"Grrrnnn."

"Hhmmph."

"Aaaccck!!!' Rachel Grey fell down out of exhaustion.

"Come on Rachel you have to focus!"

"I am trying my best, Emma!" How she managed to roll her eyes while almost fainting is still a wonder to her.

"Well you are not trying hard enough if you are getting exhausted by a mere psiblast!", the White Queen chided while huffing her loose strands to its proper place. "I am not even using all of my focus to attack you yet you whine like a toddler." She added sardonically.

"I just need a break for few minutes to recover!" Rachel's response where muffled by the ground covering her face. Too exhausted to even rollover.

"Do you really think the Phoenix Force will be so lenient with you? With any of us? I never pegged you to be a pushover. What happened to being one of the most powerful psychics in the world?" Emma retorted. Perfectly masking the panic feeling inside which is growing exponentially by the second.

She knew firsthand how corruptive the Phoenix Force is. She only held a paet of it but it has been enough to haunt her for the rest of their lives. She knew that every host of the Phoenix Five had been damaged one way or the other.

She did not want to push her so hard but she is their only chance of escaping the Phoenix Force's wrath just in case it decided to pay them a visit. They all knew that Rachel is the only person who hosted the immortal psychic raptor. But she of all people know that the Phoenix she hosted had been already tamed by her mother. The Phoenix of this universe is not so keen on diplomacy. It would knock the door down and burn everything afterwards.

As much powerful as she is, even she cannot contain the Phoenix Force for so long. No one ever did.

'Except for one.' Her inner self chimed in. She brushed off the uneasiness in her stomach.

"Don't you think you guys should take a 5-minute break?" Ororo asked trying to break the tension.

Emma reluctantly faced Ororo. She knew that tone. It may be formed as a question but it is in no way a request but an order. Emma stared at Storm for a long while before the former shook her head and decided she would not win this battle.

She may be once and still is an arrogant woman but she still knows how to pick and choose her battles. She would not survive this long if she wasn't. And this lady in front of her is just as formidable as her, boasting feats only a deity can possess; which is getting impatient on her lack of response by the minute.

'Not to mention she bested you on almost all your altercations.' She smirked. She would be caught dead before admitting it but she knew deep down that Storm can beat her just as she can beat the former. It did not help that the weather witch has a willpower greater than some of the most skillful telepath.

'Thick skull' She smiled inwardly. Remembering how crude Kurt's description of Storm's mental walls.

"Ehhhmm.", she cleared her throat to die down the soft giggles threatening to escape. "Alright. We will have a 5-minute break and then we will resume. I expect no more lousy excuses by then." She looked at the young redhead.

"Rachel, you did good." She said which earned an earnest beam from the redhead summer. She acknowledges it with a nod before turning her back and walked across the yard of the X-mansion.

"How is it going Emma?" Scott asked once Emma approached them. A question present in the minds of all the present members of X-men.

"It is all going well. But I am afraid we needed more time to prepare her." Storm filled her comrades in.

"Time that we do not actually have." Rogue reminded.

"Can't we do anything to delay it?" Kurt asked looking around his comrades for answers.

All of them painted the same face. They could always try but no one seems confident that it would work. Not even Gambit, Colossus, nor the Wolverine siblings who usually have a fuck it mantra showed any signs of confidence.

"Well we could most definitely try. We had stopped the Phoenix Force before, I am sure we could manage to bind time." Scott's attempt for encouragement seemed futile.

"Scott, we only managed to halt the advances of the Phoenix Force because of..." Kitty did not even need to finish her sentence to know who is she talking about.

It is true, everytime the Phoenic Force shows itself. Jean has beem there in one form of the other to help them. Kitty looked down.

The gloomy atmosphere became even more morose at the memory of their fallen comrade. Except of course the White Queen herself.

'Here goes the never ending eulogy for Saint Jean, the woman who can do no wrong' She internally scoffed.

She was pulled back from her reverie when she noticed that everybody is looking away from one person whose knuckles have already turned paler than snowflakes.

Emma scrutinized her former lover closely. To say that he is tensed is an understament. His jaws are so locked up it looks like his teeth were about to be crushed. His muscles looked like springs locked and loaded to explode at any given moment.

Jean was a sore topic to Scott, that is a known fact. Even a blind man could see that. The man still blames himself for her wife's death due to his infidelity. Much to Emma's disappointment since she believes they have no blame for her rival's untimely demise.

"Well ummm I guess we should head back then. To prepare plans just in case uhhmm Rachel would be unable to contain it." Scott scratched his neck while looking down. He waited no response from his comrades and abruptly stood up and walked towards the mantion.

"Alright. Five minutes is up. We will resume the training." Emma followed soon after.

Sad pairs of eyes followed the ex lovers' retreating figure.

"Poor Scott." Laura said.

"He still needs time to recover. But we must believe in him. He had overcome tougher battles than this."

"I love the optimism but I do not know if there is recovering from that state Ro." Gabbi pointed out.

"Well I pity Emma too. She had to endure seeing his ex lover going gaga over his wife." Bobby chimed in.

"Emma is a strong girl. She knew what is getting into. Jean will always have a big part in Scott's heart and I think she acknowledges that. " Ororo took a deep breath. "But it does not mean it would not hurt nonetheless." She sadly finished.

"I just wished we could do something to get them out of their mindset you know." Gabbi faced her sister for some help.

"No one could help them Gabbi except for themselves." Laura replied.

"Especially if they keep avoiding the elephant in the room."

"No one asked for your opinion Remy." Rogue mock punched his husband.

"Well I know you love a very opinionated me." Gambit winked which made his co members cringe.

"Eeewww. Get a room guys!"

"You just mad because you are not getting some Colossus."

"Touché Nathan Touché." And the two fist bumped before tending to their own businesses.

'Superpowers, a scintillating wit, and the best body money can buy and I still rate below a corpse.' Emma smiled sadly.

'After all these years you never fail to one-up me Jean. It does not matter if you are rotting 6 feet below the ground or up there in that fiery ball you call throne but you never cease to make me feel 2nd best. Scott may have once chosen to be with me but I always have to share him with you. Always.' She thought disdainfully while looking at the main door of the X-men mansion where Scott disappered into.

This has been the daily scenario in the X-men mansion. Rachel, Cable, and Emma are training themselves to be the main defense against the Phoenix while the others are planning for counterattack and countermeasures just in case their main plan goes awry.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

It had been near daybreak when Cable, Rachel, Laura, and Gabbi arrived at the X-mansion. The team decided to take a 1 day off from their strenuous work.

"Well that was fun. We should do it again sometime!"

"We definitely should Gabbi. It takes our mind off this impending doom." Rachel agreed.

"Way to burst our bubble Rach. Thanks." Gabbi retorded. Rachel had only bumped hee in response.

"But to tell you the truth, the longer we wait the more agonizing it gets." Cable exasperatedly said.

"I agree. It gets me more and more paranoid the days go by. It is frustrating. Ugh!"

"You already are insane Laura. You and your stupid fangirling over a model."

"Supermodel." She immediately corrected her sister giving emphasis on the word super. The three remaining x-men just rolled their eyes. It had been a few years since Laura discovered that model she had been fawning over.

"Unless they have abilities like us mutants, I don't think why we need to call them supermodels." Gabbi rebutted.

"Yeah. Why are they called supermodel anyways?" Rachel genuinelyasked.

"Puny mutants." Laura tssked. "Okay, I will simplify this so that you could all understand. Supermodels are those who are really successful in the fashion industry. All the fashion brands wanted to get them, they appear on magazines, music videos, heck even went to A-list parties with the most famous celebrities." Laura is too engrossed to notice that her comrades are making fun of how devoted she was in explaining a topic they found to be so trivial.

"And on top of this modelling hierarchy is my idol, Nastia. She is an uber amazing model Gabbi. Too bad she is already retired."

"Maybe she is not that great then."

"She retired because she wants to live a peaceful life Gabbi. Had she been modelling up until now, she would dominate all the campaigns and runways." The elder wolverine chastised.

"She is not that good if she retired early."

The Wolverine siblings bid their goodbyes to the Summers upon reaching the stairs.

"She is!"

"No she isn't!"

"Yes she is!"

"Nope."

Rachel and Cable chuckled at the fainting banter of the sisters.

"Those girls. They act like 5-year-old sometimes."

"Right with you there sis. You want some coffee? You know to remove any hangovers?"

"Only if you are preparing dear brother." She motioned her hand forward towards the kitchen.

"Do you think we assumed wrongly?"

Cable paused to look at her sister. Not entirely sure what the topic was.

"About what Rach?"

"About the Phoenix Force. Maybe we just assumed it is the Phoenix but it is not." Rachel looked down. Ashamed of the possibilty that they caused this mass hysteria based on wrong assumptions.

"Don't be ridiculous Rach. All of us felt it too. Even Emma confirmed."

"Then why is not yet looking for a host? Not looking for me?" She stated as a matter of fact.

"Such arrogance! How sure are you that it is you who the Phoenix Force wants?" Cable's eyes shone with mirth and playfulness. He already knew the answer to his question. But he needed something to divert the topic.

"Ugh! You have got to be kidding me!?" Rach threw her hands up in frustration.

Cable just leaned back on the partition wall beside the entrance connecting the halls to the kitchen. He tipped his head ever so lightly motioning her sister to continue.

With a loud huff, Rachel crossed her arms and responded.

"Who else do you think that deadly raptor wants?! Gambit? Beast? Rogue? Storm? Gabby? I could list all the names of every inhabitant of this institute but they still would not be compatible with the Phoenix Force."

"Emma seems a viable host. But yeah, everyone else seemed a lost cause". Cable chimed in.

"Emma is too reserved to be able to host the Phoenix Force properly. Do you wanna know why mom is the perfect host?" She asked rhetorically.

"Because she is as open book. She is never afraid to let her emotions show and thoughts heard. She is willing to let it all hang out. To be consumed by the fires of the Phoenix Force and not withholding a single thought for yourself is a feat only she could do. Emma is not like that. She puts self preservation above anything else. That is why hosting that forsaken raptor would take its toll on her."

"Had it been that way to you too Rach? Did you have to lay your thoughts out on the Phoenix?"

"Yes and no. I still have to open a great deal of myself to it but we had an understanding on the boundaries he could access. I guess that's why I have been able to use its powers. But not to the extent Mom had wielded it."

"Jean. Ehem. Mom sure is something huh?" Cable smiled and cocked his head to the side towards the kitchen. "So coffee?"

Rachel looked to his brother wide-eyed. Nathan rarely acknowledges Jean as his mother in public despite the former taking care of her most of his younger years. She knew it must have embarassed him to admit that, and judging be how red his ears are she knew better than to tease him. She just smiled and nodded.

"I think it haven't found you yet." Cable said while walking towards the coffee maker. He started pressed few buttons and the machine roared into life. The sweet aroma of the roasted beens waffed throughout the kitchen.

Rachel walked towards the kitchen counter. "You think so? I cannot imagine a celestial being like that would have a hard time finding someone."

"Well we have a lot of universes tho. So maybe it is preoccupied choosing. May you pass me the cups?" He extended his hand.

Rachel went to the cupboard and reached for two cups. "The Phoenix Force is a very picky being let alone impatient. It would not waste its time scouting other universes if it already has what it needs here." She handed the cups over to his brother and went back to the counter.

Cable poured the coffee into the cups. He grabbed one and gave it to Rachel. "Maybe it found another host?"

Rachel reached out for the cup. "The only host better than anyone will be Mom!" She murmured while sipping.

A pregnant silence took over the siblings. Both are too engrossed in the comfort of the heat the coffee provides and the comfort of just sitting down with no worries or whatsoever.

The siblings decided that sleep would no longee come to them so they agreed to move to the living room to view the sunrise together.

'Maybe it found another host'

'Maybe it found another host'

'Maybe it found another host'

'Maybe it found another host'

Cable's words echoed in Rachel's thought in an endless loop as she walks at a steady pace. The wheels in her head are processing the possibility of her mother's rebirth.

"Nathan you are a genius!" She called to her brother who is a few feet ahead of him. Her epiphany getting stronger by the second.

Cable looked backed and smile. "I usually am my dear sister. But I have no idea what you are talking right now."

"Mom is alive!"

"What?" Cable choked on air. He narrowed his eyes. "Are you drink? Have you hit your head going back here?"

"No Nathan. Listen to me. She is alive. She has to be!" Rachel moved passed a confused Cable.

"The only reason the Phoenix Force leaving us be is if Mom is alive! Cable we have to look for whoa Scott?"

Rachel abruptly halted. She seemingly forgot about what she is saying upon seeing his father slouching in one of the sofas near the grand piano. with a beer on his side.

"Slym you alright there?" Cable asked while approaching their father figure.

"Ah yes. I just can't sleep. I worry too much about the return of the Phoenix Force. There are so much at stake here." Scott rambled on. "If we failed, I might lose any of you two. And that is something I would never permit. I have already lost your... a lot." Scott backpeddaled. He knew he could be honest with his kids about his regrets and longingness with their mother. But still, he thinks his kids should not be involved in his wallowing defeat.

"And Emma." Rachel added.

"Huh?" The patriarch Summers asked.

"You would lose Emma too." She insisted. Rachel knows its petty but she just can't help to make his father squirm just a little.

Cable squeezed her arm and send a warning look.

"Uh yeah. Of course. Ms. Frost is a valuable X-men and a good professor. Besides, she is our friend. Our family. It is hard enough that we moved here so that the new breed of mutants could be saved. Besides, I do not want anyone of us getting hurt because of the Phoenix Force." Scott scrambled his thoughts. He knew what her daughter is hinting at. But he is not naive to be baited by that. He knows that Rachel still has not forgiven him completely and he vowed to to get his family's full forgiveness one way or the other.

"Is that why you're staying up late Slym?" Cable asked while eyeing the picture his father is discreetly hiding from them. He does not need to read his mind to know who that is.

Rachel noticed his brother is preoccupied looking at something and followed his line of sight.

Her eyes softened at the sight.

'It's too late for regrets Dad. I wish you would have realized it sooner.'

Scott finally noticed what his kids are shamelessly gawking at.

"Ah yes. I am just really worried. But I will do everything in my power to keep everyone alive and safe from harm. Especially you two." He said purposely a little louder and discreetly put the picture on his pocket.

"Just not my mom." Rachel muttered inaudibly.

"What was that Rach?" Scott asked.

"Oh. I said I think I might need to crash early. My ears are still ringing for weeks now." She replied all flustered.

"I think we should have it checked first thing in the morning. I will be going to bed too. We need all the rest we could muster. Goodnight Slym."

"Goodnight Nate, Rach." The siblings looked at the retreating figure of the X-men leader disappeared from the doorway.

Rachel plopped down on a chair, looking towards the horizon. A swirl of red and orange fleeks is already painting the dawn sky.

"Why is really unfair." Rachel broke the silence. She is looking at her hands. Tracing the lines on her palms.

"All mom ever want is to be with Scott. But everytime it happened, she ended up having the worst end of the stick." She continued.

Without a word, Cable moved towards her sisters side and wrapped his arms around her lithe frame. He hinself does not have any answers nor have any words to encourage his sister. He just hugged her really tight and whisper 'Everything will be fine' in her ears as she sobs quitely.

Scott closed the door of his room. He changed his clothes and looked at the mirror. The man in front of him could not be anymore different than he once looked. This man looked like he just lost everything in his life. And trith be told he felt just like that. He had not remembered when was the last time he felt so alive. Days seemed to pass by him with a steady but monotonic phase. Everything felt like a routine. If it weren't for his children and the security of the mutants in their care, Scott would never leave his room. He laid in his bed, pulled out the picture and stared at it for a long time.

Pools if liquid anguish started to form in his eyes. "I wish you were here Jean. I wish you were here with me." He gave the picture one last glance and shoved it down his pocket. He decided to call it a night and lulled himself to sleep hoping that he would dream of his redhead wife.