I can't apologize enough for the horrible long wait; it's been over 5 months since my last update… I am sooo sorry! Ugh… Finishing High School and preparing for College just took soo much time. But as you can see I am getting back to updating. The latest X-Men chapters have come out, and you'll probably be getting another one before September is over. I will be working really hard to finish up this fan fiction, because I love it sooo much! Thank you to everyone who has stuck with the fic besides the long waits…. I really do hope you enjoy this chapter.

Chapter 9: Almost Free

"…Now the truth. Why do you really want me alive?"

"I….."

"That, my friend is a question we would all like to hear the answer to," Yamashi said, now standing in the room with Ankoro.

Reiko turned around swiftly surprised to hear Yamashi's voice.

"Yamashi! What are you doing in here?" she asked.

"I came to see how our prisoner was doing. I wasn't aware that you'd be doing the same my dear."

Damn… The only reason he would come down here to check up on Zoro is because he's already suspicious of me. He either came down here to interrogate Zoro himself, or he knew I was down here.

"Now I believe the swordsman asked you a question. It would be impolite to leave him wondering. Why do you really want him alive?"

Shit…

Her mind raced looking for an answer she could give without compromising herself. Then it hit her. The ends of her lips curled up into a sly smile and she narrowed her eyes slightly. She stood so her weight was shifted on one leg more than the other and crossed her arms over her chest, tail wagging mischievously.

"I thought it would be obvious Yamashi. The only reason I keep this filthy pirate alive at all is for entertainment."

Ankoro looked at her confused, and Yamashi frowned. Zoro just glared at her from behind.

"It's obvious that he isn't going to tell us anything about his crew that we don't already know. And I've spent enough time tracking them and studying them that I already know all of their weaknesses and abilities. So obviously we don't need him alive. But if he were dead then I would have absolutely nothing to do until Strawhat Luffy arrives. In fact the only reason I let Ankoro interrogate him first was because I was still tired from healing all night, but even so I watched him, and only stopped him when he was going to kill Zoro, before I had my turn with him."

"Ah. I see, so bringing him here is for what?"

"To make sure he's healthy enough to not die on me when it's my turn. Trust me the second he's no longer any fun I'll kill him myself."

Zoro sat up angrily and said, "So what? My pain is some kind of a game for you?"

She turned around and grinned evilly. "Absolutely. Why else would I want you alive?"

Zoro began to bubble with anger and he pushed himself off of the bedlike table and was about to punch Reiko, but she stopped him by firmly placing a strong fist in his injured stomach. His jaw dropped and eyes widened, blood spurring out of his wound and mouth.

"Please Zoro. Did you ever think you were actually going to get out of here alive?"

He glared at her with his uncovered eye, as he held his stomach. Yamashi smirked. That's the Reiko I know.

"Now, I'm going to get some food and fresh air. When he's a bit better, throw him back in the cage and I'll come down and have my fun. See you two later," said Reiko leaving.

Once she was gone Yamashi looked at Zoro and smiled wickedly. "Rest up Roronoa. As bad as Ankoro might have been, she is much worse. You'll need all the strength you can muster," he said, chuckling and turning away.

Ankoro followed him out.

"It seems like I shouldn't have been so concerned about Reiko," Yamashi said.

"What? You really believe her?"

"Not entirely. It is obvious that she has some sort of feelings for the swordsman, besides hatred. Perhaps pity? Either way it seems as though she is already going back to her old ways. As soon as Strawhat and his crew arrive we should have nothing to worry about. But just in case, warn Mizuki and Hakimi to keep an eye on her."

"Gotcha."

Then Ankoro left to find his companions and Yamashi headed back to his office to prepare for the Strawhats' arrival.

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"Are we almost there?' Luffy complained to his navigator.

"Calm down Luffy. I already told you we won't get there until tomorrow night."

"UGH! But what about Zoro and Reiko?"

"If they're still alive then they should be fine for a little while longer. It's almost night fall anyway, so just wait a little longer," scolded Nami

Luffy slumped down to the floor. He wanted to find his lost Nakama as quickly as possible. He could hardly wait for the upcoming battle. He didn't admit it to the rest of the crew, but he secretly hoped that Sentoumaru and the Admiral Kizaru would not be at the military base. He knew they couldn't defeat them at this point in time. But if they were there, Luffy would fight to the death to help his friends escape, of that he was sure.

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Ankoro stepped out to the outer quarters of the marine base. He was pleasantly surprised to see both Mizuki and Hakimi chatting together not far from the entrance. He rolled his shoulders and straightened up to look more like their commander rather than a casual teammate. Then he confidently strode towards them. Both marines saw Ankoro approach them and they inwardly winced at the smug grin he had on his face.

"Damn, that smirk means he's either got some pain-in-the-ass job for us or we're in trouble," said Mizuki.

"Yeah…. Either way we're both in for it," sighed Hakimi.

Ankoro got closer to them and stopped right beside the two men.

"What do you want Ankoro?" demanded Hakimi.

"Why so snappy guys? It's just me," he said, his smirk growing.

"Exactly. Now what do you want? Is it a mission or something?"

Ankoro laughed. "No! Nothing like that guys!"

"Then what?"

"Well here's the deal; Reiko has been actin a little… funny."

"Funny?" asked Mizuki, not convinced.

"Not like herself," Ankoro rephrased.

"So?"

"So Yamashi wants us to keep an eye on her until Strawhat and his crew arrive. But that sounds oh so boring. So I was thinking about making sure she really is on our side, just to make our job easier"

Mizuki and Hakimi both looked at each other confused. Then they looked back at Ankoro.

"Explain," said Hakimi.

"Ok so basically Reiko seems to have this soft spot for the Strawhat Pirate we took in a few days ago."

"Who, the swordsman?"

"Yeah, Roronoa Zoro. So, a little while ago she told both me and Yamashi that she felt nothing for him. That the only reason she's kept him alive is to torture the poor sap. But I find that real hard to believe."

"Why? Sounds just like her. She hates pirates."

"Yeah but you didn't see the way she was looking at him before. I know hatred and that was not it."

"So what's your plan Ankoro?" asked Mizuki.

Ankoro grinned even wider than before. "Well since she says she wants to torture him, I say we do just that. See how she reacts."

"What?! If she really does want to beat on the guy she'll still kill us fer takin her prey!" said Hakimi very concerned.

"Yeah, but her reaction's gonna be different if she's mad that we took her fun rather than her being mad that we're beatin up on the guy she likes. Werewolf or not she's a girl which means she's gonna get all upset and emotional if we almost kill this guy."

Hakimi scowled. He didn't quite trust Ankoro, and didn't think it wise to mess with Reiko. Mizuki on the other hand was all aboard Ankoro's plan. A good beating always sounded swell to him.

"Alright! Let's do it!" said Mizuki.

"Good! Hakimi are you coming?"

"No. I'm not going to risk Reiko gutting me like a trout, just because you of all people don't trust her."

"Aww come on you big baby. Aren't you made of air? How is she supposed to gut you?"

"Look I'm not interested. The pirate is already headed to an execution anyway, there's no sense in torturing the poor sap," Hakimi said walking away and waving them off.

"Spoilsport…" muttered Mizuki.

"Ah, don't worry. We don't need him," Ankoro said, patting Mizuki on the back. "Now let's go get that pirate back in his cage."

"Yeah!"

They arrived at the medical room to find Zoro sleeping on the table. Ankoro nudged his head in Zoro's direction. Mizuki nodded and walked over to Zoro. Then he grabbed Zoro by the shoulders and tossed him on the floor, waking him up.

Zoro gasped, eyes opened in pain. All of his muscles felt sore. What the hell? He looked up and saw Mizuki and Ankoro staring down at him. He scowled making Ankoro chuckle.

"Hey Zoro. Ready for round two?" he said grabbing him from the gruff of his bandages and pulling him off of the floor.

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Reiko let out the breath she had been holding as she managed to sneak into her room unnoticed.

"That was a close one," she muttered.

Then she walked over to her bed and tossed the three blades she had taken from Yamashi's room onto it.

"Can't trust Zoro's swords to Yamashi. They'll be much safer here," she said rolling the small rug beside her bed, away. She sniffed, smirked and stomped on the end of one of the planks. It squeaked and the other end raised up exposing the empty space underneath the floorboards. Even Yamashi doesn't know about this.

Then she grabbed the swords and placed them in the hole.

"There! Safe and sound!" she grinned. "Now they'll be hidden until I figure out what I'm going to do."

She brought down the board and once again covered it with the rug. Then she sat on her bed.

"Now I just hope Yamashi doesn't notice for a while. He's not one to notice moved furniture but he's probably been keeping a close eye on the swords."

Suddenly she heard a scream coming from the dungeon. Ankoro? Why is he screaming? Then she realized. Oh no… Zoro!

As quickly as she could she left her room locking the door, and ran down to the dungeons. She stopped at the turn of the hallway and peeked over to see who was in Zoro's cell. She wasn't surprised to see both Ankoro and Mizuki. Zoro was leaning against one of the walls and his left hand was curled up into a fist, ready for another attack. Mizuki was looking at the swordsman in shock and Ankoro was holding his bloody nose.

"Damn! I didn't know you were still able to move, especially not with those injuries," Ankoro muttered from behind his hand. He whipped off the blood on his face, and smirked. "Heh… good to see you still have some fight left in you."

"What are you two doing?" Reiko called from behind the bars. She had stepped closer to the cage and was now glaring at them.

"What's a look like? We're havin a little fun cupcake."

Her scowl deepened.

"What did I say about that stupid nickname?"

"Aww come on its all in good fun."

"Whatever." Then she looked at Zoro. He was panting and looked extremely exhausted.

"So what do you say Reiko? Wanna join us?"

"Hmm? Join you two? Don't make me laugh. When I get my turn with the guy I'll do it my way and alone. I don't need you two getting in my way."

"That's no fun."

"If you want me to torture the guy so bad, then you two could just walk out and watch me."

"What?! No way!" said Mizuki, unwilling to end his enjoyment.

"Shut up," Ankoro muttered. Then he faced Reiko again. "Sure thing," he said grinning. Then he opened the door and got out, letting Mizuki come out as well.

Damn. I wasn't expecting him to say yes. I'm really sorry about this Zoro. But it's the only way I can keep you alive. She then stepped into the cell and shut the door behind her.

"What, now it's finally your turn?" asked Zoro angrily.

"Absolutely. You didn't expect me to leave you at Ankoro's tender mercies. Now let's get started."

Reiko kicked Zoro back into the wall. He groaned as he slid down. God damn it, I could just barely fight back those two guys, and now I'm really drained. When he looked up at Reiko he saw that she had transformed into her more animalistic humanoid form. She still looked mainly human but her hair and fur were longer, eyes glowing yellow, nails like claws, teeth like fangs; just like she did the night before she had betrayed them. Fluttering memories of that night wisped back into his mind. He remembered feeling so comfortable next to her, despite her deadly appearance. He remembered how she'd shown him her vulnerabilities, and how he'd comforted her. What happed to make you so cold…? He weekly thought. Then suddenly she grabbed him by the throat and pulled him upwards, grinning wildly.

"Now, now Zoro, don't want you passing out before we're done," she said squeezing a tiny bit on his throat, only to release just as quickly. Then with her free hand she extended her claws and quickly and sharply dug them into the ends of his shoulder, making him gasp in pain. She had pinched the skin with her claws ripping it at the end, making shallow cuts that were practically harmless, but extremely painful.

Zoro panted and Reiko smirked and did the same but on his other shoulder. This time he screamed. Reiko continued to smirk but Ankoro could see the slight diminish of her grin. Usually when they scream I get so excited. The thrill of it all is wonderful but this time… it's different. Every time I hurt him I feel so horrible. Why is this pirate so different from every other one I've encountered before? She mentally sighed, and squeezed Zoro's throat harder. But suddenly a loud booming voice reverberated across the halls.

"Ankoro!" Yamashi's voice thundered.

"Damn… what does he want know?" Ankoro muttered.

Shoot. He must have found out Zoro's swords are missing. That was sooner than expected but I guess I can't complain. Especially since he's calling Ankoro's name and not mine, Reiko thought.

Then she turned around and looked at Ankoro, still grinning. "You better go Ankoro. Don't want to keep the man waiting," she sneered.

"Whatever," he said before storming off.

Then Reiko looked at Mizuki. "You too pal. Yamashi would hate it if he found out you left your post without telling him just to screw around with my prisoner."

Mizuki gulped. "Y-yeah. You're right." Then he too left.

Once they were both gone Reiko sighed and dropped Zoro, though she didn't return back to her normal form. She couldn't if she had wanted to. The window just above Zoro's cell clearly let in all the moonlight necessary for her transformation to occur. She looked at it: almost full. Tomorrow would be the full moon. She couldn't say she quite liked the full moon. It was the one time every month where she came dangerously close to losing control over herself.

Hell after what I'm about to attempt I don't know if I'll make it to the next full moon. She looked down to Zoro.

"Hey Zoro… can you hear me?" she asked him shaking him lightly, making sure not to touch the cuts she had just made on his shoulders. He slightly opened his eyes and looked at her with a glazed stare. Good enough. "Look Zoro I'm going to make up for all of this. I'm going to go get your swords and get you out of here."

x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x

Zoro opened his eyes, slowly and slightly, but it was enough to see that someone was kneeling over him. A red-brown blur loomed over him and his mind pieced the fragments together. Reiko? What is she doing? She looks… worried. Is she worried… about me?

She was talking to him. But he couldn't understand her. Then suddenly she left. As her arms left his side, no longer supporting him, he collapsed down to the floor of his cell. His shoulders stung, and his chest and stomach felt extremely sore. He couldn't help the drowsiness that came over him as he lay on his side.

x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x

Reiko rushed to her room as quickly and quietly as she could, she was using her shadow as a cloak to cover herself. What the hell am I doing?! Yamashi is going to kill me if he catches us… damn it. I have to stay focused. That's the only way I'm making it out alive. She reached the door to her room and quickly slipped in unnoticed. Without bothering to be silent she quickly pulled the carpet off of the floor and onto her bed. She stomped on the floor boards only to find that they didn't budge. Damn not the right ones, she thought, stomping on the ones beside it. None of them were working. She stopped herself, calming down a little bit. Come on it's got to be here. Just relax and find it. She sniffed the air and smirked, she had found it. She could catch Zoro's scent on his swords under her floor boards. She stomped and the floor lifted, she saw the swords and crouched pulling them out. Then she grabbed a rope from the other side of her room, and tied the swords to her back. Then she left without trying to cover up what she had just done.

On her way down to Zoro's prison she kept thinking, Please don't let me run into Yamashi; PLEASE don't let me run into Yamashi. Down the many stairs and through the dark corridors she stormed hoping to make it to her fallen friend before Yamashi did. Fortunately enough for her she did.

Zoro was lying sprawled on the floor unconscious. It pained her to think that she was at fault for this. She was going to have to seriously apologize to Luffy after returning Zoro. She wasn't planning on returning to the Strawhats herself though. She didn't deserve to be welcomed back into that crew after what she had done, but Zoro and the rest of the crew didn't deserve to suffer any more, and she was going to make sure that they didn't.

She walked into Zoro's cell and gently picked him up. Shaking him slightly she tried to wake him up.

"Hey Zoro. You gotta wake up," she whispered. He didn't react. "Come on Zoro. You have to get up."

This time his eyes fluttered open and he looked at her. At first it seemed like he didn't recognize her, but soon his eyes seemed to focus a little bit and he looked directly at her; confusion crossing his face.

"R-Reiko?" he muttered.

"Yeah it's me," she answered.

"What are you doing here?" he said trying to move but finding it extremely painful, and just settling for letting out a groan and leaning on her.

She blushed when she felt him lean on her, but brushed the feelings away.

"I'm here to get you out. I'm going to get you back to your crew."

His eyes were shut, but he was conscious. He furrowed his brow in even more confusion.

"Why?" he asked gruffly.

She stopped for a moment. "Because I was wrong about you. I thought all pirates were the same. But you aren't. You're different. You're good people. And I can't stand to see you hurt anymore. So I'm going to help you escape so you can be free with your crew."

Zoro still didn't quite understand. It must have been a side effect from his injuries and weakness so he just nodded and let Reiko support him. She slung one of his arms around her shoulders and letting the moonlight fuel her energy as she lifted him.

"Alright, let's get you outta here."

Holding him up as well as she could, she began to trek towards the exit. She made it out of the cell and onto the stairs without much trouble. But carrying him up the stairs was more difficult than she had expected. Zoro was unconscious again so he wasn't helping her at all.

"Oh come on Zoro… can't you just pick up your feet a little bit," she muttered under the strain, once she was half way to the top of the stairs.

"Even if he could, it wouldn't be much help, my dear," said a voice that sent chills down her spine, making her tail bristle.

She turned her head to face Yamashi.

"You aren't going to stop me Yamashi. I'm getting Zoro out of here."

"You say that as if you could."

"Hmm?" Yamashi can't really think he can stop me on his own. But then she looked in front of her and saw Ankoro standing there grinning. It made her smirk too. "With or without Ankoro, you aren't going to stop me," she told them, half morphing into her werewolf form. Her hands and legs where that of her werewolf form but the rest of her remained the same.

"Oh my dear, Ankoro is not here to fight you. He will only be cleaning up afterwards."

Reiko couldn't believe what he was saying. She turned back to him. "You can't be serious Yamashi. Do you really expect me to believe that you're planning on fighting me?" she said almost at the point of laughter.

"Do you really believe that you are any match for me?" Yamashi countered.

"Come on Yamashi. You don't have any special powers and I'm stronger and faster than you are, even without transforming."

Yamashi laughed. "Please, did you really think I have no power and yet I command this fleet?"

"Huh? What are you talking about? You have no power!"

"Don't be so ignorant," Yamashi said, snapping his fingers.

It took only an instant for the sound to reach her ears. They twitched when it did, making her earring jingle. Her eyes widened and her body went numb. She dropped Zoro before going down to her knees herself, holding her ears and head in pain.

"Aghh! W-what….? What the hell did you do?" she managed to mutter out.

Yamashi laughed. "It's my power. I have the ability to control sound waves: their frequency, their volume. What I just shot at you now, was a special frequency that only Werewolves can hear. I've been told it is very painful, which is why I only gave you a small taste. I don't want you to die my dear."

"What? Since when have you had this power?"

"For a long time, cupcake," Ankoro said. She slightly turned to look at him as he approached her. "How do you think he was able to take down all those werewolves on your little island?" he said, transforming into a type of stone she had never seen him turn into before. His skin turned blood red and on his left arm there was a yellow crescent moon carved into his stony skin.

Reiko's eyes widened. She couldn't believe it. He had just turned his skin into the blood stone from her island. Her bloodstone.

"Y-you…!" she gasped out.

Ankoro laughed and turned back to normal. "You betcha doll face. That was you're precious rock. Good to see you still remember what it looks like."

"But… but that means…"

"Indeed it does," said Yamashi. "It means I was the captain of the pirate crew who invaded your island. Ankoro was part of my crew at the time as well; you didn't know he had escaped as well."

Reiko didn't know what to say. The man she had trusted, whom she believed to be her savior and even her comrade, was the one man on earth she hated more than anyone.

"I – I trusted you! You were my friend!"

"Indeed you did. But I always knew what you were: a werewolf. Which means you were nothing greater than a loyal pet to me. Now then, act like a good pet, and return Roronoa Zoro to his cell."

A pet! He thinks I'm his pet!

"What!? No! Now that I know who you really are, there's no way I'm handing him over to a scum bag like you!" she said standing up and picking up Zoro as well. This time she transformed fully.

Yamashi couldn't help but laugh. "You still think you can get out of here! Really Reiko, that is foolish thinking. Besides, in this form my powers affect you even more!" he said snapping his fingers once more. But this time when the sound reached her ears, waves of agony shot through her entire body. She let out a roar as she dropped to her knees and tried to block out the sound with her hands. The sound painfully rang in her ears, making her muscles convulse. She doubled over, holding herself up from her elbows. She couldn't believe the unimaginable pain she was in. It was like nothing she'd ever felt before. The sound wasn't only affecting her hearing but her entire body, she was losing control. The last command she was able to give to her body was to turn back to her more human shape to ease the pain.

Yamashi smirked at her unconscious form, sprawled on the ground. Then he looked at Ankoro. Who nodded and picked up both Reiko and Zoro. He followed Yamashi down to the prison cells.

x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x

When Zoro woke up, he felt tired, drowsy, sore, and just plain exhausted. He opened his eyes, and was surprised to find himself in a different and larger cell. Hm… I wonder why they switched me. The last thing I remember is Reiko coming into my cell and saying some weird stuff about getting out… what happened? He wondered.

He saw that he was chained by his wrists and ankles. He looked around to get to know his surroundings and was surprised to find Reiko slumped down next to him unconscious, and chained as well. Her chains looked different than his, and he assumed they were made of seastone. She also had what looked like a silver collar around her neck.

"What's going on here?" he muttered to himself.

He nudged her with his hand to see if she was alright but she didn't respond. So he shook her again. This time she stirred.

"Hmm?" she mumbled, waking up and looking at Zoro confused. "Zoro? Where are we?" she asked looking around. Her head really hurt and she felt completely drained, no moonlight energy to help her out, meaning morning had come

"We're in a different prison cell. What happened?" he asked her.

That's when her memories hit her with a freight train. Oh my god… Yamashi was the pirate who ruined my life. I can't believe I trusted him for all these years. No wonder he knew so much about me. He spent three years studying the rest of my clan! And he has my bloodstone! I have to get it from him!

"Well what happened?!" demanded Zoro when she didn't answer him.

She snapped out of her angry thoughts and looked at him.

"Well I was trying to help you escape…"

"Why?"

"I already told you. Because I realized that you don't deserve this, and that if my only reason for keeping you here is my general hate for pirates, then I have no right to keep you here."

"You finally stopped acting like an idiot... Then what happened."

"Well Yamashi stopped me."

"How?"

"He beat me good. Took me down without a sweat…"

"How the hell could he do that? I thought he didn't have any powers."

"So did I but I was wrong. He's got a power that can really affect me bad. He controls sound waves. It must be a devil fruit."

"Ok, so how do we get out of here?"

"I don't know. It's like I can't think straight, I'm so exhausted. I feel so weak."

"That's probably because of the chains," Zoro pointed out.

She looked at her wrists and saw the seastone chains and cuffs.

"Damn… well, it's not that big of a problem. These only really affect my shadow powers. I can still transform into a werewolf, and those bars aren't a problem," she said forcing herself to stand up. Her legs wobbled and a hand went to her head. She got dizzy and the room began to spin.

Zoro saw her about to fall and stood up just in time to catch her. He laid her down gently. That's when he noticed how pale she was, he also noticed that she had gone back to her natural, more human looking form.

"Are you alright?" he asked her when she opened her eyes.

"Uh… yeah. I'm okay. I just didn't expect moving to be that disorienting. Lemmy try again," she said sitting up.

She focused through the fog in her mind and reached for the rage that fueled her werewolf side. When she finally grasped it she began to transform. But a sudden burning around her neck stopped her mid transformation. She screamed as she reverted back to normal. Zoro had been shocked to see her skin begin to burn around the silver collar.

When Reiko was back to normal panting and sweating she brought a hand up to the collar around her neck and winced when she felt the burn on her fingertips. She hadn't noticed it when she woke up, but there had been a slight burning sensation since waking up in the cage. Now she knew just why.

Damn you Yamashi. Putting this silver collar on me was a dirty trick. I can't do anything now in this form. And if I try to transform the burning is only going to get worse until it kills me.

She suddenly looked at Zoro when she noticed he was watching her with a worried face.

"Don't worry, I'm fine."

"What was that?"

"That was the silver collar around my neck. I'm allergic to silver, just like every werewolf. It's extremely toxic to me and my kind, and the more transformed we are the more toxic it is. Just skin contact is unbearable, but having it in the blood is the worst. That's incurable."

"Then I guess you're stuck like that."

"Yeah."

"Just rest up for a bit. We'll figure out a way to get out of here."

"How?"

"When Luffy and the rest of the crew show up of course! Don't worry about it!"

She didn't know how he was so sure of himself. But it made her feel better and her confidence in Luffy's abilities grew.

"Okay," she said before leaning back against the wall and closing her eyes. They were going to make it out of there. That she was sure of.

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Well there you go chapter 9! I really hope you liked it, and once again I apologize for making you guys wait for such a long time. Thank you to all of you who are still following the story and I really appreciate it! Please review so I know there are still people out there who are enjoying my story. Thanks guys! Next X-Men! :D