Chapter Thirty-five: Gratitude

Wolverine parked the car in the garage that was a part of the mansion and walked out of it, heading towards the mansion itself. He'd been spending the night on the local bar to get his mind off the fight earlier, but had soon gotten bored of sitting there drinking beer. Once upon a time it would be more than enough for him, but he'd change lately. Ever since first coming to the mansion with Rogue on tow his life had become everything he thought it'd never be. Now he actually preferred spending time at home. And this was the man who had no recollection of ever having a home before.

At first he only came back to make sure that Rogue was alright. He'd felt a kinship with her, something he had never done. She'd been the first person that he'd ever warmed up to, and she became like a daughter to him. And then there was Jean Grey. So beautiful it made his heart ache, but so in love with Scott. And then they'd both died, Jean by his very hands. He'd felt like running then, running and never coming back. But for some reason he didn't. And as he stayed he grew closer to all the inhabitants of the mansion, and Storm in particular. Slowly he'd fallen in love with the woman, and for the first time in his life someone had loved him back.

He couldn't leave now, he had to many commitments, too many people depending on him. The X-Men had lost so many, he couldn't abandon him. So even if he at times felt the road calling for him he ignored that voice and stayed. And if it got too bad he left for the bar to kill a few beers. It worked well enough.

The mansion was quiet as he entered it. The kids were safely tucked away in bed by now, most of them sound asleep. He silently made his to the stairs that lead upstairs, the stairs that lead to the dorms, and therefore also his room.

As he sat foot on the floor of the second story his ears suddenly picked up on a sound, and he instantly honed in on it, just to make sure nothing was wrong. Most likely it was some kid having trouble sleeping, but one never knew. The mansion had been attacked before, and it could be attacked again.

He recognised the sound of raised voices and walked towards the sound. At first the voices were just a murmur, but as he got closer he could make out what they were saying. It didn't take many words until Wolverine started running towards the voices, not sneaking along.

He couldn't believe what he'd just heard, he had to make sure it wasn't just a misunderstanding. No one would be harmed if he just barged in on a normal lover's quarrel, but if he'd interpreted it correctly it was no lover's quarrel and not barging in would have consequences he didn't want to think about.

A few days ago Mystique had approached him, telling about how she was worried something was wrong at the mansion. He'd said she was seeing things that weren't real, but ever since he'd had this nagging feeling. He kept looking over his shoulder, fearing that there was something going on that they didn't know about. Maybe this was what was wrong? He'd mentioned it to Storm as well, but she didn't seem to think anything was anymore wrong then they always were. But this, this was definitively worse than normal. He should have trusted his own instincts.

Wolverine burst through the door that hid the voices and instantly all his fears came to live. He had no idea whose room he burst into, but he recognised Ana immediately, so that made the possibility of one of two rooms most likely. But that was not important, what was important was the man currently holding a knife to her throat. Wolverine stopped dead in his tracks the moment he saw that knife.

His eyes followed the hand that was holding the knife until he met a sight he had not expected. At first he thought it was Warren holding the knife, but then he realised that something was wrong. The lips were too thin, the nose too sharp, the body too tall. But the wings were still there, although smaller than they used to be.

"What the fuck…" he mumbled under his breath as his brain tried to interpret just what he was seeing. His gaze slid back to Ana, and he saw the look of defeat in her eyes as tears streamed down her cheeks.

"Stay away or I'll cut her throat," the person behind Ana hissed, and Wolverine's head snapped back to him. He looked at that face for a moment, trying to completely comprehend what was happening. Without even thinking about it he sniffed the air. Wolverine used scent as much as sight, it could tell him just as much.

What it told him now wasn't very helpful. He could smell Ana, could smell her adrenaline. And he could smell Warren, but mixed in with that was a smell he hadn't smelled before. The smell of a person that wasn't Warren or Ana.

"Care to tell me what's going on before you make threats?" Wolverine asked, trying to keep calm. Acting rashly would not do anything good at this time. He needed to get control of the situation. Too bad he had always been better at acting rashly. He'd never been a great negotiator, his policy had been cut first ask later.

"Isn't it obvious?" the other man said, and Wolverine saw a vicious smile spread on lips that looked less and less as Warren's as they spoke.

"You are a shapeshifter," Wolverine stated matter-of-factly.

"Well, bravo!" the man said, his voice nothing but sarcastic. "I would applaud, but it seems like my arms are a little bit preoccupied." He nodded down to where he was holding the knife. His other arm he held around Ana's chest, holding her close to him.

"Warren is dead," Ana suddenly said, her voice weak and hoarse. Wolverine stared at her in disbelief until she continued. "The Brotherhood killed him and this son of a bitch took over his place!" The last was said in a scream, and Wolverine was certain it would wake the entire corridor. But they did not need any kids coming to witness this. He kicked the door shut behind him.

"Let her go," he said to the man that looked less and less like Warren by the second. The wings were half their original size, and the blue eyes of Warren were grey now, the colour of dense fog.

The man only laughed. "Yeah, I let her go and you stab me with those nasty claws of yours, is that your idea?" Actually it was exactly what Wolverine had planned, but the man didn't have to know that.

"You let her go and we let you go," he said. "There's no way you are getting out of here alive if you kill her."

"Oh, is that so?"

"Yes, it's just like that, because, if you kill her I'll kill you before you can even blink."

"Wolverine, the great killing machine. That's what you do best is it not? Kill and maim with those nasty claws of yours. You are just a beast, a savage. Like I could ever trust you to let me go."

"Kid, don't do anything stupid. You don't have to ruin your life with this. You don't even have to go back to the Brotherhood, you can stay here and we'll help you." Wolverine was desperately trying to come up with an idea, but was finding it hard. He wasn't a strategist, he was a fighter. But he couldn't take out this man, not before the shapeshifter killed Ana. He had to get him away from her somehow. He wished Storm was here, she would have known what to do. Or better yet, the Professor. Chuck would know exactly what to do and what to say. Or if he didn't he'd just take control of that asshole of a man and make him put away the knife. But Chuck had nearly gotten himself killed and was still healing on Muir Island. He couldn't help, so it was all up to Wolverine now. He hated responsibility.

"Don't call me kid, I'm Shadow," the man said, and Wolverine could see how the knife pressed into Ana's neck, pressing the skin in but not cutting, not yet.

"Fine, fine, Shadow it is," he said quickly and held up his hands in defeat. Obviously getting him angry was not a good way to go about this. Maybe reason would work better.

"Shadow, how do you plan on getting away from here? You know you don't have a chance."

"Oh, don't I now?" The look on Shadow's face was nothing but wicked. For a second nothing happened, but then he started changing. But now he didn't change his eyes or features, just the wings. They grew larger and larger, growing towards the size of Warren's wings. Wolverine's eyes widened and his hands curled into fists. So that was his plan was it? Fly out the window? The worst thing was that it might work. Warren's wings had been strong enough to carry people, so there was no reason Shadow's version of the wings couldn't do the same. He could just fly out the window with Ana, and there was nothing he could do about it. He cursed inside.

"Just kill him," Ana said suddenly, and Wolverine's gaze snapped from Shadow to her. There was a look of defeat on her face, but also determination. "Don't think about me, just kill this bastard. I can't stand the thought of him living and hurting other people, and I'm not worth it. Just kill him and get it over with. Then he and I are the only two that dies, not whoever else he might harm and kill in the future."

Wolverine couldn't believe what he was hearing. Ana wanted to sacrifice herself to make sure that Shadow didn't go loose? There was something so noble about it, even if it was a big heap of bullshit. Wolverine was not going to give up on her yet, there would be some way to get her away from him.

"Come on, Ana, you can't give up like that. Use your powers, fry the bastard!" he said. He was surprised she hadn't done so already. He knew how powerful she was, he'd seen enough of her Danger Room sessions and fighting not to know, but why hadn't she used them now? Something else had to be wrong.

Ana smiled wearily through the tears. She was so happy that Wolverine had come to help her, that he cared enough to do so. There were periods where she wouldn't have believed anyone would have cared enough to. But there was no need for him to worry. Her life didn't matter anymore, she knew now that she couldn't live without Warren. He'd been the best thing to ever happen to her, and without him she was nothing. She'd never be able to get over the loss. She'd just be an empty shell, an empty mutilated shell. There was no need to fight Shadow. She wanted him dead, but she couldn't do it, her powers had failed her. Her emotions had been too wild, and she hadn't been able to concentrate enough. And there was a small part of her that thought that by killing Shadow she killed the only little piece that was left of Warren in this world. Shadow had said it himself, that the little part that was Warren that he'd absorbed, was creating problems for him. And now that was all that was left of Warren in this world. The miniscule parts that had been absorbed by this villain. She wanted to kill him from taking that part of Warren, but she couldn't, in a way it would be like killing Warren, and that she couldn't do, not herself.

"Just kill him," she said, and when Wolverine didn't react she repeated it again. And again. And again. It became a mantra, egging Wolverine on so he'd attack Shadow. She knew that Shadow would kill her then, she could feel it in the very core of herself, but she wasn't afraid of death, she wanted it. Wanted to just let go off all the pain and sorrow and die.

"Kill him, kill him, kill him," she said, her voice steady and unfaltering. Suddenly a palm smacked into her cheek, making her stop for a moment. The skin stung where Shadow had slapped her, but she didn't mind the pain.

"Will you shut the fuck up!" Shadow hissed from between clenched teeth. She could feel anger radiate from him.

"Kill him," she said again, and locked her eyes on Wolverine. He looked horrified and uncertain and didn't do what she said.

Ana kept on with her mantra, her voice a little bit louder than before, and in the end Wolverine didn't have to attack to get Shadow to do something.

"Shut. The. Fuck. Up!" Shadow said and tightened the arm around her chest. She didn't shut up, and soon she felt a sharp pain radiating through her side. Her eyes widened, and her voice died in her throat as the knife made its way inside her, cutting through flesh. With a sickening sound that seemed to be the only sound she could hear, he pulled the knife out and plunged it into her body again, piercing through the soft skin of her abdomen. This time her knees gave way under her and she dropped to the ground. She could see Wolverine rush forward and a small smile tugged on her lips as she saw six claws burst from his fists. Then he reached Shadow, who hadn't moved a single inch since stabbing Ana, and then the claws made their way inside Shadow, tearing open his gut. From where she was lying she saw his eyes widen just as hers had done, but as blood gushed out of the wounds that was left after Wolverine retracted his claws his eyes drifted shut and he fell to the ground with a heavy thump. Shadow died almost instantly, and some distant part of her was happy that she could see him die. It was her revenge.

Wolverine stared at the dead body of the man that had called himself Shadow for a second before his mind started working completely and he quickly turned around and kneeled by Ana. She was lying on her side and he could see the shaft of the knife where it protruded from her abdomen.

"HELP!" he called out in desperation as he stroked a hand over Ana's forehead. She blinked heavily, but he could see her gaze growing distant. The pool of blood on the floor was growing larger by the second and he knew they didn't have any time to lose. He pressed a hand to her side, covering the first wound that Shadow had made, trying to stop the bleeding. But the blood seeped out between his fingers, staining them crimson on their path out to the floor. He screamed again, "HELP ME! SOMEONE HELP!"

Why didn't anyone come? Why weren't anyone here already? Someone should have heard what was going on a long time ago shouldn't they? Why weren't they coming? Questions fluttered madly in his mind as he pressed a hand to Ana's side and tried to keep her alive. But her breathing was growing shallow, and she was so awfully pale.

Then her lips parted and he heard a faint whisper. At first he couldn't make out the words, so he leaned closer to her. "Thank you," she whispered and closed her eyes.

A/N: Heh, dramatic chapter huh? Just two more to go now! Please do leave your reviews, so I know if you like this or not. I'm not completely finished with the next chapter yet, but I'll have it out as soon as it's finished! Thanks for reading!