It's official. I am the worst. I'm so sorry it's taken so long. I've been crazy busy and haven't really had the inspiration to write lately. Which explains why this chapter is so crap. Ugh.

But yeah, I've had a little trouble writing lately, especially this ultra-emoed-out chapter so... bear with me? Blah. Thanks heaps for all your patience and kind words :)

Lady E: You sure he won't take a gun to his head? ;)

Dis-claim-erz: The song is Down To The River, by the ever-awesome Bernard Fanning (again).

- - - - - -

Try not to mourn

Shake off the pain

Don’t run, run, run

The world’s gonna spin and the earth’s gonna quake

Then it’s done, done, done

- - - - - -

Sebastian stared listlessly at the coffin, barely seeing it even as the harsh sunlight caused it to glint almost manically. It was simple, dark wooden, a wildly colourful variety of flowers splayed across its lid. He vaguely wondered where they had even gotten the flowers. The Plants, he supposed, since nothing like that grew around the base. He would have felt touched that Aesha had gone to all this trouble, for him, but he just couldn’t find the energy.

He barely listened to the man’s voice droning in the distance; he didn’t need to. He’d been to so many funerals, seen off so many of his friends, teammates, people that the words meant nothing to him now.

Still. He’d never had to bury someone as close as Jet.

He swallowed the lump down, closing his eyes against the sun’s rays, and inhaled deeply, unsteadily. From beside him he felt Shaun do the same, and flicked his eyes to the left to see how the kid was holding up. He looked exhausted himself, and completely confused, as though he couldn’t quite understand why they were there. Was still trying to understand what had happened.

Sebastian looked away from him as the guilt settled right into his gut, packing a powerful punch. If he hadn’t run off… Shaun would not have had to see Jet shoot himself. And not that he’d seen it, but, Christ. He had seen enough to traumatise him for life. Sebastian knew all too well the impact it could have; he had experienced it countless times. Soldiers that just could not take it anymore, felt there was no other option, that sort of thing. Unsurprisingly, it was quite common.

He had to turn away when the coffin was lowered.

He felt a hand on his shoulder but it felt so distant and not having the energy or desire to turn around, he could only assume it was a fellow solder. The priest droned on – he bitterly thought how ironic it was. Jet never believed in God. How could he, surrounded by such tragedy?

He felt the rustle of clothing besides him, titling his head just to see Shaun quickly retreating, his steps messy and panicked. Instinctively, he followed and god, anything to get away from the funeral, from Jet’s death. His body, ready to rot away for eternity.

“Hey,” he hurried to catch up with the teenager, his legs a combination of jelly and lead, “wait, are you okay? Shaun!”

“Go away!” Shaun whirled around, his teeth gnashing and Sebastian could see that his eyes were horribly red, still leaking tears. “Just leave me alone!”

“But –”

“This is all your fault!”

Sebastian froze, horror cascading through him and seizing his heart with icy hands. “…What?”

Shaun’s teeth tore into his lip; Sebastian stared at him in shock as his thin frame trembled. “He, he was… you should have… tried…”

The blonde swallowed, his throat bone-dry and something in him cracked “W-What?” It was all he could manage, and Shaun snorted as he fought back tears, his eyes narrowing in hatred.

“He was your friend! You, you didn’t even… all you cared about was stupid fucking Jackson and now Jet’s dead and it’s all your fault! You didn’t even try to talk to him after, after –!”

Sebastian reeled back in horror, his jaw dropping as the brunette’s words snarled into him. “I – I –”

“He’s dead!” Shaun was bawling now, wobbling unsteadily, fits clenched furiously by his sides and oh, he wanted to punch the older man. Wanted to rip his head off, because Jet was dead, dead, and Sebastian hadn’t even tried. “You were supposed to be his fucking friend! This is all your fucking fault!”

“Shaun!” Sebastian grabbed for his arm with desperation and Shaun shoved him off, turning tail and running before Sebastian could even regain his footing.

“Shaun!” But the brunette didn’t stop, didn’t look back and Sebastian swallowed again, fiercely, as a lump of emotions threatened to spill over; his eyes burned, hands shook and he fell a few steps back as he struggled just to breathe.

All his fault. His fault, and Jet was dead, and it was all his fault.

“Sebastian?” Aesha’s voice from somewhere over his shoulder. “Are you alright?”

Sebastian lost his footing completely; he sunk to the rough dirt and the General sighed.

- - -

Shaun flew through the halls, his vision blurred by tears, feet pounding the horrible concrete floor as his heart raced wildly. Half of him was screaming at him to run back, to run and apologise to the Captain because he had been so cruel, the other half refusing because it was so true.

He grabbed the nearest doorknob, bursting out onto the balcony as severe sobs choked him; he flung himself onto the railing and gripped it desperately, sinking to his knees as he vomited.

His head swum; he couldn’t think, couldn’t breathe, and he cried harder. Jet had shot himself, killed himself, so young and nowhere near ready to die, was dead, and so was Liam. They were all dead, his family, his friends, Jet and Liam and god.

He threw up again, wheezing and coughing horribly as the violent sobs continued.

“You humans are always so emotional.”

Shaun spun around at once, shooting to his feet as the sobs froze in his throat, before dissolving into another coughing fit, his body shaking violently.

Rogue tsksed, pushing off the wall and observing the boy with disdain as the coughs subsided and apparently weakened, as his knees buckled. Purely on instinct, Rogue leapt for him, catching the brunette in his arms before he hit the floor. The moment he realised what he’d done – protected the brat, he snarled ferociously and promptly dropped him, stepping back quickly as though it’d never happened.

“Humans.” He snorted contemptuously, narrowing his ebon eyes. “What he fuck is your problem this time? Still wussing over your stupid city? Pathetic.”

Shaun struggled to sit back, his legs twisted painfully on either side and he didn’t have the energy, the strength, to continue. He gaped up at the assassin blearily, confusedly. “W-What…” Why was he even there?

Rogue retuned the dull stare coldly. “Business. I picked up on you; you seemed more agitated than usual and I figured you were slitting your pretty little wrists or something. Wanted to catch the show.”

The assassin’s words barely sunk in; Shaun’s eyes burned again as he whispered, “Jet shot himself.”

Rogue arched a snowy eyebrow. “Fascinating, really. Are you going to hurry up and kill yourself or not? Because I have better things to do than sit around here and wait.”

Shaun’s eyes widened; he stared up at the white-haired man as familiar, white-hot anger rose from inside. Jet was dead, because Liam had died, because of Rogue and he didn’t even care! Didn’t’ even blink, like it all meant nothing to him. “What the fuck is wrong with you?!” He yelled hysterically. “He’s fucking dead, because you, you killed Liam! He –”

“So he lost his partner, big fucking deal.” Rogue cut in, his tone indifferent. “You lost everything, and I don’t see you pointing a gun at your head.”

Shaun gaped at him in horror, anger kicking in before he could even wonder if that was some twisted type of compliment. “It is a big fucking deal, you heartless bastard! Wait ‘til you lose someone you love!” He snorted wildly, clenching the balcony rail. “If that’s even fucking possible for you!”

“Yes, well,” Rogue replied sarcastically, “not all of us are that lucky.”

“Didn’t love your parents? No big surprises there.” He sneered and Rogue raised his perfect white eyebrows.

“What makes you think I even have parents? What, you think one day one of them just decided to mate with a human? Please. They can’t even reproduce, for starters.”

“They… can’t?” For a moment Shaun’s anger was overtaken by surprise and Rogue shrugged. “Then… how…”

“I was manufactured.” The assassin explained in a cool tone, as though it didn’t bother him in the least. “A little bit of their genes, little bit of ours, and voila. I am the only successful, surviving experiment.”

“Experiment.” Shaun repeated numbly. “So, you… you were just made? No… no anything?”

“Suits me just fine. I’d rather be a lab rat than one of you pathetic humans.”

At once Shaun snarled, fury washing back and his eyes slit. “Fuck off, just, fucking leave! You’ve caused enough shit, alright?! What the hell is there left to fuck up?!”

Rogue smirked cruelly, his tongue sweeping over his lower lip. “Might try you.”

“Right, ‘cause as if you haven’t ruined my life already!”

“Oh, what’ve I done to you now?”

“You killed my friends! You, you fucking murdered –”

“Welcome to the war, babe.” Another detached shrug.

“Fuck you!” He leapt for him in blind rage, and was slammed against the wall; he yelped as pain exploded in his head, causing his vision to blur violently. A hot mouth was immediately at his ear, Rogue’s voice a soft, amused hiss.

“That eager to touch me again, huh?”

“O-Oh, fuck off! I am never touching you again, never, never –!”He flung his elbow out and Rogue grabbed it, twisting him around and this time slamming his face into the wall instead.

“Why do you have to be so difficult?” He muttered sourly as Shaun spat blood, his face in every shade of pain; his nose was throbbing madly and he struggled desperately, wishing the assassin wasn’t so strong, wishing he could fucking kill him, because, because he was too much, way too much.

“Just tell me why!”

Rogue rolled his eyes, as though bored, ignoring the poorly-aimed kicks and struggling. “Why what?”

“Why me?!” He panted furiously, aching and throbbing even as his eyes burned and itched, even as tears fell down his face and he choked. “W-Why me, Rogue?! Why save me, and, and go kill every-everyone else?! Why me?! Why sh-show me them?! Why?!”

“You wanted to know!” Rogue snapped, completely skipping over the first question and snaring the last. “What, did you think your family was magically wandering around here completely fucking fine?! Time to grow the fuck up and come back to reality!”

“B-But why did you have to show m-me that they, they –”

“What does it matter?” Rogue snapped again. “If you really want to join them that much then next time I promise I’ll kill you too.”

“Then just fucking do it!” Shaun twisted viciously; Rogue quickly released the boy before his neck could snap and whipped out his gun; Shaun grabbed it as soon as his feet hit the floor, and yanked it forward until it was pressed against the centre of his forehead. “Just do it then!”

Rogue’s eyes narrowed at once; he hated to admit he was actually surprised. “What –”

“What the fuck is your problem?! Just fucking do it!” His voice cracked as distressed sobs poured forth; he shook fiercely even as he held the gun to his forehead. “J-Just, you, y-y –”

With a snarl Rogue tore the gun away and Shaun fell to his hands and knees, torn between laughing and crying in disbelief. “Y-You can’t, can you? You, you fucking can’t. What’s wrong? Gotten a little too attached, have you? Aw, Rogue, that’s so cute –”

Rogue slammed his bare foot into the brunette’s ribs, the boy yelping shrilly as they shattered, anger tearing through the assassin madly. He seized the mop of soft brown hair, twisting his head up violently and yanking the boy to his feet, snarling right in his ear, his snapping fangs missing the soft flesh by millimetres. “I’ll show you fucking attached, you stupid brat.” He grabbed the knife and all Shaun could do was moan helplessly, sharp pain ripping through him with every strangled breath.

The blade glinted like mad in the burning sun, and Shaun whimpered powerlessly as it was brought into the air; he squeezed his eyes shut weakly with a racking sob, and a radio crackled to life.

“Rogue.” Ang’s voice was impatient, infuriated.

Rogue snarled furiously; he dropped Shaun and he hit the floor with a sickening crack. He shoved the knife back into the leather and grabbed the tiny, rectangular radio tucked into one of the straps of his shirt. “What?”

“Ace is getting impatient. Have you completed your mission?”

Rogue’s eyes narrowed; in all of Shaun’s drama he’d completely forgotten about the reason he was even in the base. His fingernails dug into the radio, dangerously close to snapping it in two. “Almost.” It was a lie, spat out through gritted teeth and he switched the radio off and tucked it away again before Ang could explode.

His eyes fell on the boy before him; thrown across the floor, unable to find the strength to move. His breathing was ragged, gasping and awful and Rogue found himself grinding his teeth, suddenly severely irritated. Why the fuck did the kid have to mess everything up so much? If he hadn’t been such a whiny brat, if he didn’t have to be so emotional Rogue could have left and carried out his mission, without all this bullshit happening.

“You’re an idiot,” he seethed, marching to the boy’s head and kneeling beside it, grabbing his chin roughly and Shaun moaned, “this all could have been avoided, but no. Gotta play the fucking hero. And now, guess what, kid? You’ve got internal bleeding and splinters for ribs. Dickhead.”

“F-F-Fuck you.” He rasped, wincing and seizing in pain. He shuddered deeply, pain roaring down his sides and through his body, and he whimpered again as fear began to creep in.

Internal bleeding. That was bad, wasn’t it? Well obviously it was bad – he could barely move, could barely breathe and he knew for a fact that many of his ribs were broken. But the type of bad that would kill him? And oh, what was he thinking, with the gun and the yelling and he had clearly lost his mind, lost everything and now he was going to die.

Rogue released him and stood, snorted, glaring down at the boy with slitted eyes. “I’ll pass, thanks. Don’t think you could handle it in your current state. I wouldn’t worry too much though; this whole building is about to come down, so –”

“W-What?!” His eyes widened in horror. “Y-You… bomb…”

“Not me, and not a bomb.” Rogue replied coolly, his lips quirking into a smirk at the fear and horror that was consuming the other boy’s face. “I’m just the messenger this time, babe.”

Shaun tried to speak, tried to yell or scream or something but his breath caught; he choked fiercely, rolling onto his side with a yelp as blood sprayed the tiles. Rogue arched a white eyebrow, kneeling down again to brush his hair out of his eyes; Shaun shoved his hand away as best he could and snarled, teeth ripping into his lower lip in pain. “W-Wha… you… done…?”

“I haven’t done anything.” The assassin answered snootily, pinning the boy’s wrist to the floor. “I don’t pick the target; I just pull the trigger. Part of the job, babe. Now. I have to go; I’m running late as it is. You take care. Well, as best you can.” He added with a slight snigger, raking his eyes down the boy’s thin, abused frame. “It’s been fun.”

He bent his head, brushing his lips over the other’s damp forehead almost tenderly; Shaun flinched and he stood, dusting his legs off before smiling eerily. He turned quickly, hurrying through the doors because Ace would kill him if he stuffed this up.

That, and he didn’t think he quite knew how to deal with the other boy’s writhing and noises and, and…

He shook his head crossly, clenching his fists momentarily as he slipped through the mostly deserted halls. What the hell did it even matter? He saw people die every bloody day, in ways far worse than Shaun. He’d seen everything, so why did one damn brat have to get under his skin so much? It wasn’t like he hadn’t seen the kid hurt before – hell, most of the time he’d been the one that had caused the brunette pain. He’d come within inches of killing him countless times, so why…

That look in his eyes. That desperate, pleading look. Begging him to pull the trigger, to end everything…

That wasn’t Shaun, couldn’t have been Shaun. The Shaun Rogue knew was too stubborn, too damn something to just give up. He was whiny, selfish, overemotional, and immature and everything that irritated the hell out of the assassin but was not a quitter.

Jet.

That must have been it. The combination of seeing his destroyed hometown, and his dumb friend’s suicide… Rogue snorted again. Humans had way too many emotions. People on his side killed themselves all the time too – big deal.

His eyes flicked up to the ceiling as he slipped through the door, scowling aggressively at his train of thought. What the hell was wrong with him? Why couldn’t he just stop thinking about it?

Him.

Thinking about him.

“Fucking brat.”

- - -

“Sebastian…” Jay hesitated, his hand reaching to take the other man’s but stopping halfway, hanging awkwardly before he dropped it back to his side. “I heard about what happened to your friend. I’m so sorry.”

“Yeah.” Sebastian muttered, walking past him without a glance, practically dragging his feet. He didn’t look up, couldn’t find the energy, and his hand found the glass wall as Jackson slowly rose to his feet, his face in a concerned frown.

“Wait,” Jay’s fingers snared the sleeve of his uniform and he looked at the doctor blankly, “I need to talk to you for a moment.”

“Can’t it wait?” Jackson was the one that spoke, his crimson eyebrows furrowed greatly as his eyes flickered over the blonde. “He’s exhausted.”

Sebastian gave him a weak, thankful smile and Jay bit his lip, feeling incredibly guilty. “It’ll only take two seconds, I promise. It’s about Shaun.”

“Shaun?” The Captain repeated dully, wiping a hand over his damp face. “What about him? Was he here?” Is he okay? Does he still blame me?

Jay shook his head. “Not today, no. But he came in a few days ago, while you were… when Alexandru had you. He mentioned a dream, and I’ve wanted to speak to you about it.”

“A dream?” Sebastian wanted to groan. All he wanted, needed to do was go curl up with Jackson, feel the warmth of his skin and hear that he was breathing and alive so he could know at least one of them was okay. So he could feel safe, trusted. Like he hadn’t been responsible for his friend’s death.

Like he wasn’t responsible for thousands of deaths.

“It was that dream.” Jackson whispered, somehow knowing and Jay glanced at him with a grim expression, his hand still resting on the blonde Captain’s forearm. “Shaun. He had the same dream.”

Sebastian frowned in bewilderment, looking between the doctor and Jackson with a frown. “What are you… what dream?”

“Jackson’s had a dream,” Jay explained worriedly, “several times. It’s very abstract, random, and he can’t figure it out. A few nights ago Shaun had the exact same dream.”

Sebastian stared at him for a moment, the words spilling around his head in a massive jumble as he tried to figure out what that actually meant, if anything. “So?” He managed finally, settling on oblivion.

“Well, you have to admit that that isn’t exactly normal.” Jay pointed out. “I told him to tell me if it happens again.”

Sebastian looked to Jackson, who shrugged awkwardly, and ran his fingers through his hand. “Guess not. Then again… I mean, neither of them really is normal, are they?” He threw in a bitter laugh, but it was half-hearted and Jackson frowned softly, wishing the stupid glass wall wasn’t between them, so he could take the blonde in his arms and just make him okay.

“What do you mean?” This time it was Jay who was confused, and he finally released the younger man’s arm. “I mean, I understand what you meant about Jackson, but I thought…”

“Shaun’s like me.” Jackson said quietly, his long spindly fingers pulling through his hair slowly, almost in wonder.

“What do you mean?” Jay repeated, thoroughly puzzled and the redhead’s eyes rose to the glass ceiling in thought, before meeting the doctor’s inquisitive gaze.

“He doesn’t belong here.”

Sebastian frowned again, turning to Jas as a sick feeling started up in his gust. “He’s right. See, Shaun reckons he’s from the past. The day of the first Invasion, actually. Says he was at a party or something and there was an earthquake. Woke up in QA12, and that’s where I found him.”

“The past?” Jay echoed doubtfully. “That’s a new one. Do you believe him?”

The blonde shrugged uneasily. “Fuck knows anymore. I didn’t believe someone like Jackson was possible, and look where we are now. I don’t know what to believe anymore. Still… time travel is a little…”

“Yeah.” The doctor sighed and glanced over at Jackson, who was listening silently, though a light frown flickered across his face and for a moment he seemed to tense up completely. “Every time I think it can’t possibly get any stranger… are you okay, Jackson?”

“Y-Yeah.” The redhead winced as a painful throb vibrated through his head. “I just… it feels like there’s something… someone…”

Just outside Quarantine, Rogue sighed, pressed flat against the wall, his nimble fingers delving into his tiny pocket and retrieving the small, triangular device. It was flat, with pointed corners and a tiny dial right in the centre. He took a quick peek around the corner, moving faster than any possible witnesses could comprehend, and clicked his tongue at the guards stationed outside the huge doors.

“Too much effort. Fuck it; I’ll just do it from here.” He shrugged his slim shoulders, and his dark eyes swept over the triangle in his hands as his mouth curled into a light smirk. “Jackson, Jackson, Jackson. Let’s see what you can do, kid.”

And with that he turned the dial sharply.

At once, Jackson shrieked and crumbled to his knees, screams escaping his mouth as he trembled fiercely; Sebastian yelled his name in alarm, eyes widening madly, and his fingers dived for his card to open the door.

But before he could even reach his security card the box shattered completely, and Sebastian and Jay were sent flying into the very far wall. The siren sounded at once, shrill and ear-splitting; the occupants of the room rushed for safety as the teen’s high-pitched howls continued. Someone screamed that security was on its way, and Sebastian’s head snapped up when shots sounded.

He needn’t have worried; the bullets never landed. None of them did, as the four guards pulled their triggers repeatedly, desperately, even as the redhead rose into the air, with the whole room creaking and groaning.

“The doors won’t open!”

“J-Jackson!” Sebastian struggled to find his feet, his face frantic – the room was in chaos He flinched, freezing in horror as the minimal furniture flew into the air; looping dangerously around the thin boy. “Jackson, stop!”

He didn’t seem to hear him, or even notice. He was hunched over in mid-air, his hands tight over his ears as he mewled dreadfully, everything from reams of paper and pens to the cabinets and tables flying hazardously around him. The light bulbs shattered and fine glass rained down upon them; Sebastian threw his arms up quickly and gnashed his teeth as his skin cut.

“Everybody get the fuck out!” He yelped, ducking a chair just in time, and glancing about frantically for any way in, anything. “Jackson, stop, please! Fucking listen to me! You’re going to destroy the whole fucking place, just stop!”

He grabbed onto a passing desk without a second thought, his fingers scrabbling madly for a decent grip, scrambling onto it even as it swung through the air. “Everyone get out!”

“The doors won’t fucking open!” Someone screamed; they were all screaming, howling for help and he whipped around helplessly, with no clue of what the hell to do next. He just had to stop him!

“Jackson!” His teeth tore into his lip as his eyes burned, fear sending his heart pounding. The kid was out of control and what if he hurt someone, killed someone, hurt himself?! “Jackson, you have to stop! Please! Whatever it is just block it out, f-fucking please, J-Jack –”

“Shut up!”

Sebastian flew backwards off the desk, slamming into the ground at neck breaking speed. He seized as sharp pain ripped through him; a nurse rushed to his side and he shoved her back as he struggled to his knees, spitting blood.

“J-Jackson…” He whimpered, clutching his side in agony. He stumbled onto his feet, before sagging and coughing blood again.

“W-Wait!” The nurse grabbed for him, but he had already snared the metal desk again, crashing onto it clumsily as it looped, Jackson’s pained moans echoing terribly.

“Alright,” he muttered, his head spinning too fast. “Let’s see how good my aim is.”

And he took off, squeezing his eyes shut in a panic, leaping through the air and crashing dead-on into the redhead. They hurtled to the ground as Jackson screamed, hitting hard as all the other objects crashed to the ground around them.

“O-Oh, f-fuck.” Sebastian shuddered, raising his head weakly. Jackson blinked up at him, stunned, and all the Captain could do was stare listlessly, in too much shock and pain to do anything else.

“I-I –” Jackson stammered, blinking rapidly in distress.

“Jay!” It was a nurse’s cry that got the blonde’s attention – Sebastian released the teenager quickly and looked up in terror. The doctor was still sprawled by the wall, in a pool of blood.

“N-No…” He whispered, fumbling to his feet and collapsing beside the older man. A thick shard of glass was buried deep in the crook of his neck, bleeding profusely. “J-Jay…”

“Move!” He was shoved aside as the nurses set to work, hurrying around the man urgently and Sebastian’s voice hitched as tears spilled down his golden cheeks.

“We need to get him outside!”

“Oh, oh god.” Jackson breathed, twisting around as pure horror filled him. The room was a mess – the ground was covered in shards of glass and debris, as if it had been ripped apart by a cyclone and his lips parted as a low whimper escaped him. He had done it. He had hurt Jay, had nearly hurt everyone, had hurt Sebastian.

Sebastian.

“S-Sebastian!” He scrambled messily to his feet, stumbling clumsily before dashing towards the older man and crashing down beside him in a panic. “Are you alright?! You’re bleeding!”

“Not now.” Sebastian whispered, his eyes glued to the doctor’s immobile body as it was lifted onto the stretcher and rushed out the doors, mysteriously unlocked, his body still frozen with shock. He barely saw Jackson, barely understood that the boy was sitting right beside him because all he could focus on was Jay. Jay, who had always helped him and taken care of Jackson, Jay who knew about his stupid obsession with the boy but still spoke to him, and, and, and Jay.

“B-But –” Jackson’s hands rose helplessly; he felt a desperate flash of pain as they fell to his sides, limp, and his eyes prickled harshly. “I, I didn’t m-mean… I don’t know what happened, I-I was fine and –”

“Jackson,” Sebastian finally closed his eyes and god, he was so exhausted. He just wanted to fall over, to curl up and sleep and never, ever fucking wake up. “Don’t. Not now, please. I, I just… not now.”

Jackson rose slowly, the helpless feeling building as his brilliant green eyes swept around the room. He fell back a few steps, weak and confused, lost and guilty until his legs couldn’t take it anymore and he collapsed on the ground, slumping badly.

“I’m a monster.” He whispered, his voice cracking as tears began to crawl down his porcelain cheeks, causing his crimson locks to stick to his skin. “I… I’m a monster.”

“Sir, are you alright?” A black-haired nurse leant down beside the Captain, her hand touching his shoulder gently. She looked terrified herself, but had remained behind when the doors had opened.

Sebastian could barely manage a nod; he felt too distant, too far away, like he was somewhere else entirely and was just watching it from somewhere. Numb.

“The medics are on their way, and Aesha has ordered that Jackson be placed in an induced coma immediately, a doctor is on…” But she trailed off, her eyes widening in horror at something over the blonde’s shoulder and he twisted his head with little interest.

Until he saw the piece of glass embedded in Jackson’s wrist, held tightly by the boy’s own hand, and all at once he came crashing back down to reality.

“JACKSON! Don’t!” He ripped the arm away, the redhead releasing the glass shard in shock and grabbed him by the bloodied collar of his shirt, hoisting him to eye-level with a furious snarl. “Fucking, you, don’t you ever fucking do that again, Jackson! What the fuck were you thinking?!”

“I’m a monster.” The teenager whispered his voice strangled as tears tracked down his pale cheeks; his blood was dripping rapidly off his limp hands, pooling on the grimy tiles right in front of Sebastian’s feet. “I don’t deserve to live.”

Sebastian stared at him in horror, his stomach lurching violently at the lifeless look in the boy’s normally sparkling green eyes, the dead, final tone of his voice, the sound of his blood splashing and he released him at once, panic gripping him in a vicelike hold. “Heal it, Jackson, fucking heal it!”

“No.” It was serious, solemn, resolute. Jackson simply stood there, his arms flaccid by his sides, clothes and skin splattered with blood, his wrists a mangled heap of flesh and crimson.

“Jackson!” Sebastian was yelling now, tears streaming down his face as he grabbed the boy’s thin shoulders and shook him fiercely. “Someone get a fucking doctor! Jackson, J-Jackson, heal it! Fucking hell, please!”

“I’m a monster.” He repeated quietly, refusing to meet the older man’s panicked eyes and Sebastian shook his head frantically.

“You’re, you’re not, fuck, Jackson it isn’t your fault just please, fucking please don’t do this, p-please –” He was openly sobbing, grabbing the boy’s shirt again with blinding desperation because he couldn’t lose Jackson, could never lose him, he meant way too fucking much and he’d rather die. “Fucking heal it!”

Jackson only tilted his head left, his shoulders slumping weakly as he seemed to pale even further, and Sebastian didn’t want to look down, couldn’t look down, not at the growing puddle of blood spilling around their feet and there was so much blood.

“Fuck!” Sebastian sobbed, suddenly throwing his arms around the boy desperately as they fell to the ground, crushing him to his chest and Jackson froze. “D-Don’t do this to me, p-please! I can’t, I can’t lose you, I, I, p-p-please –”

“S-Sebastian…” The boy could barely manage a whisper and he shuddered deeply; he could feel the older man’s heart beating frantically through the thin layers of skin and material separating him, could feel his warmth, the tears spilling onto his thin neck and clinging to his skin, the desperate pleas spilling from the mouth that had come so close to kissing him once.

He lifted his arms weakly, blinking at them blearily as the hideous gashes began to close, skin stitching back together as if by magic and finally collapsed himself, his own cries joining the blonde’s as he clutched at the older man desperately, as if his whole life depended on him.

- - -

“Well that was a fucking waste of my time.” Rogue muttered with a scowl, glaring at the triangle heatedly before shoving it back into his pocket. He grabbed the radio, clicking the button and snarling for Ang.

“Was the mission successful?”

“Do I sound like it was fucking successful? That thing you gave me did shit all. Nobody even bloody knew it was going on – didn’t so much as make the building shiver. Didn’t feel a fucking thing, genius. I thought you said it’d send him completely schizo.”

Ang’s fury was obvious. “It was supposed to! Are you sure you did it right?”

“How hard can turning a fucking knob be? Yes, I did it right! You’re the one that can’t build shit right!”

Ang growled throatily, his voice thick with anger. “Just get your ass back here.”

Rogue snapped the radio off with another snarl, slamming his head back against the wall. He remained like that for a moment, his fangs grounding brutally, before pushing off the wall and cracking his neck. His lips set into a hard, thin line and he narrowed his eyes at the ceiling. Something had obviously interfered. Or maybe the surgery hadn’t worked – but all the tests had shown that the chip would work.

Or maybe someone had finally grown a brain and just killed the abomination.

He snorted, moving down the halls, his feet unconsciously following the path back to the balcony. Someone killing Jackson seemed unlikely; he knew the humans were usually far too emotional to slay some ‘innocent’ kid. Especially with Sebastian by his side. But, he reasoned, they were going to have to do it at some point, if they hadn’t already. Unless, of course, they ever worked out a way to control the boy which was, naturally, impossible. He couldn’t be controlled, could never be controlled. He was far too unstable.

Besides, it might not have had the desired effect, but that little stunt was still going to cause some major consequences, and he couldn’t wait. Consequences were always so fun.

‘Except this time.’ A sly voice whispered in the back of his mind as he realised he’d come to the smoky glass door. His eyes slitted for a moment, tossing up the idea. It wouldn’t hurt to see if the brat was dead yet or not.

Shaun jolted as the door opened, his heart stopping for a moment as soft footsteps stopped right beside his head. He twisted slightly, saw the bare feet and coughed.

“F-Failed, huh?” His grin was lopsided, half-hearted, his lips tinged with wet blood and Rogue sighed, kneeling beside the boy’s head yet again.

“Unfortunately.” He rolled his eyes. “Fucking humans. So very unreliable. You got off lucky this time, babe. But you won’t be so lucky next time, I promise that.”

“G-Get out of here.” He rasped weakly, as dizzying relief flooded through him. The base was okay, everyone was alive and Rogue snorted.

“You going to make me? No offence, babe, but you’re hardly in any position to threaten me. I’m amazed you aren’t already dead, in fact.”

“It’s a human thing.” He hissed, squeezing his eyes shut in anger. “B-But you wouldn’t understand that, would, would you?”

Rogue tilted his head in acknowledgement, his lips twisting into an unconvincing smile. “True. Yet another annoying fact about you guys. You never when the fuck to give in. Then again, you came pretty damn close to it before, didn’t you, kid? You were practically begging me to kill you, and now you can’t deal with the consequences. So, I guess in the end you’re no better than that stupid friend of yours you were wimping about before. Jet, wasn’t it? You’re just as pathetic as –”

“Fuck you, you fucking – ” He was cut off by his own wheezing as something clammed up inside him, almost as if someone had plunged their ice-cold hand into him, grabbing all his organs and twisted – he let out an ear-splitting scream of pain, and before Rogue could even think about his actions, even consider it, his hand plunged deep into the boy’s chest, smashing through bone and Shaun screamed again, his body seizing as the assassin snarled furiously and ripped his hand away, stumbling back in shock at his own actions.

“Fuck!” He gnashed his teeth angrily, watching the boy curl in pain, gasping wildly as a strange, warm sensation bolted through him.

Shaun gasped again, his hands flying to his chest because why wasn’t he dead, and he froze when his fingers skimmed over smooth, unharmed skin. His hands ran down his sides, over his ribs, whole and healed and he spun around onto his backside, his draw dropping at the assassin. “I-I’m not… I’m not dead…”

“No.” The older man replied coldly, practically spitting the words. “You’re not. Unfortunately.”

“You…” He glanced down at himself in confusion, and realisation dawned. “You… you can heal others…”

Rogue said nothing, but his eyes narrowed considerably, fists clenched tightly by his side as he mentally cursed himself. What the fuck had he been thinking?! Healing him?! Saving him?!

The brunette looked up at him slowly, eyes wide in amazement. He felt numb. Shocked. “You… healed me. You could have… but you healed me…”

“Get the fuck over it.” The assassin snapped, standing quickly as his fists tightened. “Now I don’t have to listen to your pathetic fucking whining.”

Shaun could only stare at him, his lips parted stupidly and Rogue snarled again, tossing his head irately. “I’m going. I have better things to do.” And before the boy could utter a sound he’d leapt over the balcony edge into the darkness.

Rogue had healed him. Saved his life, probably. Since when had the assassin even been able to heal others? It must’ve been to do with the alien side, and if it was did that mean the aliens could heal others too?

And why?

He had been left to die at first; Rogue had attacked him and just marched off like it didn’t worry him in the slightest, and then to come back and save his life… it didn’t make sense, none of it made sense. Then again, when had anything involving the assassin made sense? He acted like Shaun was the greatest atrocity he’d ever come across, the entire bane of his existence, yet he had perused him and at times protected him.

It just didn’t make sense.

- - - - - -

I know. You hate me. I'm sorry! I promise you'll like the next chapter. You finally get to find out all that mysterious stuff about our good Captain Sebastian. And yes, there is actual romance next chapter. With lips. Woo?

Take care, guys. Swear next one won't be so... yeeeeeah.