O to the M to the G. Like riiiiight?
XD Yeah, ignore me kinda... no idea what to say. I'm happy it is chapter 25!
Also, this one is OBSCENELY LONG as well. Longer than chappie 23. I think it's actually the longest one so far. SUPER SPECIAL AWESOME~
Oh yeah, ALSO. This wouldn't let me upload in a new document, so I had to erase a document for my Jason Voorhees story (which has already been posted, so it should be alright...?) and paste this into it. *sigh* So aggravating. Oh well. At least I figured out how to get this chap up, huh?
Hope you enjoy! :D
Who if I cried out,
Would hear me among the angels' hierarchies?
And even if one of them suddenly
Pressed me against his heart:
I would be consumed in that overwhelming existence
For beauty is nothing but the beginning of terror
Which we are still just able to endure
And we are so awed
Because it serenly disdains to annihilate us.
~Rainer Maria Rilke
Warren felt a little better once he was in his own bed again. Less anxious, and he could lay on his stomach again, which was more comfortable than trying to get any rest while on his back. Hank had let him go once all the tests had been done and once his temperature had been taken (99.0 F), probably because he could tell Warren didn't like hospital settings. Cadence had to half carry him on the way though; he'd gotten dizzy when he stood up and almost fell.
She got him there safely, but she left with the promise that she'd be back in about two hours; she was just going to go see Kurt, Gigi, and Akira - and thank Logan for "finally having enough damn sense never to turn his communicator off". Before leaving she did the same thing she'd been doing all day, that brush of her lips against his cheek. Though this time, the touch wasn't as light, she pressed a little harder, and it was accompanied by her squeezing his wrist and, he saw when she pulled away, a pained look in her eyes.
He tried to get a little rest; according to the clock it was nine-thirty at night now. Okay, so if it had taken an hour to get to that building and then another hour to get back... it would have been five or so by the time they got back. So he'd been out for another four hours, in addition to the five Cadence said he'd slept earlier after training. He was still sore, too, worse than before.
About an hour after he had tried to lie down and get some sleep, he became suddenly aware of how cold it was in this room. His teeth were chattering, even, and his skin felt like ice. He was so cold, it was rattling around in his stomach and making him sick. He had to warm up, quick.
"Wh-Where's my blanket...?" he mumbled, pushing himself up to look over the edge of the bed. Bad idea, because he got dizzy again and fell off, onto the carpet. He felt his head bang lightly off the dresser and groaned, reaching up to finger what he was sure would soon be a bruise. As he did he brought his legs up, curling into a ball and moaning. "Ow... ow... ow, ow, owwww..."
He was about an inch away from crying when the door opened. "Warren?" It was Cadence's voice, and it was soothing for him to hear in such pain. She was here now... she'd take care of him. "Kurt and Gigi had a sign on the door that said 'Do Not Disturb', Akira was already asleep, and Logan just - oh my God, Warren!"
He heard her running over to him, and then felt her hand on his shoulder and the other on his lower back, and her hands were shaking. "Oh God, Warren, what happened? Are you okay?"
"I f-fell," he muttered, grateful for just her touch. Her hands were warm, and at the moment gentle, which was so unusual for her but it wasn't unwelcome at the moment. "And hit my head..."
"Oh my God. How bad is it hurt?" She had taken her hand off his back and had placed it over his chest, trying to help him up. "Come on, you gotta give me a little, babe, I can't do this myself."
"I'm trying... it's not too bad, I don't think it's bleeding."
"Geez, Warren, ever heard of the word 'cautious'?" Through combined efforts he finally felt himself on the bed again, and he immediately collapsed, not caring where his head landed as long as it was soft.
When he glanced up, he saw her shaking her head. "I guess the adamantium works faster than I thought. Is it hard to breathe?"
"N-No... I'm just cold... r-really cold... and I can't f-find my blanket." He huddled up again, shivering and wrapping his arms around himself.
"Warren, it's... it's not cold in here. It's kind of hot." He felt her hand against his, and he was glad for the warm touch again. "Looks like the chills Dr. McCoy mentioned. I should see how bad your fever is... where's your blanket?"
"I d-don't know," he repeated, irritated that she seemed hell-bent on making things worse instead of better. "I was looking for it, and I f-f-fell!"
She stood up, withdrawing her hand from his, and crossed her arms. "Well, you can't just freeze to death." Her palm was against his forehead, and just as quickly it was gone. "Well, damn! I stand corrected, Warren, there's no chance of that happening. Fucking fever already set in."
"But I'm cold," he argued, grabbing his pillow and burying his face into it.
"God damn it, Warren, I know you're cold!" The bed vibrated, and he imagined that she'd kicked the mattress. "I'm trying to help you, what do you think I'm doing?"
He tensed up a little, and felt like pouting. "... I'm sorry..."
He heard her blow out a particularly strenuous-sounding breath. "No, no... I'm sorry. That was my fault. God, all this is my fault. I'm such an idiot. Let me find your blanket..."
A sudden spike of cold tore through him, and his entire body convulsed. He let out a gasp, simply because he hadn't been expecting it. His teeth clacked together again, and he resumed the fetal position he'd been in moments ago.
"Okay, okay, I think I see it. Hold on, babe." He felt her body leaning over his legs, and shivered again because, honestly, he didn't know if that was her waist or her chest, or... God forbid, something lower.
She withdrew and he glanced up to see her over him, sweeping the blanket over his body. "God, you're shaking like a leaf, Warren."
It was surprising to him, the tenderness with which she did this. She was careful in tucking the edges around and under him, taking special care not to cover any part of his face. And if he wasn't mistaken, her fingers hovered just a few seconds on his hip as she tucked the last loose end under him.
He wasn't complaining though. This... was the way she might treat Akira. And Warren... he'd kind of forgotten what being fussed over was like.
He had to admit, it wasn't exactly the worst feeling ever.
Cadence got to her knees by his face, and her hand stroked over his cheek; he looked straight into her eyes, somewhat mesmerized by the touch. It was so unlike her but it felt... good. That was, until he recognized that look in her big, emerald eyes. Guilt. Pure, heart-wrenching, soul-stabbing guilt. Little tears had formed at the edges of her eyes, but they weren't sliding down.
He was about to beg with her not to cry, he didn't like seeing her cry, but she was faster. Her hand flew to the side of his head, fingers raking against his short hair, and before he knew what was happening her lips were against his. He tried to press back, because he was somewhat enjoying the feeling, but unfortunately the fact that he'd never really had a steady girlfriend was coming back to haunt him now. The only thing his lack of experience was allowing him to do was stare wide-eyed at her, her eyes closed and quite obviously enjoying it too.
But then she pulled away fairly abruptly, and it felt like the kiss had only been a second long - though it had probably been more like five seconds. Still not spectacular, but better than one second. She didn't move her hand, and her nails grazed lightly along his scalp as she played with his hair. And she looked right into his eyes, as she had been before.
"I promise I won't let you die, Warren," she whispered, her eyes as soft as her voice. "I'll take care of you. I'll... I'll do anything. What do you need me to do for you?"
He shook his head, blinking slowly. "I don't..."
"Please. Warren." Her nails dug in a little, though they didn't break the skin. She wouldn't do that on purpose. "What can I do for you? Anything, o-okay? E-Even if you think you can do it yourself..."
The guilt resurfaced in her eyes, and he felt horrible. It was his own fault that he was sick, she shouldn't be feeling bad about it. But he could see it, she believed she had done something wrong and she wanted sincerely to make up for it. She wanted him to give her something to do for him, no matter how little or seemingly unimportant. It looked like she thought "I'm sorry" wasn't enough, although he would have gladly accepted it and moved on.
He nodded and blinked a few times. "I, um... I'm a little hungry, I guess."
That terribly guilty look in her eyes relaxed a little, and she smiled at him as she ran her fingers over his hair again. "Okay. I'll go make you some soup." Her lips grazed just lightly over his, and then she stood up, rubbing at his shoulder. She looked like she was reluctant to leave. "Don't you move, I will be right back."
She stopped with her hand on the doorknob, and turned her head just a little to look at him. "You know, Warren... you kept after me. You were there even when I didn't want you to be, and then five minutes later I was grateful that you were there. I let it all out with you, and you tried to make me feel better."
She opened the door, her shoulders dropping down. "Now it's my turn. If you need me I'll be here, and if there's anything you need to let out you can. You let me cry when I needed to. So if you need to cry, just do it. I won't care."
He felt himself smile at that. So all that time, everything he'd thought was useless and in vain... he'd really been getting through to her. She just never showed it. So stubborn... "I thought you still didn't trust me. What ever happened to that? Kurt said it'd take three months to earn your trust."
"I was forced slash tricked into trusting you." Her fingers were still wrapped around the knob, and they were shaking. "But that doesn't mean I can't like you too. We're friends, Warren, and... and maybe... maybe I want it to be more. Maybe you want it to be more. I don't know."
"I... I do... I want this..." He took a deep breath before trying to speak again. "I know how much you've been hurt. Maybe I don't know every single little detail, but I can see it. I've been hurt a lot too. I want us to be able to help each other, and maybe... maybe that... is going to bring us together, closer than we've ever been to anyone else. Wouldn't that be nice?"
"It would be... if I could ever completely trust you. I still don't trust you not to hurt me once we're together. People change, Warren. You're going to change, and I'm not going to trust any part of you that changes." She still didn't face him, but she'd stepped farther into the hall. "You're constantly going to have to renew my trust in you, show that you deserve it."
"Then I can do that. I'll do that, Cadence." He wanted so badly, nothing more than to reach out and hold her. She was upset again, but she was holding it all inside, still. She should just let it out, preferably in his arms and on his shoulder. He liked being able to be there for her whenever she needed it. "I don't care. I'll do whatever it takes... to prove to you that I'm different. I'm not ever going to hurt you on purpose. I can promise you that."
"Can you?" She sounded hopeful, but incredulous.
"I can. I promise... if I know what's good for me I'm not going to hurt you."
That got a giggle out of her, though lately all her laughter had been sounding bitter. "You know what's good for you, right, Warren?"
"Yes. Not getting another flowerpot to the face."
She turned her head again, and gave him the softest, sweetest smile he'd ever seen on her face. "Okay, so maybe I trust you enough to know you'd never hurt me."
"Of course. And if I ever did, I'd probably follow you around all day saying 'I'm sorry' until you get so annoyed you fling something at me anyway."
"You better never do that... Jellyfish."
He groaned. "Oh, why do you have to bring that out again?"
"Because you haven't fully grown a spine yet." She turned her entire body, and peeked through a crack in the doorway. "I'll be back soon. Just rest, and don't worry about anything. Don't you even think about anything that's going to upset you."
"Okay. Thanks... for everything you're doing."
"Yeah." She closed the door, and she was gone.
Warren blew out a breath and settled down into the mattress, feeling warmer now. It was a good thing she'd helped him find his blanket...
After a moment, he groaned, wriggling around. He didn't remember this blanket ever making him so warm that he was sweating. Every part of him felt hot, and he couldn't take it. He tore the blanket off himself and flung it at the end of the bed, stretching out and whimpering at the heat.
This must be the fever Dr. McCoy was talking about...
"Should I go now?"
"Not quite yet." He glanced to the blue-skinned woman beside him, she was staring into the cloud as well. And then the redheaded girl kneeling on the floor, head up, mouth open, producing the cloud that functioned as a crystal ball-type screen.
They were looking at the boy, that blonde with the wings. It had been several hours since the injection of adamantium, and as hoped it was beginning its deadly course. Erik did so want it not to kill the boy; after all, it was better that he was alive. An ally from Xavier's on his side, and this particular boy would cause Cadence a considerable amount of pain if he left the school. He could see it in the way she interacted with him; she was so gentle, so weak, when she touched him, and that kiss just made his plan all the more sinister.
"Why are we even concerned with that girl anyway?" Mystique grunted, crossing her arms over her chest. "It's not like she's unbelievably strong."
"She's not a physical threat, no. I can easily stop her powers with my own, with Coma..." Erik looked into the cloud, watching the angel boy thrash around in his bed, throwing the covers off, obviously uncomfortable. A moment ago he'd been content in the blanket, and now his temperature was going up, forcing him to abandon it. "But she... she is a psychological annoyance for us. She's already been talking to Gambit about his going over there. He's going to go, you know."
Mystique scoffed. "Yeah, I know that. His bags are just about packed, soon as he gets every damn deck of cards stuffed in."
"He's not much to lose, we've got stronger mutants than him on our side. But if she gets ahold of any of them... well, I just don't want that to happen." He looked back at the cloud screen. "Switch to Cadence James."
The redhead on the floor, Scryer, took a breath in, swallowing the cloud, and then blew it out again. This time the picture showed the black-haired young lady in the kitchen of Xavier's, violently threatening that ice-based mutant with a couple of telekinetically held knives. "Get outta here, Bobby!" she yelled. Her voice was muffled by the scrying cloud, but her eyes showed the fierce concern that filled her. "Go fuck with Piotr or something, I'm trying to take care of Warren and I don't have time for your stupid pranks! Now leave me alone before I make an ice sculpture!"
Erik turned his attention away from the cloud. "Now, she's certainly no Einstein... but her mind is dangerous. She will talk to others, manipulate them, and turn them against us. Once Gambit leaves, Pyro is going to want to follow him. And where Pyro goes, Scryer goes. That's three members we might lose already. And my own son, he's betrayed us as well."
"I see where you're going." Mystique stared into the cloud. "And this... this boy. By turning him to us, we can destroy her?"
"Destroy her mind, at least." Erik looked at the screen again, and Cadence was hunched over the counter, whatever was on the stove boiling away, and her shoulders trembled with silent sobs. "See her now. That boy is the key - she is attached to him. There are only two other people she cares about so much, but one of them is a child with little control over his powers, and the other is a circus fool who would never fight for anyone anyway."
"Beggars can't be choosers," Mystique muttered, rolling her eyes.
"Besides, the adamantium is already taking effect on the boy's system. It would be unwise to go after anyone else when he's already been injected with it - a waste of precious resources. We take this boy, Mystique... we take him, and her entire psyche falls apart. She'll be so busy plotting ways to get him back and being wrought with grief, she won't be able to think about converting anyone else to Xavier's."
"When should I go then?" Mystique asked, looking down at Scryer like she wanted to kick the girl in the face or something.
"Oh, give it a few days... let the poison reach its peak. That should be enough to weaken Miss James's resolve to the point where a pushpin of emotion into it will send it all crumbling down. A few days, then the second injection, then the boy being gracefully transferred to my possession..." A smirk crept through. "And she will break. This girl will be out of my hair, finally."
All of a sudden the door flew open. "Alright, are you done with my girl yet?"
Erik turned to see Pyro, stomping into the room and flicking his lighter as if threatening them. "Why, hello, Pyro. What brings you here?"
"Yeah, I just said. Are you done with my girl?" Pyro grabbed Scryer's arm and pulled her up. "Come on, baby, our movie starts in twenty minutes."
Scryer, surprised by his actions (though not shocked), took a deep gasp of breath in, sucking the cloud of all-seeing energy back inside her body. She smiled and latched onto Pyro's arm. "Johnny! I missed you."
"Missed you too, Kelly. Let's get going. I'm paying tickets, right?"
"And I'm getting snacks," she finished, happily following him out of the room.
Erik felt the strongest urge to roll his eyes just as Mystique had. Such disrespect, and to their master. Well, at least he'd been done making use of Scryer's powers for the moment.
"Teenagers," Mystique snarled, turning on her heel and stalking out of the room.
He could still hear the two down the hall, laughing and presumably kissing each other. Such blatant displays of affection, in public; they'd have Sabertooth running for the hills. It would probably just make Gambit laugh. Nobody was going to be getting any sleep tonight, including Pyro and Scryer, because they'd be the ones keeping everyone else up.
Damn paper-thin walls. The odds were against him that both of them were screamers.
I would say "Poor Magneto" buuuuut...
I'm the one who made Pyro and Scryer screamers in the first place. AND I'm the one who made the walls so damn paper-thin. WAHAHA.
Also...
ASDFGHJKL; I LOVE PYRO.
Did I sound like an idiot there? Sorry, my inner fangirl is showing. I love him, and Gambit, and Pietro, and Kurt, and WARREN OH GOD WARREN...
Speaking of Warren, POOR ANGEL BABY. Don't you just wanna hug him? Or, uh... do what Cady just did? *wink wink nudge nudge eh*
Can you believe it? Yay for positive emotion and friendy-ness and the beginnings of blossoming romance!
...
I'm so excited. I have much plot planned. But you're just gonna have to wait and see what it all is~
It was fun writing in sort of Magneto's point of view. He refers to everyone but himself (and sometimes Cadence, just because) as their mutant name, whereas Warren and Cadence and everyone at Xavier's (well, save for Logan) refers to everyone as their real name. Just to show how different their views are.
Hope you liked! Reviews are the most awesomest thing you can give me, because they give me motivations to keep writing and helps with inspiration problems. Uh, that is, if I have any...
Thanks everyone! ^^