Time of day: 8:45 in the morning
Place in the time-line Morning after 'The first meeting'

It was early in the morning, and the sunrise shining on the institute made everything around the young african girl glitter and shine with the new life that came with the sunlight. Zanra couldn't help but feel the same way. The simple realization that she wasn't the only student here that resented the path of ShadowX made her walk with just a bit more of a jump to her step.

At the moment, she was taking care of a normal morning ritual for her. In the small pond of the garden lay at least dozens of colorful water lilies, each with a different mixture of colors. Zanra had started to grow the lilies about a month after she had come to the school, and at first it was only one or two, but after a few of the teachers had commended her on how beautiful the flowers looked, and how responsible she was, Zanra happily began to grow more and more.

Today, she had a few brand new lily blossoms to put in the pond, each colored for a specefic person. The one she had just put in was deep blue, for Kurt, who she had heard about recently, although they hadn't met yet. A deep red and orange one was out for Scott and Jean, since even though they were becoming something of a dictator, she still respected them. A pale pink one was there for Rosie, an almost rainbow-ish one was there for Ari. And now, she placed a pale yellow one in the water, which blossomed the second it started to float on the surface. That one was for Di'go.

He had been awake since before the sun had started to rise. It was something he had been doing for a month now as he couldn't sleep that good. He had been getting nightmares of his past which tormented his sleep and brought out a new side of him he didn't want people to see. His nightmares were not because he was disobedient or traitorous as he was the farthest thing from that but they were given to him for the simple fact that he was under Jean and Scott's control. Diego could not have been persuaded to do all that he had done in the past month since he had a strong will so using telepathy was the only way to control him through nightmares. The sandman was one of the few who could escape the mansion and avoid the security measures due to his mutation since he could simply turn into his sand form and go through the bars or other ways and telepathy was not strong enough in this form. These were the reasons for his "enslavement" but he also obeyed for his own beliefs. He had pledged loyalty to the X-Men and the mansion and, having already experienced the betrayal of others, would not betray. Still even so, he believed this was not Xavier's wishes nor was it a correct path. Even so, he couldn't help it but to obey.

He was an X-Men, and he was part of those that enforced the "dream" and the school's rules. He couldn't get his mind to affect his actions when it came to these things. He had been monitoring the halls since he woke up but now, while he could still control his body and be able to use his mind correctly, decided to perhaps take a stroll in the gardens. Walking from the mansion the shadow of the giant school ended with the glow of the rising sun which hit Diego's face. His brown eyes went to face this new light but he then turned and resumed walking. From his view, the gardens seemed endless and relaxing, despite the actual environment of the place. As was required by every person in the mansion whether student or not, he was wearing his uniform. His hands remained in his pockets as he walked and his head looked down upon the nearing pond that was there.

He had a certain tingling sensation down his spine as he saw that considering his fear of water. As long as he didn't really get close to it, he was fine. That's when in the distance, he saw a young girl seemingly placing flowers or something by the pond. He recognized her, she was Zanra Dayo, a young African girl he had spent time with before the whole Jean-Scott takeover situation. He hadn't seen her in a while but heard mentions of her from other students. He couldn't remember clearly but he remembered a mention of some meeting though he wasn't sure what they were actually talking about. He walked over towards her and crouched down to her level. While he probably would've shown a large cheerful smile and joked around with her before the takeover, now he simply showed a small smile while still retaining a somewhat serious expression on his face, though it was obvious he was happy to see her.

"Hey there, Zanra. You didn't forget about me, did you?" Diego said in a small joking fashion since his nightmares and experiences had not yet taken away his entire personality.

He was technically supposed to call her Mshindo instead of her real name due to the new rules but as long as there wasn't anyone else around Diego didn't think it mattered. Since the takeover, he had been called Quicksand by almost everyone at the mansion so he hadn't heard his birth name in a while.

Zanra had just put Di'go's lily in the water when she heard someone crouch near her.

Zanra let out a happy gasp, then hugged him tightly, grinning. "Di'go!!" It was the first word she had said in a long time, so it meant a lot. "I misse' ya, Di'go! I misse' ya lots!" She was extatic to see him again, he was the one thing that helped her hold on to life before the takeover. She knew very well that he had changed, but he was still Di'go.

And Di'go was Di'go.

Zanra let go of him, still smiling. "You bee' good, Di'go? How Ari? Is Ari 'kay too?" She hadn't seen Ari in the longest time, afraid to get close again, scared that Ari may have forgotten her now that ShadowX had taken her over. She felt a bit better seeing Di'go act somewhat normal, even after such drastic changes, but she was still a bit nervous. "Ari still 'emembers me, righ'? She don' 'emember her pretty things any mores..."

Diego placed his arm around Zanra as she hugged him. From the way she squeezed him and talked to him, it was apparent that she did miss him. He missed her too, especially that unique way of saying his name. A smile was on his face as he looked upon her face, It was an entire month since he had seen her last which was strange considering he was virtually everywhere around the mansion.

"Really now? Yeah, I missed you too" Diego responded.

He was then asked by Zanra if he had been good. He wasn't sure how to respond that as a lot had happened. Physically he was fine but mentally was another thing. If all of this continued, he didn't know how long it would be until he was mentally unstable or if he would break down soon. He had to hide that fact from all, they couldn't know what was happening in his mind as it was all for him to bear and not a burden towards anyone else. He kept these things hidden from everyone, even from his closest friend, Ari.

"Yeah, mostly. I hope you've been good too. Not gettin' into trouble are you?"

He had heard some things but as he wasn't directly involved, he didn't know if they were true. When the young African girl mentioned Ari, his heart somewhat sank. Now how could he explain it to her? Should he even try to explain it to Zanra? He couldn't believe Ari's actions and support of what was happening at the mansion. Unlike Diego, she willingly agreed and joined them. She was his best friend and he cherished her as if she was his own sister so it often pained him to see her like that. She had changed. Despite the both of them being X-Men and still treating each other like best friends do, they had somehow changed and perhaps drifted away a little. An example of this being the fact that he had not told Ari the anguish he faced or his mental "enslavement".

"She's fine, but" Diego paused to think a few seconds "She's changed. Changed in ways people don't really notice, well except for me. Don't worry though, she still remembers you, its hard not to. It's just that, she's been busy doin' other things" Diego found that his choice of words were the best he could think of to describe the situation.

Turning his head from Zanra to the pond, his instant feeling was of agitation of the water but then his brown eyes shifted to the lilies. They were all different colored and he even noticed a yellow one seemingly blooming. Diego pointed to the lilies and then turned to face Zanra again.

"That's interesting, they're all different colors"

Zanra was happy and content with his arm wrapped around her. She saw Di'go almost like a big brother. He had watched over her for a long time, even before they had 'met.' The hardest thing about this takeover was the loss of him and Ari. The loss of such big role models may have played a role in her more rebellious attitude.

"Yeah, mostly. I hope you've been good too. Not gettin' into trouble are you?"

Zanra shook her head and grinned. "Nope! Me been goo' girl! No trou'le!" She giggled, and tapped his nose a bit, feeling better than she had in a while. "I can pain' like Ari now...I'm goo' at it nows..." She remembered all of Ari's beautiful artwork, and how one time, she caught one on fire, making her giggle.

"She's fine, but" Diego paused to think a few seconds "She's changed. Changed in ways people don't really notice, well except for me. Don't worry though, she still remembers you, its hard not to. It's just that, she's been busy doin' other things" Diego found that his choice of words were the best he could think of to describe the situation.

Zanra sighed, and nodded, still not feeling confident about his answer. "I know she's differen'...She don' teach me, or make pre'ty things anymores..." She started to draw out a little doodle in the dirt.

"That's interesting, they're all different colors"

Zanra smiled, and gently grabbed Di'go's hand and pulled it out so he could touch his lily. "My mama tol' me how to make t'ese." She noticed him tensing at the water, and giggled. "'Tis okay. I's 'fraid of water too."

Diego began to wonder a little more about these rumors concerning Zanra. But maybe he should pay too much attention to these rumors considering the various flying around the mansion. There were rumors of a rebellion or something but Diego wasn't sure though in his eyes it did seem logical to do that. They wished to escape the tyrannical rule of Scott and Jean in order to preserve their remaining sanity. He wondered if it was actually possible to escape this place, for anyone who couldn't separate their molecular particles as sand and drift away. It was too late for Diego, he couldn't leave even if he wanted to and besides, he wondered how long his sanity and self control over his mind would last before he became a complete slave.

Zanra seemed happy right now so he wouldn't concern himself with such trivial matters and would enjoy his time with her. Over time, she had become a sort of "little sister" to him as he couldn't remember how that was actually. His real sister had been gone for so long so he didn't know how to actually be a big brother. It was probably because Zanra reminded him of his own sister that he felt close to her. She teased Diego by tapping his nose as he was often teased by her and heard her mention her painting and Ari again. He remembered how artistic and creative Ari used to be before this whole situation and he enjoyed seeing his friend like that. It saddened him thinking about how much she had changed but he would not show it as with most of his emotions, he would bottle them up inside of him.

"I bet you have, it seems you have practiced. That's good cause Ari's gonna wanna see how much you've improved...if she returns back to normal" Diego paused for a moment and looked upon as he made his mind up "When...she turns back to normal"

Zanra then reached over and grabbed his hand. He began wondering what she was up to as his hand was being directed somewhere. He couldn't help but notice the size difference between his hand and hers which was obvious due to their age differences. Diego was already in his twenties while Zanra was still an early teenager. As he began to realize his hand was being directed towards the water, he began to tense up and jerk back a bit as he did not want his hand to touch any bit of that water. He then realized that Zanra didn't want to intentionally harm him so he let his hand be guided towards the lily. It was soft and very plant-like. It was somewhat moist but luckily that didn't harm him.

"You're mama must've been skilled in teaching you this because that's beautifully done" Diego gave a soft smile before chuckling a bit "Y-yeah, that's a common fear, no? Well it makes me feel better knowing I'm not crazy and the only one who's afraid of water"

For many it was far too early to consider being conscious. Hours ago his morning routine had begun in the Danger Room. Since ShadowX had taken control of the school, Vincent’s abilities and his confidence in them had grown by leaps and bounds. With no room for doubt he had proved himself countless times in the training simulations to be a competent soldier and mutant for the Dream. ShadowX had become family, home, and hearth for him.

He strolled through the gardens and contemplated Scott and Jean. Both of them had changed for better and for worse. Their job was one not many would readily accept willingly, let alone fight for. It was admirable that they continued their work with his fellow students instead of shirking their responsibility like lesser mutants might have, especially in the face of such adversity.

Lost in thought Vincent paused. He could hear voices, although who they belonged to needed to be investigated. As the quasi-head of security under the new heads of the school it had become Vincent’s job to watch over the school and its environs.

He strode forward, eyes narrowing when he realized just who the voices belonged to: Mshindo and Quicksand. The former was an insurgent who needed to be dealt with; the latter a loyal believer to the dream. Though it was far from his place to ask he wondered just what his leader’s plans were for the girl.

“Good morning, both of you.” A nod, a casual smile. As hard-edged as he could be Vincent was still moderately friendly. “How are you both faring?”

"I bet you have, it seems you have practiced. That's good cause Ari's gonna wanna see how much you've improved...if she returns back to normal" Diego paused for a moment and looked upon as he made his mind up "When...she turns back to normal"

Zanra didn't feel so confident in Diego's answer as he did. She had seen how much Ari had changed in such a short time. The English lessons slowly started to change into more of a fighting tutorial, and sick of the militaristic treatment, she ditched the lessons, one time yelling at Ari for mentioning something about her having no fighting skills at all, and how she should give up her dance and her lilies, but it was a memory she would rather not bring up.

"You're mama must've been skilled in teaching you this because that's beautifully done" Diego gave a soft smile before chuckling a bit "Y-yeah, that's a common fear, no? Well it makes me feel better knowing I'm not crazy and the only one who's afraid of water"

Zanra smiled proudly after Diego mentioned her mother. "T'anks, Di'go. Hers were lots more pretty. In 'da pond by our ho'se, 'dere was tons of f'owers everywhere." She also felt a bit better when Diego related to her about the fear of water that they both shared. "'Bout a years agos, my t'ird fake Mama pu' me in ho' ba'f when I wa' bad girl...my four'f fake Mama ma'e me whe'e wet glo'es so noth'ng woul' go boom..."

“Good morning, both of you.” A nod, a casual smile. As hard-edged as he could be Vincent was still moderately friendly. “How are you both faring?”

Zanra smiled, and bowed her head at him, trying to be polite. "I's good. So is Di'go." She tried to keep the lilies out of Titan's range of sight. She had been scolded many times before about them, and ShadowX themselves had told her to stop growing them, but she wouldn't listen.