A/N ~ *Warbles* And now… the end is near… and so we face… the final curtain…
Yes, it's true. JD is very nearly, almost, kinda over. Sorta. Maybe. ^_^ (Indecisive? me?) So, a big hearty thank you to all those who've reviewed so far, and to those who haven't, then why the hell not? Yes, after this, the first of the two epilogues, there will be but one more upload for this fic before it gains the idiom 'complete fic' in its summary. So I urge everyone who has even the faintest inkling of a question or comment regarding the fic, post it in a review and I'll devote a portion of the last A/N to answering it.
Gerri ~ I get the feeling things are still too raw between Erik and Pietro just yet. In the future they may reconcile, but for now they're sitting on their hands, so to speak. Like father like son… Oh, and kudos for noticing the connotations of the chapter title. ^_^ Incisive, you are. Mmm. Use the Force, you must've. Yoda moment, I am having, yes, yes…
Rurouni Tyriel ~ Wait over. ^_^ I think I'm going to be overusing that smilie today. Ah, what the hell. I have a vanilla slice, so I'm happy.
Tenshiamanda ~ 38? Pshaw, that's nuthin'. *Inner-masochist rears skull*
The Phantom ~ You really like Alvin, don't you? Bit of a redundant question, but I find myself smiling at the way you always manage to wriggle him into a review, no matter what the fit. It's nice to see an OC well-received (I don't write many on account of potential Mary-Sue-ish-ness). Although, your description of Alvin as 'all sweet and cute' created the image of a Chibi-Alvin in my head. A Chibi-Alvin with five-o-clock shadow and a strange little reed-hat. Shelob probably would've impressed me more in the stabbity-stab scene if Frodo had changed his expression a bit. He practically wore the same one through the second and third movies, and the majority of the first. I give him a Doscar for Best Miserable Expression for Longest Time Without Stopping.
Nessie6 ~ There are the two epilogues and some other stuff, if that'll do you for the moment.
DemonRogue13 ~ Wait no longer, fair Demon.
Nemati ~ Um, astral strangulation? Anyway, attacking me from a distance is a bit of a moot point now, since here's the epilogue you asked for. Well, one of them, at any rate.
Ezrajade ~ Remy? He's… around. And thanks for the compliment? ^_^ Happy Scribbler.
Ambrosia ~ Sometimes you scare me with your big long reviews. But I'm all too happy to answer questions. Must be my bossy side coming through. You raise an interesting point about Dazzler's spelling, and in answer I can honesty say that I don't know how she'd get past not knowing how to spell a word she wanted to say. It's most likely she'd spell phonetically, as any small child would do when attempting to write a word they've never seen written before. Hmmm. *Brain ticks over*. You're Pom-Australian? Coolies. Now, to Wanda. As I understand it, Wanda's mutation means that she is aligned with one of the greatest forces in the universe – chaos. Chaos and Order (note the capitalisation) are two fundamentals of the world; they can't exist either with or without each other. Marvel decided that Chaos is therefore confined to a sort of all-encompassing energy that surrounds everyone and everything that is or is done. It provokes things to happen or not happen, things to be or not be, things to work and fail etc. It is, in Layman's terms, as close to a real deity as one is ever likely to get. Now take Wanda. Thanks to that lovely little mutation she has, she's hyper-aware of these energies, but is more in tune with the energy of Chaos than of Order. She can understand Order, but she can *manipulate* Chaos – even if, like when she was a child in XME, she can't always control this ability very well. She's like a vessel – chaos works through her. The most common manifestation of this ability is through 'probability influence' – put very simply, she makes what is unlikely, likely. The bizarre and improbable become probable. So it is that, say, it is unlikely that Kitty would ever get stuck phased halfway through the floor without serious injury. It is slim chance – almost negligible, really. Yet, with her power Wanda can tip the odds so that it *is* likely to happen. Order thrives on probability being in its favour. Wanda makes things uneven in favour of Chaos. Thus is can be said that she is almost omnipotent, except that she has the curse of a mortal shell. If she exerts her powers too much by making the ultimately impossible suddenly possible (like turning a chair to green chocolate as you suggested), then her body might not be able to cope with the huge energies coursing through it. Consider a glass filling with water. It can hold a great deal, but fill it too much and it flows over, wetting the area around it. Or, if you fill it with water that's too cold or too hot, the glass will shatter. So it is with Wanda. She has to be careful about just how far she experiments with her powers so they don't turn around and kill her (like in JD). So, in *theory* she could quite literally do anything, simply by manipulating the likelihood of it in her favour. Therefore, she could indeed do any of the things you suggested. However, in *practise* it would be far less possible because of the many other factors in the equation. It's not just her power that counts; it's the environment she uses it in. Moving on, you ask about Magneto's powers. He's in tune with the Earth's electromagnetic spectrum, so any metal he manipulates does answer to magnetism et al. Marvel likes making Evil!Magneto manipulate the iron in a person's blood. In the comics, Wanda married Vision, an android (cyborg? My Avengers knowledge is lacking) and they have two children. But… something happens to them, I think. The kids, that is. Ach, what little I know has come out of the recent JLA/Avengers crossover, which included two flashback pictures and Wanda crying over 'the fate of the children'. *Processes comment on absurdity of later Angel episodes* So… it's a show about a vampire with a soul, who runs a detective agency helped by demons and ex-prom queens while he fights demons, vampires, evil law firms and the ghost of his ex-lover. And that was *before* the storylines got absurd?
Cheesy Monkey ~ I have a plushie! It can go with my Beast Boy and Terra plushies (I just watched the world premiere of the Teen Titans episode 'Betrayal' – take that, US schedulers!)
Rogue151 ~ Thank you for your kind words. I'm glad you liked it ^_^.
Yma ~ The last little Magneto bit was additional. I wrote it afterwards, because otherwise he and the acolytes just vanished into thin air, and it made sense for him to go back for the body at the river. Though I assume it wouldn't have been in very good condition at that point.
Hootild ~ *Hands over coffee* Ororo your boat? For shame at punning, Hootild. For shame. *Wry smile*
sPoOkZ13412 ~ Here you go. ^_^
MatureImmaturity ~ I mean, it ain't over 'til the fat lady sings. And since I don't see Fred in drag anywhere about, it ain't over yet. ^_^
Raze ~ You might like this first epilogue, then.
AerinBrown ~ You're welcome. And actually, there are two epilogues. Plus some additional stuff, just because.
Yuki ~ Blizzards? Ha! I spit on your blizzards with my torrential British rain/hail/sleet! And a Happy Belated Easter to you, too.
*******************
Epilogue I
*******************
The sun had not yet peeped over the horizon, and a watery mist hung on the air as the last vestiges of night clung to the world. Tendrils of shadow wrapped themselves around buildings, retreating to slivers of shade for another few hours of daylight, where they could wait for dusk to settle so they could run free again.
Kurt sat in Ororo's room, perched on the single metal chair. The wheels were still; their shine untarnished from the day Magneto had made them. Kurt knew, because he'd spent many hours sitting in here, polishing, buffing, wiping at them with any handy rag he could find, talking to her as she lay amongst her pillows and blankets.
He was good at talking when he needed to be, though years of it being just he and Robyn had dulled the talent for a while. It hadn't taken long after beginning his journey to re-immerse himself in it, though. 'A proper little chatterbox' Logan had called him on those few occasions he came up here to visit, or just stand in the door and listen to the elf babble.
Logan didn't come so often to begin with, the stench nobody else could smell making him feel ill. Yet, recently he'd been a regular visitor, as if he could sense what all of them were coming to realise. Kurt had happened upon him once, sitting at her bedside while she slept, hand clasped between his own in a moment of naked openness; the kind he never would've allowed anybody to witness voluntarily. He hadn't moved or said anything, just sat there; staring at her wan face like she'd hung the moon.
Kurt had often pondered the relationship between Logan and Ororo, wondering if there had been something between them once. Neither of them mentioned it, nor gave any hint if they could help it, but he was around this dingy room so often that it was difficult for him not to wonder.
If Ororo had any feelings about what was now growing between Logan and Raven, then she kept her silence on that, also. Kurt had asked about it once, but her only answer had been a small, beatific small that lit her eyes more than curved her lips; like she was keeping some secret that warmed her heart, but which she could never share.
Strangely enough, the other most frequent caller was Ariel. The former slave had taken an instant liking to the Goddess, and she had taught him all she knew about rainfall, the cycle of the moon and the tide, and all manner of other things. Sometimes she slipped and called him Evan, but he never commented on it, and she never made the same mistake twice in one visit.
Now, as Kurt stared at her peaceful face, chin cupped in his hands, he thought back on all the conversations he'd had with her since their arrival in this place three months ago. Uneasiness had been quick to dissipate, and though there was still a little distrust amongst the Mutie Towners about such close proximity to human-folk, things had generally settled down. A rhythm had emerged, with Kitty proving herself one of the friendliest souls, always willing to welcome people into her little house. She was a great hit with the Goddess' people, and never went short of babysitters, though only Kurt ever saw the slight sadness to her bearing when talking of the past and Hope's father. Ariel and the ever-silent Bairn were less than crutches to her, more than friends, and the four lived together as an odd combination that somehow worked nonetheless.
Pietro and Rogue had set up house together, after a fashion. Their relationship was more of the sibling variety, Kurt had noticed, with one supporting the other whenever they stumbled or fell. Rogue's powers sometimes still caused her grief, even with Magneto's old helmet, but Pietro was always nearby to pick her up and give a kind word; not at all like the arrogant speedster of old.
His ankle, never totally healed by Layla thanks to circumstance, had never been the same again. He ran, yes; but had truly given up the mantle of Quicksilver and all that went with it, instead choosing the life of the soil, and learning all he could about farming and how to produce new life from bare earth. It was his salve, this ability to create instead of destroy - his pathway back to sanity.
Alvin taught Pietro all he knew, having sworn never to journey forth from this place again. He devoted himself to producing green things these days, and was primarily responsible for the variety of potted plants draped around Ororo's room to 'brighten the décor'. Daisy loved his books on plant-care, and often followed him through the fields, reciting whole chunks until Logan called her in for supper in the house the two of them shared. The two of them, Kurt, Robyn and Raven sometimes ate together, since they were neighbours, and the three youngsters passed glances across the table concerning the adults' glances and lingering hand-on-hand touches.
Magneto had not been heard from since the first day. Nor had Mutie Town, though the latter was probably no surprise. Kurt mourned for lost friends and allies, but life here in the Lands of New Hope had kept him busy enough not to dwell on it.
Yet, right now, as he sat watching in the not-quite-dark, all he wanted to do was stretch time to its longest and sit out the minutes all over again.
He'd remember this time forever. He was sitting vigil alone, as he'd requested. They'd been expecting it for days, and, after profuse cursing at losing Forge's equipment, the wailing of the Goddess' followers that their blessed plants could do nothing to help; after all that unhelpful nothingness was done, he'd sat. And he'd waited, counting the breaths, the lengthening pauses between them, worrying over her and what she no longer felt. She'd told him not to fret, that she was content in what had been and what was to be, but anxiety was his way, and so he worried while she slipped farther and farther into that private, secret world.
She looked like she was sleeping; peaceful, serene, as beautiful as her name implied. Even so drained, so depleted, she still retained that aura of nobility that had carried her through such suffering, such blind hatred and wanton destruction that had taken her kith and kin. She was amazing, and Kurt watched with nothing less than reverence as the last shallow breath whistled from her lungs.
And then she was silent.
He waited a few minutes, as thin sunlight crept through the window and wilted over the bedclothes. He waited for the next deceptive inhalation that would signal a life extended by a few more heartbeats; but he wasn't surprised when it didn't come.
They'd started off their journey knowing this day would come, and it was only through sheer grace of whatever deity chose to listen that they'd clawed back the three months elapsed since then. Rogue had done what Ororo asked in preparation for this; a few light touches per day, until she knew as well as the Goddess did herself what needed to be done and how they were to go about it after the event. In return, Ororo had repeated the lessons once taught by Charles Xavier to one Miss Jean Grey, in the hope they might alleviate some of the quasi-telepath's struggle and prepare her for the road ahead.
Together with Ariel, Rogue had been elevated in these last few days to take on the majority of Ororo's role, and Kurt knew that right now, at that very moment, though she lay in her bed so far away from this little room, Rogue could feel the woman's passing just as acutely as himself.
The silence was stifling, and Kurt slid from the chair to cross the room. He laid a deferential palm on Ororo's forehead, whispering the prayer for safe passage taught to him by his adoptive mother and father. Then he turned and left through the single door, not looking back until he reached the sentry, Maive, at the other end of the corridor. No words passed between them, but she knew what had come about and quietly went to the deserted room.
Robyn was waiting for him on the porch outside. Kurt blinked, surprised to see her there. She looked up at him with wide, soft eyes, and he nodded, dropping to his knees and letting her snivel into his shirt. She cried for both of them, and her cheek fur was still wet when she took his hand and guided him away from the building, towards a small patch of grass on the outskirts of the Lands of New Hope.
They'd been here before, the morning after they arrived, for him to fulfil his promise to her. Now, as Robyn led him to it again, Kurt replayed the small exchange that had passed in a doctor's office so many months ago. Alvin's voice first, and Robyn's, and even his own, echoing through time and trial like moths to a flame in his mind.
"The Goddess would welcome you. I could take you to her. The journey is long and arduous, but what waits at the end is pure paradise. I would gladly lead you hence."
"Liebling, I - "
"Please, Kurti. Please, let's go there."
"I..."
"Please, Kurti...?"
"Ja... liebchen, ja. Let's go. Let's leave. There's no place for us here in Bayville anymore. Perhaps... perhaps there we can make a new life for ourselves. You'll like Ororo, Kleines. She's nice, and kind, and wise. And when we get there, I'll show you grass. And we'll stand on it together when it's wet with morning dew, just like I told you."
The grass was cool between his toes, and the dew soaked through his fur and onto his skin. He shivered, and Robyn replied in kind. Grass never ceased to delight her, and she whipped her tail through it, sending up beads of moisture that dappled the air like diamonds, as the sun finally stole over the distant horizon. Weak rays turned to gold, and a bracelet of warmth encircled the Lands, as the two mutants stared out across it, thankful for the day ahead of them.
Then, without a word, Robyn pointed. Kurt followed her clawed finger to where a lone figure travelled the path towards them. He rode a motorcycle, a device thought long gone to the Old World, and kicked up a swathe of dust in his wake. With his sensitive eyesight, Kurt saw that the rider looked just as surprised to happen upon this place as they were to see him, and he paused the bike long enough to gape at the mounds of houses and fields of pure, unadulterated green.
The stuff that dreams were made of.
Unbidden, both Kurt and Robyn stood a little taller and waved to him, and he gaped at them also before turning his bike back to the path. A cloud rose up as he sped forth, anxious to reach the place that often was rumour, often insulted, but always open to the weary traveller, whether the Goddess be in residence or not.
For these were the Lands of New Hope, where green things, humans and mutants grew and flourished.
*******************
Yes, it's true. JD is very nearly, almost, kinda over. Sorta. Maybe. ^_^ (Indecisive? me?) So, a big hearty thank you to all those who've reviewed so far, and to those who haven't, then why the hell not? Yes, after this, the first of the two epilogues, there will be but one more upload for this fic before it gains the idiom 'complete fic' in its summary. So I urge everyone who has even the faintest inkling of a question or comment regarding the fic, post it in a review and I'll devote a portion of the last A/N to answering it.
Gerri ~ I get the feeling things are still too raw between Erik and Pietro just yet. In the future they may reconcile, but for now they're sitting on their hands, so to speak. Like father like son… Oh, and kudos for noticing the connotations of the chapter title. ^_^ Incisive, you are. Mmm. Use the Force, you must've. Yoda moment, I am having, yes, yes…
Rurouni Tyriel ~ Wait over. ^_^ I think I'm going to be overusing that smilie today. Ah, what the hell. I have a vanilla slice, so I'm happy.
Tenshiamanda ~ 38? Pshaw, that's nuthin'. *Inner-masochist rears skull*
The Phantom ~ You really like Alvin, don't you? Bit of a redundant question, but I find myself smiling at the way you always manage to wriggle him into a review, no matter what the fit. It's nice to see an OC well-received (I don't write many on account of potential Mary-Sue-ish-ness). Although, your description of Alvin as 'all sweet and cute' created the image of a Chibi-Alvin in my head. A Chibi-Alvin with five-o-clock shadow and a strange little reed-hat. Shelob probably would've impressed me more in the stabbity-stab scene if Frodo had changed his expression a bit. He practically wore the same one through the second and third movies, and the majority of the first. I give him a Doscar for Best Miserable Expression for Longest Time Without Stopping.
Nessie6 ~ There are the two epilogues and some other stuff, if that'll do you for the moment.
DemonRogue13 ~ Wait no longer, fair Demon.
Nemati ~ Um, astral strangulation? Anyway, attacking me from a distance is a bit of a moot point now, since here's the epilogue you asked for. Well, one of them, at any rate.
Ezrajade ~ Remy? He's… around. And thanks for the compliment? ^_^ Happy Scribbler.
Ambrosia ~ Sometimes you scare me with your big long reviews. But I'm all too happy to answer questions. Must be my bossy side coming through. You raise an interesting point about Dazzler's spelling, and in answer I can honesty say that I don't know how she'd get past not knowing how to spell a word she wanted to say. It's most likely she'd spell phonetically, as any small child would do when attempting to write a word they've never seen written before. Hmmm. *Brain ticks over*. You're Pom-Australian? Coolies. Now, to Wanda. As I understand it, Wanda's mutation means that she is aligned with one of the greatest forces in the universe – chaos. Chaos and Order (note the capitalisation) are two fundamentals of the world; they can't exist either with or without each other. Marvel decided that Chaos is therefore confined to a sort of all-encompassing energy that surrounds everyone and everything that is or is done. It provokes things to happen or not happen, things to be or not be, things to work and fail etc. It is, in Layman's terms, as close to a real deity as one is ever likely to get. Now take Wanda. Thanks to that lovely little mutation she has, she's hyper-aware of these energies, but is more in tune with the energy of Chaos than of Order. She can understand Order, but she can *manipulate* Chaos – even if, like when she was a child in XME, she can't always control this ability very well. She's like a vessel – chaos works through her. The most common manifestation of this ability is through 'probability influence' – put very simply, she makes what is unlikely, likely. The bizarre and improbable become probable. So it is that, say, it is unlikely that Kitty would ever get stuck phased halfway through the floor without serious injury. It is slim chance – almost negligible, really. Yet, with her power Wanda can tip the odds so that it *is* likely to happen. Order thrives on probability being in its favour. Wanda makes things uneven in favour of Chaos. Thus is can be said that she is almost omnipotent, except that she has the curse of a mortal shell. If she exerts her powers too much by making the ultimately impossible suddenly possible (like turning a chair to green chocolate as you suggested), then her body might not be able to cope with the huge energies coursing through it. Consider a glass filling with water. It can hold a great deal, but fill it too much and it flows over, wetting the area around it. Or, if you fill it with water that's too cold or too hot, the glass will shatter. So it is with Wanda. She has to be careful about just how far she experiments with her powers so they don't turn around and kill her (like in JD). So, in *theory* she could quite literally do anything, simply by manipulating the likelihood of it in her favour. Therefore, she could indeed do any of the things you suggested. However, in *practise* it would be far less possible because of the many other factors in the equation. It's not just her power that counts; it's the environment she uses it in. Moving on, you ask about Magneto's powers. He's in tune with the Earth's electromagnetic spectrum, so any metal he manipulates does answer to magnetism et al. Marvel likes making Evil!Magneto manipulate the iron in a person's blood. In the comics, Wanda married Vision, an android (cyborg? My Avengers knowledge is lacking) and they have two children. But… something happens to them, I think. The kids, that is. Ach, what little I know has come out of the recent JLA/Avengers crossover, which included two flashback pictures and Wanda crying over 'the fate of the children'. *Processes comment on absurdity of later Angel episodes* So… it's a show about a vampire with a soul, who runs a detective agency helped by demons and ex-prom queens while he fights demons, vampires, evil law firms and the ghost of his ex-lover. And that was *before* the storylines got absurd?
Cheesy Monkey ~ I have a plushie! It can go with my Beast Boy and Terra plushies (I just watched the world premiere of the Teen Titans episode 'Betrayal' – take that, US schedulers!)
Rogue151 ~ Thank you for your kind words. I'm glad you liked it ^_^.
Yma ~ The last little Magneto bit was additional. I wrote it afterwards, because otherwise he and the acolytes just vanished into thin air, and it made sense for him to go back for the body at the river. Though I assume it wouldn't have been in very good condition at that point.
Hootild ~ *Hands over coffee* Ororo your boat? For shame at punning, Hootild. For shame. *Wry smile*
sPoOkZ13412 ~ Here you go. ^_^
MatureImmaturity ~ I mean, it ain't over 'til the fat lady sings. And since I don't see Fred in drag anywhere about, it ain't over yet. ^_^
Raze ~ You might like this first epilogue, then.
AerinBrown ~ You're welcome. And actually, there are two epilogues. Plus some additional stuff, just because.
Yuki ~ Blizzards? Ha! I spit on your blizzards with my torrential British rain/hail/sleet! And a Happy Belated Easter to you, too.
*******************
Epilogue I
*******************
The sun had not yet peeped over the horizon, and a watery mist hung on the air as the last vestiges of night clung to the world. Tendrils of shadow wrapped themselves around buildings, retreating to slivers of shade for another few hours of daylight, where they could wait for dusk to settle so they could run free again.
Kurt sat in Ororo's room, perched on the single metal chair. The wheels were still; their shine untarnished from the day Magneto had made them. Kurt knew, because he'd spent many hours sitting in here, polishing, buffing, wiping at them with any handy rag he could find, talking to her as she lay amongst her pillows and blankets.
He was good at talking when he needed to be, though years of it being just he and Robyn had dulled the talent for a while. It hadn't taken long after beginning his journey to re-immerse himself in it, though. 'A proper little chatterbox' Logan had called him on those few occasions he came up here to visit, or just stand in the door and listen to the elf babble.
Logan didn't come so often to begin with, the stench nobody else could smell making him feel ill. Yet, recently he'd been a regular visitor, as if he could sense what all of them were coming to realise. Kurt had happened upon him once, sitting at her bedside while she slept, hand clasped between his own in a moment of naked openness; the kind he never would've allowed anybody to witness voluntarily. He hadn't moved or said anything, just sat there; staring at her wan face like she'd hung the moon.
Kurt had often pondered the relationship between Logan and Ororo, wondering if there had been something between them once. Neither of them mentioned it, nor gave any hint if they could help it, but he was around this dingy room so often that it was difficult for him not to wonder.
If Ororo had any feelings about what was now growing between Logan and Raven, then she kept her silence on that, also. Kurt had asked about it once, but her only answer had been a small, beatific small that lit her eyes more than curved her lips; like she was keeping some secret that warmed her heart, but which she could never share.
Strangely enough, the other most frequent caller was Ariel. The former slave had taken an instant liking to the Goddess, and she had taught him all she knew about rainfall, the cycle of the moon and the tide, and all manner of other things. Sometimes she slipped and called him Evan, but he never commented on it, and she never made the same mistake twice in one visit.
Now, as Kurt stared at her peaceful face, chin cupped in his hands, he thought back on all the conversations he'd had with her since their arrival in this place three months ago. Uneasiness had been quick to dissipate, and though there was still a little distrust amongst the Mutie Towners about such close proximity to human-folk, things had generally settled down. A rhythm had emerged, with Kitty proving herself one of the friendliest souls, always willing to welcome people into her little house. She was a great hit with the Goddess' people, and never went short of babysitters, though only Kurt ever saw the slight sadness to her bearing when talking of the past and Hope's father. Ariel and the ever-silent Bairn were less than crutches to her, more than friends, and the four lived together as an odd combination that somehow worked nonetheless.
Pietro and Rogue had set up house together, after a fashion. Their relationship was more of the sibling variety, Kurt had noticed, with one supporting the other whenever they stumbled or fell. Rogue's powers sometimes still caused her grief, even with Magneto's old helmet, but Pietro was always nearby to pick her up and give a kind word; not at all like the arrogant speedster of old.
His ankle, never totally healed by Layla thanks to circumstance, had never been the same again. He ran, yes; but had truly given up the mantle of Quicksilver and all that went with it, instead choosing the life of the soil, and learning all he could about farming and how to produce new life from bare earth. It was his salve, this ability to create instead of destroy - his pathway back to sanity.
Alvin taught Pietro all he knew, having sworn never to journey forth from this place again. He devoted himself to producing green things these days, and was primarily responsible for the variety of potted plants draped around Ororo's room to 'brighten the décor'. Daisy loved his books on plant-care, and often followed him through the fields, reciting whole chunks until Logan called her in for supper in the house the two of them shared. The two of them, Kurt, Robyn and Raven sometimes ate together, since they were neighbours, and the three youngsters passed glances across the table concerning the adults' glances and lingering hand-on-hand touches.
Magneto had not been heard from since the first day. Nor had Mutie Town, though the latter was probably no surprise. Kurt mourned for lost friends and allies, but life here in the Lands of New Hope had kept him busy enough not to dwell on it.
Yet, right now, as he sat watching in the not-quite-dark, all he wanted to do was stretch time to its longest and sit out the minutes all over again.
He'd remember this time forever. He was sitting vigil alone, as he'd requested. They'd been expecting it for days, and, after profuse cursing at losing Forge's equipment, the wailing of the Goddess' followers that their blessed plants could do nothing to help; after all that unhelpful nothingness was done, he'd sat. And he'd waited, counting the breaths, the lengthening pauses between them, worrying over her and what she no longer felt. She'd told him not to fret, that she was content in what had been and what was to be, but anxiety was his way, and so he worried while she slipped farther and farther into that private, secret world.
She looked like she was sleeping; peaceful, serene, as beautiful as her name implied. Even so drained, so depleted, she still retained that aura of nobility that had carried her through such suffering, such blind hatred and wanton destruction that had taken her kith and kin. She was amazing, and Kurt watched with nothing less than reverence as the last shallow breath whistled from her lungs.
And then she was silent.
He waited a few minutes, as thin sunlight crept through the window and wilted over the bedclothes. He waited for the next deceptive inhalation that would signal a life extended by a few more heartbeats; but he wasn't surprised when it didn't come.
They'd started off their journey knowing this day would come, and it was only through sheer grace of whatever deity chose to listen that they'd clawed back the three months elapsed since then. Rogue had done what Ororo asked in preparation for this; a few light touches per day, until she knew as well as the Goddess did herself what needed to be done and how they were to go about it after the event. In return, Ororo had repeated the lessons once taught by Charles Xavier to one Miss Jean Grey, in the hope they might alleviate some of the quasi-telepath's struggle and prepare her for the road ahead.
Together with Ariel, Rogue had been elevated in these last few days to take on the majority of Ororo's role, and Kurt knew that right now, at that very moment, though she lay in her bed so far away from this little room, Rogue could feel the woman's passing just as acutely as himself.
The silence was stifling, and Kurt slid from the chair to cross the room. He laid a deferential palm on Ororo's forehead, whispering the prayer for safe passage taught to him by his adoptive mother and father. Then he turned and left through the single door, not looking back until he reached the sentry, Maive, at the other end of the corridor. No words passed between them, but she knew what had come about and quietly went to the deserted room.
Robyn was waiting for him on the porch outside. Kurt blinked, surprised to see her there. She looked up at him with wide, soft eyes, and he nodded, dropping to his knees and letting her snivel into his shirt. She cried for both of them, and her cheek fur was still wet when she took his hand and guided him away from the building, towards a small patch of grass on the outskirts of the Lands of New Hope.
They'd been here before, the morning after they arrived, for him to fulfil his promise to her. Now, as Robyn led him to it again, Kurt replayed the small exchange that had passed in a doctor's office so many months ago. Alvin's voice first, and Robyn's, and even his own, echoing through time and trial like moths to a flame in his mind.
"The Goddess would welcome you. I could take you to her. The journey is long and arduous, but what waits at the end is pure paradise. I would gladly lead you hence."
"Liebling, I - "
"Please, Kurti. Please, let's go there."
"I..."
"Please, Kurti...?"
"Ja... liebchen, ja. Let's go. Let's leave. There's no place for us here in Bayville anymore. Perhaps... perhaps there we can make a new life for ourselves. You'll like Ororo, Kleines. She's nice, and kind, and wise. And when we get there, I'll show you grass. And we'll stand on it together when it's wet with morning dew, just like I told you."
The grass was cool between his toes, and the dew soaked through his fur and onto his skin. He shivered, and Robyn replied in kind. Grass never ceased to delight her, and she whipped her tail through it, sending up beads of moisture that dappled the air like diamonds, as the sun finally stole over the distant horizon. Weak rays turned to gold, and a bracelet of warmth encircled the Lands, as the two mutants stared out across it, thankful for the day ahead of them.
Then, without a word, Robyn pointed. Kurt followed her clawed finger to where a lone figure travelled the path towards them. He rode a motorcycle, a device thought long gone to the Old World, and kicked up a swathe of dust in his wake. With his sensitive eyesight, Kurt saw that the rider looked just as surprised to happen upon this place as they were to see him, and he paused the bike long enough to gape at the mounds of houses and fields of pure, unadulterated green.
The stuff that dreams were made of.
Unbidden, both Kurt and Robyn stood a little taller and waved to him, and he gaped at them also before turning his bike back to the path. A cloud rose up as he sped forth, anxious to reach the place that often was rumour, often insulted, but always open to the weary traveller, whether the Goddess be in residence or not.
For these were the Lands of New Hope, where green things, humans and mutants grew and flourished.
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