A/N: I have to admit, I was little sad when I saw that we only recived one review for the last chapter. I know that everyone is majorly busy with classes and such, but if you could just drop a line in the review box about how you liked the chapter, Certh and I would really appreciate it. We do not own X-Men, just our OCS and the plot for this story. –MOTH (Maiden of the Heavens)
Chapter 10
Outside Victor turned and stared at the resident physics teacher for a long moment. She was visibly more relaxed, the fear that had been oozing from her before now almost gone. He averted his gaze as Morgan fidgeted, uncomfortable under that keen look but finally daring to return it. Avoiding her eyes, the feral shifted his attention to the infirmary beyond. He just wanted to drag Aster out and leave. Feeling unusually agitated, he pushed himself upright from where he had reclined against the wall and stood in front of the closed doors. They slid open and stayed that way, but he didn't enter, satisfied with just watching what went on inside.
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Everything was a blur at first, and Ivy blinked several times to clear away the feeling. She looked at her IV-covered hand, seeing two fingers of a very familiar person gently touching her hand with just the tips. Her dark rose-pink eyes then lifted to the figure that sat beside where she lay.
Gone were was the cruelly chopped duck-tail pixie cut, and back were the long flowing and very loose ringlets. The Earth Puppeteer tried to ignore the burning sensation as the tears welled up at the edge of her eyes, and she sat up far too quickly, ignoring the pain that still lingered. She embraced her sister, breaking down almost automatically as her face met the cottony fabric of the dull gray sweatshirt.
Aster could only stare at her sister. She was not used to this much over-flowing emotion anymore; anything besides murder and how to achieve said goal were now foreign to her. Sea-green eyes glanced down at the shaking and sobbing form that was her little sister as she finally allowed herself to wrap her arms around Ivy. Her ears picking up the almost incoherent words coming from the sobs.
"Es tut mir leid, Aster, ich hatte keine Wahl. -I am so sorry, Aster, I didn't have a choice-" Ivy was able to get out in their native tongue.
The water manipulator unwrapped her arms from where they were, and gently pushed her sister's death-gripping embrace away. She wiped the tears away from Ivy's cheeks and the ones that were still leaking from her eyes with the sweatshirt sleeve. She allowed a weak closed-mouth smile to flood across her lips.
"Ich verzieh man vor langer Zeit, Ivy. Es ist Victor der hat wollte Rache gegen Sie, ich nicht. -I forgave you a long time ago, Ivy. It is Victor who has wanted revenge against you, not me-"
"Victor?" Ivy questioned, her voice weak and wavering. That was when it all came flooding back to her, and she did not like what she remembered.
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Her footsteps brushed along the grass that lead toward her greenhouse, the moonlight from the sky above illuminating it and almost making the glass look as if it was glowing. She stepped inside, greeted by the foliage and warm stuffy air. Stiffening, she turned to see a shadowy figure half-hidden by one of the trees she had been trying to grow. Her dark rose-pink eyes became wide, her mouth trying to form words that could not summoned to be spoken by her vocal cords.
Ivy thought for sure she was going delusional again as Aster stepped out of the shadows, wearing a maize-colored sundress. She began telling her something, and it must have been important, judging by how rabidly she was speaking in German, but the storm that rolled in drowned out her eldest and only sister's words. It nearly shrouded the greenhouse in complete darkness.
Ivy did not even hear him approaching, but then again stalking prey without it being aware was all of the game. She did not even have time to summon the strings from her fingertips before a gasp of pain struggled out of her mouth.
Blood pooled from her chest and near her ribcage, staining her outfit as her knees nearly buckled out from underneath her. A growl rumbled in her ear, one that sent shivers down her spine as she struggled to summon her mutation. Anything not to die; she had gone through far too much to die now, but it was useless as the world around her around started to fade. The last thing she actually truly heard was Aster's screams of dismay and a rush of water sending her attacker away from her.
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The Earth Puppeteer shook her head to clear away the memory, or what was left of it. The water manipulator stood up from the bed, and did the most caring thing she had done in the past several years. She gently pushed Ivy down so she was lying down again, and tucked her sister in a little, gently pressing a kiss to her hair.
"I need to talk to you later," Aster said; her German accent had faded over time. "It's important."
She caught Sabertooth glaring at her from the corner of her spring-green eyes and squeezed her sister's hand one more time before leaving the room.
She looked over at Morgan and was not the least bit surprised when Victor grabbed her around the wrist and practically dragged her to the elevator. Apparently, staying was not an option for her. The beast in a man's flesh hauled the water manipulator past the startled twenty-four year-old physics teacher and inside the metal box. Still gripping her wrist so hard that the bones practically broke beneath the skin. She did not even whimper in pain. Staring at the display, Morgan opted to stay where she was.
"You're not leaving, Rán," Sabertooth growled as he pulled her out of the elevator on the first floor and slowly released her wrist. His tongue found the few droplets of blood that still oozed out from the wounds on her neck and a fanged smirk followed when she squirmed ever so slightly.
"I don't want to stay here and be hunted down like a dog," Aster replied bitterly once they made it to the first floor.
She quickly pressed herself against the wall as an almost inhuman roar bellowed in the hallway and Victor was nearly sent flying into the wall at the end of the hall. The man called Wolverine was practically trying to slice him to ribbons, but Sabertooth dodged the swipes easily and the man's steel claws raked the wall instead.
"So you really aren't happy to see me alive?" Victor quipped, chuckling lightly as he dodged another attack from his half-brother.
A/N: Brotherly love, it never gets old, especially not with Victor and Logan. Leave a review in the box, I will update next Saturday! –Maiden of the Heavens (MOTH)