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Words in italics are telepathic conversations, thoughts, or dreams

Chapter 7

"Rally."

The young girl twirled around. "Who's there?" She frantically asked.

"Rally." A mysterious voice said from the blackness.

"Who are you? Show yourself!" Rally said now in obvious panic.

"Boo." Sabretooth, with his sickening smile plastered on his face, stepped into view.

Rally jerked up from her sleep, gasping for air. It took her a minute to calm down and realize it was only a dream. How much longer would these dreams haunt her? She had them off and on before her father died, but never as frightening as the ones she had after Sabretooth killed him. Each night, she would be awakened by a terrible nightmare having something to do with her father's murder or experiences she had in the past. At least tonight, she hadn't screamed. Rally would have felt terrible if she awoken everyone again like the previous night.

She checked the clock. It read 4:18 am. Everyone would be getting up in about an hour. Lying back down, Rally closed her eyes and attempted to fall back asleep, but she was still wide awake after ten minutes. Out of no where, she heard a rumbling noise. The young girl glanced down at her stomach and heard it growl again and realized she was starving. The only food she had eaten that day were a few measly fries at a fast food place.

Thinking of her hunger, the brown haired girl climbed out of bed and dug around in her bags to look for decent clothes to wear. She pulled out a pair of light blue denim shorts with a white V-neck t-shirt. Perfect, she thought. Rally quickly changed and then softly walked to her door; she opened it and peered into the hallway. Only a dim light shone at the end of the corridor near the staircase. Silently, she slipped out of her room and tiptoed to the flight of stairs. Rally wasn't exactly sure if students got in trouble for leaving their room at night, but she definitely didn't plan on finding out by being caught.

When she reached the bottom of the staircase, Rally checked to make sure nobody was up and about, patrolling the downstairs halls. Seeing it was clear, the young girl continued quietly towards the kitchen. She listened very carefully for any sign movement along her way to signal the approach of somebody, but the mansion was perfectly silent. Passing the living room, Rally peeked into make sure nobody had risen and was watching early morning TV, but spotted no one. Suddenly, the young brunette froze. Was that footsteps she heard? Listening carefully for a few seconds, Rally confirmed in her mind that the light tapping sound she heard was indeed footsteps and they were headed her way.

Panic instantly began to infiltrate her body. Moving on instinct, she slipped into the living room and pressed her body against the wall, breathing as softly as possible. Rally didn't know if it was possible to hide from a mutant, but attempted to hide anyway. She listened to the footsteps as they approached and held in her breath, not wanting to be caught. As they passed and seemed unaware to her presence, she let out a silent sigh of relief. Out of curiosity, the brunette poked her head around the corner to see who was awake at this time. Wolverine? She thought. What would he be doing up so early? From what she could tell, he didn't exactly seem like a morning person, but she could be wrong. She would have guessed it was the Professor or Jean, but Wolverine?

Letting her curiosity get the better of her, Rally stepped out of the living room and began following the mutant. In any other scenario, the young girl would have immediately returned to her room after such a close call, but there was just something about Wolverine that intrigued Rally.

Making sure to keep a safe distance between Logan and herself at all times, the young girl trailed behind, wondering what she was getting into. After a minute, she watched Logan turn left at the end of the hallway and disappear from her sight. Not wanting to lose him, Rally quickly crept after him and took a left turn at the same he did. Finding herself at a small staircase, she quietly tiptoed down, hoping Wolverine hadn't gotten too far ahead of her. Stepping off the last stair and continuing forward to where two hallways intersected, Rally scanned all directions for him, but he was no where to be seen. She debated whether or not to continue pursuing him, and realized it wasn't worth the trouble. It was his business what he was doing, not hers. She had no right to be following him.

A little disappointed, Rally turned around without looking and ran smack into something….or someone. The young girl abruptly took a couple steps back, realizing she was caught after she saw what she had run into.

"What are you doing?" Wolverine inquired.

"I..I'm sorry. I was just going to get something to eat."

"Down here?" Wolverine questioned, with his arms crossed over his chest. Rally tried to think of an excuse fast, but figured that it was pointless. Each story she conjured up in her mind would sound as dumb as the next to him.

She lowered her head in shame and replied, "I was hungry and wanted to get something to eat, but then I saw you and was curious where you were going so early so I followed you. I'm sorry." She kept her head down, expecting him to be angry.

Wolverine raised his eyebrow at Rally. She had tried to follow him? This kid definitely had to learn some things. "For future reference, kid, following me without my knowing is impossible so don't try it again." He responded informatively.

The young girl cocked her head at him in confusion.

Wolverine pointed to his nose. "Part of my abilities. I could smell you a mile away."

Feeling less tense, Rally asked curiously, "What's the other part of your abilities?"

"I heal much faster than normal."

Rally looked at him with fascination. "Oh." She finally replied.

After a moment, Logan's fatherly instincts kicked in, "You need to go back to bed."

A sad look spread across her face. "Can I stay up with you?" She asked.

Logan would have said no to any other student or person because this was his training time, but he wanted Rally to be with him. That way he would know she was safe and protected. The previous day, he had almost gone mad, worrying about Sabretooth attacking her where she was most vulnerable and unprotected. Not that he didn't think Jean couldn't protect Rally; Logan just wanted to know his daughter was safe and unharmed. This emotion of protectiveness over the young girl was all new to him. He had never felt this way before about anyone.

"Sure, kid. Come on." He finally answered.

Rally smiled. "Thanks." She said.

Wolverine led the way down the hall, taking long strides making the brunette work to keep up with him.

"Where are we going?" She asked.

"Training room." He responded.

"Oh." The young girl placed her hand to her stomach as it growled loud enough for Logan to hear.

He stopped and looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "Do you want to get something to eat first?"

"No, no. I'm fine." She answered. The truth was that Rally was starving. She felt like her stomach would soon start to digest itself.

"You sure?" He asked.

Rally nodded and held onto her stomach, trying to not let it growl again.

They walked the rest of the way to the training room in silence, besides an occasional growl from the young girl's stomach.

"I'll start it out simple since you're in here." Wolverine said, as they walked in the dark training room.

The lights snapped on as it sensed movement. "I'm training with you?" Rally asked a little surprised.

He walked over to the control panel and punched in a code. "Unless you'd rather go back to sleep." He responded, turning around and coming back to the center of the room. "Ready?" Logan asked extending his claws in a split second.

"Um, I guess." The young girl replied, a little nervous. She didn't know what to expect.

"Stay close behind me and you won't get hurt." Wolverine told her. "Begin session."

Rally scooted a little closer to Logan and watched as the room transformed to a forest setting. The young girl reached out her hand to touch the giant oak that had appeared to her left. It felt real. Then she heard the slightest crunch of dried leaves.

"Let's do this." Wolverine said and jerked his neck to the side, cracking it. Before Rally even knew what was going on, a grenade went off fairly close to their position. She quickly slipped behind a tree and covered her head. When the dust settled, she glanced around the tree to see where Wolverine was but he was no where to be seen. Another grenade exploded, this time a little closer. Chunks of debris from the explosion landed on her and made her a little alarmed. So she could actually get hurt in these simulations?

"Put your hands up!" Two frightening men yelled, wearing weird masks. They had popped around from the other side of the tree and pointed their loaded guns at her.

Rally froze, not knowing what to do and slowly began lifting her hands, but before she had them above her shoulders, Wolverine appeared out of no where with a frightening roar. Both men fell dead to the ground in a second.

"I told you to stay behind me."

"Well-" Rally began.

"Save it, kid. We got more mardies coming." He said, noticing the incoming troops in the distant.

"More what?" She asked, in confusion.

Before Logan could answer, another explosion went off directly behind the tree the two were standing in front of and sent the young girl hurtling through the air. She landed in a heap on the leaf-covered forest floor. Dazed, she lifted her head and glanced around wondering where she was. Then everything came back. Quickly, she scrambled to her feet, took cover behind a fallen log, and scanned the area. She noticed the line of troops coming in from the south, but no Wolverine. Where did he go?

Rally heard heavy footsteps coming her way, and it wasn't just one, it was multiple. As they advanced, her heart began pumping faster and faster. She picked up short, but thick branch from the ground beside her and readied herself for attack.

"You men go into that bunch of trees there. We'll go this way and look for the girl." A low, male's voice commanded.

"Yes, sir."

Rally listened as crunching of leaves headed off to her left. The other men who were looking for her, remained and as far as she knew, hadn't moved. She waited, holding the tough branch in her hand, prepared to attack at a moment's notice.

A minute passed and the young girl grew impatient. Slowly and carefully, she lifted her head just enough to see what was going on. Only five feet away were the three men. They were wearing camouflage suits with a belt of weapons, plus a mask and loaded gun, cocked and ready to fire. Not wanting to go up against that kind of artillery, Rally picked up a small stone and tossed it as far to the right as possible. That would at least distract them. As soon as the rock hit the ground, the men's heads jerked that way with their guns pointing. One by one, they began moving in the direction the noise was heard, leaving Rally uncovered.

Now what? She asked herself. Another minute passed and she had an overwhelming sense that someone was directly behind her. Without any thought, the young girl turned with her makeshift weapon and took a swing at whoever was standing behind her.

"Whoa, tiger, it's just me." Wolverine said, grabbing hold of the branch she swung before it nailed him in the head, and stopping it midair.

The young girl froze. "I am so so sorry." She apologized.

"It's alright, kid. Stay focused." He whispered and glanced at the men who were wandering 30 feet or so away. Logan looked back down at Rally and said, "Stay directly behind me."

Rally nodded, still feeling bad for what she had done, and began following him as he took out the troops, one by one.

"And that's how it's done." Wolverine proclaimed with a satisfied expression after the last man fell. "End session." He stated. The room began to transform back to its original self.

"I thought you said you were making it simple?" The young girl asked, noticing the multiple scrapes and bruises scattered on her body from the training.

"It was simple."

"For you, maybe." Rally stated.

Wolverine glanced over at her, about to comment back, but noticed the young girl holding onto her bandaged arm with a frown of pain on her face. "How's your arm?" He asked with a hint of concern.

"Oh, it's fine." She replied, not wanting any pity.

"Does it hurt?" Logan inquired, realizing she always answered with 'its fine' whether or not it was actually fine.

"It's just a little sore."

"Would you like me to get Jean to look at it again?" He asked already knowing she would respond with no.

Rally shook her head. "I'm alright."

"Okay, kid." Wolverine sighed, not wanting to press her forward.

An awkward silence filled the room for a moment, but Rally's stomach growled, interrupting it.

"Go get something to eat before you shrivel to nothing." Wolverine teased.

She faked an insulted expression. "Hey." Rally interjected jokingly. "I'm not that small."

"Keep dreamin' kid. I've gotta do my workout session now." He stated.

The young girl took the hint and began walking towards the door. Before exiting, she paused and the looked at the man standing in front of her. "Thanks again." She smiled and slipped out the door.

Logan took a deep breath. That morning was their first real bonding time as father and daughter, although crude, it was a start. He pondered when he would tell her the truth, how she was lied to all her life and Sabretooth, the man they both shared a hatred for, was correct in everything he told her. Wolverine didn't know how Rally would react whe she found out he was her father, but he knew she needed to know sooner, rather than later.

End Chapter

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