Hello, everyone! What's up? Here's a brand, spanking new chapter. This is probably going to be the last time I update for a while, because I'm going on vacation tomorrow... and probably won't be back for at least a week. So until then, please enjoy this chapter!
Disclaimer: I don't own X-Men: Evolution or any of its characters. All original characters are mine.
"Hope is the most exciting thing in life and if you honestly believe that love is out there, it will come. And even if it doesn't come straight away there is still that chance all through your life that it will." ~Josh Hartnett
Title: Two sides of the same coin
Author: JupiterHalo
Rating: PG to PG-13
Part: 16/?
Date completed: June 30, 2003
*means telepathic thoughts*
//means normal thoughts//
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It was finally here. They were on their way, to save the world from yet another unspeakable horror. Jean closed her eyes and tried to sleep, knowing that her wan strength wouldn't help much when they actually found Llewellyn. But, once she did sleep, there were always the nightmares to look forward to.
She felt grateful to the Professor for making them take the X Jet. If Jean had to have been on the same plane as Scott and Danny, she would have probably gone insane. Luckily, they weren't on the same flight, either, so their chances of killing each other had been greatly reduced. She sighed. Why did they hate each other so much?
Another thought popped into her mind. What if they failed? What if they couldn't stop Llewellyn in time? She recalled the conversation she had with Bobby before they left. He had been angry at not being invited along. All of the Junior X-Men were angry with that. But Jean knew that if they failed, there would be no way normal people could stop the catastrophic events that would follow.
So she told Bobby that he and the other X-Men were needed back at the mansion, or Headquarters, as Major Walker called it. The Professor and Magneto had agreed to stay behind, in case something did happen. "If we fail, you're the only chance we have at winning," she had told Bobby right before she boarded the jet. "Can I count on you to keep everyone safe for me?"
After a moment's hesitation, Bobby nodded. Then he hugged her, quickly, and retreated back into the study.
Jean rubbed her temples and tried to concentrate on the mission. It would be tough. But she was sure they could stop Llewellyn from rising.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Does everyone have their communicators?" Walker was pacing around from group to group, making sure everything was secure. They had landed in a tiny clearing in the Amazon rainforest, and now all of the teams were being issued communicators, weapons, and tracking devices.
Rogue walked over to where Jean was standing with her partner, Sergeant James Martinez. "Good luck," she whispered into Jean's ear before hugging her. Jean returned the hug and nodded.
She looked over to where Danny and Scott were standing. Both of them kept shooting glances over at each other, wariness filling every ounce of their being.
*Good luck, you too,* Jean sent both of them the thought. Danny smiled at her, and Scott waved before they turned and walked into the jungle.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Both men walked side by side, not saying anything. There were many things Scott wanted to ask Danny, like "Why Jean? Why not some other girl?" but kept quiet. The air was still. As they hacked their way through the forest, Danny noticed that the area was totally devoid of life. Even high up in the trees, where you would expect animal calls and rustles.
"I don't like this," he muttered to himself. Scott heard him, though, and was amazed that he actually agreed with the guy. For once.
"Yeah," he said back. "It's too quiet."
"Team 0013, anything to report?" A broken, static voice made its way through their communicators. Danny was quick to respond.
"Nothing yet. But we're keeping our eyes out."
"Roger. Over and out."
They walked in silence for a few more minutes, the tension in the air heavy and thick. Finally, Danny looked over at Scott and said quietly, "I didn't mean for things to turn out like this. I'm sorry."
Scott laughed, a small, cold sound. "Yeah. I'm sure you are. I'm sure that you're too honorable to leave things unpatched, aren't you?"
Danny stopped short and took a deep breath. "Jean thought you were dead. It hurt her so much. And it hurt me, knowing that there was nothing I could do for her."
"Yeah, now you're really breaking my heart."
"She was just trying to get on with her life! I'm sorry to break it to you, Summers, but people change. Things change. So, don't go blaming me for the fact that life went on while you were away."
"Don't make it sound like you know something about me!" Scott shouted, heedless of the people who might hear him. "I love Jean! I love her with every ounce of my being! There wasn't a day that went by that I didn't think about her."
Danny looked at him. "But you couldn't even tell the woman you claim to love so much that you were alive?"
Scott shoved Danny, then, his temper getting the better of him. "Don't talk about something you know nothing about." He walked past Danny, taking the lead. "So, don't act like you know anything about me."
"Well, I know a lot more now, don't I?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Things were not going well for Jean. Martinez didn't want to cooperate with her, so they just walked along in complete silence. Every once in a while, her thoughts would drift to Scott and Danny. It was a selfish thing to think about, but Jean wondered what she was going to do about them. She knew that both of them loved her. And she cared deeply for both of them. It was hard, and a familiar pain beat at her heart when the thought of hurting one of them entered her mind.
She couldn't string both of them along. It wasn't fair to either of them. Both deserved much better.
Jean blinked a few times, the tears pricking at her eyes receding. She concentrated on the trail, trying to pick out something... anything.
A sudden sense of deja vu swept over her as they moved along. Her eyes reverted to the trees around them, noticing the same emptiness and lifelessness they seemed to hold. She felt Martinez stop beside her. "Look there."
Jean's head snapped up as he said that, looking at the clearing ahead of them. Just ahead was the tomb; its stone surface looking exactly the same as it had in her dream.
"Oh, my God," she whispered, a sense of dread filling her. She prayed to her feet to stop, even as they moved forward, almost of their own accord. When they reached the clearing, Jean held out her hand and touched the stone slab, its coolness almost soothing to her heated body.
"Team 0021 to base." Martinez spoke into his communicator, his eyes never leaving the tomb. "We've found the target. Relaying coordinates now."
Jean wasn't listening, panic filling her. She knew that death was in that cavern. "Sending backup," the static voice said back to Martinez. "Hold your position until then. Over."
"Roger that. Over and out," Martinez replied.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"All teams! All teams! 0021 have sighted the target area." The voice that boomed over the communicator startled both Danny and Scott. Each had been lost in his own thoughts. "The coordinates are five degrees south, ten degrees west. All teams report to target area and wait for further instructions."
Danny pressed a button on his communicator, and a holographic map popped up, outlying the coordinates relayed to them and their present location. "We're close," he said to Scott. "We should be there in about half an hour, if we hurry."
"Well, then, what are we waiting for?" Scott took off running, heedless of the trees scratching at him. Danny sighed.
"That damn fool and his stupidity is going to get himself killed." After one last look around, he started to follow Scott, a strange sense of fear slowly seeping into his soul.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Whoo! Long chapter, this time. This story should start wrapping up soon... so don't worry if you think it's too long. ^.^; As always, please leave me a review or e-mail me at SetsunaPuu21@cs.com. I really appreciate your feedback. I'll see you all when I get back! Peace!
Love always,
~JupiterHalo~
Disclaimer: I don't own X-Men: Evolution or any of its characters. All original characters are mine.
"Hope is the most exciting thing in life and if you honestly believe that love is out there, it will come. And even if it doesn't come straight away there is still that chance all through your life that it will." ~Josh Hartnett
Title: Two sides of the same coin
Author: JupiterHalo
Rating: PG to PG-13
Part: 16/?
Date completed: June 30, 2003
*means telepathic thoughts*
//means normal thoughts//
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It was finally here. They were on their way, to save the world from yet another unspeakable horror. Jean closed her eyes and tried to sleep, knowing that her wan strength wouldn't help much when they actually found Llewellyn. But, once she did sleep, there were always the nightmares to look forward to.
She felt grateful to the Professor for making them take the X Jet. If Jean had to have been on the same plane as Scott and Danny, she would have probably gone insane. Luckily, they weren't on the same flight, either, so their chances of killing each other had been greatly reduced. She sighed. Why did they hate each other so much?
Another thought popped into her mind. What if they failed? What if they couldn't stop Llewellyn in time? She recalled the conversation she had with Bobby before they left. He had been angry at not being invited along. All of the Junior X-Men were angry with that. But Jean knew that if they failed, there would be no way normal people could stop the catastrophic events that would follow.
So she told Bobby that he and the other X-Men were needed back at the mansion, or Headquarters, as Major Walker called it. The Professor and Magneto had agreed to stay behind, in case something did happen. "If we fail, you're the only chance we have at winning," she had told Bobby right before she boarded the jet. "Can I count on you to keep everyone safe for me?"
After a moment's hesitation, Bobby nodded. Then he hugged her, quickly, and retreated back into the study.
Jean rubbed her temples and tried to concentrate on the mission. It would be tough. But she was sure they could stop Llewellyn from rising.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Does everyone have their communicators?" Walker was pacing around from group to group, making sure everything was secure. They had landed in a tiny clearing in the Amazon rainforest, and now all of the teams were being issued communicators, weapons, and tracking devices.
Rogue walked over to where Jean was standing with her partner, Sergeant James Martinez. "Good luck," she whispered into Jean's ear before hugging her. Jean returned the hug and nodded.
She looked over to where Danny and Scott were standing. Both of them kept shooting glances over at each other, wariness filling every ounce of their being.
*Good luck, you too,* Jean sent both of them the thought. Danny smiled at her, and Scott waved before they turned and walked into the jungle.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Both men walked side by side, not saying anything. There were many things Scott wanted to ask Danny, like "Why Jean? Why not some other girl?" but kept quiet. The air was still. As they hacked their way through the forest, Danny noticed that the area was totally devoid of life. Even high up in the trees, where you would expect animal calls and rustles.
"I don't like this," he muttered to himself. Scott heard him, though, and was amazed that he actually agreed with the guy. For once.
"Yeah," he said back. "It's too quiet."
"Team 0013, anything to report?" A broken, static voice made its way through their communicators. Danny was quick to respond.
"Nothing yet. But we're keeping our eyes out."
"Roger. Over and out."
They walked in silence for a few more minutes, the tension in the air heavy and thick. Finally, Danny looked over at Scott and said quietly, "I didn't mean for things to turn out like this. I'm sorry."
Scott laughed, a small, cold sound. "Yeah. I'm sure you are. I'm sure that you're too honorable to leave things unpatched, aren't you?"
Danny stopped short and took a deep breath. "Jean thought you were dead. It hurt her so much. And it hurt me, knowing that there was nothing I could do for her."
"Yeah, now you're really breaking my heart."
"She was just trying to get on with her life! I'm sorry to break it to you, Summers, but people change. Things change. So, don't go blaming me for the fact that life went on while you were away."
"Don't make it sound like you know something about me!" Scott shouted, heedless of the people who might hear him. "I love Jean! I love her with every ounce of my being! There wasn't a day that went by that I didn't think about her."
Danny looked at him. "But you couldn't even tell the woman you claim to love so much that you were alive?"
Scott shoved Danny, then, his temper getting the better of him. "Don't talk about something you know nothing about." He walked past Danny, taking the lead. "So, don't act like you know anything about me."
"Well, I know a lot more now, don't I?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Things were not going well for Jean. Martinez didn't want to cooperate with her, so they just walked along in complete silence. Every once in a while, her thoughts would drift to Scott and Danny. It was a selfish thing to think about, but Jean wondered what she was going to do about them. She knew that both of them loved her. And she cared deeply for both of them. It was hard, and a familiar pain beat at her heart when the thought of hurting one of them entered her mind.
She couldn't string both of them along. It wasn't fair to either of them. Both deserved much better.
Jean blinked a few times, the tears pricking at her eyes receding. She concentrated on the trail, trying to pick out something... anything.
A sudden sense of deja vu swept over her as they moved along. Her eyes reverted to the trees around them, noticing the same emptiness and lifelessness they seemed to hold. She felt Martinez stop beside her. "Look there."
Jean's head snapped up as he said that, looking at the clearing ahead of them. Just ahead was the tomb; its stone surface looking exactly the same as it had in her dream.
"Oh, my God," she whispered, a sense of dread filling her. She prayed to her feet to stop, even as they moved forward, almost of their own accord. When they reached the clearing, Jean held out her hand and touched the stone slab, its coolness almost soothing to her heated body.
"Team 0021 to base." Martinez spoke into his communicator, his eyes never leaving the tomb. "We've found the target. Relaying coordinates now."
Jean wasn't listening, panic filling her. She knew that death was in that cavern. "Sending backup," the static voice said back to Martinez. "Hold your position until then. Over."
"Roger that. Over and out," Martinez replied.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"All teams! All teams! 0021 have sighted the target area." The voice that boomed over the communicator startled both Danny and Scott. Each had been lost in his own thoughts. "The coordinates are five degrees south, ten degrees west. All teams report to target area and wait for further instructions."
Danny pressed a button on his communicator, and a holographic map popped up, outlying the coordinates relayed to them and their present location. "We're close," he said to Scott. "We should be there in about half an hour, if we hurry."
"Well, then, what are we waiting for?" Scott took off running, heedless of the trees scratching at him. Danny sighed.
"That damn fool and his stupidity is going to get himself killed." After one last look around, he started to follow Scott, a strange sense of fear slowly seeping into his soul.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Whoo! Long chapter, this time. This story should start wrapping up soon... so don't worry if you think it's too long. ^.^; As always, please leave me a review or e-mail me at SetsunaPuu21@cs.com. I really appreciate your feedback. I'll see you all when I get back! Peace!
Love always,
~JupiterHalo~
