Date: Thu, 11 Jun 2015 08:35:19 +0000 (UTC) From: DJ Subject: X-men Stories: Changing Darkness - 1 (For Gay section) This story is a work of fiction containing homosexual (male on male) situations. If you are too young to read this or are offended by such actions (if the latter I doubt you would have accidentally found this site, but anywho) then please press the back button now. Also (DISCLAIMER), the characters in this story do not belong to me. The X-Men and all characters associated are rightfully under the ownership of Marvel Comics (besides Thomas). Bla Bla Bla. Other than that, enjoy! ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Author's Note: Here is the synopsis of the story and a list of the X-Men characters (Just for your reference and world building purposes. Most of them won't get a lot or any screen time, but will be mentioned/referenced). Synopsis: Thomas Warren is a young teenager who's had a hard time at life. He's a mutant who's been homeless for many years. He's also on the search for something dear to him and will stop at nothing to get it. After many years of closing off his heart in order to survive what will he do once he meets the X-men? Now that he's been welcomed into a new family with open arms will Thomas remember his mission and purpose in life or will he give it all up for the sake of love? X-Men/Teaching Staff: Position - Teacher Headmaster - Professor Charles Xavier Science - Beast English, Business, Ethics - Emma Frost Autoshop, Close Quarters Combat - Wolverine Leadership and Tactics, Political Science - Cyclops Health, [Nurse], Psychology - Jean Grey Mathematics - Ice Man Languages, Drama - Nightcrawler Geology, Anthropology, US History, World History - Storm [House Keeper], Computer Science, Biology - Moria MacTaggert P.E. - Havok Flight, Cooking, [Cook] - Angel Students (41): Freshmen: Multiple Man, Wolf Cub, Pixie, Anole, Dryad, Spyke, Blindfold, Cipher, Wallflower Sophomores: Gentle, Wind Dancer, Magik, Icarus, Graymalkin, Rockslide, Mercury, Dust, Benjamin Deeds (Morph), Sunspot Juniors: Thomas, Ink, Karma, Husk, Jubilee, Hellion, Elixir, Wolfsbane, Wither, Magma, Rictor, Shatterstar Seniors: Gambit, Rogue, North Star, Colossus, Cannonball, Mirage, the Stepford Cukoos (3), Shadowcat Student Squads: Squad Name (Colors) [Advisor]: Squad Members Uncanny (Yellow and Black) [Wolverine]: Gambit, Rogue, Northstar, Colossus, Shadowcat, Jubilee. Hellion (Red and White with Black accents) [Emma Frost]: Rockslide, Wither, Hellion, Dust, Mercury, Anole. Exemplars (Yellow and Silver with Blue accents) [Beast]: Elixir, Icarus, Wallflower, Wind Dancer, Husk, Wolfsbane. Corsairs (Blue and White) [Cyclops]: Dryad, the Stepford Cukoos (3), Spyke, Morph Advocates (White and Charcol Grey with Red accents) [Havok]: Pixie, Wolf Cub, Multiple Man, Rictor, Shatterstar Paladins (Black and White with Red accents) [Storm]: Blindfold, Cipher, Thomas, Ink, Graymalkin, Gentle. The New Mutants (Green and Black with red accents) [Jean Grey]: Magma, Cannonball, Karma, Magik, Mirage, Sunspot. FINAL A/NN: Words in italics are thoughts by Thomas or a telepath mentally talking to him. Words in "quotation marks" are spoken outwardly. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 1 Thomas Warren walked under the arched entrance to the building, and like those before him he felt compelled to look up at it. His eyes scanned the mahogany doors and moved over to the cherry ceiling. He scanned the hall with an appreciation for the mixture of dark woods with lighter ones. Whoever had built the place new something about decorating a home. But was it a home, he wondered, or an institution? "The answer is both," said an older man in a wheelchair who rolled over to the young man. He was the type of man who didn't seem to wear his age. That is, of course, if someone could find out his age in the first place. He was an enigma with his bald head and wrinkled face, yet his eyes sparkled with a combination of youth and experience. He had seen many horrors, but not enough to scare him outwardly. "It's good to see you again Thomas. You look well. Come, let's have a talk," he said before turning around and heading toward the direction he just came. As the two walked Thomas looked at his surroundings. The place looked immaculate with its polished walls made of wood and paintings that looked to cost thousands. The neat surroundings, added with the creepy silence, made Thomas skeptical that this was really a school. "You needn't worry Thomas. This is in fact a school. The students are just in classes right now, which is why it's so quiet. I assure you it's not always like this. Relish in it while you can. I know I do." The professor adds with a laugh. "How many are there?" Thomas asked. "We try to take in as many students as we can, space allowing. We do have our limitations though. We're small with about only a hundred students," He explained. "Really small then," Thomas replied. "Yes, but with that we offer a close connection from student to teacher. We can afford the time to give our every attention to our students." At this point they walked into his small room. It looked like the regular type of office. Wooden everything from the floor to the ceiling. One side of the wall was covered in bookcases which were filled with all types of books. This wall of knowledge made the room look as official as the oval office. The professor moved behind a wooden desk as Thomas looked around. "Living in the same building must help too," Thomas added. "That it does," the professor agreed after stationing himself behind the desk, "but now I'd like to talk about you Mr. Warren. I'd like to pick up where we last talked. I would love to have you join our school. You would find this institution could greatly help you if you let it." "I'm not sure," Thomas confessed while still standing, "I've seen your guys at work. They're alright, but I have things to do. I can't waste my time playing student." "Everyone deserves an education and as a mutant this is a great place to get an education about yourself and your powers," The professor continued. "I know all about myself and my powers -- maybe too aware. Anyway, like I said I can't right now." Thomas replied. "We can help you with your goal. Whatever it is. If you allow us we can help you in whatever we can." Thomas stared at the man and thought over his options. He certainly needed a place to stay. He might have to resort to sleeping under a bridge again that night and here the professor was offering him an actual bed. Plus, he could get food and resources to search. The only thing he'd have to deal with in exchange was a couple classes here and there. "Alright, we can see how it works out," Thomas decided. "I'm pleased to hear that," the professor stated with a smile, "Why don't we get you comfortable in a room and then show you around?" The Professor rolled out from behind the desk and moved toward the door leading out of his office. "I know which room we'll fit you in. I'll introduce you to your roommates who you'll shadow for the rest of the day." "Wait, what? Roommates?" Thomas asked with an emphasis on the s. "Yes, you'll be moved into a quad. But don't worry there's plenty of space so that you won't feel too pushed together. Also if you ever feel too crowded there's a whole mansion full of space that can accommodate you." What the hell, Thomas thought, three roommates? That's too much. It'll be too packed in there. I'll need to get away too often, and they'll have too many questions. I can't sneak out if there're gonna be three of them watching. I'll need to find a way to search the mansion without them finding out what I'm doing. Wait, shit. Can he hear me? That's another thing. I'm gonna have to censor my thoughts from now on. "And this will be your room Thomas. Go have a look inside. I'll go and fetch one of your roommates," the professor said before rolling away down the hall. Thomas proceeded to check the door and saw that it was unlocked. It looked like Thomas's new roommates didn't believe in security. He decided to open the door and look inside. The room was shaped in the form of a square U. The first thing in the room was a little living room area. There was a couch placed in front of a flat screen tv with a game station placed under it. Thomas looked to his right and saw what he assumed would be his space. There stood a wooden desk set up like one you'd see at a college. It was fit with a square lamp right above the writing surface and a few drawers under it. Then next to it was a wooden closet fit for one person to use. There wasn't a lot of space, but enough for casual use. Then next to that in the corner was a twin bed that was already covered with sheets. "Great, he knew I was staying," Thomas said to himself. Thomas looked next to him in the direction up the top corner of the right side of the U. What Thomas saw however was a black sheet separating the two sides. He then looked over and saw that the left end of the "living room" was also barred off by a black bed sheet. Obviously his roommates weren't going to be the buddy-buddy type of guys, which may have been for the better. Certainly Thomas wasn't there to make friends. Being curious he walked over to the "separate bedroom" on the upper right corner. He looked up to see that the bed sheet was nailed to the wall to keep it up before he peeled it to the side to look within. The guy living in this corner looked to be a slob to Thomas. There were food, wrappers, and all kinds of crap on the floor. There was even a strange smell coming from the place. The guy apparently loved black as he had a bunch of dark rock band posters on the walls. The floor was littered with clothing, most of which were black, and it seemed that the black sheets separating the room all belonged to him because his bed was adorned with them. Thomas then walked back to the living room and moved the sheet separating the left side from the right. He looked in to see that this side wasn't barred off like the other. There were two bed sets on opposite corners with their own desks and closets. Things seemed pretty normal on this side to Thomas. One side of the room was tidier than the other and was placed with a bunch of soccer posters on the walls. The bottom left corner was covered in clothing like the top right corner, but it seemed like this roommate at least tried to clean every now and then. Noticing an alcove on the inner wall Thomas stepped in to get a better view. Once Thomas walked in he noticed a hallway into another section of the room. He walked in to see that it connected the two upper sides of the U making more of a squared donut than a U. This newly discovered mid-section looked to be the bathroom area. The walls and floor were covered in white marble tiles. It looked like whoever constructed the room wanted to distract the fact that this was a college style bathroom with pretty looking tiles. It didn't work of course as the open area only had one bathtub/shower mix with a curtain to close it off. "Four guys and one shower. Great," Thomas remarked while looking around at his new surroundings, "Plus I'll either have to go through trashy guy's room or completely around to get in." Behind the shower were two windows that looked to be permanently fogged up so no one could see in or out. Next to the shower stood a mirror and sink set. Then to the side was a door that Thomas looked into. When he opened it he could see a simple little room with a toilet, and another mirror/sink combo. Thomas walked through to the other end of the hall and ended up in the top right corner of the room again. Thomas stood there in thought when the front door opened. "Hello, anybody here?" A voice called out. "Yeah, one sec," Thomas called back before moving over to the front of the room. "Oh hey, I'm Roberto, but people call me Bobby. I'm one of your roommates." The guy standing in from of Thomas stood at about his height of 5'10, but maybe an inch or two smaller. He had a slim but toned build and looked to have some sort of Hispanic or Black ethnicity to him. His dark black hair was shaggy, but only ran just past his ears. Well if I have to look at him every day at least it's a good view. "Hi, I'm Thomas. Nice to meet you," Thomas said while sticking his hand out to shake, and cracking his winning fake smile. "Same, but what were you doing over there?" Bobby asked pointing towards the top right corner. "Sorry, I was left in here, so I looked around. Was that your side?" "Oh god no. That's Eric's side. Just be careful. He wouldn't like it if he knew you were in there. The guy likes his privacy." "I can tell. What's up with the sheets?' Thomas asked. "I don't know. One day Sam and I, your other roommate, came back from classes and the sheets were up. We didn't bother asking. It's not worth the drama he'd start." "He's that type of guy?" "You'll see," Bobby said ominously before changing the subject, "Anyway professor said that you'll be following me around for the rest of the day. I've got free period now and then lunch. Wanna come hang out in the rec room?" "Sure, I guess." Thomas replied. "Ok cool. Let's just go get your stuff first to drop them off here and then head over," Bobby told Thomas. "No need. This is it." Thomas stated while pointing to the book bag he'd been carrying the entire time. "What?" "This is it. I lived on the streets, so I didn't own much. I'd rather not talk about it." "Oh ok. We get lots of guys like that. Say no more." Bobby responded. . . . The two boys walked through the wooden halls and entered a large living area. Within was what looked like to be a room for the students to relax and enjoy themselves. On each wall there stood tall bookcases filled of hundreds of books. Then all around stood tables with a bunch of chairs pushed next to them. If someone didn't want to sit at a table there were other options to pick from. All over the room were different kinds of seats like beanbags, sofas, and reclining chairs. Of course due to it being a hangout spot the most expensive looking furniture also looked like they had gone to war with tears and wear all over them. Between the many seats there were also a lot of things to do. There were a few pong tables and pool tables here and there. There was a big flat screen tv that had a bunch of the sofas and beanbags positioned in front of it. A few students were standing in front of a dart board and cheering at a current competition. The room seemed like a great place for the students to relax and enjoy themselves. Bobby moved through the sofas and tables with ease and Thomas followed him swiftly behind. Bobby eventually stopped at the half circle of furniture stationed in front of the television and sat down before he started to speak. "Hey guys. This is our new roommate Thomas," Bobby said while pointing at the guy, "and Thom, is it ok if I call you Thom, these are a couple of my friends." Bobby then preceded to point at each of the people sitting near him while speaking their names. "This here is Rahne." Bobby said pointing to a young woman with wild red hair, "Watch out for her. She'll get you in trouble." "Fuck off," She replied. "You're Scottish," Thomas remarked. "Yeah, how'd you know?" She asked. "Probably your thick accent." The blond boy sitting next to Bobby replied. "Look who's talking. He can probably tell you're a redneck hick just from hearing one sentence," she replied. "What? I aint a hick," The blond yelled out making Rahne laugh. "The one fighting with Rahne is Sam. He's one of our roommates. The one on who lives on my side of the room," Bobby told Thomas, "and the one sleeping on the sofa next to us is Ben," Bobby pointed to the brunette laying down with his eyes closed. "Nice to meet. I'm Thomas Warren," he said while standing. "Nice to meet you Thomas," Raphne replied with a smile. "What are you standing for? Sit your ass down," Sam commanded. "So what do you think of the school so far?" Rahne asked. "Haven't seen much, but looks like a fancy school." "Yeah, when I first got here I felt like everyone should have been wearing a uniform," Bobby remarked. "You'll get used to the place soon enough and when you do it'll start to feel like home," Rahne said hoping to comfort the new boy. "We'll see--" Thomas remarked. "What brought you here?" Sam asked. "I'd rather not talk about it," Thomas recited which prompted Rahne to hit Sam upside the head. "Don't worry about it. We get people like that here all the time." She remarked. "You know, I love your hair. I've always thought locs look cool," she said while reaching up to touch a strand or two of Thomas's black locs. "Thanks," Thomas responded with a smile. I hate when people do that. They think they can just touch my hair like personal space isn't a thing. Yeah, I get it you don't understand black hair. That doesn't mean you can just touch me... I was just starting to like her too--. As the group continued their talk the floor started to shake. At first Thomas thought it was an earthquake, but quickly realized where the shaking was coming from. "Hey Santo! How's it going?" Bobby yells out to someone behind him. "Yo, just wishin' this damn day would end," a deep voice said while walking toward the darts crowd. The guy stood over 7 feet tall and was made of solid rock. It shaped around him to make him look almost human, of the giant bulking muscle man kind, except with rock instead of skin. The guy seemed to exude power and confidence. If it weren't for his skin he'd look like the run of the mill muscle jock. In his fixation on the mountain man Thomas lost himself, but quickly recovered. "Can you point me toward the nearest bathroom?" Thomas asked. "Sure thing. Just leave this room. Take a right out this door and down the hall take a left. The bathroom should be the first door on your left from there." Bobby replied. "Thanks," Thomas spoke before getting up and leaving the room. Thomas made sure to follow his roommate's directions, but after reaching the door to the bathroom he continued walking on. His face changed to a serious one as he looked around himself. He searched the empty hallway looking for some sort of sign or direction toward what he was looking for. He walked on as he searched. As we walked groups of students walked by in total bliss and ignorance. They assumed he was a student like all the others. In the middle of his searching Thomas heard a strange sound in the distance. He ran toward the corner of the hallway and then looked over the edge to see what was happening. As he peered his head over he saw a blond man with large white wings exiting out of what looked like an elevator. Then as he started to walk off the elevator concealed itself into a square column. If he hadn't seen it before Thomas would have never known of the secret passage. Thomas waited for the man to walk off in the other direction before walking up to the column. He stared at the thing for a second before feeling all over it. He used his fingers to feel the cool and smooth touch of the wood and searched for a way to open it. He looked around for any buttons or switches, but sadly didn't find any. He almost gave up looking before he heard someone clearing their throat behind him. Thomas turned around to see a man was standing there. The man stood tall with a strong body and looked down at him fiercely. His eyes were held back by both his brown locks that swayed down his head and his sunglasses which gave him an oddly mysterious atmosphere. His muscled arms were crossed over each other and, along with the grimace on his face, added to his displeased posture. "What are you doing?" the man asked sternly. "I was looking around. I'm new here, so I sorta got lost. My name's Thom--" Thomas started. "I'll stop you there. I know who you are, and I know what you were doing. You're the new student, so you shouldn't know what that is there. Why are you snooping around? What do you want?" the man interjected. Thomas sighed before changing his attitude. He looked up and stared into the man's sheathed eyes. Slowly he walked toward the man while moving his hips around suggestively. He took one step after another while crossing his legs to accent their length. Thomas was use to this routine by now. This wasn't the first man he's used his powers on and it wouldn't be the last. He slowed his breathing while looking up at the man. Thomas soon reached touching distance and took a second to look up at the man. He was taller than him and more muscular. Thomas then took a deep breath and slowly exhaled into the face of the man. The man seemed to be losing his composure as he cracked under Thomas's power. His frown had changed into an impassive straight line and even though Thomas couldn't see his eyes he knew the man's attention was now completely on him. Thomas raised his right hand and slowly placed it on the left check of his new victim. Thomas slide his pointer finger down the jawline to the chin and then up toward the lips. He placed his finger straight up and made a shushing sound so that the man knew his intent. "Tell no one what you saw, and forget this moment. Understand?" Thomas commanded. "Yes." The man said in a monotone. Thomas then reached up toward the man and kissed his supple lips. He placed his hands behind the man's back and up his shoulders. He held onto the man as their kiss, though unmoving, deepened in pressure. Then suddenly Thomas released his victim and looked up to him again. "Good," Thomas said before walking away from the man and out of his sight. . . . The room was still, except for the man's shallow breathes and calls for help. He yelled for someone to save him, but no one responded. Silence. Silence was his only reply. He was scared for his life. The man had woken up blindfolded and in a kneeling position with his hands tied above his head. He didn't know where he was or how long he had been there. One second he was with his friends shooting pool, and the next they were under attack. He waited in the dark for longer than he imagined time could ever get. Finally, he heard footsteps, several of them. They came closer and soon whoever these people were they stood all around him. One of them pulled off his blindfold. Immediately light invaded his eyes and burned them with their fury. His eyes watered as they adjusted to the bright light. "You're awake. Good," Thomas said. The man's eyes soon got used to the room's lighting, but his eyes only widened at what he saw. Surrounding him and Thomas were all his friends. "What the hell? Is this a god damn joke?" He screamed at them, "Let me go you sick fucks. I'm not laughing." "Neither are we Joe. This isn't a laughing moment," Thomas said while sitting in front of Joe. Thomas sat in a simple folding chair with his knees crossed and his hands on his top leg. Joe looked pathetic in front of the pristine Thomas. The room they were in looked large and made of concrete. It was mostly empty except for a few crates and the men standing around Joe. Joe looked at his friends and yelled once again, "Let me go you bastards. I'll kick your asses after this." "Joe, you're not grasping the situation. Your friends aren't your friends anymore. Fact, they're not fully there," Thomas waves his hand in front of the nearest man to prove his point, "They're mine now, and soon so will you." "I swear to god if you don't let me go--" Joe threatened. "You'll what? Breathe underwater?" Thomas mocks, "It must be suck being a mutant with such a crappy power... Well, actually it's a cool party trick, but it doesn't help you out in tough spots." Thomas ranted. "What the hell do you want?" Joe interrupted. "You wanna know what my power is Joey? You wouldn't like it," Thomas continued as if Joe hadn't interrupted. "Eat shit," Joe said before spitting in Thomas's direction. "Tell me what I want to know, and you go free. I'm looking for somebody. A mutant. She has something of mine and I want it back. So, I'll need you to tell me how to find this person. I know you know a lot of people and a lot of mutants. It should be easy for you to help me find her." "Fuck you," Joe barked. Thomas stood up with a deadly look on his face. He smoothly walked over to the kneeling Joe. Thomas placed his hand under Joe's chin and raised his head up. Then Thomas struck Joe down. "Tell me where I can find Callisto." Thomas seethed. "Callisto? I don't know. I can't help you," Joe pleaded, earning him another strike. "Wanna try that again?" Thomas asked. "She's the fuckin' queen of the murlocks. Nobody knows where they are. They crawl around in the fuckin' sewers. That's all I know. Really," Joe begged before turning to his friends who stood passively behind Thomas, "You bastards are worse than scum. Turning on me like this. Greg I fuckin' took care of your kid when you went away," Joe yelled at one of the men. "You really don't understand do you?" Thomas said standing over Joe. He then walked back to sit down before adding, "Fine, we'll just have to start being creative." Thomas turned to the man who Joe spoke to earlier. He looked to be white, in his early thirties, and in slightly chubby but respectable shape. "You said this one's name is Greg right?" He took something out of his pocket, "Here, take this knife and rip open the back of his pants." "What? Greg no, don't do this," Joe pleaded. "Greg can't hear you, and he can't stop himself. He has no control, and neither do you," Thomas panned as Greg moved closer to Joe. "Fuck you." "You should stop moving around so much or he might cut you, and nobody's gonna stitch you back up" Thomas warned, "Better." Thomas said as Greg ripped open the backside of Joe's jeans. "Now, I want you to fuck him." Greg immediately began to unzip his pants as Joe tried to free himself. "What the hell! I'm not a damn faggot." Joe yelled. "You just said the "f" word," Thomas said before looking at Greg, "You can be as rough as you want. Hell, just shove it in." With his pants open Greg began to kneel behind Joe. "Oh wait," Thomas started, "Have to get you hard first. It's gotta hurt as much as possible." Thomas got up and moved over to the two friends. He pulled Greg off his knees and had him stand in front of Joe. With one hand Thomas began to jerk off Greg while with the other he forcefully turned Joe's head in front of Greg's cock. "You're not gonna suck it, cause I'm sure you'd just bite it off." As Thomas kept jacking off Greg he started to get hard. Precum began to form at the slit and Thomas used it to slick up the cock. Thomas got on his knees in front of Joe and began to suck on the head. Greg's dick was now fully hard at six inches and Thomas made sure to suck it well for Joe. He looked over at the kneeling man who looked terrified. Thomas used one hand to play with Greg's balls while licking the underside of his shaft. He then licked around the penis head and then flicked his tongue across the slit at the top. Thomas closed his eyes as he took the entire cock in his mouth and slowly bobbed up and down on it. He made sure to move his tongue under the cock as he moved his mouth around. Feeling satisfied with the work he'd done Thomas stood up and jacked off the dick a few more times, "Go fuck him." Greg moved to Joe and kneeled down behind him. He lined up behind Joe and slowly began to push in. "Remember-- rough." Thomas reminded Greg. Greg then pushed his entire cock into Joe, earning a scream from the bottom. Greg began to roughly fuck Joe who sat there defenseless. Greg placed his hand on Joe's waist and plowed the man. The room filled with the smell of sex, sweat and precum as the two continued. Thomas and Joe's friends looked on as the events transpired. Thomas sat in his chair and the others stood, but all looked on with a glazed expression. Greg continued his assault of thrusts with quick, hard beats against Joe's ass. Very soon Greg began to slow down and then stop entirely. He pushed himself fully into Joe and deposited his seed into the violated hole. "Now take it out," Thomas demanded. As Greg stood up with his pants hanging around his ankles Thomas looked at Joe and smiled, "I'm proud of you. You stuck in there. Problem is that means we're gonna have to keep going. Next," Thomas yelled and pointed to the nearest man on his right. "No, please no," Joe begged. "We won't stop until you tell me what I want." "I don't know anything. I don't know where she is," Joe yelled. The next man had kneeled behind him and began to unzip his pants. "Do I have to say it again? I'll stop at nothing to get what I want." Thomas threatened as the next man lined his already hard dick up at Joe's hole. "Your friends are lucid enough to pop a boner. I guess they're into gang bangs. Well, what are you waiting for? Do it." "The X-men," Joe screamed. "Stop," Thomas commanded, "Yes Joey? What was that?" "The X-men. Find the X-men. They have what you need. They'll know how to find her." "And where do I find these people?" Thomas asked. "Ask around for Charles Xavier. They'll find you," Joe muttered. "Good," Thomas said before standing, "Well thank you for this Joey, I really enjoyed it." Thomas turned and began to walk away. "Let me go," Joe yelled. "You're friends will come to in a couple hours. I'm sure they'll let you go." "What? No. I helped you," Joe screamed after Thomas who's mind was already long gone. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- A/N: Hi everyone, I hope you enjoyed the first chapter in this new series. I'll try to upload a new chapter every week so please look forward to that. Comments, concerns, donations? Stories about how that last scene horrified you or turned you on? Please share with me at dj_nifty@yahoo.com! And if you are looking to donate please donate to Nifty.org, for this site is such a great site and deserves a little help. Other than that have a good one and see you all in the next chapter. :) -DJ