Authors: AC, Admiral, Chaos, Maria_Cline, Dreamweaver, Flame, Jubilee_79, Lady_Yann, Le Fae, Leilee, Rainfall, Snowbaby and Teb.
Rating: PG-13 for language and violence
Disclaimer: All Marvel Characters belong to Marvel Comics. All non-Marvel Characters belong to the authors of this story. No money is being made off of this story.
Note: This chapter is slightly revised; it now includes a post by Maria_Cline (just after AC's headache post), and Le Fae's last post in this chapter has now been moved to just before AC's.
"Jamar, out of all of your boneheaded ideas, this one has to be the most stupid!" Jonas grabbed Jamar as he came inside...
"Did it pop into your head that we happen to be in a well populated area? I don't think a superpower battle would be that smart." Jonas roared angrily at Jamar for starting a battle outside their own house; Magneto and Arac had not acted hostile.
More then anything, Jonas was angry that he put them all in danger, and for putting Sammi in danger.
"You still have no self control." He let go of Jamar as Hank took Amanda.
"Chill out, what was I supposed to do... let them walk right in after this?" Jamar pointed to Amanda.
"Both of you calm down... or I'll see to that you do." Sammi said in a stern voice.
"I hope the boy's manners don't count for all of you?" Magneto said as he entered, flanked by Arac.
"One wrong word out of you, I'll throw you out myself. This is our house... BEHAVE." Sammi said in a tone that made sure that she meant business.
"Now, tell us, Magneto, how do you explain this..." Cyclops said pointing at Amanda.
Cyclops was expecting an answer from Magneto, but Logan gave it. "Creed... I hate to say it but our old enemy probably saved her life."
"Someone can obviously see reason in here after all." Magneto said.
Admiral
Cara was having the nightmare again...first she was in the Hanger, trying to stop Arac from stealing the Blackbird. She screamed as he tried to blow up her head.
Suddenly the dream shifted, and she could once again feel the pain as Arac was turned to stone, and she began to turn to stone as well. She could feel his desperation and anger, and fear as he was thrown into a deep, dreamless sleep. Cara had felt like a part of her had been closed off right then.
The nightmare shifted yet again, this time she was on the island.
Sammi had tried to stop Arac by combining Cara's and his memories and emotions, then splitting them apart again. Because of this, Cara knew what it was like to kill Sabertooth. She watched in horror as Sabertooth was blown up before her eyes, by her.
The final shift in the nightmare brought Cara face to face with her alternate self. Because of her empathy, she could feel Arac's hate burning through her... and although she tried her best to stop him from blowing up the island, it had been too much for her. She looked at Amanda with desperation in her eyes as she felt herself lose control of the explosive power, then closed her eyes in resignation as the island began to blow.
Her last thought was that she had done this. If she had learned to control her anger better, none of this would have happened. Because of her, her friends had nearly lost their lives. She blamed herself.
Just as the island began to blow up in her nightmare, Cara woke up with a scream.
"Shhhh...Cara, it's alright...it's going to be alright. It wasn't your fault. We're okay." he said as he rocked her back and forth.
Cara sobbed into his shoulder for a few moments more...then finally quieted. She pulled back and tried to smile, but couldn't. He gently wiped the remaining tears from her cheek, and gently kissed her lips. She smiled then, and kissed him back.
They pulled away from the kiss, and Jamar noticed that Cara was a little shaky. He saw Bobby standing by the door.
"Bobby, could you do me a favor? Go downstairs to our apartment and get Cara's pills from off of her dresser... I'd really appreciate it."
"Sure thing, I'm on my way." Bobby said, as he went out the door.
Cara took a deep breath, and turned around to face the room. Some of the room's inhabitants were looking worriedly at Cara, others were staring warily at Magneto and...Arac. Cara looked him in the eyes, and realized that he had been watching her. She also realized something else...where there had been no connection before, there was one now. A twin connection. That must have happened when Sammi had tried to stop him back on the island. Arac had seen Cara's nightmares, and was staring horrified at her.
But he nearly lost it when he saw into Cara's nightmare... what had he done? Eric closed his eyes and covered them with one hand. The pain he'd caused Cara... he didn't know if he could ever make it up to her. And Ryan, he'd killed her boyfriend, Sabertooth. He'd never be able to make up for that. He'd become his own worst nightmare... A killer.
Magneto had helped him through a lot of it..but now he didn't think it would be enough. He'd never be able to make it up to anyone... why was he even here?
/I've got to get out of here, now.../ he thought, as he turned and ran for the door.
"Eric!" shouted Magneto, as he put out one hand to try to stop him.
Eric didn't get very far... Wolverine jumped in front of him to bar his way.
"Get outta my way, old man...I'm leaving, and there's nothing that's going to stop me." Eric snarled. He was losing it. Everything that Magneto had done for him was beginning to unravel. He felt like he was really going to lose it, big time.
"GUYS! WAIT!!!" Cara yelled. She stood shakily up out of Jamar's arms, and began to walk toward her "twin".
/Arac... Eric, please...calm down. Please. I know...I know what you've gone through, and what you've accomplished with Magneto. Don't let it have been for naught. Please, Eric. Stand down./ she pleaded with him.
/Why are you doing this? Why are you trying to save me, after all that I've done? I...I'm not worth anything... I should have died./ Eric tells her on their twin connection.
/There is a time when we each must forgive, and move on. That time is now, Eric... If we don't, it will destroy us all. It will be hard, but please, bear with us... things will get better.. they have to./ Cara finished, as she reached him, and hugged him.
Rainfall
Bobby descended the stairs two at a time. As he neared Jamar and Cara's door, he heard noises. It sounded like giggling. He opened the door just as Robbie and Mac came racing out of the apartment on ice slides. They collided with Bobby, sending all three "icey wonders" crashing to the floor in a tangle of bodies and ice. Bobby sat up and stared wide eyed, just as Athena entered the room.
"Robbie, Mac, you two get back here now. It's nap time! And I've told you two a million times, no ice slides in the hou..." She stopped when she saw her little "angels" tangled around their father on the floor.
"Bobby!" Athena squealed, as she raced across the room.
She helped him up and wrapped her arms around him in a big hug. She didn't know what to say. Suddenly someone was tugging on Bobby's arm. Bobby pulled away from Athena enough to look at the little boy trying to get his attention.
"So, are you my dad?" Robbie asked.
Bobby didn't know what to do. He just grabbed the two little boys in a big bear hug, ala Cara.
"Bobby Drake, I'd like you to meet Robert Ryan and Hank McCoy, your sons." Athena smiled gently, she had waited a long time to see all three of her men together, at last.
flame
Hope wakes up to see Ymela smiling at her.
"I had the strangest dream.. you were in it and so was Athena... Athena! Where is she???"
"She is all right, my dear daughter, she is in the next room. I'm going to be sending her home very soon, so you'll need to say your goodbyes. She is currently sleeping, but she will live."
Hope rushes into the room and sees Athena lying there peacefully and looking better. She leans over and gives Athena a kiss on the forehead.
"Goodnight, Athena... hopefully we will meet each other again."
She steps back, Ymela then passes her hand over the sleeping Athena and she disappears from view in a sparkling play of lights.
Hope remembers what Ymela had just said to her before she said goodbye to Athena.
Turning to Ymela she asks, "Did you call me Daughter?"
Ymela nods,"Yes I did... you are my daughter, my only child."
Hope looks at Ymela, her face full of disbelief.
"How can this be? I don't remember you, least of all this place," Hope says, looking around.
Ymela sighs, "I know this is difficult to believe, after all you were just a baby when we sent you to what you call now call home. Here, come to the fire and I will show you what happened."
Hope goes to the fireplace where Ymela passes her hand over the flame, and then she sees a picture in the heart of the fire.
Hope sees Ymela and a man whose hair is much like her own. Ymela and he are very happy, especially because of their little child whom is just a few months old. She sees herself being held and given kisses. It was a regular paradise, with a loving mother, loving father and her. But the little piece of heaven didn't last long. Twisted, distorted creatures invaded the realm of dreams, and a war soon broke out. Hope's father comes in and tells Ymela,
"We're going to have to send Hope to somewhere safe, the creatures from the nightmare realm are invading. I don't want anything to happen to our precious child."
"You are certain of this? I don't want to lose our baby... Where will you send her?" Ymela asks.
"I'll send her to my home, the one that I came from before I found my way here and found you." he replies.
"If you feel that is the only way, my love, then it will have to be that way...At least I shall be able to watch her even though I won't be able to hold her... except in her dreams and mine."
Ymela kisses Hope tenderly and wraps her up in a blanket, holds her close, weeping softly while Hope touches her face with her tiny baby hands.
"Goodbye my darling one... I don't want to let you go, but it is the only way to save you. We shall meet again someday, I know this." She kisses baby Hope once more, then reluctantly lets Hope's father take her.
Hope's father holds her close to him, not wanting to let her go.
"Oh my precious little angel, you have brought such joy and hope in our lives. We named you Hope, as that is what you gave us when we realized that you were going to bless us with your presence. We felt a renewal of our hope, a new strength, to keep on fighting our battle against the Nightmares which threaten this world. And now, dear one, we have to send you away for your protection.."
His voice chokes with deep emotion as tears fall down his cheeks.
"Malcolm, it is time," Says Ymela, looking out the window, a worried expression on her face.
Malcolm nods and gently lays Hope into a basket with her blanket. One last kiss from Ymela and Malcolm on her forehead and then Malcolm sends her away to a safe place.
The adult Hope watches as her father pulls Ymela close to him then they go out to battle against the nightmare forces. She sees them fighting side by side against the dark horde, then her father falls to a nightmarish spear.
"Run My love!!! Run for your very life!!" He gasps as he falls to the ground.
Ymela does, tears streaming down her face. From one side of the dreamworld to the next, she is pursued til she gets back to her home island. There she is safe... and can keep the nightmares at bay... She is free to move about on her Island but still captive, not able to use her full powers.
The vision fades away and she turns to her mother. Ymela stands there looking into the fire, weeping. Hope gives her a hug of comfort. Ymela smiles through her tears at her daughter.
"I hope you forgive me and your father for sending you away."
Hope smiles and nods. "I forgive you."
"Oh I have something to show you." Ymela takes Hope outside to the back of the house. There Hope sees a greenhouse full of various plants.
"This was your father's, I managed to keep them alive but your father had a magical way with the plants inside. He also has a lab."
Hope looks inside the greenhouse and sees that the plants needed special care. She also realized that she needed a place to work on her magical talent. Hope looks at her mother and asks,
"May I stay here awhile?"
Ymela smiles and nods.
And so Hope stays there to do work she needs to do and wants to do, looking through her father's notes about various plants some very alien to Earth. Hope makes certain to go back to her home dimension to tell the people who care about her that she will be gone for sometime to do some research, then she stays in the realm of dreams.
Hope, busy with an experiment with one of the plant extracts she has created, looks up all of a sudden. Ymela is there beside her, a serious look on her face.
"Hope, your friends need you. Anon is back... plus a certain someone is there as well."
Hope rubs her eyes and looks at her mother. "How much time has past in Earth Alpha?"
"Four years, Hope. Time tends to pass by differently here and in the other dimensions."
"I don't feel like that much time has passed." says Hope, putting away her experiment.
"Well it has, in the X-men Universe it has only been a year."
"Oh dear!!! I bet the others that I had been corresponding with, when we ended up in the X-men Universe, are real worried about me."
"They probably are." replies Ymela.
Hope gives her a hug."Time for me to go.... Where are they at?"
Ymela shows her where they are all at. Athena and the twins are at Cara's apartment, Sammi and the rest of Vision X, as well as the X-men, are at Sammi's Loft. Except for Bobby who just arrived at Cara's apartment and is reunited with Athena and their boys.
Hope decides to pop in on Athena and Bobby. A portal opens up and she steps through into the hall after making certain there isn't anyone in sight.
There is a knock on the door of Cara's apartment. Athena looks over at Bobby, who is wrestling around with his boys.
"I wonder who that is?" She walks over and looks through the peep hole to see... Hope!!!
Athena flings open the door and pulls a smiling Hope inside, giving her a big hug.
"I can't believe it's you!!! Where have you been? How are you?"
Hope sits down and tells Athena all that has happened.
"I am so glad that you are back.."says Athena, once Hope is finished with her tale.
Hope smiles once again then sits back to watch Bobby and the twins at play.
As she watches Bobby and the twins, Hope says to Athena,
"You have such beautiful children, Athena, and I'm glad that you and Bobby are finally reunited. It really makes me very happy."
Hope plays with the forget me not necklace that Hank had given her before Vision X had gone to do battle with Anon...Hope's eyes flash just a little bit as she think about Anon. Then her mind turns to thinking about Hank and the dream date they had. What would a real date with him be like she wonders. A gentle touch on her knee brings her back from her thoughts, as she sees little Mac looking at her with big eyes. When he has her attention Mac lifts up his arms to be picked up. Hope looks over at Athena in surprise.
Athena laughs, "Looks like you've been adopted, Auntie Hope."
Hope smiles and sweeps Mac onto her lap and gives him a hug. Robert decides to get into the action as well and climbs up into her lap as well. Athena giggles and goes over to Bobby giving him a big kiss, while Auntie Hope plays with the kids. Then Athena runs to get the camera to take a picture of Hope and the kids.
Then Hope takes a picture of Bobby, Athena and the kids together. A nice family picture... at last they are together.
Dreamweaver
Kat scrambled to get in her Mommy's lap. She didn't know whom the new people where and she felt a little uneasy around them. She was normally a very outgoing little girl but the tension radiating off of everyone was overwhelming. She could smell it in the air.
"Mommy, who are all these people?" She asked, trying to make her voice as low as possible so only her Mom could hear.
"These people are friends honey. A whole bunch of new Aunts and Uncles to play with you."
"Why is everyone so angry at that guy?"
"He was confused once. He hurt some people, but he's better now." Ryan said as she eyed Eric wearily. She didn't know if she should hug him or punch him. The man killed Sabretooth, but probably saved her life and the life of her daughter in the process.
"You're not sure if he's better, are you Mommy?" Kat asked.
"What makes you say that, Scrappy girl?" Ryan eyed her child quizzically. She had always been smart, so Ryan had to be careful what she said around her.
"I can smell your fear of him." Kat said simply.
Ryan looked shocked. She had wondered if Kat would gain any of the powers that she and Victor had, and it now seems that she did.
"Kid's got Creed's powers, huh? Does she have any of yours?" Logan said, he had overheard the conversation.
"I don't know. I didn't even know that she had Victors."
Le Fae
Leilee knocked on the Sammi and Jonas's door. Jamie was standing behind her, bouncing around excitedly. She knocked again. "Guys? Open up! It's me, Leilee!"
The door opened to reveal Ryan and Kat. "Aunt Leilee!!!!!" Shouted Kat as she tackled Leilee.
"Hello, ma petite chat. Wassup? Can I stand up?"
Kat stood up and helped her aunt to her feet. "Sorry. Some of Mommy's old friends are here. There's a guy who speaks French too!"
Leilee smiled. "Really! Who?"
Suddenly Remy stepped into view. "Bonjour, Cherie."
All the color drained from Leilee's face. "Oh my lord..." she whispered.
Leilee
Sammi heard the door and smelled Leilee and Jamie. She saw Kat jump on Leilee and came over. She reached down to Kat and said,"Come here, Kit Kat." Sammi was holding Kat in her arms and walked over to Leilee. She placed he hand on her shoulder and said, "Its not a dream. You're lucky, you got Jamie in the backseat of your car. This morning I come into the kitchen and find Gumbo over here," Sammi pointed at Remy,"in my fridge."
Leilee looked at her and smiled, "Well, at least he didn't throw someone in the lake and then hit the fridge." Leilee noticed that Sammi looked like she had been crying and thought, /She must have told Jonas./
Sammi heard her thought and sent back, /Yeah, I told him. About before and now./
Leilee gave Sammi a hug and said in her ear, "I can't wait to be called Auntie Leilee some more."
Sammi pulled away and smiled and said, "Go, He's been getting on my nerves with all his questions about you." The she turned to Jamie and Ryan and said,"Cara's this way. Ryan, I want to talk to you about something." All three walked back to the living room, Sammi was carrying Kat. Leilee and Gambit were left in the kitchen.
Sammi and Ryan walked into the den.
"So, Kit Kat, You want to play Blues Clues?" Sammi asked the Little girl in her arms.
"Yep!" Kat said nodding her head very fast. It reminded Sammi of the time she and Logan were in the Kitchen and Leilee came in on a sugar high.
Sammi put Kat on the chair and put in the cd rom. And as soon as Blues came up, Kat didn't even know they were in the room.
Sammi pointed to the couch and her and Ryan sat down. She looked at Ryan and leaned over and gave her a hug. Ryan hugged her back and started to cry a little.
"It's going to be OK. We'll help you in anyway we can. You know I'm always here." Sammi said as she rubbed Ryan's back.
"Thanks." Ryan said pulling back.
"Any time." Sammi said holding her hand. "I know what's going on, but tell me how its affecting you. If there's anything I can do, You know I will."
jubilee_79
Ryan couldn't hold it in anymore. She had been trying so hard to be strong for her daughter, but she couldn't hold back the tears. They came gushing like Niagara Falls. She sat there with Sammi for what seemed like an eternity, just crying. Finally her tears slowed to quiet sobs, and she regained control of herself.
"It's just I'm so confused. I loved Victor so much and I want to be with him so badly. It's just that he tried to kill me and I don't understand why? He loved me, Sammi, I know he did! How could he go from loving me that much and then a few hours later he tries to kill me? And now this whole Arac…errr… I mean Eric thing. I should hate him for killing Victor…. And I should also love him for saving my life. I'm a mixture of emotions and I don't know what to do!"
"I know this is hard.. I don't understand any of it myself. One thing that does make sense is that Victor did love you and everyone could see it and your right he couldn't have changed his feelings for you that quickly. We will get to the bottom of this I promise you that." Sammi said trying to help calm Ryan.
Le Fae
Amanda looked around the room at the various reunions, and was happy for them... but there was sadness in her heart. She didn't see Charles anywhere. She missed him so badly, and had hoped that he would be here. Her sadness was so intense that it showed.
"I am sure that Xavier will make an appearance. He always has a way of showing up wherever I am." Stated Magneto.
Amanda smiled at him for the encouragement. She looked at the occupants of the room, and decided that it was time to have a serious discussion about what was happening. She would also have to warn her group about letting the X-men see any comics due to the fact that it could affect their future.
"I hate to break up the happy reunions, but we need to discuss why X-men and company are here. It's been nearly five years since......."
"Wait a minute. It's only been a year since the explosion, darlin'." stated Logan.
"That impossible...." began Amanda, when she suddenly fell to the floor screaming.
Pain so intense flooded through her mind. It felt like a hundred needles piercing her mind. She tried to block it, but the pain was so intense that it made the pain she felt when her psychic aura was spread halfway across the psychic plane seem like a paper cut. A million images flooded through her mind. As the pain grew in intensity, she heard a voice.
/You like to write their fates, well you just wrote their doom. See you later, mother./
A.C.
"Amanda!" Maria yelled out, accidentally shattering a glass. "You okay?"
"My head." she moaned.
Logan helped Amanda up. "What happened?"
"I don't know. My head hurts all of a sudden. It's so painful. What did you say about only a year passing?"
"I think it makes sense." Maria said as everyone else looked at her oddly. "I mean, think about it. In the comics, time passes irregularly. A year could pass while five passes here."
"Five years passed here?!" Logan asked.
"Yeah. As I recalled in the Excalibur comic, time does pass differently in alternate universes."
Maria Cline
Hope hands the camera back to Athena.
"That is definitely one to send into Kodak as a Kodak moment," she says with a straight face.
Athena giggles and takes back the camera, putting it away in her back pack.
Hope gets a more serious look on her face.
"I think we need to get going over to where the others are at. It seems that there is trouble brewing, and I think that there is a little girl who would probably like to have someone just her size to be with. Not a lot of fun to be around with just big people."
"Okay, sounds like a plan." says Athena, looking at Bobby.
Bobby nods, then he says, "I need to go get Cara's pills, Jamar asked me to get them."
He heads into the room where they are at and gets them. Coming out he states,
"Cara had a bit of fright as well as some others.. Arac, or Eric as he is calling himself , showed up along with Magneto. There seemed to be a lot of hostile feelings. I got Cara's pills, lets get going. Oh, and Amanda got hurt by Victor Creed... it seems she went and confronted him.. The meeting didn't turn out too well for her. I think she will be all right."
Hope and Athena turn a little pale hearing this. Athena quickly grabs the travel bag she needs for her kids and then says,
"I'm ready."
"So am I," says Hope.
Bobby nods and takes the hands of his little boys in his own and they head out the door.
Bobby, Athena, the twin boys and Hope arrive upstairs at the same time as Teb and... Charles Xavier!!!
The door is opened immediately by Jonas, letting in the rest of the group. Charles is immediately taken to where Amanda is.
Amanda feels her headache subside, as she hears a familiar voice in her mind.
/I heard you calling out, I am here now./
/Charles???/ Amanda opens her eyes to see the one she has been longing to see.
With a glad cry, Amanda throws her arms around Charles, giving him a heartfelt hug, fondly known as a Cara special. Charles looks in her eyes, then he kisses Amanda tenderly on the lips.
Ange sees Teb and says, "Hello Chica.." He walks over to her then he pulls her into his arms and kisses her.
Hope looks over and sees Hank. She nods at him and smiles, pointing to the necklace he had given her. Hank walks over and whispers to her,
"Dear Lady I haven't forgotten you either, I still have the scarf which you gave me," He takes her hand and kisses it.
Hope's face turns a faintly darker shade of green (her way of blushing as she has green skin) as she sees Athena look at her and smile.
Hank looks over at all the other people in Sammi's place.
"What an extraordinary gathering we have here." he says quietly to Hope.
Hope nods as she sees Cara hugging Eric, aka Arac.
"I agree with you, definitely extrordinary."
Dreamweaver