So blue."

"Riiight, so it's something with very blue eyes. That helps."

Delsin let out an exasperated sigh, "Listen Fetch, for the past few months I haven't been able to get an entire nights sleep. I'm cindering holes in couches and burning bridges with people who I care about. I'm under slept and a little wired, so I'm sorry if details seem to escape me, but do NOT fuck with me right now." The brunette placed the fingers of his right hand against his forehead. "I just-" he began a circular motion to massage his temples while trying to find the right words to say, "-I just needed to tell somebody."

Fetch's features suddenly softened as she reached across the small, rectangular table for her friend's hand. She let her fingers slip in between his left fingers and tugged lightly. Brown eyes suddenly met hers. She felt her heart sink seeing how distressed Delsin was. Not that she had never seen him this way before or anything, it was just that this time it was different. This was true inner turmoil that no one could really understand unless they were him. Loss could do that to you.

"Hey, you know I didn't mean it like that, D. Losing a brother is nothing easy and I just think that, maybe, you're having a real hard time...letting go." She suddenly laughed slightly, "And who am I kidding? I nearly wiped Seattle clean of filth for my brother. I'd say that's extreme to say the least, but you helped me cope and now I feel I gotta help you." The purple haired girl smiled broadly. "What you need is a night out in the city with yours truly. No D.U.P. No bullshit. Just you and me."

Delsin couldn't help the grin that spread across his face. "Will there be dolphins?" he joked light heartedly.

Fetch let out an unexpected laugh which sent her back in her seat. She shook her head and smirked, "Maybe."

Delsin watched the headlights of cars stream across the white ceiling of Fetch's apartment. It was hard to sleep with the rumbling of engines passing by every few minutes or so. He had to admit, as much as he loved hanging out in the city, he could never picture himself living here. Too much noise, too many people all day, everyday. Perhaps that was the Akomish in him though. The Native. The need to be connected to the land.

He stretched his legs out beneath the covers as he rolled onto his back. His mind drifted to earlier events of the night. Over all, it had been a very successful night of forgetting. From the copious amounts of alcohol consumed between several stops they made they had managed to tag several buildings, prank a few passersby, and raced each other from a bar to the Space Needle and back. It wasn't the most righteous way to use their powers but then again, it was suppose to be a night of fun and nobody was harmed. Maybe disgruntled. He felt like a kid again, carefree.

A crooked smile crept into his lips as he turned his head to look at Fetch fast asleep beside him. She was cuddle up in her sheets with her bare back facing him. The ending to the night was still a bit hazy but warm in his thoughts. He enjoyed it, there was no doubt. He always did, but nothing ever became of it. Nothing ever became of them. Delsin turned his attention back to the ceiling. He didn't want to start thinking about right and wrongs at this particular moment. He really didn't want to think at all.

At some point and time his eyelids had finally shut. The sounds of the humming cars becoming a strange lullaby of their own. Through his lids he could catch slight flashes from their headlights passing by. One, two, three...four...five, six...

Then suddenly, for what felt like a whole five minutes, the flashes stopped. Which was puzzling because Fetch lived on a relatively busy street. Delsin let his eyes flutter open only to be greeted by complete darkness. Uneasy darkness. He could hear a faint noise coming from the corner of the room. Was it creaking? He sat upright in bed, letting his eyes adjust to the dark. The windows were shut and the door was closed.

Was it the floor boards? Was someone in the room? He squinted his eyes toward the direction of the noise but it just looked like a mass void. A flash came into the room. Headlights, and for a split second he saw a figure in that corner. Delsin realized then that yes, something was certainly in the room and no, it wasn't floorboard creaks...it was scratching. It appeared to be long claws gliding along the wall.

Delsin let out a whisper under his breath, "You've got to be fucking kidding me."