Cipher's Wake
By Cypher
Chapter Four: So It Begins
Gambit leaned against the doorway to the lab Magneto has put Douglas in, frowning as the blond cheerfully worked on a translation of the hieroglyphs from the Sphinx. He was listening to an internet radio station, an international one, as it seemed to shift from English songs to French, to German, and others. Magneto had been reluctant at first to give the teen a line to the outside world, but the new guy, Exodus, he said it was part of the test.
A test. He let out a frustrated sigh through his nose. This was wrong on too many levels, and Gambit was seriously considering a career change. Forcing the world to accept mutants, to make them the dominant race when they were (though only in secret at the moment) made sense. Their 'ends justify the means' methods had worked so far, but this, this was bordering on the sacrilegious. He was dead. They shouldn't be toying with him, not like this.
He was pleased that Douglas was alive. Like Rouge, this X-Man had shown little fear, had a real fire in him. The news of his death had struck hard. He wouldn't have really hurt the kid, despite his threats, and he certainly didn't deserve to die. And now he's back, only it's not him. The Douglas he had met wouldn't be so compliant, so calm. He had seen a spark of it in the lunchroom, when he launched himself at Gambit and Mastermind. But then it died with Piotr's calming voice and patient reasoning. This isn't Douglas.
Pyro had overheard Exodus and Magneto talking, and said that the real personality was still in there, just asleep, buried. We have to reach him, the real him, before it's too late. Before...before he dies again. He crossed his arms and glanced over his shoulder as Piotr approached. But even if we get him outta here, what good will it do? The real him is gone. He'd just report it to Magneto, and then we'd all have to go through that...mind-tearing thing. He hadn't heard Douglas cry out when Exodus attacked his mind, but he had seen the surveillance tape. It was worse than when he first opened his eyes in the caves.
"We cannot help him until we help ourselves."
Gambit shook his head. "I know, mon ami. Mais...he shouldn't have to go through this, shouldn't be suffering this. The dead should remain dead."
"We cannot undo what has been done. All we can do is try to help."
The Cajun nodded, and went back to watching the blond translate the Egyptian texts. I don't think we can help him, though. Not as long as Exodus is around.
~*()*~
"What do you mean Douglas is alive?!"
Kurt winced at Kitty's shrill tone. He understood when she had used it on Bobby. It was a surprise then. It took them all by surprise. But to use that tone with the Professor, that seemed unwise. His tail twitched and curled around the leg of his chair. While he had a relatively calm demeanor on the outside, internally he was in a lot of turmoil.
When Bobby and Jamie had come to them an hour ago saying they had some disturbing news, Kurt had originally thought it was part of a prank. Then Jamie said Douglas was still alive, and the room went silent. Kurt replied by saying that wasn't something to joke about, and Bobby said they weren't joking, that Cerebro had detected him. That's when Kitty had used her shrill voice, which brought Scott into the room, followed shortly by Logan.
Bobby explained that he had 'accidentally' stumbled onto Cerebro's latest findings while fixing a bug in the lighting system, and discovered the detection. Whether he stumbled upon it by accident or not was debatable, but the fact that even Jamie was adamant about this convinced Kurt. It certainly helped convince Scott and Logan that it was possible. And then, of course, Logan had asked the crucial question.
"How do we know this ain't a fluke on Cerebro's part?"
It was a reasonable question, but Bobby said it was impossible. Someone, most likely the Professor, had run a diagnostic immediately after the detection. Everything checked out. "It's real, guys. I may kid, but not about something like this. Doug was my friend too. And we can't just leave him there. We have to get him."
"Kitty, please calm down. I understand that you're upset, but yelling will get us nowhere."
"Half-pint has a point, Chuck. You should've told us about this."
Nice to have you on our side, Herr Logan.
Xavier sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "It's not that simple. First I had to make sure Cerebro hadn't made a mistake. This is beyond anything we have handled before. I could have told you, and his parents, that he was still alive, but what if it turns out to be false. I've tried searching for him again, and I've found nothing. His mind could have been reaching one last time before death-"
Bobby sat up. "Then why is it in Germany and not France?"
Scott stepped forward as well. "And couldn't it just as well be a cry for help? Didn't you detect him the first time because he was in pain mentally?"
"The truth is, Professor," Kurt slowly unwrapped his tail from the chair leg, "we had a right to know, and we have a duty to find out the truth. All of us miss Douglas," he glanced at Kitty, who was still looking at the Professor, "and if there's a chance he's alive, we have to help him."
"I understand your concern, believe me, I do." Xavier hands came together to form a steeple in front of him. "But this is not a typical search and rescue. Cerebro has been unable to pinpoint Douglas' location in Germany. Where would you even begin to search?"
"If he dug himself out, I could track the scent."
Kurt blinked and stared at Logan. Dug himself out. That...that's impossible. He said if even the surface of the rubble was disturbed it would weaken the radiation field. Douglas...he wouldn't dig himself out. That means... "Exodus!"
Everyone in the room looked at the teleporter. Though the Professor had a look of understanding, everyone else seemed confused. "Don't you guys get it? Douglas would never risk leaving. It would disturb the radiation field trapping Exodus in the cave. That means we failed, and Exodus freed himself and Douglas followed, or-"
"Or some fool has just unleashed that menace onto society." Logan let out a soft growl as he spoke. "You've got a point, Elf. Alright, we'll split into two teams."
Scott glanced at the Professor, who gave a small nod of approval. "Agreed. Kurt, Kitty, and Bobby, you're with me. Logan, you should head to the Temple of Exodus-"
"I'm coming with you, bub. The Elf may have a good nose, but you'll need mine if we're tracking him across a country." He looked at Xavier. "Call Red. She and Kurt will check out the cave. Between the two of them they should be in and out with an answer in no time."
"Alright-"
"What about me?"
Kurt gave Jamie a supportive smile. "You shouldn't come. It might be dangerous."
"But you can cover more ground with me. I can split up and start running, and-"
"Jamie. We understand your enthusiasm, but perhaps it would be best if you helped by staying here. I'm sure Mr. McCoy could use some help setting up the infirmary, and in keeping track of where everyone is."
Jamie glanced at Xavier and crossed his arms, a pout on his face. He knew, however, that he wasn't going to win this battle. "Alright. But the instant he gets back, I'm going to see him."
Kurt ruffled Jamie's hair and stood up. He knew Jamie felt left out, but this was a serious mission, and they couldn't be watching after him and searching for Douglas. It was going to be difficult enough as it was. Not that I'm too happy about going to that cave again, but Logan's right, it's the fastest way. First sign of trouble he'd grab Jean and get out of there. Let's just hope Exodus is asleep enough not to attack us mentally.
"Alright, X-Men. Let's go!"
~*()*~
Douglas sighed and leaned back in his chair, trying to understand why, after all the translating he'd done, he felt depressed. Not depressed as in suicidal, or depressed like he couldn't get happy, just...depressed. Like I'm missing something. That was it. He was missing something, something important, and he couldn't figure out what it was. But...what is it? Or even...who maybe? It feels like it could be a person.
He was done with the translation, though he kept himself looking busy. He liked Gambit—No, his name's Remy, not Gambit.—and Piotr, but something felt off about them, about this entire situation. He was assured he was safe, that this was where he belonged, but despite that, it still didn't feel right. It's like my mind and my heart are...conflicted. He would have scoffed at that statement not too long ago, except something had changed. Someone had touched him in a way that let him get in touch with his heart. But...who? He had tried recalling who had opened his heart to him, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't remember.
There were other things as well. Mastermind, the Geezer, Doug despised, and yet he couldn't recall why. The food was German, though he never recalled having ever eaten German food. Even the clothes he wore seemed wrong. He couldn't remember wearing leather, ever, much less ever wanting too. This just doesn't feel right, but...I can't find any proof that it's wrong, either.
His doodles also worried him. He had always been one to just draw when his mind wandered, or when he got bored. So it was no surprise for him to find hieroglyphs in the margins of his translations when he was thinking. The odd thing was, they were names, and ones he knew were significant. The first was roughly 'cipher,' and he thought it was a codename for something, but he wasn't sure what. Is it…my codename? The next two were just as confusing. Kitty…and Kirt—no, Kurt. Kitty and Kurt. He felt feelings well up in him at the names, good feelings, and he didn't know why. The last name filled him with fear and terror, though he had no idea why. Exodus. A simple name, a book from the Bible, but Douglas knew he wasn't religious. It shouldn't fill me with fear…but it does.
He considered trying to search outside of the Egyptian database he was currently using, to try and find answers, but was afraid of the consequences. Why? Would...Magneto harm me? I should have a right to search whatever I want, whenever I want. And yet, he couldn't type in the commands to take him elsewhere. All he could do was surf the history pages, pretending to look for an obscure symbol. What the hell is wrong with me?
The radio he was listening to finished its song from Alegria, and shifted to a Japanese one. Normally he pushed the musical translation to the back of his mind, but right now he was desperate for any distraction. His head was beginning to hurt from trying to figure out what was going on.
"Still love you; arashi no ato; aoi sora ga; kanarazu hirogaru. Broken heart; dakara ima wa; kono kanashimi ni; tachimukatte-yuku."
Douglas rubbed his eyes. The song was a love song, obviously, but the singer wasn't very appealing vocally. So much for a distraction. He was about to shut the station off when the next verse floated out, and struck a chord with him.
"Onaji hito wo; suki ni naru nante; setsuna-sugiru; unmei."
Falling in love...with the same person... "AH!" Something sharp stabbed in his mind. That phrase was important to him, like it was a part of him. But what...what?!
"Nani ga ichiban, daiji na koto ka; kokoro ga toikakete-kuru; ai to yuujou, kuraberarenai; watashi no naka de wa hitotsu; ikiteku hikari."
He clutched at his temples now, grinding his teeth together as the pain got sharper. I can't compare love and friendship; in me, they are one and the same. Why is that so important? Why does it hurt?! Fuzzy images appeared in his mind. One was a blur, a human blur, a girl of some sort. The other was fuzzy, as in fuzzy with fur, not blurred, and blue. He had the feeling it was a man. Who...are they? Why are they important to me? "AGH!"
He fell out of the chair and curled up as the pain in his mind intensified, as if trying to get him to stop thinking about this. No...no! I can't! I have to know! He went back to the lyrics that caused this, ignoring any new verses coming from the speakers. I...I...I must have fallen—ah!—fallen in love with the same girl...as that guy. And...he was my friend. But...but they're not here. Why aren't they here, and who the hell are they?!
"Blonde? Blonde! What's wrong?"
He felt Gambit put a hand on his arm and tried to pull away. "What...what did you do to me?! Why can't I remember?!" The pain in his mind was getting stronger, reaching nearly intolerable levels. Unless I solve this...I'm gonna pass out.
Gambit pulled his hand back. "Doug, you can't remember...what? Who...who you really are?"
Then, just as the pain was about to push through his barriers and knock him unconscious, relief flowed through him. The pictures, so blurry before, became clear. Kitty...and Kurt. I'm...I'm an X-Man. His breathing slowly calmed, along with his heart rate. Wha...what's going on, where am I? He glanced over his shoulder, only to make eye contact with a Cajun, one with red pupils, that he remembered had taken him hostage. "You-"
Gambit was thrown back as a yellow bolt flew through the air and struck Douglas. The teen went limp, unconscious, as a shadow fell across Gambit. "It seems his conscious mind would no longer allow his subconscious to reign. No matter, the test is over."
Gambit got to his feet slowly, shifting his gaze between the red-skinned self-proclaimed demigod, and the now eerily still Douglas. "What...happened? He was in pain-"
"It's none of your concern, Gambit. Simply do as your told." He tossed his cape back and started walking towards the door. "Change him into his standard uniform, then bring him to the main entrance. I have to find Sabertooth."
Gambit stared at Exodus' retreating form, waiting a good few minutes before making his way to the unconscious blond and feeling for a pulse. He could see his chest rising and falling, but the teen seemed fragile, even though he felt first hand that he was fine. Sorry, mon ami. But I'll find you a way out of this somehow. Picking Douglas up, he turned and headed for the infirmary.
~*()*~
Rouge kicked a loose rock into the obviously manmade hole and glanced at Kurt. The look on his face told her this hadn't been here the last time they were there. Her addition to the small team checking on the Temple was last minute, and a last resort. If Exodus was around, and tried to grab them, she was there to grab him. A backup plan in case Logan's original one didn't pan out. From the appearance of this hole into the caves, though, they were too late.
"Jean, are you sensing anything?"
Jean shook her head, still staring into the hole. "If he's in the field, I won't sense him until we get there."
"So either he's still in the rubble, or this hole was his escape route." While Rouge hadn't been present for the initial appearance of Exodus, she had heard the horror stories from both Kitty and Kurt, and of course the ultimate repercussion: Douglas' death. Here's hoping he's still in the field, then.
Kurt grabbed a hold of her arm, as well as Jean's hand, and a minute later they were in the cave that held the remains of the Temple of Exodus.
"Oh my Gott."
"This is not good."
Rouge looked around, trying to find what they thought was so bad. It took her a minute, but she finally noticed that while there were some Cyttorak crystals still in the walls, a great number of them had been excavated and removed completely. So whoever did this wanted Cyttorak crystals, and didn't know they were keeping Exodus trapped.
Jean floated into the air and looked over the rubble. "There're two holes. One's pretty small but the other...it looks like it was blasted open to get whatever was beneath. Far beneath." She lowered herself into the hole, trying to find some clues.
Kurt, on the other hand, was walking around the room, feeling the grooves where crystals had been removed. "Who would do such a thing? Certainly no jewel company. Cyttorak is only precious to mutants."
Rouge narrowed her eyes. "In fact, it's very precious to a particular mutant."
"What do you mean?"
"Magneto." She looked up as Jean exited the rubble pile. "He's obsessed with Cyttorak crystals and what they could do. He's the only one who could've done this."
"If so, then he also dug up Exodus, and Douglas. I can't sense the former, and there's no sign of the latter, either alive or...you know."
Kurt bit his lip. "So...could we have left him buried alive?"
"It looks that way. Magneto must've freed him, and then Exodus escaped."
"That means Magneto's got Douglas. Which means-"
"That I may know where to look." Rouge closed her eyes. She had a small chunk of Magneto's mind in her head. With luck, it would give them a lead as to Douglas' location.
~*()*~
"You're sure it's in the North-West? We will have to refuel at some point."
Rouge made a huffing noise over the communication system. "It's there. Near that castle you visited a while back."
Scott exchanged glances with Logan in askance, but the feral mutant gave no hint that he would explain what she meant. "Okay…"
"He's got to be there. It's Magneto's only base in Germany."
"At least since you touched him. He might've created another base by now."
Logan growled softly at the team leader. "Let's hope he hasn't. You three head back to the school, and we'll let you know what happens. Blackbird out."
Bobby glanced out the window. He saw and heard the exchange, and didn't know whether he felt apprehensive or not. If they had to fight to get Douglas out of Magneto's clutches, he hoped they could succeed. Not that the Acolytes were particularly difficult to fight, not with the team they had assembled. But if Exodus had brainwashed Magneto, or if the powerful mutant was still around, he didn't know if he could go into battle against him again.
Looking across the aisle, he wondered if he was being selfish, worrying about himself. Kitty, for all her excitement and worry, looked almost…depressed. Why? We're going to find her boyfriend. He hesitated a moment before reaching over and touching her shoulder, squeezing it reassuringly. "We'll find him."
Kitty gave him a brief smile before going back to staring at the floor. Bobby retracted his hand, wondering what else could cause her to be so down. Oh yeah. The Professor had explained that the burst that had been detected could have been Douglas' mind crying out before passing over. We…could be going only to find a corpse. He hoped that wasn't the case, not after their hopes had been raised.
A shift in velocity, and a bump shaking the cabin shortly thereafter alerted Iceman that they had arrived. Kitty simply phased through the floor, already on the search. Icing up his body as he unbuckled, he headed down the stairs after Logan, nearly bumping into the older man. The older mutant had stopped at the foot of the stairs. "What's wrong?"
"It's him. I can smell his blood, and," Logan bared his teeth, letting out a hostile growl, "Sabertooth."
"Which way?"
"Follow me." Logan ran through the thin layer of snow that covered the ground, followed quickly by Kitty and Scott.
Bobby waited a minute until the jet had closed, before running after the others. The jet was metal, and as such Magneto would be able to control it, but they needed the additional facilities it offered if Douglas was still hurt. It was a risk, they all knew, but Douglas' well-being was in the forefront of all their minds. Come on, Doug. Give us a sign.
A howl ripped through the air, a human one, and Bobby felt his blood run cold. Doug. He didn't know how he knew, but he could feel it in his bones. That voice belonged to Douglas, and he was in pain. Another howl followed, this one from Wolverine, and he set off, claws unsheathed, ready to tear into whoever was hurting his student. This could quickly get messy. Hesitating a moment, he used his powers and formed a bridge, rising himself into the air.
It didn't take him long to spot the telltale blond of his computer buddy, and he began gliding towards him. "Over there! Behind those trees!" The other three mutants made a beeline for it, Logan at the forefront, but they weren't going to make it. Douglas was bleeding from various wounds, and the Acolyte Sabertooth was about to make a killing blow. "Over my dead body." Pausing in his bridge making, he unleashed a full blast of icicles right at the feral mutant.
The maneuver worked, as Sabertooth was forced back, sustaining multiple lacerations in the process. He shook it off, but not before Logan burst through the trees and jumped him. Cyclops kept an eye on those two while Kitty knelt by Douglas, trying to guess if she could move him.
Bobby landed by them, tempted to just freeze both fighting mutants, but knowing it would do nothing to help. Douglas looked pretty bad, blood staining the ground around him. There were multiple slices on his body, as if claws made them, and something that looked suspiciously like teeth marks in his right calf. That bastard bit him! There were a few bruises as well, but nothing looked too serious. He was sitting up and babbling about something. Bobby figured he was scared, especially since he wasn't saying anything in English. "We've got to get him back to the jet."
"Any ideas how we can move him? He can't walk."
Bobby nodded and formed a slide just under the injured teen, lifting him off the ground and, once he was sure he had Douglas secured, hopped onto the slide with him and zoomed back to the jet, Kitty on his heels. He heard Cyclops release a blast at the fight, and a minute later both he and Wolverine were running under the slide.
"Douglas, can you hear me? Listen, just listen. We have you. You're safe. Stop babbling, it's alright. Just…just calm down."
Bobby gave Kitty credit for sounding so calm and collected. He surmised it was due to a bit of shock, or maybe her training had taken over. Whatever it was, though, got through, and Douglas, though still talking in tongues, seemed less agitated, and more tired as the adrenaline seemed to leave his system. He's probably exhausted. Should be, he just escaped from the Acolytes. At least, one intent on eating him.
And out of the corner of his eye, he could've sworn Douglas just gave someone a sly smile. When he looked at Douglas though, he didn't see anything. Still, for a second, he could've sworn the smirk was exactly the same as the one Exodus had worn.
~*()*~
~*()*~
~*()*~
Author's Prattle: Hey everyone. Sorry this chapter is so late, along with all my other stuff, but I have a VERY good reason: my laptop died. Yep, my laptop, with all my notes, my rough drafts, everything, up and died. So I've been stuck on the desktop, and for some reason the creative juices don't flow when I'm sitting up. Go figure. So, I have NO idea when I'll get the next chapter out, on any of my fics, and I apologize to you who are fans of all my works. With luck, I'll have the laptop back, undamaged, in a week or two. Without luck….I'll lose all my notes. So everyone keep your fingers crossed!
Disclaimers. I don't own X-Men Evolution, Exodus, or Cipher. They are property of Marvel. I also don't own the song "Still", from Fushigi Yugi. That belongs to Yu Watase. Alegria is a part of Cirque du Soleil, which I also don't own, and I'm not sure WHO owns it, but great music, and it's a wonderful show.
So, I'll see you again next chapter. As always, I hope you enjoyed, and reviews are welcome!