Chapter Seven
Run away.
"So, are you telling us that she looses her memory every three years?" Hank McCoy asked Dekua who was sitting by Yoshiko's bed side, "But, if she can't remember her past, or even her age... she could be older than Logan as far as we know!"
"She can't be that old," Ororo said, she sat in a chair across the room starring at the unconscious Yoshiko, "She must be only ten! Nine even!"
"It doesn't matter," Logan said, he had taken a seat by Ororo, "Take me for example, I look late thirties but I was in World War I...."
"Good point Logan," Charles couldn't seem to tear his eyes away from Yoshiko, so many questions ran through his mind, "What day is today?"
"June sixth...." Dekua ran his fingers threw her thin hair, "This happens every three years, at six o-clock in the morning on the sixth month on the sixth day... 666..."
"Oh my..." Ororo put a hand over her mouth as she let go a small gasp.
"Is it possible we're dealing with something-- supernatural?" Mr. McCoy asked, "Her powers don't really have an origin, she can't control them at all except that walking threw in and out of shadows trick."
"Anything is possible Hank," Xavier looked up at the bedroom door when the other two Monks entered.
A short, chubby Monk with the same basic orange robe like the others entered the room with another one. He was holding a small mug filled with a steaming liquid, he walked over to Yoshiko as the other Monk sat her up in the bed. He opened her mouth and slowly poured some down her throat, she gagged as it went down. Her eyes flickered open and accidentally pushed the mug out of the Monk's hand, it shattered into pieces on the floor of the bedroom.
"Where am I!?" Yoshiko gasped for air as Dekua pushed her back down into the bed.
"Calm down," He said, he pulled the covers up to her neck, "Your safe Yoshiko Seika."
"Yo-sh-eye-coe?" Yoshiko stammered, her sweet Japanese accent was gone. Her English was perfect as if she'd been able to speak it all her life, "Is that my name? W-where am I? W-who are you?"
"Amazing!" Hank spat out, "Simply amazing! Just yesterday she was struggling to say hello and now she's speaking it like a native! Her mind adapted to the environment's language! This is remarkable!"
"Wh--" Yoshiko stopped, she took a good look at Mr. McCoy's monstrous figure, that same fear lit up in her eyes.
"Oh no!" Charles wrapped his mind over her quickly, pushing aside the Monks.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!"
Black lightning shot out of her like needles, they thrashed against the invisible wall of Xavier's mind. Xavier could feel the pounds of the lightning, he concentrated harder into Yoshiko's mind and tried to talk to her.
"Yoshiko! Calm down!!"
It wasn't working, what was it he said that clamed her down the last time!?
"It's all right?"
He tried the first things that came to his mind.
"No one is going to hurt you?"
It hit him, what do all little kids want?
"Yoshiko Seika!! I'll protect you!!!"
Protection....
Kitty sat in a big comfy chair in one of the main libraries, her knees tucked in, she hugged them and rocked slowly back and forth. Jean sat across from her in a twin to Kitty's chair, Evan, Kurt, Rogue, all sat on a couch. Scott couldn't help but pace, he didn't want to sit down. He was just so restless he felt as if he sat down he'd miss everything.
"What is wrong with that kid!" Evan finally broke the silence, "She seems just so much like a problem child!"
"It's not her fault," Jean said, "She never asked to be a mutant... none of us did..."
Silence fell over the small group once again, Rogue shifted in her seat. She didn't like the silence all that much, she stood up and walked out of the room.
"Rogue," Scott jogged after her leaving the others in the library, "Where you going?"
"I'm going for a walk is all," Rogue mumbled.
"A walk to?"
"Well... it's no use just sit'in there worry'en," Rogue said as she and Scott walked down the empty hall ways, "I say we go to the Professor and ask him straight up if Yoshiko is going to be okay..."
"Mm-hm," Scott nodded in agreement, "Where are they are now?"
"I'm guessing, but I think all the adults are in Yoshiko's room," Rogue took a turn at the end of the hall and headed towards Yoshiko's room.
"Come in."
Charles answered before they even reached out to knock on the door, the two hesitantly opened the door and walked into the crowded room. They saw Dekua placing Yoshiko back onto the bed and covering her back up.
"Professor," Scott asked, "We want to know straight up, is she going to be all right?"
Rogue let out a sigh of relief, she didn't really want to be the one to ask Xavier. She was relieved Scott asked instead.
"Yes," Xavier looked up from where Yoshiko laid, "We'll find a way to break that gene... I'm not sure how, but we'll figure something out."
"What gene?" Rogue asked.
"One of her abilities is that her memory is wiped completely blank every three years," Xavier wheeled over to the door and opened it up, "If we can break that gene, then maybe we can help her recall her past..." He sighed, "Now if you don't mind?"
Rogue looked to Scott, he nodded and the two left, Xavier looked to the others in the room.
"I'd like to be alone with her," Xavier said, "Maybe, while she's in her weak stasis, I can reach to her somehow..."
Logan got up and left, Ororo left, one by one everyone left. Dekua was the last to leave, hesitantly he let go of Yoshiko's small hand and closed the door behind him.
Charles wheeled over to her beside, she looked so peaceful, so calm... so innocent. He glanced at the half of her wear white dominated that part of the body, innocent. He shuttered when he looked to the dark side with the black hair, suicide? Did she kill herself in the dream? How'd she project it to all those people! Was it just the people in the institute? Could have been projected to all of Bayville? American? The world? If so two certain questions remained; How? And Why?
He took his hands and touched both of her temples, her closed eyes twitched as he entered her mind.
Nothing.
He was about to retreat when he herd soft whispers come from the back of her mind.
"Terribilus est locus iste..." A small child walked into his sight, it was Yoshiko. All of her hair was white, her eyes shone with light radiance as if she was an angel. She wore a gown of white silk, it flowed to her toes and wrapped around her slim body. She should have had wings and a halo, but they seemed to be misplaced.
"Yoshiko... it's me, Xavier," He tried to reach out to her but something refrained him, "Are you okay Yoshiko?"
She walked closer to him, she took his hand in her hers and guided him in deeper into her mind. They walked farther, and farther. Until they came upon a small garden of white roses, a swing hung from a tall willow tree. She let go of his hand and ran to the tree giggling, she jumped on and waved him over to her.
"Push me!" Yoshiko giggled, "Please!"
He reluctantly walked into the garden and to the willow tree, he went up behind her and pushed her softly so she swayed like the branches of the bowing tree.
"Higher!" She giggled, "Higher! I wanna touch the sky!"
He smiled and pushed the small child higher into the sky, the two were laughing together, they were having so much fun they didn't even notice the roses start to turn black. The white roses turned as dark as night, so dark until they started to shrivel up and die right there. It was like a virus, one then two, then four, then eight. Until all the roses were gone and it infected the willow tree, Yoshiko noticed it first. She gave a hushed gasp and stopped giggling.
"Go!" Yoshiko yelped as she jumped off the swing, "Quickly! She comes!"
"Who? Whose coming?" Xavier looked to the dead roses, his question was answered.
She, came. Her black hair blended with her black robe, her eyes flowed with darkness as she glared to Xavier. She rose a hand to him like he'd seen before.
"No!" Good Yoshiko jumped in the way, the black fire counter acted as she sent her own white flames, "Go! Xavier! Please!"
"Fool!" Evil Yoshiko hissed, she knew her powers would only be counter attacked so she ran up to Xavier.
She was about to grab Xavier when the good Yoshiko sent a wave of energy to Xavier sending him flying threw the air and out of her mind, he watched as the evil Yoshiko turned on the other Yoshiko. She grabbed her by the neck as she strangled her and fog covered his vision...
He shot up in bed and found himself in reality gasping for air again.
"It's okay," Jean pushed him back into his bed, "Your going to be all right."
"Where's Yoshiko!?" Charles looked around the room, it was his own.
"Gone," Logan scoffed, he had his X-men uniform on and ready, "The Monks left to go look for her," He pulled over his mask and walked to the door, "So am I."
"W-what happened?" Charles pinched the middle between his eyes, he had a killer headache, "I can hardly remember anything."
"I went back to check up on Yoshiko, figuring you'd be done by then," Ororo said, her hands we clasped around a cup of coffee, they were shaking, "When I walked into her room she was gone and you were out cold, blood was coming from your forehead. But you have no cuts, it was almost like you were sweating blood."
That explains the headache, he thought, but where would she go? He remembered her words, they weren't in Japanese and they sure as hell weren't in English.
"Terribilus est locus iste..." He whispered, "What language si that?"
"It sounds Spanish," Jean said, she took a damp warm cloth and wiped his forehead from the cold sweat.
"No, it's Latin," Mr. McCoy said, "Repeat it Charles. Please?"
"Terribilus est locus iste," He repeated more clearly.
"Terribilus... terrible... est locus.... things happen... iste... here," Hank mumbled, he looked up from the ground and repeated what he figured out, "Terrible things happen here. But there's still that other phrase."
"I tego arcana dei." Ororo read from her memory, "I think..."
"Terrible things happen here," Hank rolled off, "Be gone... for I conceal the secrets of God..." He thought this over, "We have a very powerful mutant on our hands."
"No kidding..." Scott said, he was leaning in the doorway, he was listening the whole time. He was decked out in his X-men uniform, "I'm gonna go catch up with Wolverine and help him look for Yoshiko."
"Good, more people looking for her will give us a better chance," Charles said from his bed, "Just don't hurt her! Report to us as soon as you find her."