Chapter Six: Aren't we Back in Kansas yet?
Two days passed on the Jedi homeworld of Coruscant. Kurt enjoyed every minute of it, every second of being able to walk around without anyone thinking of him as being any different. He even enjoyed the meeting he and Scott had with the small, green, Master Yoda.
Scott had left that meeting with a few lessons on control, and he was putting them to good use. But, Kurt was having too much fun to be bothered by lessons. He wanted to play.
However, play was becoming lonely. He had Scott, he had Ce'it, but that was all. While the people here were friendly enough, as long as he stayed in the Temple, they were always too busy. None of them knew anything about what he liked, and he was starting to miss his home.
And it was entirely too hard to play a practical joke on a Jedi.
Kurt was pacing around Ce'it cramped quarters as Scott sat on the floor, legs folded under him, meditating. He called it "learning more about him powers", Kurt called it boring. Granted, he preferred a peaceful life, but spending most of your waking hours in meditation was a little too peaceful.
But then there was the Jedi's weapon of choice. Ce'it rarely ever carried in lightsaber in the Temple, but he had it with him now after Kurt had almost decapitated himself with the vibrant blue blade. All Kurt did was thumb a small button and the mysterious inner workings of the lightsaber kicked into effect. He startled, dropping the weapon and porting across the room. Lucky for Ce'it's carpet, the lightsaber was designed to deactivate when it was dropped.
Unlucky for Kurt, Scott was there to see it and the older teen teased him about the episode frequently. Well, as frequently as Mr. By-The-Book could tease anyone.
Kurt stopped pacing as Ce'it entered the room. The Jedi yawned deeply, plopping carefully onto the couch. For some reason Kurt couldn't place, and he thought he might be best off not knowing, Ce'it treated his tail carefully, arranging it between two cushions as he sat down. Scott opened one eye, before returning to his meditating. His sunglasses were still on his face, but they seemed less permanent for some reason. Perhaps all that meditating was doing him some good.
"So, vhat's the news?"
"Skimmer will be here in an hour. The Council wants me to go back with you to report on the stability of that end of the Gate."
"That's great!" Kurt hopped on one foot. "Zhat means you get to stay vith us!"
"Sorry, it doesn't." Ce'it continued speaking as Kurt's face fell. "It does mean that I will be able to visit more often. I just got back from a meeting with the Taou. They tell me the Gate is too rogue to be fully anchored, so they have arranged for it to rotate as the anchors weaken. One of those anchorages in on the Valter moon, one on Mersai, my mother's homeworld, another is on the Kiorrhe homeworld, and the final anchor is here, in the Jedi Temple in a very special shielded room."
"How long vill za anchor stay in one place?"
He shrugged, "We can't tell for certain until the Gate develops its own pattern. But the Taou thinks it might change every few days." He leaned forward, smiling. "So, when I visit, I might be able to visit a week before the end comes back here."
"So, you can visit?!"
"Yes, though I will need a long nap after I go through the Gate. It's not pleasant for those of us connected to Qua'Xia."
"Well," Scott spoke, unfolding his legs, "If we have an hour, we might as well help Ce'it clean this place up. Or at least vacuum," he looked around the room, "You're both shedding."
Brooklyn couldn't miss this, Traddess was throwing a huge party. They said it was because they Gate was under control, but he thought it was because they just needed the release. From what he had learned, Traddess had undergone a battle to save a world that didn't even know they were on it. They needed to just be themselves for a bit, mourn for their lost, and celebrate their lives.
Right now, he watched in amazement as Lexington shyly asked a brown-furred doglike Mintakken Itex with long black hair. Angela and Broadway were inseparable, each hanging from the other's arm. Goliath had insisted on Elisa's presence, even though she spent the first part of the night staring at mutants, Kiorrhe, Taou, Valterins, Itex, and one colorful Jedi.
The party had started shortly after Ce'it, Kurt, and Scott arrived in the hanger. Skimmer was excited to see some of her old friends and had promptly gone off "To chase the stardust" as she called it.
Some of the gathered had taken some time to relax, especially the members of Xavier's School for the Gifted. The youngest, Kitty Pryde, still avoided most of the Itex and all of the Gargoyles, but a baby Plainsrunner melted her fear. She had toddled right up to Kitty, sucking on the tip of her tail. "Where's your fur?" she had asked innocently. Kitty gave in, escorting the young Itex around the party and keeping an eye on her.
He laughed, waving Hudson over. Elini giggled something soft, walking up to the rust-colored Gargoyle as well.
"Quite the gathering, eh lad?" the elder Gargoyle quipped, turning to face the crowd. Due to the amount of people, the party was being held in the hangar. He had never seen Humans so badly outnumbered before in his life. And they were all simply enjoying one another's company. Hudson continued speaking. "Ah, too many people for my old bones. I think I'm going to sit the rest of this one out."
Ce'it walked up to Brooklyn, bowing in the Jedi fashion. "I don't believe I have met you yet, I am Jedi Knight Ce'it Ki Oshanna."
"Brooklyn," he held his hand out in the Human style.
The Jedi shook his hand, his grip firm. "I almost mistook you for a Kiorrhe," a mischievous twinkle shown in his dark blue eyes.
Broadway and Angela trotted up next to them. "Have you seen all the food they have?"
"I have," Brooklyn laughed. Ce'it looked intently at Angela.
She suddenly sobered, her expression worried. "What is it?"
"C'mon, I know you can sense things, Xavier explain some about the Force to us before you got here," Brooklyn growled.
Ce'it smiled, looking up at Angela. He placed a hand on her belly. "A girl," he closed his eyes, searching with the Force.
"A girl?" At first Broadway didn't comprehend what Ce'it was saying. Then it hit him in one fell swoop, "A girl! Hey everyone!" he called out loudly, most of the partying beings stopped and stared at him. "We're gonna have a girl!"
Scott patted him on the back, "Congratulations!" Several other voices chimed in their praise as well.
Ce'it pulled his hand away slowly. "She's a mutant?"
Broadway grew silent. "A what?"
"A mutant," Scott was shocked. "Anything else?"
"No," the Jedi pulled away, one hand rubbing the back of his neck.
"Mutant or no," a Taou woman with striking green hair and delicately pointed ears wrapped her arms around Ce'it's shoulder. "She is still a child, and we will celebrate her life as well as ours tonight! We will honor her as we honor our own!" And she promptly pulled Ce'it into a mind-searing kiss.
"Not a bad idea," Elini looked Brooklyn up and down as Ce'it came up for air.
Angela was still worried, her hand hovering over her stomach. Ce'it placed a hand on her arm, "Everything will be okay. I couldn't think of any better parents she could have, and," he emphasized the word, "You have the expertise of the Professor and the other X-Men when her power manifests."
"When? So, it's not immediate?"
He shrugged, trying to ignore the Taou woman who had a hold of his tail-tip. Brooklyn noticed that while no one was too shy to pull on his, nobody pulled on Ce'it's. He filed that observation away to ask him later. Ce'it continued speaking, "We won't know until she's born."
"Hatched," Broadway corrected, "We hatch."
"So was I," Elini spoke up, "Seems we have much in common."
Ce'it whispered something in the Taou woman's ear and she sauntered off, laughing. He leaned in close to Brooklyn, "I know you are wondering about my tail. The Taou rescued me from a planet not too long ago. I crash-landed there and my tail was dislocated." Brooklyn winced.
"Will it be okay?"
The Jedi smiled, "It already is, I'm just jumpy about it being tugged on," his voice lowered again, "because how do you think it gets relocated?"
Brooklyn winced again, and Elini cut their conversation short. "I hope you two are done comparing battle stories, there is a good song on and I want to dance!" She didn't wait for Brooklyn to respond, and instead pulled him onto the dance floor, laughing.
Xavier and Hudson sat on the upper balcony, watching the party below. Kitty Pryde played with a young Itex, Evan, Scott, Jean, and Rogue were dancing among Taou and Itex. Logan and Storm watched from the sidelines, the former trying to hide his smile and the latter chatting with an Itex covered in spots. Kurt twirled on the dance floor with a graceful Taou woman, her purple hair bouncing in time with the beat. Even Bronx was having fun, the Itex and mutants delighting in petting and feeding him.
K'Payr was a startling white cloud gracing each partygoer. Donnye relaxed for once, stalking various partygoers and occasionally pouncing on them, much to their delight.
The Gargoyles were no more alien to the gathering than the walls. They fit right in, Angela and Broadway side by side on the dance floor. Brooklyn seemed to have found a friend in Elini, and Lexington was deep in concentration with a white Mintakken Itex with large splotches of tabby color. Goliath and Elisa twirled in harmony, the Human getting used to being outnumbered quickly.
Xanatos and Fox enjoyed each other as well, their baby the youngest member of the party. Younger Taou and Itex flocked to them to see and admire the young Human. Owen stood off to one side, watching everything, until a slim Taou asked him some engaging question.
Xavier turned to the older Gargoyle at his side. "Quite the gathering."
"Aye, that it is."
"I must admit," Xavier folded his hands before him. "I would never have believed such a gathering possible until now."
Hudson laughed, "As did I. I feel as though we are watching history."
"Now," Xavier began softly, "If we could only get the rest of the world to join us in our celebration."
"Who knows, we just might," the Gargoyle shrugged one wing-covered shoulder.
Fini--for now!
Wow…what a marathon to get this done before college started! I do have an idea for ANOTHER installment. This one tried up more loose ends that ya'll think. ^_~ Now, Ce'it can travel from one world to the other.
BUT, the next story will focus more on the Gargoyles (specifically the baby), Ce'it and the mutants. Hmmm…Yoda meets Xavier anyone? Sounds like fun! ^_^
Well…gots to go, that whole college homework thing. ^_^;
But y'know, my future is waiting for me, and I'll be damned if I'm gonna spend the rest of my life working for Wal-Mart!