After so long away it feels a little unreal to once be standing in my home and for a moment all I can is stand while my brain tries to process the change in circumstances. I am no longer Nightmare's prisoner but escaping has probably cost me dearly. As well as another uncontrollable surge of power that resulted in the death of a fellow Engifted, John is refusing to look me in the eye. Since we arrived back he has very deliberately been avoiding having anything to do with me. Though he has willingly accepted my newfound powers I think being tortured has shaken him. It's time like this I wish I could heal mental scars as well as physical scars. Finally, unable to take the silence any longer, I reach out and place a hand on John's shoulder. He stops and glances quickly up at me before returning his gaze to the floor. My heart sinks a little at this. "John, what's wrong?" I ask him softly.

There is a long silence before he finally replies and I find myself growing impatient to find out the answer. Then John lets out a heavy sigh, "it's daft but I thought somebody would be here. Greg or Mycroft, Mrs Hudson maybe. Somebody who cares the two of us went missing."

He does has a point. Surely somebody must have noticed that he was missing as well. In fact I am genuinely surprised Lestrade is not still searching this place from top to bottom for any clues as to what happened. Not that there will be any clues to find of course except feathers and they could belong to a great number of known Engifted. I frown, deep in thought, and turn towards the window. As I do so my gaze falls upon the wall graced by the yellow smiley face and I feel the blood in my veins turn to ice. John must see the blood drain from my face because he looks to see what has caused me such distress.

"Oh Jesus no!" He cries, squeezing his eyes tightly shut and burying his head in his hands. "Please tell me I'm seeing things."

I let out a heavy sigh and reach up to run my fingers across the dark lines cut into a wall by sharp talons, lines spelling out Mycroft and Greg's names. On the floor is a small pile of oily black feathers that ripple slightly whenever the light catches them. A shiver runs down my spine and I lightly rest a hand on John's shoulder. "No, you are not seeing things John." He jumps slightly when I curse loudly and pace over to the window where I stand and gaze out across Baker Street. I should have known this would happen! I should have guessed! Of course Nightmare would never let me go so easily... "No! Don't touch those!"

John pauses in the act of reaching out to touch the feathers and looks up at me with a frown on his face. When he sees I am deadly serious he sits back on the floor and gazes up at me with a critical expression. Then his face softens. "What do we do now?" He asks, deliberately not looking at the marks on the wall.

I feel a momentary wave of sorrow at what I am going to have to do and then shove the thought aside, burying any doubts down deep. With a small groan I run a hand through my black curls. "There is no 'we' in this John. You can't come with me." I hold up a hand before he can protest and carry on talking, " Against Nightmare you don't stand a chance. I can at least hold my own."

John looks at me incredulously but remains silent. Odd, because usually he finds it hard to keep his mouth shut. I can't help but wonder what he might be planning. Much as this pains me I have no choice. I will not allow him to get hurt again. I stretch out my hand to John in a gesture to help him up. With a smile he takes my hand and I feel a small pang as I use my powers to lower his blood pressure. For a moment there is a small spark of shock in his eyes at my betrayal. Then his eyes close and his breathing slows. Gently I place a delicate kiss on his forehead and then lower him to the floor. He looks so peaceful when he sleeps. It takes a considerable effort to step away, shake out the cramps in my wings and activate the remaining teleportation power I took from Chronos earlier. With one final glance back at my friend I steel myself and vanish from Baker Street. Please, please let John be ok.

I step forward into complete darkness and freeze, expecting an attack to come at any moment. If I was Nightmare that is actually what I would so do. Around me the darkness shifts and moves like a living force, tendrils of it brushing against me. I can feel Nightmare within them and know that he is close. I am unable to sense Lestrade and Mycroft but I know there must be here somewhere. Nightmare will be keeping them close. Taking a deep breath I close my eyes and reach deep down to the well of power I have so far been ignoring. It reaches gleefully towards me and I feel a slight click in my mind as it latches on. With a single blink I stop being Sherlock and, for the first time, truely become an Engifted.

Stretching out a hand in front of me I wave the darkness away. It disappears like smoke, revealing the scene before me like a curtain rising on a stage show. Nightmare has made his base in what is plainly an abandoned warehouse with stained concrete walls and cracked glass littering the floor. How disappointing. I was expecting something much grander, something much more fitting for an Engifted like him. Around the edge of the huge space is a shimmering forcefield of darkness and the corner of my mouth quirks up in a sneer. Pathetic. Why I could break it easily if I wanted to. I walk forward a few steps, the sound echoing in the emptiness. "Come on Nightmare. Hiding does not at all suit you."

A slight movement coming from behind me and I spin round in preparation for attack. To my surprise Mycroft stands in front of me cradling a bleeding arm. His eyes widen and he stares at me in shock. "Sherlock?" He whispers in disbelief. Behind him his wings trail simply on the ground, the blue ice like feathers matted with dirt. "What happened to you?" I go to rush to his side but Mycroft suddenly looks scared and stumbles back. "How do I know you're really my brother?"

Considering what Nightmare is capable of he does have a point. I watch him for a moment, wondering myself if this is really my brother. Finally I make a decision. If he can't answer this question then he almost certainly is an illusion and even if he can answer it there is still the risk Nightmare could have read his mind. Here goes nothing. "What did I want to be when was younger?"

For a brief moment he seems surprised but then a smug grin spreads across his face. "Why, a detective of course." He answers, so convinced he has gotten it right.

I shake my head. "Dear me Nightmare. Couldn't you at least have tried to do some research?" Yes, ok, I had been expecting better from this powerful enemy. After all he had managed to keep me imprisoned for several months...not that that will ever happened again now I have access to my full powers. Stretching out a hand I forcibly dispel the illusion Nightmare has woven around himself with the wave of my hand. With some reluctance a humanoid form dripping with shadow appears, his black wings gleaming faintly in the sunlight streaming through the broken windows. He does not look at all happy to see me. "Where is my brother Nightmare?" I demand, my voice shaking as I struggle to control my power.

"He's safe for the moment." Nightmare taunts, crossing his arms across his chest and glaring at me. "You're spoiling the game...how did you find me so quickly?" He says in a voice that makes him sound like a petulant child. I realise then I am going to have to treat carefully around this Engifted. There is no telling what he might do.

I summon my most casual voice, "Oh it was easy. I had a little help from Chronos." Because I am watching Nightmare so intently I see the moment his eyes widen with an emotion that could almost be shock. Pretending, for the moment at least, I haven't seen it I carry on talking. "You know Nightmare, you've been incredibly rude."

He frowns in confusion at this. "Oh really? And how did you work that out Mr Holmes?" He asks with a definite undertone of uncertainty in his voice. Tipping his head to one side Nightmare regards me with curiosity, obviously trying to work out what game I might be playing. What a shock he'll get when he finds out the truth.

I allow myself a small smile before I reply and make a small mocking bow. "You didn't ask me my Engifted name." (After going through the transformation, maybe a week or a few months later, an Engifted will suddenly discover exactly who they are. I have recently only just worked out who I now am). I straighten and look Nightmare directly in the eyes, not flinching when the red pupil burns into mine. "Greetings Nightmare, my name is Thanatos." I say, waiting to see what Nightmare's reaction will be.

With a gasp of horror Nightmare stumbles back a step, shaking his head in disbelief as he does so. "Not possible. Thanatos is supposed to be a myth." Oh bless him, he sounds so frightened. "The Elite don't actually exist, they're fairy tales told to young Engifted to teach them about the world." He tries to sound confident and fails miserably. But then a small gleam ignites in his red eyes. Faster than the eye can see Nightmare flings a handful of razor sharp shadows in my direction. I do nothing to move out of their way and the shadows slice into me; ripping muscles, shattering bone and tearing into internal organs. I don't even feel it and continue to stare without emotion at a now terrified Nightmare. "Impossible, that should have killed you." He stutters, drawing the shadows back into the darkness writhing over his skin.

I glance down at the mess he had made of my body and imagine it whole again. Immediately it is once more undamaged and I look up to smile at Nightmare, who is beginning to look like he might have a heart attack at any moment. Clearing my throat I take a step forward. Nightmare stumbles back in response. "And I ask you again Nightmare- where are Greg and Mycroft? If you have harmed them I will not hesitate to kill you." By now he knows my threat is not an idle one.

Raising a shaking hand Nightmare makes a gesture in the air, summoning shadows that swirl for a moment and then sweep away to reveal a scared looking Greg and Mycroft lying on the floor with their hands bound. Both of them stare up at me in a mix of wide eyed shock and relief that I have arrived to save them. My brother sports a nasty looking head wound and I kneel down beside him, lightly placing a hand on his shoulder. "It'll be ok now Brother." I reassure him before sending some of my power into his wound, easily knitting it back together. He winced slightly and raises his hand to probe the faint scar that has taken the place of the injury. Then he smiles at me. This small gesture, something I haven't seen from Mycroft for many years, is enough to chase Thanatos away and allow Sherlock to come back. I suck in a deep breath and blink a few times in an attempt to orientate myself. I turn to Lestrade who also gives me a smile. "Greg, I'm sorry you got dragged into..." The rest of my sentence ends in a muffled gasp of pain and shock.

"Well this is all very touching, but frankly it's a little too sentimental for my taste." Nightmare says with a sneer in his voice as he twists the shadows shards embedded in my back. Back in a slightly more mortal form it hurts like hell and I fall to my knees, coughing up blood from shredded lungs. I hear Mycroft calling out my name but I have no strength to raise my head and reassure him that, somehow, everything will be ok. Desperate I imagine Mycroft and Greg safely back at Baker Street, hoping I have some of Chronos' borrowed power. When I hear Nightmare's scream of rage I know it has worked and barely care when I feel another shadow tear into me. "You are proving to be incredibly annoying Mr Holmes. If you won't join me and I can't kill you then I'll have to find something else to do with you."

With a groan I squeeze my eyes shut. Where the hell is Thanatos when I need him?! I can't even reach the full extent of my power! Let alone use it! What's the point of being an Engifted if your powers only work half of the time?! I know I'm being hysterical but it's the only thing keeping me sane. If I calm down I'll start thinking about John and the fact I'll never get to see him again. From far away I am aware of Nightmare walking towards me and muttering something about stuffing and mounting but a peculiar fuzziness has come over my thoughts.

I try to stand, to do something but a wave of weakness washes over me, whispering that wouldn't it be pleasant to close my eyes and sleep off my injuries. Maybe that won't be so bad. Who knows, when I wake up, maybe everything will be better...

Suddenly a familiar lilting voice comes from somewhere nearby. Despite the huge effort it takes I force myself to open my eyes and start in surprise when I see the person standing over me. I frown in confusion. What on earth is he doing here? Not that I get to dwell on the thought for long. Exhausted by my recent usage of my dull power and still shaken from my months of torture at Nightmare's hand my body finally decides it has had enough. 'Well' I think as I drift into unconsciousness, "this is an interesting development."