Disclaimer: A whole host of new characters are mine. Please don't use them. Of course, the X-Men and other such characters involved in the comic, books and the movie belong to Marvel, and new ones are mine. Also the plot is my own.

Throughout story: ""= Speech ' ' = Thoughts ^ ^ = Telepath

Chapter 20

Her body continued to fall, the sapphire dressing gown flapping either side of her as her limp body plummeted downwards. Her relaxed expression held no grief as she fell, unflinching to the strands of white that travelled over her delicate features.

Logan's ear flinched to the sound and he looked up..

Storm had gone..

It took less than a second for him to jump to his feet and scramble across to the cliff edge, "STORM!!"

Aurora's and Kurt's heads snapped up at the shout, Aurora hurried over to join Logan whilst Kurt teleported desperately.

Still her body fell, clothes billowing with the fall. Kurt appeared beneath her, clutched Storm to him before he disappeared. Her death had been so close that his tail hit the surface of the water, the waves below splashing angrily at its defeat.

Kurt reappeared behind Logan and Aurora and dropped Storm's body gently down upon the grass. The other two gathered round, expressions in awe and fright.

Kurt was in a panic, muttering softly for some aid to help Storm. Her wide- open eyes shone with white and then involuntarily.. clouds rolled over and rain began to fall from the dark sky.

The three huddled round the edge of the cliff around the silent X-Man. Still rain poured horrifically, slapping the canvas of their tents noisily.

"Storm?" Whispered Aurora softly, placing her hand down upon Storm's gently shaking wrist, "Storm?" She repeated.

Aurora suddenly drew back her palm with a gasp. Electricity slowly overtook the billowing of her hair, lightening gathering in the clouds.

"What's happening to her?" Cried Kurt loudly over the noisy flapping of the tent's canvases.

"She can't control her powers." Muttered Logan, stepping away as lightning began to crackle furiously from her shuddering body.

"Storm!" Screamed Aurora as the weather-controlling mutant began lifting from the floor as a hurricane of wind developed around her.

The surrounding mutants began to battle with the gusts, fighting to keep themselves on the ground.

Then, within a second, everything silenced and Storm dropped from the short distance she had lifted and she hit the grass gently.

Storm was now softly gasping, her eyes flitting around nervously, panicky. The sky lightened, clouds faded and the moon reappearing, setting a spiritual glow upon the crowd.

"Storm?" Said Kurt softly, looking down upon the female.

Storm looked his way, breaths still heavy, "Oh.. What happened..?" She breathed, blinking furiously.

"You lost control of your mutation." Said Logan softly, looking down at her with a stern expression. First Aurora, then Bobby, and now Storm? There was certainly something amiss here..

Storm closed her eyes softly, panting, "Oh.. I don't understand.. I feel so.. weak."

"Come Ororo.. you need to get inside your tent, you need to rest." Said Kurt quietly, taking her in his arms gently before he disappeared from their sight.

Once the pair had disappeared Logan stood to his feet and glanced out across the night sky. He moved a few steps closer to the beginning of the cliff edge and looked down. He lowered a foot and began to travel down the sloping path of sand that led down to the lonely beach below. He had some serious thinking to do.

Aurora watched him leave, a frown upon her brow.

The waves were calming.. brushing up to his bare feet to tickle the heels to then slide away across the smooth sand. The moon shone brightly from the cloudless sky and cast a magnificent glow across the shore. Logan was sat with his knees slightly bent, upper torso forward and elbows upon knees whilst his hands dangled together in the space between his knees. His head was lifted, watching the horizon.

There was certainly something wrong.. all these occurrences. Mutants losing control of their powers and falling weak.. It was bad news for the group. The last thing they needed was some unknown illness amongst them. They needed to fight for their survival, not be fearing a possible deadly illness.

Someone was going to get hurt..

Logan was so much in thought that his ears didn't catch the soft sound of bare feet on the golden carpet of sand. Only when a rustle of clothing sounded beside him did his eyes lift and his head turned to eye the visitor.

Aurora had joined his company, though she said nothing to him. Her eyes were too upon the sea, bare feet stretched to greet the cool pulses of water as they returned for more licks of sandy soles.

Her toes gently wiggled, causing Logan's attention to be diverted at the movement.

Then..

"What happened to Stryker?"

Logan felt as if something had hit him, "Stryker?" He repeated with a rough grunt.

Aurora nodded, but never looked his way.

Logan scratched at his neck a moment, "He was drowned at the dam burst.."

"That's what I feared.."

Logan now raised his brow, "Feared?"

She nodded gently, eyes watching the water meet her sand dusted toes, "Yes.."

"Why? After what he's done?"

"But I want to know what exactly he has done.. and why. No one else can tell me.." She now looked to him, "When I first met you.. I thought you would be the key to my past.. you'd unlock all my lost memories."

Logan felt his insides melt at the sorrow upon her face. Tears had welled in her eyes during the sentence and he could hear the struggle within her voice to keep it all in.

"I can still help you find out a little.." He said softly, his head canting her way.

Aurora's head dipped, eyes watching the space of sand between them, "But you don't remember anything either.."

"I remember bits.."

"The strongest part of my memories are the sounds.."

Logan now looked at her inquisitively, "Sounds?" He asked softly.

Aurora now looked back to him, "Yes.. when I heard you screaming for help.. but you knew nobody could come and aid you.. I remember how you used to cry yourself to sleep every night.. there was nothing else I could hear.. the crying became my lullaby... But it also reminded me.. that one day that would be my fate."

Logan had gone still to her words, watching her as a small amount of shock. Crying himself to sleep? Nah.. But.. it felt familiar.. "It was the only way I could express how I felt.. up until he transplanted some of your genes and.."

"And turned you into an animal." Finished Aurora softly, lower lip being chewed upon by her teeth, "You were never the same after that.."

Logan watched her.. desperate to listen, she was unveiling the most darkest parts of his life.. moments he had forgotten and yearned to know.

"From a brave young man who was thoughtful and pleasant to me.. Stryker changed you into this beast.. who growled at everything said, viciously clawing at his workers.. and instead of crying to sleep.." She now watched him intently, "You howled.."

A shuddering teardrop now fell past her right cheek, Logan's thumb gently brushed it away, and in return she gave a soft sniff.

".. But I left you for dead.." He said quietly.

"You didn't know what was happening." Muttered Aurora softly.

"But I left you to Stryker!" Said Logan, his voice slowly rising with the heated anger.

"But you came back!" Said Aurora in a sharper tone, "Whether your return was accidental or not you took me into your care! If you hadn't have returned.." She sighed, "Even your mutation inside me wouldn't have kept me alive."

Logan now stood to his feet, stalking a few steps before he stood still again. His arms were folded and his lowered head watched water brush around his bare sandy feet.

The moon still cast a heavenly glow upon them, highlighting every detail of the pulsing waves, every grain of sand and lit up the features of the beach's inhabitants.

"Logan.." Said Aurora softly, now pushing herself upwards.

He didn't answer, a palm now running through his hair irritatedly. Guilt. That's what it was.. How could he have done that to her..?

Aurora came up behind him, anxiously craning her head to try and see his face, "Logan?" She said quietly, nervously.

If she was going to repeat his name.. her voice wouldn't have succeeded, for Logan had suddenly spun on his heel, surprising her first by his quick movement and secondly..

. .when his head dipped to hers.. his hands holding her cheeks when lips met...

*** I know.. I feel it too.. One, two, three... Aaaaaaw.

And Aurora is so pretty, look at her pic on the site below, it's a close up.

(www.freewebs.com/thoh)