Always Darkest Before the Dawn

[apocalypse]

The ocean waves crashed against the rocky wall of the cliff, the cold Alaskan wind blowing across the ruins. Apocalypse stood on the edge of the cliff as he always did, looking out over the waters. Something was bothering him, more then the X-Men ever did. He could tell that it had to be Cain, but something was different, more sinister.

His hands placed behind his back, he thought about all that had lead him to this moment. Cain had attacked him, leaving him for dead, and if not for a member of the school and one of his own, he very well would have been. He had a debt to pay, to Ian and Hank, the mutants who had helped himself to recovery. Crystal, whom he hadn't seen in a long time, was also to thank for it, as well as a valued member of his family.

Now he stood outside, Rogue, Logan, and Uriko inside. The treaty with the X-Men still standing until Cain was destroyed, or until they were. For the first time Apocalypse began to wonder. Who would win this war? Would a man like Cain, with the Nightmares behind him, be able to be stopped?

[crystal]

(( I need to post as Crystal sooner or later. Might as well be here. ^^))

It wasn't that Crystal had gone 'missing' exactly, it was more like.... She'd taken a very long detour. She'd spent a little time observing the school, finding the whole social interactions fascinating. The students at the school were crazy, she'd finally decided. There was so much drama that they caused.... It would have been hard to follow if she were anyone else! She knew that there were two big name bullies at the school, an Asian boy named 'Shakaku' and an Irish girl named 'Mairead'. Now, Mairead always seemed to stop if another boy showed up, her boyfriend, but not until right before she left did Crystal see Shakaku have any similar reaction.

She'd also found out that there was a lot of tension between the students. The students that had parents to pay for their schooling were more stuck up, and thought they were better then the refugee students.

She'd found out that the boy 'Ian' was having an emotional break down of sorts. Rose had died making sure she didn't lose control and hurt anyone else.

What did she say? D.R.A.M.A. This was why she hated school, and one of the reasons she was glad she wasn't in school! She knew everything she needed to get by... And more! Why should she bother going to school?

Crystal knew she shouldn't have taken so long getting back to Apocalypse. She missed him after all. He'd almost.... Well he really was the closest thing she had to family! She didn't trust most the other Brotherhood members. They were rude, and arrogant, and blood thirsty. Sure... Apocalypse could be to sometimes, but he didn't act like it around her. She should have come back sooner. A lot of things were happening and Crystal was an endless source of information! She knew she could be helpful to Apocalypse! There was only one thing she was worried about though...

Cain knew about her.

He'd actually brought her to Shadow, who brought her to Apocalypse. Cain knew what she could do. What if he decided to come after her? She had to get back to Apocalypse as fast as possible now!

Putting her mind to it, Crystal was able to hitchhike all the way back to the base in no time. And when she finally arrived, she almost sighed in relief. Maybe she was just being paranoid? Yeah, that had to be it. Cain had forgotten all about her by now!

Crystal was heading to go in, but stopped when she spotted Apocalypse, standing all regal at the edge of the cliff, his thoughts obviously elsewhere. She couldn't help it. The first real smile touched her lips. Something she didn't think ever possible! Her emotions were dulled so much, she could rarely express them physically. Somehow though, just seeing Apocalypse there made her the happiest she'd ever felt.

"Apocalypse!"

She couldn't help it, she galloped towards him, her grin the widest he would have ever seen. She slid to a stop when she was close enough, making sure to avoid colliding with him. "I'm home."

[apocalypse]

Apocalypse was indeed lost in his thoughts, wondering what this new power meant. It seemed like it was Cain, but more...crazed and malevolent. As if something had taken Cain's power and caused it to become wild and untamed. For the first time, a chill ran down his spine as he thought about it. Cain had used the power amplifire and became more powerful and no doubt more cold and cruel. That was the only explination. He was brought from his thoughts when he heard his name and looked towards the voice. To say he was surprised at what he saw was an understatement.

"Crystal."

He turned and watched her practically sprint towards him, like a child running to her father. The last time he saw that happen was when Ren had come to his island and looked to him as such. A sudden wonder as to where she was and what she was doing now came to his mind. When Crystal stood infnront of him, her smile beaming brighter then the sun, he couldn't help but grin.

"Yes indeed you have come, and for that I'm glad."

Very few things made Apocalypse smile, and Crystal was one of them. Ever since she came to the island, he first thought her a nuisance, but after all she did for him, and helping to save his life, he had found new respect for her. He was glad that she had returned, and even more that Cain had not found her first.

[crystal]

Crystal's overly expressive emotions would only last a few more minutes. Since her power repressed most of her emotions to near nothing, expressing herself in this sort of manner was... Tiring to say the least. She wasn't used to it in the least, and it was a very foreign thing to her. Soon, that large grin had settled back into a small, somewhat bare smile.

When she'd been brought to Apocalypse she never would have thought she'd 'like' the place. Or.... find it tolerable to be exact. Like was a pretty foreign term to her as well. With dulled emotions, she found it very difficult to distinguish what little emotions she did have. Somehow though, she'd come to consider this place home.

Apocalypse seemed happy to have her back, and unlike other people that followed him, she knew she wouldn't get in trouble for her absence. She wasn't exactly 'under' him after all! Her reason for being with Apocalypse weren't out of convenience, thinking that he'd protect her so it'd be best to stay, or because she was for the cause. She actually didn't care what the group was up to. The only reason she was here was because Apocalypse was nice to her. No, more then nice to her. He was... Well the only father figure in her life!

"I'm sorry I took so long... The school life was interesting to watch. I lost track of time." Time was irrelevant to Crystal. She aged, like everyone else, but she could never grow bored, so time never moved slowly for her. She paused, slowly blinking, her head tilting to the side a little. "You're worried about something?"

[apocalypse]

Apocalypse enjoyed Crystal's company, more then he did any other member of his team. Even though she wasn't officially a member of his army, he still considered her valuable to him. Her information was limitless, and she wasn't afraid to tell him whether or not a plan would work or what information he was missing. In fact, she was the only person to ever stand up to him or question his judgments and still stay alive and unharmed afterwards.

"It is alright, child. Did you get any useful information while you were there?"

It's true they were having a truce with the mansion, but he also knew that as soon as Cain's life ended, so did the truce. Once that happened, he would need all the information he could use from the mansion and the members inside. When she questioned whether or not he was worried, he gave her a small nod of his head and began walking towards the ruins, knowing she would follow.

"Yes, I am indeed worried, child. Cain has become stronger and I believe he had managed that through means of my own technology. My machine can turn mutants evil and become stronger, but to put a man like Cain in that machine...I am uncertain of the results."

[crystal]

It was interesting, how one little girl would be one of the only people willing, and able to 'stand up' to Apocalypse. And when she did, she always had some logical explanation to back up her reasons. When a plan wouldn't work, she wouldn't even hesitate to tell him so, and how to fix the problem. Sometimes she'd just put in a random thought that might help in some way. It seemed like almost everything Crystal did was to help in some way. Maybe it was just her personality to always be helpful, she couldn't even recall a time she'd purposely tried to ruin a plan.

"Useful?" She seemed to put plenty of thought into it. What had she learned that he might find useful? Sure, at the moment things were just peachy between the Brotherhood and School... At least until Cain was out of the picture. When that happened, what would be most useful to Apocalypse? She'd observed plenty during her spying, but most had just been teenage drama! "Yes and no." It was probably the vaguest answer she'd ever given. Crystal was starting to learn how to resist the urge to always answer a question.

Crystal didn't even hesitate when he started for the Ruins, quickly falling into step behind him. His being worried only made her worry. Apocalypse wasn't scare of much, but Cain seemed to be working his way closer and closer to that... She'd already known what Cain was up to though. She wasn't an idiot. He knew about her, he might come after her because of how useful she would be. So, she would sometimes dip into the information she had on Cain, see where he'd been that day, what he'd done, etc. So far the closest he'd been to her was when he was in Russia a few weeks before.

"It's not advisable to put someone like him in the machine. But you're right, he did use it." Apocalypse might have forgotten for a moment that she knew everything. "It made him a lot stronger, but I think he lost the last bit of his humanity by using it. He doesn't even have a glimmer of light..." She paused for a moment. "Everyone has a little, even Shadow. But Cain.... It's completely gone."

[apocalypse]

"Enlighten me, young on, what have you learned about them?"

Things were pretty boring around the ruins. In fact, the only thing that even remotely had his interest was when Yuriko stepped in while he was helping Logan get his metal back. He couldn't help but wonder what happened between the two to make her son interested in the X-Man. As he walked deeper into the ruins towards his lab, he listened to what Crystal had to tell him about Cain.

So his worst fears were realized, and a man as dark as Cain had reached his fullest potential. How can they be able to stop a man who had become pure concentrated evil? It was like trying to stop the sun from shining. It could be done, but any attempts at it would most likely fail. He sighed inwardly when she said that there was no "light" inside the man now. Whatever this machine had done to him, from what Crystal suggested, made him just a hollow and empty shell. Nothing but darkness now resided in the man.

"So he has become a bigger threat then even I could've imagined. I'm sure Shadow is intrigued by this no doubt."

[crystal]

"A lot."

Not all the information was useful, but Apocalypse did seem interested in hearing, even the useless bits. Would there be time now though? Either way, it wasn't like she could think of doing anything else. "There's a lot of tension between the students. They don't know how to work together, and most the time they can't even get along for more then a few minutes." It was a little surprising, especially considering most the students had been raised together. They'd spent most of their lives together. So why couldn't they get along? "Lots of fights. Their medical team is overworked. There are a lot of signs of... Well moving if I had to pick a word for it." She glanced up at Apocalypse with that blank stare. "I think they are trying to relocate the school. I don't know where or when."

When Apocalypse spoke again, Crystal paused, her eyebrows actually raised a little. "Shadow won't go near Cain or Sky right now." The way she spoke... It was almost like she was surprised he didn't know. Wait... Did he know what had been going on at the Nightmares base?!

[apocalypse]

"Moving? Is Xavier leaving the school?"

This made him stop and look back at Crystal. Xavier couldn't be leaving the school, it would be foolish especially with Cain running around. So if it's not him moving, could he be planning on moving the whole school? Was that even possible to move so many mutants? He sighed and shook his head as she spoke of tensions rising between the mutants. What caught his attention was when she spoke of Shadow staying away from Cain and Sky. What could cause such a woman to keep her distance.

"Tell me more about this. Shadow was never one to distance herself from Sky or Cain."

Things were changing, and now he realized they were changing more then even he first thought. This could either prove to benefit the side against Cain, or benefit the side that's for. His only hope that it was the former, because he didn't need Cain gaining anymore power or influence over the world. He suddenly stopped, turning attention back to the outside world. Something has happened, and it wasn't anything good. He could feel a great power falling from the direction of paris. Could it be that Cain had struck again?

[crystal]

Crystal just shrugged. "No. Xavier wouldn't leave the school. It looks more like the entire school. I'm not positive though, they're being quiet about it." The only reason she knew was because of things she'd seen or overheard. And with a power like hers... It was easy to 'overhear' things. "I think it's because everyone knows where the school is. It's not a secret, and if Cain wanted he could destroy it with out a second thought. It's a bad idea to stay there, it only risked students lives.

His next question did surprise her a little. She was sure he'd known. But... It wasn't like it was something people would know... Sky hadn't left the Island since it happened...

"She doesn't want to deal with them. Not since Sky became pregnant."

When Apocalypse suddenly stopped, so did Crystal, slowly looked back at him, a puzzled look on her expression as he stared off into the distance. What was he looki- Oh. Now she knew. She didn't feel it the same way he did, but when she searched for any disturbance that he might feel, she was able to find it.

"Freya Elensar is dying."

[apocalypse]

"I hate to admit it, but Xavier seems to have the proper idea. It may be wise to follow his example and move the brotherhood to a more secure location for the time being."

He looked towards the ruins, wondering how he would be able to move all the mutants and hid the rest of the equipment from Cain and the others. He looked to Crystal when she said that Sky was pregnant. Sky wouldn't let anybody touch her, let alone have her bare a child.

"How could Sky be pregnant? Who is the father?"

Something inside his stomache had given him the answer, and even as Crystal followed his gaze towards Paris and mentioned Freya dieing, he knew who was behind that to. If his hunches were right, and for once he hoped and prayed that they weren't, Cain was responsible for both. He had defeated Freya and impregnated a member of the Nightshade family. The child would no doubt be more dangerous then anything. He looked to Crystal again and then turned, heading back down towards his lab.

"Crystal, we must prepare everyone for departure. I need you to send word to Xavier that the brotherhood are moving, but I do not want to reveal the location in case the X-Men become comprimised. I am hereby making you a member of the brotherhood."

[crystal]

Crystal nodded quickly, agreeing completely. “It’s a smart idea. Cain knows where the school is… He knows this place to.” Her gaze wandered a little. “I’m surprise he hasn’t attacked again. If you can keep him from knowing where you are you have an upper hand.”

Sometimes Crystal really did feel like a ‘know-it-all’, always knowing something before most people. Even before Apocalypse! It was an interesting feeling, one that she was still getting used to have all these years… “… How? Please tell me I don’t have to actually explain how it happened.” She knew that if he meant for an answer she’d be forced to response with the answer. But did you really want a kid telling you something like that?! “The father? Cain. I don’t think there’s anyone else brave enough to impregnate a Nightshade.” Even then, Cain really was an idiot. He’d chosen a Nightshade after all! Sure, they were powerful, but if he took one wrong step, he’d get killed! “I think he’d originally meant to approach Shadow about it… But she’d kill him if he even asked her something like that.” She knew for a fact, Cain had chosen Sky for one reason, to have a suitable heir. It was a good thing he hadn’t approached Shadow… Otherwise the world would really be doomed! Crystal paused, smiling a little. “Well, I can think of one good thing. We know about the child. I don’t think they wanted anyone knowing. Can’t we use it to our advantage somehow?”

“I can’t tell him where unless you tell me where we are going.” She paused for a moment, half jogging to keep up with him. “No, don’t tell me. Don’t verbally say where we are going. That way if he does ask I can’t tell him.” It was a good plan, she could only tell what was spoken. As long as Apocalypse didn’t say it aloud, there was no worry about the location getting leaked. “We’ll need to set up a way of communication with the school without anyone being able to track the signal.” Even if they didn’t tell the school, and contacted them, the school, or Cain, would be able to track the signal back to the new base.

So, she was really one of them now? She was only there for Apocalypse… But she was ‘one’ of them finally. She smiled little, feeling near nothing from the knowledge. “I think you should contact the Ellwoods.” Apocalypse probably wouldn’t recognize the name. “Cain has the Nightshades on his side, so if you can get the Ellwoods to join the alliance things will get really tricky. The Nightshades won’t attack if there’s an Ellwood present.” A short pause. “After all, There are more Ellwoods then Nightshades right now, and the Ancient families have a treaty, to not attack each other. Getting them on our side will paralyze Cain’s only allies. Unless they want to call an all out war between the Ancient families. Believe me, if that ever happens Cain will be the last thing you worry about.” Hopefully Apocalypse would see her point. If a war between the Ancient Families began, nowhere in the world would be safe. Right now there was only one powerful mutant causing chaos. If you got two whole families of powerful mutants at war? There wouldn’t be anything left.

[apocalypse]

Cain was the father?! Apocalypse nearly spun in a full circle as he turned his gaze towards Crystal. The combination between nightshade and Cain's blood mixed together was like putting oil with fire. It would be a wrath more feirce then he had first thought possible. He sighed and looked towards the lab as he continued on.

"Xavier must be informed of this. The child of such families is indeed a problem."

He couldn't imagine the danger such a child would cause, but Crystal was right, they had to use that to their advantage, but how? He couldn't help but smile at Crystal when she practically begged him to not tell her. He knew where they could go for hiding, after all, this was a spacecraft they were in. All he needed to do was get things running to their fullest and make the repairs needed. With any luck, the spacecraft will be put to use once again.

"An Ellwood? Where would I be able to find a member of such a family?"

He had to admire Crystal's mind. Not only was it broad in information, but it was crafty at times. Nobody would dare assault them with an Ellwood in their alliance. The only concern was, as always, Cain. He wasn't just anybody, he was a maniac. Three major cities destroyed and a member of the Elensar family close to death. He really wouldn't put it past the lunatic to attack an Ellwood, dispite the consequences.

[crystal]

Crystal just blinked at his almost horrified reaction. She wasn't used to him reacting in such a way, but she wasn't one to shock easily. After though, she just nodded, agreeing that Xavier should know. "I will tell him when I contact them, then." She paused for a moment, as if deep in thought. "A problem, most likely. Unless she is somehow different from her mother and father, following in Rose and Parker's footsteps instead."

Any Nightshade would be powerful, and throwing a Milena into the mix would only make things worse, but if the child was somehow good... Maybe it wouldn't be all that bad after all.

"I only know the location of two. The others.... It's hard to focus on them. I think they're near someone with the ability to mask presences." She paused for only a moment, thinking hard, her gaze wandering to all directions, as if seeing past the walls and looking across the globe. "The closest is with the Runaways." She paused. "Going to him would be a very bad idea, because the Runaways will attack any among the Brotherhood on sight." Another short pause as her gaze moved a little. "The other is in New York. It'd be easier to approach her. But don't be aggressive. She'd send you into another dimension, one that she controls."

[apocalypse]

"Then it is settled. I need you to contact Xavier immediately. Tell him that the brotherhood is also moving, and tell him of Cain's child."

He looked to Crystal after he said this, a half smile forming on his face. He was glad to know that he had aquired such help from someone who was practically given to him by the Nightmares. Shadow would probably have a fit if she knew that her idea of using Crystal had backfired and was now a part of the brotherhood. He looked back towards the lab as they entered, walking towards the computer and putting up the map of the world.

"I will attempt to speak with a member of the Ellwood family and hope that they would be willing to accept the alliance."

He wasn't sure how he would do such a thing, not really having much interest in treaties and alliances, but these were dark times even for him and his army. Things were becoming darker, much more then even he realized, but that didn't matter now. Apocalypse only focused on the safety of his own army and getting them to safety and out of Cain's reach.