Hey! Well, there is some action in this chapter. Kinda funny yet serious if you think about it.



Tearful Letters



Rogue sat on her balcony railing. She stared at the sky thinking back to all that had happened nearly 4 months ago. Her powers lost control, she was taken from her home and her memory erased. she absorbed someone completely to stop them from dying, for a month she was without the X-men. She beat some of them bloody when they showed up in Chicago, then absorbed Kitty and went off to a cabin for two weeks. During that time she got kidnapped and was then dropped off at the mansion. And after all that she almost let Remy go, but he told her he wouldn't give up on her and he didn't. Not even when Mesmero showed up and used the third key. Which woke up her past self. And he still didn't give up after her past self tried to kill them or release her father, Apocalypse. Even after she died he was still not willing to give up on her, so when her past self's plan worked and Rogue came back she could touch Remy. Of course the whole touching things was still working itself out. It was still hard for her not the be afraid of her powers even after two months. Sighing Rogue went back into her room and feel into bed.



He watched her. Her beautiful eyes had searched the sky for something. He wanted to know. He wanted to know everything she thought. But he wasn't worthy enough. No one was. She was a goddess and no one was worthy to look upon her. But he couldn't help it. She was sad and lonely. He was sure she would forgive him once he brought to the place where she would be worshiped for the goddess she was. Soon she wouldn't have to worry about anything else.



Blade sighed as she leaned against a chimney on the roof. She always went there to think. Not many people could get up there and those that could never really bothered. So it was quiet. The stars were out and the full moon gave her enough light to see.

"Did you get it?" Blade nodded. Smokescreen sat on top of the chimney. "I am sorry that I could only relay it in letter." Blade felt tears sting at her eyes.

"You left it on my pillow! You came here and went into my room. Do you even know what Lady Hawk wrote?" Blade hissed.

"I learned only after I delivered it." Smokescreen looked away as she said this. Her green eyes filled with sorrow. After a few minutes of silence Smokescreen spoke up again. "Did you tell them?"

"It was none of their concern." Smokescreen raised an eyebrow.

"I thought you were part of the X-men family. And don't they look out for each other?" Blade pushed herself off of the chimney.

"Yeah, well there are somethings that shouldn't be shared." She began to walk away.

"You know that if Lady Hawk could trade her life for his she would." Blade felt herself stiffen.

"That's not much. She's lived so long without aging that there isn't much left in life for her." Smokescreen started to reach out to her but stopped.

"Blade . . . we all have suffered . . . come back to the-"

"Save it. I am sick and tired of the Furies. You lied to me. Lady Hawk, she . . . the Furies are just you three. I just came in as scenery . . ." Blade spat. Smokescreen shook her head.

"No, that's not true. Yes, we lied when it came to our past and such but . . . you have to understand-"

"Understand what?!" Blade spun around and glared at her. "That you all are over 5,000 years old, even though you don't look it?! God you all look barely older than me! Did you think that it wouldn't bother me that she used some friend of a friend of a friend to give me hope?! Only to have it smashed!" The tears flowed down her cheeks freely. "I loved him! And the last time he saw me I told him that I didn't care if I ever saw him again! Do you know what it is like to know all that! To know that she . . ." Blade looked away. "Just leave." Smokescreen was about to protest but stopped and turned into smoke. Blade sank to her knees and held herself as she silently cried. Slowly the crying became louder. But not loud enough for the students to hear. She was crying so hard she didn't hear anything. She felt someone put a hand on her back. She sniffed as she tried to stop.

"Sorry . . . just . . . a lot of dirt got in my eye."

"Yer not one ta cry over something like that Blade." Blade looked at Logan for a moment then cried into his shoulder. Logan froze for a second before patting her on the back once or twice.



Angelic Demon sighed as she turned to Lady Hawk. They sat in the back of a limo driving down the roads of Chicago.

"You know Artemis better than anyone else. Do you really think that this will work?" Lady Hawk was silent. "Because I don't. You can't push her into something. You of all people know that the second you start to push her into something she will do all that she can to do the opposite of whatever it is." Lady Hawk sighed.

"Yes, I know that. But there is little we can do. I hate to think that we have to but . . . . well, we do." Angelic Demon nodded.

"Fine."



Smokescreen watched Rogue's window, hidden in a tree. It was near midnight. Blade had gone in and Logan had finished his nightly rounds. The moon was full but it shinned no light on her. Her ears picked up a sound. Someone else was there. Someone comfortable in the dark. They were good but Smokescreen had seen better. She was about to investigate when a branch nearly hit her, ripping her cloak alittle. Her eyes narrowed. Michelle would have never been able to do that with her powers at the amount of control she had. Nor would she attack Smokescreen. Smokescreen turned to smoke and drifted to the ground. The tree pulled it's roots out of the ground. Not wanting a confrontation with the X-men, she fled. The tree took chase and followed her. Smokescreen dodged several other trees that took swipes at her. It seemed that as she came near the trees would come alive and try to hit her. There were several trees chasing her. Smokescreen saw the wall come into view. Her thoughts raced as she came closer and prepared herself to turn into smoke. Agility was not her mutation. She may have gained her agility on her own but she did not have enough to make it over that wall before one of those trees got to her. Right before she collided with the wall she turned into smoke and floated over it. The trees stopped and turned around, return to where they had been before attacking Smokescreen. Smokescreen formed again right beside the wall. Kicking off the wall then a tree, Smokescreen landed and sat on top of the wall. She watched the trees leave. It amazed her that the trees barely made any sound, making it impossible to alert Blade or Logan. Smokescreen cursed underneath her breath when she notice the tree next to the wall start to move. She pushed off of the wall and hit the ground running. This time bushes started to chase her. Smokescreen glared at the bushes. She had only one thought.

'I'm too old for this.' Smokescreen ran from the bushes, and several other plants, for the better part of the night. She was at a disadvantage. Plants surrounded her. The only place that she could get to were the plants would not be at an advantage would be New York. And she preferred not to have deal with the humans. Smokescreen saw the city finally come into view. She had a small horde of plants following her. Several with thorns and vines. She turned into smoke and floated up towards a tall building. Once over the rooftop she landed with a thud. Her breathing was uneven. Smokescreen wiped the sweat off of her forehead. It took a lot out of her to stay in the form of smoke for so long and not be separated by the wind. She finally caught her breath at sat up. She heard a rustling sound behind her. Turning she saw a bush pull itself up onto the rooftop. Smokescreen stared in disbelief. She had been followed for a few hours and they still wouldn't give up! She turned and started to leap from rooftop to rooftop in order to escape the plants. A grim thought echoed through her head. 'I must have lost it. I'm being chased by shrubbery.' Smokescreen turned in mid-jump and held out her hands. Acidic gas flew from them and burned a few bushes. She was able to turn before she collided with the ground. Smokescreen sprinted across the rooftop. She jumped and landed with little grace on the next rooftop. She continued this routine for a good thirty minutes. Most of the plants that had been chasing her were destroyed by now. Smokescreen spun around the second she landed, her cloak flaring a bit, and looked around her. There wasn't anything there. She let out a breathe she didn't know she had held. Suddenly, without any warning vines wrapped themselves around her throat. She was out of energy and couldn't concentrate in order to make any kind of gas, much less turn into smoke. She saw that they had could from a chimney on the same roof. She was on top of a large house, no, mansion. She felt the vines lift her off of the ground. Smokescreen heard herself let out a choking sound. The world started to fade. Before she lost consciousness she heard the flapping sound from wings. One thought echoed through her mind. 'But . . . Angelic Demon is in Chicago . . .'



It had been four days since it happened. Since she last saw Smokescreen, since she got that letter. Blade pulled the blankets closer and tried to bury herself into her bed even more. Her eyes were red. She managed to tell Logan in between sobs what had happened when he found her. She told him that she got a letter. And it told her Andrew was in a coma again. Most likely he would never wake up. And if he did he might not remember anything. Blade fought the tears as she remember. She glanced at the clock. It was almost noon. She had not left her bed since the night she got the letter. None of the kids knew why she was in her room, only the other teachers. The only thing the children knew was that she would not be able to teach them for awhile. Ororo had come in several times to try and comfort her. She brought her food too, but she barely touched it. Xavier came in once, but she didn't pay attention. Ororo had asked her if she would mind her looking at the letter. Blade had responded with a noise that sounded like 'whatever'. She could have sworn that she heard Rogue come in for awhile. She didn't pay attention then either. But she was sure that Rogue had been there for a few hours sitting next to her bed. She thought she heard Rogue come in everyday around noon. At that moment the door creaked opened. She head someone move across the room in heavy boots. She heard a chair squeak as someone sat in it. She heard someone breathing. Blade didn't care. It didn't matter. Nothing mattered.