When all of Belasco's wounds had healed properly, Scott had shown him to a
room that they had made up for him. When he first looked at it, he was a
bit upset, tears falling as he found himself staring at old movie posters
of Errol Flynn, his old rapiers hanging over his bed, and his collection of
pirate novels on a book shelf beside old swashbuckling videos. Apparently,
they had saved all of his old things, even when it was believed that he was
dead.
Even though these old reminders of his life before surrounded him, Belasco stayed in his room, never leaving it for anything, save relieving himself. He kept his door closed at all times, not letting anyone into it.
The others tried to make him eat; Hank and Ororo alternately left plates of food and glasses of water in front of his door. Belasco would open the door slightly, take one look at the food, and then close his door again, leaving it out there until someone would find it cold and take it away.
Belasco was fasting to an extreme. Mar-vell had told him that Mephisto had chosen him because he had kept his faith throughout all the hardships in his life, making the devil look bad; so Belasco turned back to the faith that he had once held so dear.
He prayed, using his old rosary in his one hand constantly. Sometimes he didn't even sleep, his praying taking over his life at that time.
Sometimes, he fell under a swoon, flashes coming to him like a dream.
[i]He was running as fast as he could, his remaining hand clamped tightly over the bleeding stub of what had once been his right arm. A mob was chasing him, screaming and tossing rocks after him because he was a human.
He didn't even know how it had happened.
All he knew was that he had become human after teleporting away from being turned into stone. He had stumbled around in the street, blood pouring everywhere and when he saw someone, he asked them to help him with his wound.
He had asked for help from Mr. Church, the man who would turn out to be Mephisto in disguise.
Mr. Church had shouted to a mob to kill the human, and that was when he found himself running once again from a murderous mob.
Only this time it wasn't because he was a mutant, it was because he [i]wasn't[/i] a mutant instead.
He tripped.
He found himself with his back to a wall, too weak to do anything but beg in German for them to leave him alone or help him with his wound. Mr. Church was standing behind the mob, shouting at them to kill the human.
He was stoned. He could feel the heavy rocks pounding down on his weak body, smashing his head and chest badly. When the mob finally left him, he was covered in blood, his vision going in and out; and he prayed in his mind that God would take him now.
He got Mephisto instead.[/i]
When the swoon had ended, he had burst into tears, covering his eyes and shaking his head slowly. ***
Enough was enough.
The others were worried that Belasco would end up starving himself to death, and Ororo and her husband T'Challa decided that they would be the ones to end his fasting with some force.
They had opened the door, and when Belasco asked them to leave, they refused, saying that he needed to eat something.
"I can't." Belasco had said, shaking his head seriously. His cheeks were sunken in, and the bones in his tail were starting to become visible.
"I am sorry, my friend." T'Challa said, grabbing Belasco tightly by the arm and forcing him onto his feet. "But you need to eat something, and we [i]will[/i] force you to eat if we have to!"
Belasco fought them weakly, his tail flicking side to side. Ororo and T'Challa easily overpowered him and forced him out of his room, heading for the kitchens.
"We're sorry about this, my friend." Ororo said. "But you can't starve yourself like this!"
"Leave me be, Ororo!" Belasco said. "Just let me go back into my room!"
Hank was waiting by a table with a bowl of vegetable soup beside him. When Belasco was forced into a chair, Hank calmly stirred the soup and held out a spoonful as T'Challa forced Belasco's mouth open.
They force fed Belasco the first bowl of soup before he finally gave up and agreed to eat the second without any further problems.
"You can't stay locked up in your room anymore, Belasco." Hank said. "It's not healthy and it won't do you any good."
"What should I do then?" Belasco asked, looking up at him.
"You can still fence, yes?" T'Challa asked. "You can teach students how to use the sword. Maybe gymnastics if you're still able to."
"Are you sure about this?" Belasco asked.
"Do you really think that starving yourself will get you redemption, Belasco?" Ororo asked gently. Belasco looked at the ground, his tail curling around his ankles.
"No." he admitted softly.
"Then take our offer." Hank said. "None of this fasting yourself to death business!"
He did. ***
Despite his one arm, Belasco still was as agile as when he was Nightcrawler with both arms.
He had his old attire burned except for his gold bracelets and his coin necklace. He gave these to Ororo as payment for staying there. He found that his old friends had saved a lot of old things, and that included all of his former life's clothes.
He was wearing an old pair of white sweatpants and tank top complete with a red headband while he worked out. Hank and the Hulk had set up training rings for him and his gymnastics class. He was seen there often, bringing up old memories as he twisted and spun in mid-air.
Crouching in the middle of the center ring, Belasco kicked off with his legs with his arm held out. Grabbing a bar, he swung in a complete circle and went half way around for the next, stopping at the top. He stayed perfectly still, slowly spreading his legs out in a split as his tail stayed wrapped around his waist. Slowly, he brought his legs together, his toes pointing up at the ceiling.
Swiftly he swung forward and let go, performing five somersaults as he headed for the ground. He landed in a crouch a few seconds before he would be smashed on the ground. His tail unwrapped itself and flicked to one side as he stood up slowly and took off his headband.
He looked over his shoulder when he heard someone clapping.
"Even with one arm you can perform as if you had two." Piotr said, leaning in the doorway. "Just like the old Nightcrawler I once knew." He added.
Belasco was silent.
"Why did you come here?" Piotr asked, slowly walking towards him. "Did you think that every one of us would forgive you for what you did? Did you think it would be that simple?"
He looked away, his tail curling around one leg slowly.
"Stop doing that!" Piotr shouted suddenly, making him flinch. "Stop doing things that Kurt used to do! You are not Kurt! You're the son of a bitch who always tried to hurt my sister through all of the alternate realities! You're the one who even enslaved a version of Kurt after slaughtering all the other X-men of that reality!" Slowly, Belasco made his tail uncurl itself and simply relax.
"I know what I did." He said softly. "I didn't think that anyone would forgive me so easily." He added. He backed up as Piotr got closed, turning into metal instantly.
"Why don't you leave this place?" Piotr demanded, jabbing a finger in Belasco's narrow chest. "You're not welcome here, Belasco! Go back to Limbo where you belong!"
"I would gladly go back there." Belasco said. "I still must ask forgiveness from Jimaine and my former slave, but I cannot do that until I have completed my business on this world. If you wish to strike me again then do so and don't dawdle about it."
Piotr looked like he wanted nothing better than to do just that, but he held himself back, stepping back and turning into flesh once more.
"I will never forgive you for the things you have done, Belasco." He growled, his eyes narrowed. "Never!"
Belasco watched Piotr walk away sadly, his tail curling around one leg slowly. ***
It was a week later when the child Mar-vell came to the school.
Belasco was resting under a tree outside, his head tilted upwards as he let the warmth of the sun wash over his face. His tail was curled around his ankles, the spade thumping the ground lazily in contentment.
"You know that you cannot stay here."
Opening his eyes, Belasco lowered his head but he did not look over his shoulder at the person who spoke to him. Unwrapping his tail, he tapped the ground beside him slowly before he wrapped it around his ankle once more. When Mar-vell sat down beside him, Belasco looked out at the clouds in the sky.
"I know that." He said finally. "But I cannot leave until..."
"Kurt, you know that Piotr will never forgive you." Mar-vell said gently. "The only reason why you are staying here is because you are afraid of going back to Limbo. You are afraid that Jimaine, Illyana, and your former slave will kill you if you come to them."
"That's not it entirely..."
"Yes, it is." Mar-vell said. "You're scared to face them. You are afraid of their rejection more than anyone else's." Sighing, Belasco shook his head a bit, bowing his head.
"What is it that you're asking me to do?" he asked. "Are you asking me to go there and confront them now?"
"That is exactly what I am telling you to do." Mar-vell nodded.
"But for what purpose should I go there now? Why can it not wait a little while longer?" Belasco asked.
"You know why." Mar-vell said gently. "If they do forgive you, then the rewards will be great for you."
"And if they do not?" Belasco asked, cocking an eyebrow as his tail thumped the ground a bit.
"That is not what you should be worrying about." Mar-vell pointed out gently. "You knew that your redemption would not come so easily. Why expect their forgiveness to be?"
"I know." Belasco sighed, looking away sadly. "I just..."
"Wanted to stay here for a while longer?" Mar-vell offered. Belasco nodded, hugging his knees to his chest slowly.
"Kurt used to love it here." He said. "Kurt would come here often and just sit underneath this very tree to pray or just think about things. He even taught some of his German classes out here... He was happy here."
"Then help him come out." Mar-vell said. "Go to Limbo and confront the three you wronged so often in the alternate realities." Belasco nodded slightly, getting to his feet.
"Where should I make the portal to go there?" he asked.
"Any place where no one will walk into it on accident." Mar-vell explained. Nodding a bit, Belasco walked into the woods, his tail swaying lazily. ***
He drew a large pentagram in the ground with a stick, mumbling softly the incantation that would make it the portal to Limbo. When the pentagram was completed, he cut his hand on a sharp stone and dripped blood on each points of the pentagram, starting to finish up the rest of the spell.
The pentagram began to glow as yellow as the sun, and the light became more intense by the second. Spreading his arm out, Belasco tilted his head back and shouted out the final words as light enveloped his body.
He was gone in another flash, the pentagram sizzling on the forest ground.
Even though these old reminders of his life before surrounded him, Belasco stayed in his room, never leaving it for anything, save relieving himself. He kept his door closed at all times, not letting anyone into it.
The others tried to make him eat; Hank and Ororo alternately left plates of food and glasses of water in front of his door. Belasco would open the door slightly, take one look at the food, and then close his door again, leaving it out there until someone would find it cold and take it away.
Belasco was fasting to an extreme. Mar-vell had told him that Mephisto had chosen him because he had kept his faith throughout all the hardships in his life, making the devil look bad; so Belasco turned back to the faith that he had once held so dear.
He prayed, using his old rosary in his one hand constantly. Sometimes he didn't even sleep, his praying taking over his life at that time.
Sometimes, he fell under a swoon, flashes coming to him like a dream.
[i]He was running as fast as he could, his remaining hand clamped tightly over the bleeding stub of what had once been his right arm. A mob was chasing him, screaming and tossing rocks after him because he was a human.
He didn't even know how it had happened.
All he knew was that he had become human after teleporting away from being turned into stone. He had stumbled around in the street, blood pouring everywhere and when he saw someone, he asked them to help him with his wound.
He had asked for help from Mr. Church, the man who would turn out to be Mephisto in disguise.
Mr. Church had shouted to a mob to kill the human, and that was when he found himself running once again from a murderous mob.
Only this time it wasn't because he was a mutant, it was because he [i]wasn't[/i] a mutant instead.
He tripped.
He found himself with his back to a wall, too weak to do anything but beg in German for them to leave him alone or help him with his wound. Mr. Church was standing behind the mob, shouting at them to kill the human.
He was stoned. He could feel the heavy rocks pounding down on his weak body, smashing his head and chest badly. When the mob finally left him, he was covered in blood, his vision going in and out; and he prayed in his mind that God would take him now.
He got Mephisto instead.[/i]
When the swoon had ended, he had burst into tears, covering his eyes and shaking his head slowly. ***
Enough was enough.
The others were worried that Belasco would end up starving himself to death, and Ororo and her husband T'Challa decided that they would be the ones to end his fasting with some force.
They had opened the door, and when Belasco asked them to leave, they refused, saying that he needed to eat something.
"I can't." Belasco had said, shaking his head seriously. His cheeks were sunken in, and the bones in his tail were starting to become visible.
"I am sorry, my friend." T'Challa said, grabbing Belasco tightly by the arm and forcing him onto his feet. "But you need to eat something, and we [i]will[/i] force you to eat if we have to!"
Belasco fought them weakly, his tail flicking side to side. Ororo and T'Challa easily overpowered him and forced him out of his room, heading for the kitchens.
"We're sorry about this, my friend." Ororo said. "But you can't starve yourself like this!"
"Leave me be, Ororo!" Belasco said. "Just let me go back into my room!"
Hank was waiting by a table with a bowl of vegetable soup beside him. When Belasco was forced into a chair, Hank calmly stirred the soup and held out a spoonful as T'Challa forced Belasco's mouth open.
They force fed Belasco the first bowl of soup before he finally gave up and agreed to eat the second without any further problems.
"You can't stay locked up in your room anymore, Belasco." Hank said. "It's not healthy and it won't do you any good."
"What should I do then?" Belasco asked, looking up at him.
"You can still fence, yes?" T'Challa asked. "You can teach students how to use the sword. Maybe gymnastics if you're still able to."
"Are you sure about this?" Belasco asked.
"Do you really think that starving yourself will get you redemption, Belasco?" Ororo asked gently. Belasco looked at the ground, his tail curling around his ankles.
"No." he admitted softly.
"Then take our offer." Hank said. "None of this fasting yourself to death business!"
He did. ***
Despite his one arm, Belasco still was as agile as when he was Nightcrawler with both arms.
He had his old attire burned except for his gold bracelets and his coin necklace. He gave these to Ororo as payment for staying there. He found that his old friends had saved a lot of old things, and that included all of his former life's clothes.
He was wearing an old pair of white sweatpants and tank top complete with a red headband while he worked out. Hank and the Hulk had set up training rings for him and his gymnastics class. He was seen there often, bringing up old memories as he twisted and spun in mid-air.
Crouching in the middle of the center ring, Belasco kicked off with his legs with his arm held out. Grabbing a bar, he swung in a complete circle and went half way around for the next, stopping at the top. He stayed perfectly still, slowly spreading his legs out in a split as his tail stayed wrapped around his waist. Slowly, he brought his legs together, his toes pointing up at the ceiling.
Swiftly he swung forward and let go, performing five somersaults as he headed for the ground. He landed in a crouch a few seconds before he would be smashed on the ground. His tail unwrapped itself and flicked to one side as he stood up slowly and took off his headband.
He looked over his shoulder when he heard someone clapping.
"Even with one arm you can perform as if you had two." Piotr said, leaning in the doorway. "Just like the old Nightcrawler I once knew." He added.
Belasco was silent.
"Why did you come here?" Piotr asked, slowly walking towards him. "Did you think that every one of us would forgive you for what you did? Did you think it would be that simple?"
He looked away, his tail curling around one leg slowly.
"Stop doing that!" Piotr shouted suddenly, making him flinch. "Stop doing things that Kurt used to do! You are not Kurt! You're the son of a bitch who always tried to hurt my sister through all of the alternate realities! You're the one who even enslaved a version of Kurt after slaughtering all the other X-men of that reality!" Slowly, Belasco made his tail uncurl itself and simply relax.
"I know what I did." He said softly. "I didn't think that anyone would forgive me so easily." He added. He backed up as Piotr got closed, turning into metal instantly.
"Why don't you leave this place?" Piotr demanded, jabbing a finger in Belasco's narrow chest. "You're not welcome here, Belasco! Go back to Limbo where you belong!"
"I would gladly go back there." Belasco said. "I still must ask forgiveness from Jimaine and my former slave, but I cannot do that until I have completed my business on this world. If you wish to strike me again then do so and don't dawdle about it."
Piotr looked like he wanted nothing better than to do just that, but he held himself back, stepping back and turning into flesh once more.
"I will never forgive you for the things you have done, Belasco." He growled, his eyes narrowed. "Never!"
Belasco watched Piotr walk away sadly, his tail curling around one leg slowly. ***
It was a week later when the child Mar-vell came to the school.
Belasco was resting under a tree outside, his head tilted upwards as he let the warmth of the sun wash over his face. His tail was curled around his ankles, the spade thumping the ground lazily in contentment.
"You know that you cannot stay here."
Opening his eyes, Belasco lowered his head but he did not look over his shoulder at the person who spoke to him. Unwrapping his tail, he tapped the ground beside him slowly before he wrapped it around his ankle once more. When Mar-vell sat down beside him, Belasco looked out at the clouds in the sky.
"I know that." He said finally. "But I cannot leave until..."
"Kurt, you know that Piotr will never forgive you." Mar-vell said gently. "The only reason why you are staying here is because you are afraid of going back to Limbo. You are afraid that Jimaine, Illyana, and your former slave will kill you if you come to them."
"That's not it entirely..."
"Yes, it is." Mar-vell said. "You're scared to face them. You are afraid of their rejection more than anyone else's." Sighing, Belasco shook his head a bit, bowing his head.
"What is it that you're asking me to do?" he asked. "Are you asking me to go there and confront them now?"
"That is exactly what I am telling you to do." Mar-vell nodded.
"But for what purpose should I go there now? Why can it not wait a little while longer?" Belasco asked.
"You know why." Mar-vell said gently. "If they do forgive you, then the rewards will be great for you."
"And if they do not?" Belasco asked, cocking an eyebrow as his tail thumped the ground a bit.
"That is not what you should be worrying about." Mar-vell pointed out gently. "You knew that your redemption would not come so easily. Why expect their forgiveness to be?"
"I know." Belasco sighed, looking away sadly. "I just..."
"Wanted to stay here for a while longer?" Mar-vell offered. Belasco nodded, hugging his knees to his chest slowly.
"Kurt used to love it here." He said. "Kurt would come here often and just sit underneath this very tree to pray or just think about things. He even taught some of his German classes out here... He was happy here."
"Then help him come out." Mar-vell said. "Go to Limbo and confront the three you wronged so often in the alternate realities." Belasco nodded slightly, getting to his feet.
"Where should I make the portal to go there?" he asked.
"Any place where no one will walk into it on accident." Mar-vell explained. Nodding a bit, Belasco walked into the woods, his tail swaying lazily. ***
He drew a large pentagram in the ground with a stick, mumbling softly the incantation that would make it the portal to Limbo. When the pentagram was completed, he cut his hand on a sharp stone and dripped blood on each points of the pentagram, starting to finish up the rest of the spell.
The pentagram began to glow as yellow as the sun, and the light became more intense by the second. Spreading his arm out, Belasco tilted his head back and shouted out the final words as light enveloped his body.
He was gone in another flash, the pentagram sizzling on the forest ground.