He dreamed again.

He told us his dream.

He showed it to Logan and me.

And maybe I'm not so sure I want to know the truth anymore. It's easier living a lie.

---

Atruis lay on his bed, praying for a night of solid sleep, undisturbed by dreams or nightmares that would become paintings. He turned over, slipping into a silent blackness that would soon explode into colors so vivid and bright, and he might be blind when he woke up.

Atruis was allowed for a pleasant moment blackness, no dreams or souls, no war, nothing. Just open empty space.

And then the dreams began.

The unicorns were on one side, the dragons on the other. There was a bright red line in between them. The unicorns were lined up, tossing their head, snorting, stamping their crystalline hooves. The dragons were also lined up, their wings stretching from time to time, their great red scales gleaming in the dark sun.

Atruis looked around him. There were small scrub brushes littering the dry gray dust that covered the earth. The sun was a dark orange ball, and it was almost noon. The sky was covered with dark oily-looking clouds, looking about fit to spew acid rain all over the ground. The red line ran on forever, off into the horizon.

There was a sudden movement in the crowd that made him look up suddenly. It was unlike the small mutterings that had been happening for what seemed to be the hours that he had been here. It was two creatures that had stepped out of the crowd; one was a white unicorn, the other a red dragon.

The unicorn took a step back, and then released a piercing cry that echoed over the dry landscape. She reared, her horn pointing at the red dragon's heart. Her horn gleamed in the dull light. The dragon threw its head back and roared, stretching his wings as far as they would go. It occurred to Atruis that the unicorn could be Marie and the dragon Logan. He ran forward in an attempt to stop them.

"Rogue!! Marie!! Don't do this!! You can work everything out, the war can end!" His vain attempts to shout at them went unheeded. There was a blinding explosion that rocked the very soil as the unicorn threw herself at her alleged foe. He snapped her in half one quick flash of his razor-edged teeth. The dragons all roared their victory as they advanced upon the unicorns.

The one dragon that had killed the first unicorn stood there, staring down at her broken body in shame. Then he stood tall and brave and continued on with the war.

Atruis woke in a blinding sweat. His heart was racing. In his mind, he knew that the dragons had won. Evil had prevailed. That was perhaps the scariest dream he had ever had. And now a small voice in the back of his mind told him that he would paint his dream, and that Logan would prevail in the end.

---

Atruis was almost running towards his studio. He had to paint the dream, and he had to paint it now. He slowed to a halt outside the recreation room door, the massive and intricately carved door not hiding the raised voices from within.

"Logan! What do ya mean you're leavin'?" Marie shouted, sounding very confused.

"I have ta go Marie, it's not right for me to be here now. This is a bad time, we could lash out at each other at any moment and not regret it. We could hurt other people and not even know it!" Logan sounded on the verge of panic.

"You never cared that much about anyone else before. Are you just runnin' again? Like you always do?" she sounded really upset, then her voice got icy. " Big ole bad ass Wolverine, afraid to stand up to a painter's visions?"

"I just don't want to hurt you." Logan sounded helpless.

Rogue turned and walked toward the door that Atruis was hiding behind. She threw it open and encountered Atruis.

"Atruis," she said, sounding not the slightest bit surprised, "how do you dream of me?" Then she walked around him and paced down the hall.

Atruis, one of his other gifts being telepathy, did the only thing he could. Professor?

What is it Atruis?

Make sure that Logan and Rogue are here by morning.

Atruis left it at that. He continued on his way down towards the studio, leaving a helpless looking Logan standing in the rec room.