Welcome to the end of the Mystique's Monastery Saga!
I don't own "Sound the Bugle Now", that would belong to Bryan Adams. "Son of Man" belongs to Phil Collins
Chapter 16: Sound the Bugle Now
Kyle could feel his breath slowly being cut off by the whip around his neck.
The others watched the whip, trying to get a good shot at it. However, Mystique kept it moving in very odd patterns, making it nearly impossible to predict where it would be next.
Sound the bugle now, play it just for me
As the seasons change, remember how I used to be
The X-Men could only watch as Kyle was slowly strangled. Kitty was too shocked to even think about phasing him through the whip.
Now I can't go on, I can't even start
I got nothing left, just an empty heart
Kyle somehow couldn't bring himself to lift his hands to the whip around his neck. His mind seemed to work against itself, his resolve to survive warring with another force. Your blind, what use are you to the X-Men? What use is there to living if you can't see? There is no reason.
I'm a soldier, wounded so I must give up the fight
There's nothing more, for me, lead me away…
Wolverine knew that cutting the whip wouldn't release the hold, and cutting it at the neck would probably take the kids jugular out with the whip
Or leave me lying here
Rogue watched from where she lay, unable to bring herself to move, her body not willing to listen to her frantic calls to help her friend.
Sound the bugle now; tell them I don't care,
There's not a road I know, that leads to anywhere
Kyle's resolve to live was soundly being routed by the other voice. What future is there for a blind mutant? What could you possible do with your life after college? You're worthless.
Without a light I fear that I will stumble in the dark,
Lay right down, decide not to go on
And why would Amara like you anyways? She's a princess; you don't have a chance in hell with her!
Then from on high, somewhere in the distance,
There's a voice that calls you, remember who you are
Suddenly, Kyle's thoughts rallied. A memory shone clearly in his mind.
He and Sensei were sitting in the dojo. He had finally come to understand another of the many Zen riddles Sensei was so fond of giving him, and, as always, it came with a lecture.
"My son, always remember to keep sight of who you are. If you lose sight of who you are, you lose sight of self. If you lose sight of self, your spirit will be broken. If your spirit, your will is broken, then, and only then, do you have nothing left to fight for. For with your spirit broken, your honor, your virtue, your dignity are broken as well. When your spirit is mended, they are mended. These four attributes are the strengths of the four powers. Virtue is the strength of the heart, will is the strength of the soul, dignity is the strength of the mind, and honor is the strength of the body. If one is broken, all fall. If the broken is repaired, all are repaired."
If you lose yourself, your courage soon will follow,
So be strong to night, remember who you are
In his mind, he could see the images the Professor once gave him of every person in the institute.
Wolverine, in his proud, arrogant, savage and aloof glory.
Cyclops, his stance as solid as could be hoped for in a leader.
Jean, detached yet warm and kind, and a person that very few could easily dislike.
Shadowcat, the sweet, intelligent Valley Girl whom everyone underestimated, even knowing what she could do.
Nightcrawler, whose fearsome visage hid an inner kindness and gentleness.
Beast, whose appearance belayed his intelligence.
Wolfsbane, a living embodiment of all the virtues the wolf stood for.
Rogue, detached due to her power, a young lady whose inner beauty could only be found by those who knew to look for it, and were willing to put up with her sometimes savage temper.
Spyke, as much of an idiot as he could be sometimes, a good friend when he was needed, although a little brash at times.
Storm, the kind, benevolent controller of weather, whom could be a force to be reckoned with when needed.
Berserker, a young man who he was quickly beginning to see quite differently then he had before.
Bobby, the prankster, but Lord help whomever so pisses him off that he stops making wise cracks.
Roberto, arrogant at times, but he could be counted on to come through for his friends.
Tabby, a young lady who's exterior hid many a secret.
Sam, the kind southern 'good ol' boy'. A heart of gold, and a head of iron.
Jubilee, as much as she chewed the rest of them out at times, she had her heart in the right place.
Jamie, as annoying as the younger boy was occasionally, he had much potential.
Xavier himself, as much an embodiment of the adage 'looks can be deceiving' as the human race had ever created. The most powerful telepath in the world, but bound by the restrictions of a wheelchair.
Sensei, the man who raised him. Easily underestimated because of his size, he was surprisingly graceful, gentle when he wanted to be, which was almost always, and harsh when he had to be.
Finally, Magma. The young princess to whom the technology of modern day was still a mystery. She had yet to fully understand the changes in the world, but she tried, and was a kind person, if you ignored her occasional attitudes.
At the thought of all those whom he would leave behind, Kyle warded off the other voice, the voice that was his doubts of himself, incarnated into being.
As the other X-Men watched, Kyle brought his hands to his neck. He then followed the whip from his neck, out to where it swung through the air to prevent anyone from grabbing it. However, she hadn't counted on Kyle grabbing it, and following it out to arms length. He then pulled his right hand back, holding the whip taunt. And before Mystique could prevent him, Kyle slammed his forehead into the whip. Mystique cried out from the unexpected pain
You're a soldier now, fighting in a battle,
Kyle slammed his head into the whip again. Again, Mystique cried out.
To be free once more…
Focusing on his power, Kyle brought his head forward once more. This time, it was as hard as diamond.
Ya, that's worth fighting for
The whip retracted from around Kyle's neck, dropping him to the ground to cough and wheeze, as he attempted to ease the burning pain in his lungs.
Mystique held her now broken arm. She hadn't expected one of these younger X-Men to be that persistent. She rushed forward, intent on finishing the job.
However, Iceman decided that he had had quite enough of watching his friends be beaten around. As Mystique rushed forward, he simply froze the floor in front of her. As she slipped and slid, Banshee let rip with a blast of sound. This time, however, it was at a pitch where not even Rahne could hear it.
Banshee found that the blast, while a little more draining, was more powerful, as it sent Mystique flying into the far wall.
The metamorph began to rise to her feet, only to find out that the sun had come out for long enough to give Roberto quite a bit of energy to work with. He began to dole out a beating to Mystique that she would not soon forget.
When Sunspot finally backed off, Wolverine rushed forward, intent on messing her up a little himself. Kyle, however, spoke up, his voice wheezing, but strong.
"If you kill her, Wolverine, you lower yourself to her level."
Wolverine turned to look at Kyle, his face contorted with rage.
"Look, kid, she's nearly killed half of you…"
Kyle retorted. "But we all still live. She has taken no life today. If she did, it would be another story entirely, but since it isn't, then you cannot kill her without becoming her."
Wolverine growled, but saw that the kid was right.
The X-men began to gather their wounded. Rogue managed to bring herself to her feet, but she was slow to move. Spyke and Storm were out of it, as were Scott and Jean. Rahne and Filipe were both able to move on their own, but the trip back to the Velocity wouldn't be giving anyone heart attacks, and they would be much slower about it.
As the X-Men prepared to leave, the members of the Brotherhood appeared at the door.
Boom-Boom spoke up.
"Look, we really don't want to fight you, and, right now, if you force us, I might just have to shove cherry bomb up your buts. Just get out of the way."
Lance didn't bother speaking, he just tossed a bundle to Banshee, and another to Lockjaw.
The two opened them to find that they contained their snowgear.
The two Brotherhood members looked at the mutants in front of them questioningly. The Brotherhood grinned, and Pyro spoke up.
"We figured, if you blokes wanted to kick Mystique's arse, bein' here when she wakes up ain't a good idea. And we don' intend to be either. If you don mind, could we hitch a ride back to the States, mates?"
Wolverine nodded, "Why not, Firebug."
Kyle, in a burst of sympathy, shook his head suddenly. He turned, and walked to Mystique.
They watched him, various expressions of shock in place on their collective face.
"We can't just leave her like this, because then we become that which we fight against."
The other X-Men saw the truth to his words, even if they didn't like it. Blob, much to everyone's surprise, walked over and picked up Mystique.
Since half of the X-Men would be unable to walk to either vehicle, Kurt Teleported Wolverine to the Velocity, which he then piloted back, and used to take the X-Men in the worst shape.
Luckily, all of the older X-Men were capable of piloting the X-Jet, and Kurt flew it to the Monastery, where Shadowcat carefully took the controls.
Even more fortunate for the occupants of the jet, Kitty didn't phase through the controls of the jet. The two aircraft arrived back at the manor within about an hour of each other.
Xavier and Beast had the infirmary set up to care for the four badly wounded X-Men, and Beast gave a thorough examination to each of those who had hit by Mystique during the fight.
Beast had, after much convincing, set up a ward for Mystique. It was in a separate room from that of the other four patients, and Beast, when he entered, was always very quick about leaving.
As Kyle's thoughts wandered, his feet brought him to the place where, not quite a week ago, he and Amara had come within two inches of kissing. Of course, Kyle didn't know this, but he didn't care.
Oh the power to be strong
Just because I'm blind doesn't mean that I'm worthless.
And the wisdom to be wise
I am of use to the X-Men, I am one of them. I am an ally, a friend, and a warrior.
All these things will
come to you in time
Just because I cannot see does not impede me. It never has, and it never will.
On this journey that your making,
There'll be answers that you'll seek
I know that I may be blind, and a mutant, but those are nothing more than titles and hurdles, meant to be surpassed.
And it's you who'll climb the mountain,
It's you who'll reach the peak.
Kyle stood from where he sat at the base of a tree, and began to walk again.
Son of man, look to the sky
Lift your spirit, set it free,
Some day, you'll walk tall, with pride,
Son of man, a man in time you'll be.
His wandering next brought him to where Scott had caught up to him after their sparing match, so long ago.
Though there's no one there to guide you,
no one to take your hand,
And after college, I could come back here and teach as my father does now.
But with faith and understanding,
You will journey from boy to man
But there are many a day yet until that becomes a possibility. Look to the future, remember the past, but live the moment.
Son of man, look to the sky
Lift your spirit, set it free,
Some day, you'll walk tall, with pride,
Son of man, a man in time you'll be.
Kyle began walking again. This time, his wandering brought him to the Dojo. He removed his shoes and socks, and entered the building. Hearing whistling sound, his hand came up automatically, and grabbed the dart from the air.
"Still too slow, Sensei."
In learning you will teach,
and in teaching you will learn
The martial arts master chuckled as his adopted son, a martial arts genius, really, walked into the dojo.
You'll find your place beside
the ones you love.
The boy walked to the side of his sensei, and settled into a lotus position. His shoulder-blade length hair was in a warrior's braid, a traditional one for the tribe he was descended from. Jacob had made sure that the boy knew of his real parents culture.
Oh and all the things you dreamed of,
The visions that you saw
The boy spoke after a long wait, and what he said startled the master.
"Sensei, would you have adopted me, had I been born with vision?"
Sensei turned to look at Kyle. He had never told the boy exactly why he adopted him, but now was as good a time as any.
"Of course, my son. I did not adopt you because you were blind. I adopted you because your parents were dear friends of mine, who died in a car crash when you were young."
Well, the time is drawing near now,
It's yours to claim it all
Kyle nodded, "so you did it for your friends."
"Partly, but mostly because I didn't want you to grow up without knowing of your parents' culture. Also, I had been named your godfather. And finally, I did it because your parents would have wanted me to."
Kyle nodded again, feeling that he understood his Sensei a little better for their discussion.
Son of man, look to the sky
Lift your spirit, set it free,
Some day, you'll walk tall, with pride,
Son of man, a man in time you'll be.
Kyle again stood, and exited the dojo.
He returned to the building, and, like the rest of the X-Men, began the painful process of recovering from the battle, both psychologically and physically.
Yet Kyle felt a new sense of self, and of the traditions of his people. Traditions that Sensei had taught to him, his student. Even though he hadn't always seen the purpose behind learning of them.
Son of Man
Son of Man's a man for all to see
