Ancient Sunshine
An LLS Production
"We're so sorry for the trouble, really," the teal-haired girl was smiling at Logan. The three of them were in a Jeep headed for the school, and Logan was fighting not to snap at the boy for that constant stiff-paper rattle that sounded like shuffling cards.
"Don't mention it," the Canadian mutant grumbled, snorting at the faint taste of ozone. "You're twins, right?"
"Yes," the girl sighed. "I'm Ruka Morisawa, this is my brother, Rua Morisawa."
"Huh?" Rua sat up, cards scattering lightly over his lap. "Are we there yet?"
"No," both Logan and Rua countered.
Rua sank back into his seat, grumbling in Japanese. "Why they can't find a closer airport, I don't know..."
Logan nodded. "You kids know English?"
"Enough," Ruka considered. "Yusei knows a lot more than us."
"Yusei's a genius," Rua scowled, though his eyes lit up in fond remembrance. "Even geniuses should have a limit..."
"Hmph," the gruff man snorted as he tinkered with the dash radio until a low voice began to sing something definitely from The Best of Queen. "So... where'd you come from?"
"London," Ruka corrected before Rua could talk, smiling slightly. "But we moved there from Neo Domino City, Japan. What about you, Logan-san?"
Logan froze up for a moment before forcing himself to relax. "None of your beeswax."
For a moment, he thought they would be angry, but the twins merely leaned back and said nothing. "You're not curious?"
"Just like Himuro-san," Rua muttered.
Ruka merely coughed, clearly concealing a laugh. "What my brother means is, that you'll tell us when you want to."
"You kids are odd," Logan grumbled, as the paper-shuffle began again. "You gamble?"
"No," Rua answered. "Duel Monsters. You play?"
Logan stared at the twins through the windscreen. "What's that?"
The twins' horror-struck expressions assured that yes, the rest of the ride was going to be occupied.
Charles Xavier frowned for a moment as the presence of numerous minds congregating in the vicinity. "Were we expecting many guests today?"
"Are we?" Ororo Munroe sat up.
"No," the Professor frowned. "Just a pair of twins, both fourteen. By all means ordinary, but Cerebro did register an unusual energy around them."
"Indeed?" Ororo archly remarked. "Perhaps the cause were to lie with someone around them, as opposed to the children?"
"There is more," Charles steepled his fingers. "At the age of three, she fell into a coma for a whole month. However, her twin brother had been there constantly by his sister's side calling her name, and she awoke after a month spent in a vegetative state."
"Surely something concerning to binds between twins," Ororo was still sceptical.
"But, the reports claims that she claims that she had been in another world during that one month," the professor still looked pensive. "The truth of such things are rather debatable, but her parents do indeed seem worried, hence Morisawa Rua and Ruka will be coming to the school."
"Children are prone to imagining," Ororo considered.
"But, those same imaginings may hold some truth to it," Charles rebutted. "Call it a curiosity, I suppose."
"We have someone who can see them," Rafael commented to his partner as the two were ensconced amongst the data banks of the X-Mansion.
Fingers paused fractionally. "Are they raising the alarm?"
"No. I think they think Elma's just hanging around."
"How convenient. Do nothing, then." More clicking and typing, as the computer beeped and whirred under those slender fingers. The woman wore rubber gloves and her hair was braided tightly in a single scorpion tail, a studious contrast to the daring black halter and the jeans she wore to match. "Our shield will not last forever, dear."
"Di... what's the point of breaking into a school for mutants? Especially one with Wolverine?"
"I told you. Cerebro connects to all minds on the planet, and that probably includes psychics. If it does, our plan might end up prey to whatever faction of mutants there is. We need to make sure it isn't. There simply aren't enough Psychic Duelists to make a separate society, and we're simply too scattered."
"Right," Rafael groaned at her circular reasoning. "Let's go back to where that plan leads to us breaking into this manor house and hacking their systems."
"Oh my, they have files on the Black Rose," the dark-haired beauty commented. "Back to your question: If, maybe, they think we're mutants, the X-Men gets called in. Then the Brotherhood follows. Then any dreams of co-existence we have could simply disappear in the factional tussle."
The broad-shouldered man, Rafael, sighed as he embraced her with a quick kiss to the top of her head. The laptop beeped, and he began wiping down the scene as she swept to packing everything up with remarkable efficiency. "Did you erase your own files?"
"Yes, dear," she huffed.
"Have you thought about getting out?"
"...the front door is an admirable option."
Rafael sighed. "You're going to give me a heart attack again, aren't you?"
"Psychic," she reminded him, a small card twirled around two fingers. "Remember how we got in?"
Be careful, young maiden.
Ruka paused at the proclamation from Regulus as she got out of the Jeep behind Rua. From somewhere near the fence, an invisible tall female spirit with red hair waved hello, which Ruka ignored with the ease of long practice.
Logan froze in the middle of pulling their bags out of the Jeep, glancing at Ruka. "You okay, brat?"
"I- I'm fine," Ruka gave a small smile. "Is Papa and Mama coming?"
"Sorry kid, I don't know," Logan sighed gruffly.
"Oh..." the twins' expression fell.
"I told you we should've called Yusei," Rua hissed to her.
"Yusei is busy as well," Ruka countered. "He's got to look after Momentum, right?"
"But he's got Fortune!" Rua argued.
"And they're still working out the kinks! Besides, Jack and Crow would be fine as well, right?"
"It's tournament season now," Rua pouted.
Logan refrained from interrupting as the trio entered the X-Mansion. This was also the first time both twins stopped their argument to gape at the richly furnished interior of the manor.
"This... is a school?" Rua finally said in disbelief.
"Kurt!" Logan barked, as a blue-haired teenager seemingly appeared out of nowhere.
"You must have had a long flight." Kurt hopped off the banister, snatched up one of the heavier suitcases. "Come on! I can show you where the guest rooms are."
Rua and Ruka exchanged looks. "Suspicious," both finally pronounced before they followed the smiling teenager with their bags.
Logan lingered behind them, frowning. You heard that?
It appears that our twins are hardly blind, to notice Kurt's appearance this quickly despite the holographic illusion. By the way, Logan, keep an eye out for an unusual presence. It appears that we have guests here.
"Guests?" Logan yelped as two laughing students strolled out, the scent of Ororo's cologne floating along as the weather-witch herself chatted amicably with the two. "'Ro! Let the newbies explore and come over!"
It was many hours later in his empty office, that Charles Xavier squinted at the fraternal twins. They were both lovely creatures, all sunshine and smiles, and they had teal-coloured hair. Xavier squinted a little, trying to distinguish if their strange hair was a result of dye or perhaps a natural colour signifying mutant power, but that was no easy task and he gave up after a moment. "I am Professor Charles Xavier, founder of Xavier's Institute for Higher Learning."
"Ah, nice to meet you," the twins nodded.
"I'm Rua," the boy said.
"I'm Ruka," the girl demurred.
"We're twins," Rua clarified for the professor. "Why are we here? Mama and Papa just said that we're supposed to come here for some reason, but they're busy at work."
Charles frowned. "You mean to say that you made the trip yourselves?"
"Uh, yes?" Rua frowned. "Well, our parents are always busy with work, so it's nothing."
"Well..." Charles demurred, steepling his fingers. "Your parents have been raising concerns about... hearing voices."
Both twins looked wary instantly, glaring strongly at him. "Y- Yes?" Ruka stuttered.
"I wonder, how would you describe these voices?" the professor gently probed.
"They... they're my friends," Ruka murmured defensively. "They're fine."
Do not worry, young one. Ancient Fairy and I are here.
Xavier paused for a moment. "Did you hear that?"
Both twins stared at him. "You can hear them too?" Ruka asked. "The voices of Duel Monsters spirits."
"I assure you, spirits are immaterial," Xavier frowned. "We are a school for gifted students. Despite the name, we do indeed accept... people with strange powers. Are you familiar with the term 'mutant'?"
"Yes," both twins nodded.
"We at the Institute believe that Ruka, you may have latent tendencies," Xavier began without preamble. "We've read your file, especially concerning the incident of ten years ago where you were catatonic for a whole month. We believe that-"
Looking at both of them glare at him, a single thought unanimously crossed their minds: Divine.
Flashes, of a man with brown hair, a mad laugh, and calling upon a monster to attack... and of the same man being... eaten?... by what looked like a giant black and green lizard, before...
Who are you? Female, mature, implacable as a summer storm, and definitely angry as large, membranous butterfly wings beat, that voice was one of warning that it, whatever it may be, was not amused.
Draco dormiens nunquam titillandus, he recalled. Never tickle a sleeping dragon. A moment later... Why did that come to mind?
Professor Charles Xavier frowned as he slowly came back to his office. He had been trying to see their minds, mostly to see about this Divine character, but he'd been forced out. He could not remember ever, in his life, having felt as helpless as he had while being tossed out of that mind. Every ounce of his considerable mental power, and he had been knocked back by the force of the blow that the little teenage mind had dealt.
Invader, liar, diver of minds and hearts, that same calm, inexorable voice murmured. Beware, Ruka...
Ruka was tense. "You... you can read minds."
"You're psychic," Rua swallowed. "Like Divine and Aki Nee-chan."
"Our school is a school for mutants, Rua, Ruka..."
An ugly green bony demon attacking, the pain shooting through the entire body. A black dragon with glorious rose-petal wings raging, its black serpentine maw open in a scream of unstoppable rage as around it, rose petals floated in a storm that wrecked everything in its way. Psycho Duelists... Psychic Duelists... pain, rage and fear, screams of panic renting the very air itself as the ground shattered and before it, a figure masked, red locks falling from around her fringe... Black Rose Witch, not a legend but true, terrifying and scary-
The cry of a bird, high and sweet, like some bizarre trumpet as the building crashed around them-
Become the path its light shines upon. Wandering star. Yusei.
Charles swallowed as he retreated from the memories, staring at the twins with undisguised curiosity. "May I enquire-?"
"No," surprisingly, it was Rua who stood up, face pale and tired. "Our parents called you in about Ruka hearing the voices of spirits, right?"
Slowly, Charles nodded.
"Those voices don't do anything," Rua continued. "They don't affect her in any way."
"But, Mori- Rua," he decided on the less formal approach. "Hearing things that no one else can hear, especially from such an... unusual party... is not always a good thing. Especially, hearing voices-"
He broke off as Ruka stood, this time with her face white as the murmurs increased in volume and number. "They've gotten out."
"What?" Xavier repeated.
"Those people who broke into the school," she clarified. "They've gotten out."
"What?" Charles sent out a telepathic probe, his frown deepening as the two strange presences did not register. "How? For one thing, how did they get in without Logan noticing? How did they get out without Logan noticing?" He froze. "And why can't I detect them?"
The door opened to admit Ororo. "Sorry, Charles," she softly murmured. "But someone broke into the data banks. They... I don't know what they did. Or even how they got past security."
"That's bad," Rua hissed to his sister.
"I never realised..." Xavier noted. "How? When? And why?"
It was a commonly held law of nature that when a huge event happened in a relatively cloistered social circle, news travelled through the grapevine relatively fast. It was therefore merely ten minutes after discovery of the break-in that Logan walked in to hear a stream of long swear words in a variety of languages.
"Calm down!" Jean's clear voice brooked no delay as she argued with the few others present. "For one thing, Logan was out today, so it's possible that they got in during that time. Logan actually needs to be present to be effective, you know."
"But how did they get out?" was the main argument of Scott Summers.
"And ho' did dey get past dis Cajun?" was the added cry of Gambit.
"Break in, steal, and get out," Logan snorted at the three. "Or maybe they planted something. Check the systems, Red."
"Right," Jean nodded. "I'll run a virus scan, just in case."
"Most likely, theft," Logan snorted as he plodded around the few terminals present in the room. "Information theft, Cerebro, things like that. Gumbo's got a point, though; how did they get past us?"
"The security cameras showed nothing out of the ordinary," Scott pointed out. "The Professor didn't even notice anything out of the ordinary until Storm told him."
Jean paused as the command came in. Jean, is anything missing?
Well, we're guessing that whatever was stolen, it's from the data banks, Jean frowned as she tapped a few keys. "I don't think we'd have noticed if not that one of the banks was openly shattered and broken," she spoke aloud.
Our guest managed to catch onto the presence of the thief disappearing before any of us realised the theft.
"What?"
"The voices informed you?" Charles repeated to the twins.
"They said that the Guardian Elma was leaving," Ruka dutifully answered. "Kuribon said as much."
Charles was saved from asking about the creature's name by a knock on the door, followed by Logan's entrance. "Logan, status?"
"Nuthin', Chuck," the cantankerous X-Man answered. "Clean as a whistle. Closest we got was something about the Black Rose Witch, before that broke down too."
"Black Rose Witch?" the twins chorused. Pictures of a red-haired girl, both smiling, or viciously ordering monsters to attack, floated on their minds.
Ruka turned to her brother. "You don't think..."
"Aki Nee-chan?" Rua muttered, hiding a yawn. "Or Divine breaking out of jail?"
Charles shook his head. "My apologies. I seem to have forgotten that the two of you have taken a long flight. Please, Logan, show them to dinner and bed. I'll have to inform Ororo about what happened."
"Thank you very much," the twins bowed as they left with Wolverine, leaving Professor X steeped in deep thought in his office.
"Eerie," Rua muttered in Japanese. "Someone who can see Duel Monsters spirits breaking into the place..."
"But, why?" Ruka muttered as they opened the door to a minor party. A teen made a grab for some pizza, jumping back when the kid he collided with suddenly became three. Another teen displayed an ice rose to a feral young girl, who sniffed at it and dunked it into his soda.
"Surprise!" the blue-haired teen that showed them in before yelled from a corner of the room.
"Uwahh!" Rua staggered back in surprise, before spotting the deck of cards nearby. "Oh, you're Kurt. Hey, you play too?"
Kurt's face brightened. "You play? Wanna Duel?"
Behind them, Ruka and Logan sighed as the two boys began jabbering away. "This happen often?" Logan rumbled as the dining room began to become louder as the evening meal approached.
"Yes," Ruka dryly affirmed.
"You're pretty calm," Logan noted.
"I learnt from a friend that one should always reserve judgement first."
"Good for you," Logan snorted. "Want some pizza?"
Dimly he was aware of his body in its wheelchair, the fine line of sweat dripped across his brow from hours of sifting through whirling thoughts. Keeping his mind present in the mansion, Xavier kept his mind's eye firmly on the two guests.
Kurri Kurri!
Through her eyes, he could see it; the round body of brown fur, a tail flat like a beaver, and round innocent eyes. The creature bounced slightly, floating to be level with Ruka.
Distantly, another voice rumbled, this one masculine and fierce. Quite a spread... who are you?
Xavier reappeared in a forest. There were sounds around him, from the sigh of wind in the trees to the rustle of brush caused by a moving animal. Sunlight streamed through the canopy of trees like a curtain, shadows playing with light between the solid trunks that reached towards the skies, the echoes of light and darkness abound.
This is not real, he told himself. This is a manifestation of Ruka's mind-
Who are you?
"I'm Charles Xavier," he spoke, his voice faint before this mound of nature as leaves rustled in the trees.
Who are you?
Xavier was forcibly reminded why Grimm's fairy tales, a compilation of the most widely known scary stories of Western Europe, nearly always featured a forest as the setting. "I'm the head of a school of mutants. I'm here to help."
Invisible things brushed suddenly and without warning – tree branches, spider-webs, leaves, brush, sprites laughing as they flew about in the air. The ground shifted and changed, forcing him to compensate with every step as the earth below rose and dipped suddenly.
Who are you?
"Ruka, I believe that you are being possessed," Xavier bit out. "A forest... I can lead you out of this forest. This is not real."
The forest shifted suddenly, a shadow lashing out from amongst the trees as Xavier dived and kicked the base of a tree.
This forest does not allow conflict. Leave.
"Excuse me?" Xavier bit out as the leaves began to rustle in an echoing storm once more, and sunlight streamed from between the branches of the trees to spear through him, painful and unrelenting.
A forest that places everything in the open... and does not allow conflict. Welcome... to the Ancient Forest.
At the same time Ruka collapsed, Charles Xavier entered a deep sleep within his room.
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