Chapter Eight: Sacrifice

I'm back with the eighth chapter! One more chapter to go before I start the sequel to this story!

The two teleported on the platform of the Cerebro room.

"As it is in heaven," Kurt gasped, looking at the mirrored plates in the room, reflecting the light. He stooped admiring the place when he heard a crash above them. The Cerebro room seemed to glitch, and suddenly, they were in an illusion of the X-Mansion.

"Hello." said a voice. Storm and Kurt turned to see a little girl in a nightgown before them, between them and Professor Xavier, who was using Cerebro.

"What are you looking for?" The girl asked.

"Professor, can you hear me?" Storm asked, completely ignoring the girl, to Kurt's surprise. "You've got to stop Cerebro now."

"Who are you talking to?" the girl asked Storm, Kurt started to move towards the girl.

"No." Storm stopped him. "Don't move."

"But she's just a little girl." Kurt pleaded.

"No she's not."

"I've got my eyes on you." The girl said creepily. Her eyes were different colors.

Magneto and Mystique hurried to the helicopter to find Kyle and a chained up Stryker there.

"Mr. Stryker." Magneto mocked. "Funny, we keep running into each other. Mark my words, it'll never happen again." Kyle stood between Stryker, who was still in mental pain, and Magneto and Mystique.

"Don't touch him. He's in pain." Kyle said firmly.

"You're standing up for this...Homo sapien?" Magneto questioned mockingly. Kyle couldn't think of an answer. Erik didn't wait and raised his hand, and Kyle's metal coated skeleton under his body lifted into the air, and Magento found stray pieces of metal from the ground to tie Kyle up, before dropping him into the snow. Then he twisted the chains around Stryker's neck killing him to Kyle's horror.

"Kurt, it's about to get very cold in here," Storm warned, getting pissed from the little girl.

"I'm not going anywhere." He responded.

Storm's eyes went white as a freezing wind whooshed around them

"What are you doing?" The girl cried out. Jason Stryker, who was casting the illusion to the two, started to have ice freezing him. "Stop it!" The girl shouted.

"Jason…" Professor X murmured from Cerebro. The girl whirled around to look at Xavier, and then at Storm.

"He's going to be angry at me!" she wailed. Storm ignored her, and the wind began to get colder, affecting Kurt and he fell to his knees shivering.

"AGH!" The girl cried out, before fading away, along with the illusion of the X-mansion's Cerebro into reality. Xavier was free from the mind illusion, and yanked off the helmet. He turned around to see Storm and Kurt, and Jason behind him.

The walls around Jean, Scott, and the children started to crumble, and the mutant children started to cry.

"Logan. Logan, where are you?" Jean worried.

Nightcrawler grabbed Ororo and teleported her out of the room just as the Cerebro room started to crumble. Kurt teleported back, grabbing the Professor and teleporting out just as the platform crumbled, and Jason Stryker in his wheelchair fell with it. The X-Men and the children ran through the tunnel until they could see the snow outside.

"We have to get out through the spillway!" Storm shouted. Logan ran through the opening.

"You don't want to go that way, trust me." Logan said. "The tunnel opening with Kyle is the way out.

"Why is Kyle out there?" Scott asked.

"Come on! There's another way out of here!" Logan cried, leading them. He burst open out of the tunnel where he expected to see a helicopter. Stryker was still tied up against the wall and Kyle was wrapped up in metal.

"The helicopter was right here!" Logan cried.

"Kyle!" Jean cried. She used her powers to rip the metal plates off of him. Kyle stood up, and brushed the snow of this jacket and explained that the spillway had been released by Stryker, and water would drown them.

"Magneto and Mystique took the helicopter." Kyle explained quickly. "They wrapped me up in metal. And John joined them."

Logan looked helplessly to the side as the ground started to crumble. Suddenly, a familiar sound was heard as the X-Jet hovered above them. Inside the X-Jet, Rogue struggled with the controls while Kitty operated the hatches at the back of the X-Jet.

"I have to get inside there, now. Kurt!" Storm exclaimed. Nightcrawler teleported with her inside the X-Jet. Rogue's knuckles were white as she gripped the controls.

"It's okay, you can let go now, both of you." Storm said. Kitty and Rogue calmed down, and then got out of the seats as Storm sat in Rogue's place. Storm took control and steaded the jet, as it landed before them into the snow. Bobby appeared in the hatch.

"Hurry!" Bobby shouted, helping the children inside the jet. Jean and Scott went in also, but Kyle and Logan stayed to glance at Stryker. Artie, the boy with the forked tongue, slipped and fell. Logan picked him up.

"If you leave me, you'll never find out about your past." Stryker shouted at Kyle. "You better keep those papers you have in that backpack, Kyle."

"You know what?" Kyle shouted back. He slung off the backpack, and hurled it at Stryker. Even when those papers had information about himself, he realized that sometimes, the mind needs to discover things for itself. The papers were as good as junk, just like Stryker.

"You'll regret that, Kyle." Stryker said.

"Whatever. Keep the papers. Too bad you won't have time to read them." Kyle unsheathed his claws, but Logan stopped him.

"He only wants you to be a monster. Don't let him make you that." Logan said. Kyle gave one last withering look at Stryker, before running towards the X-Jet, where Kitty helped him get in. Logan took off his dog tag that said "Wolverine", and threw it at Stryker, before carrying Artie to the X-Jet. Artie turned around and stuck his forked tongue at Stryker, before entering the X-Jet.

"Scott, we've got to get to Washington. I fear this has gone beyond Alkali Lake." Professor Xavier murmured. He was in the seat behind Storm.. "Get buckled in, Kyle." Logan got Artie into a seat beside Kyle before reaching the cockpit.

"What's wrong?" Logan asked.

"Vertical thrusters are off-line." Cyclops responded, taking his seat beside Ororo.

"So fix them." Logan retorted.

"I'm trying." Scott snapped.

"Wait, has anyone seen John?" Kitty asked.

"He's with Magneto." Kyle answered dryly beside her.

"They're functioning, but I don't know how long they'll last." Storm said.

"I'm trying to override." Scott continued. "It's not responding!" The lights in the jet flicked before shutting down.

"Oh, no! We've lost power." Storm realized. Kyle panicked as he started to sweat. The crashing of trees were heard in the background. The water from Alkali lake would reach them and drown them all. Kyle could hear the sound of flowing water with his super hearing.

Jean silently watched the chaos. She knew that she was their last hope to save them all. But it would mean she would have to sacrifice herself. She would lose her life. Her friends and Scott. With no time to waster, Jean turned around, limping towards the exit of the plane.

Charles Xavier sensed Jean's departure. "Jean?" He asked.

Logan froze. "Where's Jean?" Scott froze also.

"She's outside." Charles said. Kyle gasped. How could he not have seen her leave? He was too focused on the water. Jean must have blocked their minds out, so she could leave silently. Cyclops leapt from his spot in the cockpit, racing past Kyle towards the exit with Logan at his heels. Jean used her powers to close the ramp before Scott could leave. The lights went on and the plane roared to life.

Scott whirled around."NO WE'RE NOT LEAVING! LOWER THE RAMP!"

Storm struggled with the controls. "I can't! She's controlling the Jet!"

Jean used her telekinesis to slowly lift the jet into the air.

The wave of water crashed into the facility, destroying it. Stryker took one last look at the sky as water crashed into the wall behind him.

"I'll be back." William Stryker grinned menacingly. And he saw the tsunami of water rage above him before everything went black.

Grunting, Jean was able to make the Jet hover when she sensed the sound of water behind her. She turned around with one hand still controlling the Jet to make an invisible shield protecting the water from hitting her or the X-Jet. Everyone in the X-Jet felt a jolt as water splashed outside.

"You!" Logan shouted at Nightcrawler. "Get her now!"

Kurt tried to teleport, but he couldn't. "She's not letting me!" He cried. Logan whirled around to Kitty.

"You gotta get me through the X-Jet!" Logan shouted. Kitty closed her eyes and groaned as her body phased in and out.

"I can't!" She cried. Kyle grabbed her hand.

"I know what I'm doing."

Everyone silenced to look at Professor X whose eyes were closed. Jean was speaking through his mind.

"This is-"

"The only way." Jean finished.

Cyclops ran to Xavier. "JEAN! Listen to me! You can't do this-I can't lose you."

"Goodbye," Jean answered.

"No, no, NO!" Logan cried out.

The X-Jet hovered into the sky, and Jean Grey's body seemed to glow red-ish orange. The Plane flew into the sky. Scott raced towards the window just as Jean put down her hands and the water raged around her until she disappeared into the water.

Logan stood frozen in shock. "She's gone." He whispered. "She's gone." He said in a louder voice.

Nightcrawler recited a new prayer. "The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. He maketh me lie down in green pastures, Yea though I walk through the Valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me."

Yep. Jean's "dead". But she'll return in the sequel! Here's your teasers:

"Why did she leave the plane?"

"Professor, Is everything alright?"

"Are you okay, Kyle?"