The X-Men piled into the Blackbird, heading for the coordinates that Tristan had given them.

"How are you sure this is where the Dark One is located?" Rebecca asked as they headed out of the hangar.

"I know," Tristan said, his tone making it clear that the subject was not open for debate.

Tristan was tense, looking as if he was ready to fight at any moment. Logan leaned up and rubbed his shoulders. "It's going to be fine," she whispered in his ear.

Tristan turned around to look at her, taking her hand in his. "I'm so afraid I'm going to lose you," he said.

"I promised you that you wouldn't lose me, Tristan, and I intend to keep my word on that," Logan told him with a small smile.

Tristan kissed her on the top of her head, making Logan blush a little.

"I think I'm going to be sick," Ric muttered to Billy.

Billy patted him on the shoulder. "I feel for you man, I really do."

"She could do better," Ric said, his voice barely audible. Logan looked over at him and glared. "Right, sensitive hearing," he mumbled.

Billy chuckled.

They made the rest of the trip in silence, all of the X-Men contemplating what would take place in the upcoming battle. They knew they were facing something much stronger than the Brotherhood, and even with the training Tristan had given them, they weren't sure if it would be enough.

"He's here," Tristan said suddenly as they approached the place where Tristan had said the Dark One had landed. "I can feel him."

"Where do you want me to land this thing?" Cable asked from the pilot's seat.

"Same place I indicated with the coordinates earlier," Tristan said. "It should still be the best place to launch our attack."

Cable nodded and guided the Blackbird down. Once they were on solid ground, the X-Men filed off the plane one by one. "I can sense evil here," Kacie said quietly as she stepped off the Blackbird.

Rachel nodded from beside her. "Me, too."

Tristan put his hand on Logan's shoulder. "Are you going to be all right?" he asked her.

Logan nodded. "I'm fine."

"I love you," Tristan said.

"You say that like it's the last time you'll ever say it to me."

"It could be."

Logan turned around and looked up into his eyes. "I love you. And this won't be the last time I ever say that to you. We're going to get through this."

Ric cleared his throat. "I hate to break the happy couple moment, but don't we have a battle to fight?"

Logan gave him a dirty look, then took Tristan's hand. "Where now?" she asked him.

"He knows we're here," Tristan replied.

Almost as soon as the words were out of Tristan's mouth, the ground under the X-Men's feet begin to tremble. Maniacal laughter rumbled through the sky like thunder. "I'm going to take a wild guess and say that's the Dark One," Marie said.

The X-Men all fell into battle stance, ready to defend the Earth with their lives if necessary. A dark fog began to fill the sky, slowly concentrating itself in one place until it took the vague form of a man.

"You have brought new warriors to face me, my son," the figure boomed. "I will destroy them as I did the others."

The X-Men gasped in shock at what the Dark One had just said. Tristan was his son? Wildcat turned to the Dark Angel and whispered. "He's your father?"

The Dark Angel nodded. "That is why it is my duty to destroy him, Logan. Destiny allowed me to be born for that purpose."

Watching the brief interaction between Tristan and Logan, the Dark One's shadowy mouth curved up in a cruel parody of a smile. "I see you have fallen for another woman, my son. And I would've thought that you would've learned your lesson when I killed the one before."

"I will not let you hurt her, Father," the Dark Angel growled.

"I shall see about that." The Dark One raised his arms and suddenly the dark fog that had formed him earlier spread out, molding itself into large, bat-like creatures. One of them flew at Wildcat, but before it had a chance to get to her, Canis sprung forth, his bone claws extended from his hands. He knocked the creature down and grabbed Wildcat, rolling with her out of the way.

Wildcat looked at him with surprise. "I had no idea you had instincts like that," she said.

"Must be genetic," Canis muttered, standing up. "C'mon, little sister, looks like we have a battle to fight."

Wildcat turned back to where the other X-Men were and noticed that they were engaged in a battle with the creatures that the Dark One had created. Wildcat unsheathed her claws and snarled.

She was more than ready for a fight.

*** *** ***

Wildcat and the Dark Angel were both shouting out orders as the X-Men struggled to fight the creatures the Dark One had created. Cable was impressed at how easily Wildcat fell into the role of leader, her ease in the position making her seem like the daughter of anyone but Wolverine.

Cable looked to his left and saw a creature approaching Shadow Stalker, who was already busy fighting two more of the things. Cable lowered his plasma rifle and fired, picking off first the one behind Shadow Stalker, and then the other two. Shadow Stalker looked surprised, then saw Cable standing there and ran over to him.

"Thanks."

"No problem," Cable said. "Your sister would kill me if I let anything happen to you."

"And your sister wouldn't be to happy, either, Nate," Phoenix said, approaching the two men. One of the creatures flew at the trio. Cable started to shoot it, but before he got the chance, Phoenix hit it with a psi-bolt. Three more flew towards them, and Phoenix struck them, too, before they even had the chance to touch the ground.

Cable raised an eyebrow. "Not bad for a kid," he teased.

Phoenix rolled her eyes. "Gee, thanks."

Shadow Stalker watched the surrounding battle for a moment. "How many of these things are there?" he asked.

"Seems almost like there are more of these things than when we started," Phoenix said. Her eyes grew wide as she watched one of them split into two. "Oh God, they're multiplying!"

Cable sighed, a sound betraying his status as an old, warn warrior.  "I hate to say this, but it isn't looking good," he said.

Phoenix's mouth was set with a grim determination. "Then we're going to have to so what we do best—beat the odds."

*** *** ***

Charger stared the creature in the eyes as it backed her up against the side of a mountain. As soon as her back was pressed against the rock, it snarled and lunged at her. Charger just grinned, falling to the ground and rolling under the creature. She immediately grabbed a large rock from the ground, charging it and throwing it at the creature as soon as it turned around to fight her again. The creature howled in pain, and Charger grabbed a collapsible bo from her utility belt, opening it to full length with a snap of her wrist. She swung the bo with unparalleled grace, knocking the creature to an unconscious heap on the ground.

"Well doesn't someone look like her father," Charger heard a voice say behind her.

"Renegade!" she exclaimed, turning around. She pushed a strand of reddish-brown hair from her face. "How's the rest of the team fairing?"

A bat creature swooped down and Renegade hit it with a magnetic pulse, leaving it twitching on the ground below his feet. "I'm not sure. We keep knocking these things down, but it seems like they just keep coming."

"I've noticed that," Charger said, knocking one out of the sky with her bo. "It's like for everyone we kill, two more show up.

A creature swooped down between the two of them, but before it could do anything, it suddenly froze and fell to the hard, rocky ground, shattering into a million tiny pieces. Charger turned to the direction where the ice blast had come. "Not bad, Ice Princess!" she shouted.

"That's Ice Queen!" she shouted back, taking out another bat creature.

Charger looked up to see Twister and Rainmaker combine their powers to hit a swarm of the creatures with a wind blast, knocking them off the side of the mountain they were on. "Well, that's impressive," Charger muttered.

Still, more of the creatures kept coming. Wildcat was working hard, doing her best to lead the team and to allow the X-Men to keep a handle on the situation. And even though Renegade hated to admit it, she was doing a good job.

But it wasn't enough. The creatures kept coming, and it wasn't too long until the X-Men started to tire.

Things were looking grim.

*** *** ***

The Dark One stood, watching the battle and laughing. He'd defeat these warriors as easily as he had the ones his son had presented to him before. He watched the young woman that he knew the Dark Angel had taken as a lover and smiled cruelly, remembering his son's devastation when Maritheza had been murdered. The Dark One knew it had been difficult for the Dark Angel to recover from her death, and he knew that his son may not be able to handle losing another lover the same way.

The Dark One's smile grew. He waited until he saw the Dark Angel join the woman, begin fighting by her side. It was then that the Dark One flew into the battle and grabbed her, and pulled her into his darkness.

*** *** ***

It happened quickly, before the Dark Angel had a chance to stop it. It was just like it had been before, with the Dark One ripping the woman he loved from him, and pulling her inside his shadowy essence.

Tristan could hear Logan's screams, and his whole world shattered around him. He was losing her the way he had Maritheza. He could hear that from somewhere else on the battlefield, Renegade was calling Logan's name, trying desperately to get to her, but was stopped by the mass of creatures that were attacking him, holding him back.

Suddenly, the Dark One shot forth a burst of smoke, and Logan fell from it, landing at Tristan's feet. The bat creatures became black fog once again and went to join the Dark One who laughed as he grew larger. The ground trembled and rocks began to fall from the side of the mountains. The X-Men were unable to keep their balance, and Captain Britain cried out as a large stone fell and hit her leg.

Tristan fell to his knees beside Logan, and grabbed her, clutching her lifeless body to his chest. He ignored everything that was happening around him, only able to focus on the woman he was holding in his arms. The knowledge that it was happening to him all over again and that he'd lost Logan was more than the Dark Angel could handle, and tears began to fall from his eyes.

Renegade watched the scene from where he lay, using his body to protect his sister from the falling rocks. He hated the Dark Angel more in that moment that he had before, knowing in his heart that Logan was dead, and that if she had been with him instead of Tristan, she'd still be alive.

The Dark One hovered beside the Dark Angel and Logan. "She's dead because of you," he taunted his son. "And so is the other one—what was her name? Oh yes, Maritheza—your precious little Mari. You killed them both, my son, killed them with your foolishness. Did you actually believe that they would be able to live as soon as you took them as your lovers? I promised you when you were still a boy that I would kill everyone you ever loved, just like I did your mother. It just keeps happening to you, doesn't it, my boy? Makes you wish I could kill you doesn't it? Or maybe that you could kill yourself? I can offer you the next best thing. Join with me and you'll be dead inside. You'll no longer even care about the death of the woman you hold in your arms right now."

Suddenly, Wildcat's eyes flew open and she leapt at the Dark One, her claws burying in his phantom chest. He started to fight her, started to push her off of him, but the adamantium bonded to her claws made him feel something that he never had before—pain.

"Think you spoke a little too soon about me bein' dead, bub," Wildcat growled. "Guess I forgot to mention that I heal real fast."

Wildcat twisted her claws in deeper, and the Dark One made a horrible screeching sound. "How…how are you hurting me?" he asked. "No one has ever hurt me before!"

"First time for everything," Wildcat said flippantly.

The ghostly figure of the Dark One began to tremor, and soon, he started to collapse in on himself. When he became as small as area where Wildcat's claws were embedded, the Dark One exploded, knocking anyone who had managed to get to their feet back down to the ground.

Following the explosion was an eerie silence, and then everything was normal again.

*** *** ***

Tristan got to his feet and ran to Logan, pulling her up into his arms. "Are you all right?" he asked.

Logan winced in pain. "I've been better. Is he gone?"

"He's not on Earth anymore," Tristan replied. "But I don't think he's gone for good. I'm not sure though. I can't sense him anymore, but I don't feel like he's been completely destroyed either." He looked at Logan lovingly, brushing her hair from her eyes. "You hurt him, Logan. No one's ever been able to do that before."

Logan gave him a weak smile. "I knew these claws would come in handy as something other than a kitchen appliance someday."

Tristan just smiled and held her to his chest, careful not to put her in any further pain by squeezing too tight. Somehow, Logan had lived, and he'd never been more happy in his life.

Briana attempted to stand, but winced in pain, falling back down. Craig ran up to her and helped her up, letting her use him for support. "Anything broken?" he asked.

"I think my leg is," she replied. "It hurts, and I can't move it."

"C'mon, I'll get you to the bed on the Blackbird, and Angie can take a look at it as soon as we get to the mansion."

Briana nodded. "Thank you. And Craig, I love you."

Craig didn't say anything as he helped Briana to the plane.

*** *** ***

Angela watched nervously as the X-Men walked off the Blackbird. She had spoken to Warren while they had been en route, and knew that everyone was more or less all right—although she would be getting two patients in the medlab—but she wanted to see Nathan more than anything else in the world. She had been too stubborn to tell him she loved him before he'd left, and the whole time he'd been gone she hadn't been able to stop worrying that she'd never get the chance.

Nathan was the last person off the Blackbird, and as soon as he was off the ramp, she ran to him, throwing her arms around him and kissing him passionately. The few X-Men that hadn't figured out the true nature of their relationship yet watched on in shock, while those who knew muttered random comments about how it was about time.

"What was that for?" Nathan asked when Angie pulled away.

"I love you, Nate," Angie said. "I love you more than I've ever loved anyone in my life."

Nathan resisted the urge to hug her with all his strength, reminding himself of how weak she was. "I love you, too," he replied. He kissed her once on her forehead and then smiled down at her. "Now I believe you have a couple of patients to attend to."

Angela smiled for a moment, then sobered. "How bad is it?"

Cable moved his arms so they were loosely wrapped around her waist. "I'm almost positive Briana's leg is broken in several places, and Logan—well, we thought she was dead, but she was griping at Tristan the whole way to the Blackbird because he wouldn't let her walk, and I noticed her doing it again when he carried her down to the medlab just now, so I think she'll live.

"That sounds like Logan all right," Angela said. "You want to come down with me? I'm probably going to need a nurse."

Nathan frowned. "I'll go help you, but I'm not putting on a white dress and hat no matter how much you beg."

Angie laughed. "Why, Nate, I believe you just made a joke."

Nathan draped his arm across her back, resting his hand on her hip as they began to walk off together. "Yeah, well, I have been known to make those from time to time."

Angela just smiled, happy that the X-Men had made it out again alive, and that she was in the arms of the man she loved.

*** *** ***

One more chapter left! Leave me reviews and let me know what's on your mind. I have plans for a few more new X-Men books after this one, so I need to know if anyone's reading them, or if writing more would be a waste of my time!