Uhumm...yeah. I finally sat my ass down and typed up a new chapter for you guys. I know no amount of apologizing can make up for taking such a long time, but I'm REALLY sorry. This chapter isn't too exciting, but for the next chapter I have, ahem, big plans. Please review if I even have the right to ask you anymore.

Wanda finally stirred at around 7:00 in the morning, and when she opened her eyes she saw Pietro staring straight back at her.

"You're awake," he stated plainly, relieved that he didn't have to wait any longer. He had been lying in his bed in complete silence for about five hours and he could only count the stitches in his bed sheets so many times.

"Pietro," Wanda grumbled, rubbing the sleep from her eyes, "Did you sleep at all?"

Pietro nodded, but decided to keep the fact that he had only slept for three hours to himself. Wanda sighed and looked at her brother through eyes that were still half-asleep. Her short black hair stuck up in odd places and the eyeliner she had forgotten to remove the night before had smudged under her eyes. Pietro smiled back at her, a genuine smile at that, and waited until she was ready to talk.

"You already showered," Wanda commented, noticing that Pietro was fully clothed and that his hair wasn't completely dry. He nodded again, the smile never leaving his face.

"What is wrong with you?" Wanda asked suspiciously as she tried to place the cause for Pietro's sudden change of attitude.

"Nothing," he answered without having to lie.

"Uh-huh…well if you've been up for such a long time why didn't you clean up your side of the room or something?" she asked, searching for any subject that would distract her brother from the massive cowlick she had just realized had made it's home on the side of her head.

"I don't know," Pietro said truthfully, rising form his bed to pick up the articles of clothing that were scattered on his side of the room. Amongst them was the X-Men uniform that was crumpled up into a ball on the floor. As soon as Pietro picked it up the smile faded off his face and his heart beat faster than normal. Through the material his fingers traced the outline of something very tiny in one of the pockets. Pietro couldn't believe that something so small could trigger this reaction in him, but to him the comlink wasn't just pieces of metal stuck together; it was a symbol. A symbol of the only person he feared. With his back turned, so that Wanda couldn't see, Pietro removed the device form the uniform and stuck it into his own pocket. Gambit had said that Magneto was already less-than pleased with Pietro because of the way things had been going, and the lack of communication, but what did Magneto expect? Pietro was positive that the X-Men weren't plotting anything as Magneto suspected, and Pietro was pretty sure that insane paranoia was behind his father's suspicions.

Pietro clutched his head suddenly as he felt a sharp burst of pain.

'Would the members of the Brotherhood please meet me in the foyer?'

Xavier's voice rang through Pietro's head so clearly he let out a yelp of shock, and turned around to make sure that the Professor wasn't in the room.

"Did you hear that?" Wanda asked, sitting up quickly and looking at her brother nervously. When Pietro nodded, Wanda seemed to relax a bit.

"Are you ok?"

Pietro was still holding his head that continued to throb painfully, "Yeah, I'm alright. My head is just killing me."

"Oh," Wanda got out of bed and picked out some clothes to change into, "You should get something for that."

Pietro nodded, "I know. I will. Are we going to see Xavier or what?"

"Yeah, let me just change. I'll meet you downstairs," Wanda said distractedly as she left the room with a bundle of clothes under her arm.

Pietro was about to follow her when the comlink in his pocket buzzed. He stopped short and waited until Wanda had shut the door behind her before taking it out of his pocket. After letting it buzz for a few more seconds Pietro reluctantly pressed down on the button.

"…Hello?" he said quietly, his voice barely a hoarse whisper.

"Quicksilver," his father's voice snapped back instantly. Pietro's throat went completely dry and he swallowed a few times until he was able to answer.

"Yes?"

"Gambit told you to come see me, did he not?"

"…Yes."

"Then why haven't you? I need to speak with you. In person."

Pietro gulped, "I…"

"You're wasting my time. Come at once."

The device in Pietro's sweaty hand beeped and he knew that Magneto was gone. He slipped it back into his pocket and exited the room with his face even paler than it had been. Magneto was angry with him, and people who upset Magneto had bad things coming to them.

As he descended the stairs, taking them two at a time, Pietro debated whether or not to go and meet his father. He knew it was in his best interests to go soon, but he had no idea when he would have time to just slip away unnoticed. And Wanda would be a problem too. He didn't want to betray this new-found trusting relationship he had only just form with her, but if she found out that he left the mansion she would start asking questions.

Lance, Toad, Wanda, and Professor X were gathered at the bottom of the stairs, and however troubled Pietro's mind was at the moment, all of his worries were once again pushed to the back of his thoughts. Todd was holding himself steady with some sort of cane and Pietro might've laughed if it hadn't been for the serious looks on everyone's faces.

"Ah, Mr. Maximoff, so kind of you to join us," Xavier said as Pietro stood next to his sister. He managed to send a small smile and a nod in the Professor's direction as a reply.

"Todd has insisted that the memorial of Mr. Dukes be held today, and I didn't see a problem with that as long as the three of you agree," the Professor continued, addressing Lance, Pietro, and Wanda.

Pietro looked to Todd with mild surprise woven into his face, but as Todd was busy staring at the floor, Pietro could divulge little form his expression.

"Uh sure," Lance said with a shrug, "I mean, it's all right with me."

Wanda offered a small nod in agreement and everyone turned and stared at Pietro, waiting to see if he approved.

Pietro cleared his throat, "Uh yeah, that sounds fine."

"Excellent. I took the liberty to purchase proper funeral attire for the four of you, and Mr. Tolansky and I agreed that the grounds on the edge of the forest would be an ideal location."

Xavier didn't miss a beat. The three teens stared at him with baffled expressions while Toad remained as still as tone.

"When exactly are we gonna do this?" Lance asked skeptically. Pietro was relieved that he wasn't the only one who thought that all of this might be too good to be true.

"If it's not too much to ask of you, I was hoping we might hold the service in about an hour. Everything is in order and I don't see any reason to put it off."

"Ok," Wanda said quietly after a slight pause. The other two nodded and Todd would've smiled if he hadn't caught himself. Neither Wanda, Lance, nor Pietro had been close to Fred but when he died he died as a member of the Brotherhood and Pietro felt like they owed it to Todd to pay their respects to him.

"Alright," Xavier said with a smile, "The memorial will be private, extending to the four of you exclusively, but there are still a few things I need to take care of. If you'll excuse me now, you'll find what you need to get ready in your rooms."

With that Professor Xavier turned his wheelchair around and made his exit. Pietro blinked slowly before making eye contact with Wanda.

"In an hour?" he mouthed.

Wanda simply shrugged in response and started to go to the staircase without saying a word to anyone. Pietro pulled his eyes from her retreating form over to Lance and Toad both of whom looked about as on edge as he felt.

"So this is what you want?" Pietro asked Toad, his tone of voice delicate as if he was trying to feel out the situation.

Todd nodded, his eyes lingering on the intricate marble on which they stood. This answer did not convince Pietro of anything, but he didn't want to press Toad for answers, so he tried to figure things out in his own head. He knew that this memorial was something Toad needed to happen, but Pietro thought that holding it today seemed a bit like rushing. Having this service was going to force Toad to admit that Fred was dead and Pietro knew that Toad blamed himself for what had happened with good reason. This guilt brought on by the ceremony might bring Toad closer to turning himself in which was not something Pietro wanted to happen, for Toad's sake.

Before Pietro had a chance to voice any of these thoughts, Toad cleared his throat awkwardly and forced himself to look up at Lance and Pietro. Lance seemed to be having as much trouble as Pietro with how to handle Toad, and when Toad made the first sound, their attention snapped to him immediately.

"I'll see you guys…later," he said, offering them no insight to what was going through his mind and no explanation to why they were having the memorial so suddenly after Fred's death. As Toad was leaving, Pietro drew in a sharp intake of breath and gave Lance a look that was sure to get across his feelings.

"Yeah, I know," Lance said with a sigh, "It doesn't make sense, but what can we do, you know?"

"Yeah," Pietro said quietly.

"So," Lance started again, his face brightening, "Let's go see what the old man picked out for us."

A grin spread across Pietro's pale face, "Let's."

And with that, they ascended the staircase, leaving the foyer of the Institute completely empty.