Disclaimer: I've gotten into anime recently, mostly stuff that was a manga first. Fruits Basket is so funny...Hatsuharu is one of my favorite characters, along with Hatori (though he's not very funny by himself, it's his reactions to his friends that crack me up) and Shigure, they make me laugh so much. Then Tech TV, bless them, showed "Last Exile" and I now have volume two "Positional Play"! But now I'm saving to buy the third DVD (when it comes out)...so don't sue me, 'cause I need that money.
Shout outs: amanda- glad you enjoyed the last chapter so much! Have some cupcakes! *showers pastries*
Nightcrawler03- thank you!
De-Femme- lol, you liked those scenes? I was so worried about how they would turn out...
Auramistealia - I'm sorry this took so long! I bet I do have many irate reviewers...
StormHeart- thank you, and you should update your story! Yes, you should!!!
bamfling - glad you like, thanks for reviewing both stories ^-^
FrodoGirl- lol, hope you enjoyed it! Wow, someone printed out my story...With all its spelling mistakes...Well, thanks for reviewing!
Everyone clap for my beta readers! Take a bow Nightcrawler03 and KittKatt001! Without you two I'm beginning to realize my writing looks like it was composed by a six year old...a six year old with a very extensive vocabulary, but nevertheless...
Chapter 19: Beyond Repair
"Crap," said Cyclops after hearing the Professor's answer.
"Professor, what are we going to do?" asked Shadowcat, as she sat up in the chair and unbuckled the seatbelt.
The Professor closed his eyes, contacting someone. Then he wheeled himself to the lowered gangplank of the plane. "Stay inside."
Cyclops was going to argue but Jean woke up at that moment, so he was distracted.
Nightcrawler and Shadowcat stared out the window shield at the Professor, who was joined by Storm. Evan and Rogue came into view and Storm told them to get in the plane.
Even from inside the plane Shadowcat could see Rogue's mouth set in a stubborn frown. Spyke started arguing with his aunt, until the Professor turned his head and spoke.
Rogue and Spyke reluctantly started towards the entrance to the plane. But they didn't walk very fast, so when Magneto arrived they were still outside.
~*~x~*~
The door swung open and the three X-Men stared inside.
Nightcrawler slowly entered the room with Sprite following and Wolverine bringing up the rear. Sprite felt along the wall and found a light switch. She flicked the switch up, and the room was filled with a dull, harsh light.
The room was very Spartan, only a bed, a desk and chair, and a dresser as furniture. There was a door on the far side of the room that was most likely a closet.
The dresser was by the bed and a couple books lay carefully stacked on the surface.
"Not quite vhat you expected, is it?" Nightcrawler whispered to Sprite.
She whispered back "No, not at all. I don't know what I expected though. Something more bad-guy-ish, I guess."
"Why are you whisperin'?" whispered Wolverine.
"I don't know." Sprite said, a little louder. She wandered over to the dresser staring at the books.
Nightcrawler continued looking around the room. "I never really vondered vhat Magneto did in his off hours."
"I never thought he had off hours."
Wolverine opened all the drawers on the dresser and searched them thoroughly. After completing that he stared thoughtfully at the dresser top. "The machine was supposed to be there."
"Are you sure?"
"That's what Gumbo said." Wolverine headed purposely for the closet, and flung open the door.
"Gumbo?" asked Nightcrawler. Sprite mouthed "Gambit".
"No bats?" asked Sprite, looking over Wolverine's shoulder into the closet.
"Bats?" he asked, looking back at her with a raised eyebrow.
"It's one of the bad-guy-like things I half imagined would be in here."
"No bats. Just some clothes. So far, anyway." Wolverine walked into the closet. There was no light source inside, so the very back was in shadow.
Sprite got down on her knees and looked under the bed. A few dust bunnies were there, but otherwise the floor was bare.
"Nightcrawler, get in here." Wolverine called from the back of the closet.
Nightcrawler found Wolverine staring into the darkness. "I can't see nothin', and I didn't feel anythin', but I wanted to be sure. What do you see?"
Nightcrawler surveyed the area. "Nothing."
Both men exited the closet and found Sprite kneeling on the ground by the bed. "Nothing here."
"Vhere else vould the machine be?" Nightcrawler asked Wolverine.
"Gumbo said Magneto had a sort of office, but he didn't say that the machine might be in there."
"We're going to have to search the whole place, aren't we?" Sprite asked.
"Looks that way Squirt."
~*~x~*~
Rogue stared at the three forms coming towards them. Her right foot was on the gangplank leading into the plane, but she didn't continue walking up it. Spyke was right behind her, and had also stopped moving.
Magneto was looking directly at the Professor, but Gambit and Colossus were not. Gambit found Rogue with his eyes and locked gazes.
The look in his eyes seemed to communicate an apology. Rogue wondered if that was for what was happening now, or for what was going to happen. If Magneto ordered them to attack....
Rogue lifted her foot off the plank and walked over to where Storm and Xavier were. Spyke followed and stood by Storm, while Rogue went besides the Professor.
Xavier glanced slightly in her direction. ***Rogue, I told you and Spyke to get in the plane***
***Ah'm not leaving ya. Get over it***
The Professor sighed wearily and put his gaze back on the advancing Magneto. He didn't even bother to try to make Spyke leave his aunt. Shadowcat, Nightcrawler, Cyclops and Jean stood on the ramp, watching their enemy and his two Acolytes approach.
~*~x~*~
Nightcrawler, Wolverine, and Sprite were getting frustrated. They had searched Magneto's office, and discovered no trace of the elusive machine. They had also searched three other rooms, to no avail.
"We're going to need backup. We need more then three people to search this place." Wolverine muttered, rifling through yet another cabinet.
Sprite wondered into an adjoining room. This one was huge, like a hanger, and contained several large metal spheres.
"Hey, come look at this," she called.
Nightcrawler and Wolverine hurried into the hanger. Wolverine explained "This is how he transports his lackeys. The balls are hollow, and he makes them float behind him."
At the far end of the room were giant doors, and to the right of them, what looked like a dumpster. Sprite had a hideous foreboding.
Without a word, Sprite ran over to the big carton, and lifted the lid.
Nightcrawler teleported over to her just as she started sobbing.
~*~x~*~
Magneto stopped about twenty feet from the small group of X-Men. "Breaking and entering, Charles? I always thought that common house burglary was beneath you."
"The situation demanded it, Magnus. What possessed you to kidnap them?"
"I wouldn't call it kidnaping, that seems a little to harsh. Where are those two individuals, by the way? Ransacking my home perhaps?"
"They have a right to return to their universe. I assume that you did not intend to bring the Kurt Wagner and Kitty Pryde of that universe here. Why not give us the machine so they may return home?"
"A pity you did not simply ask me first, Charles. I'm afraid that sending them home now is impossible."
Gambit and Colossus turned and looked at Magneto. Colossus, his metal face expressionless, said "I though you were going to use it again."
"I changed my mind. It was a risky procedure anyway, and it failed the first time."
The Professor's face had drained of color. "Magneto, what have you done with the machine?"
"Charles, you look distressed. You should be pleased. You now have two new members for your X-Men."
~*~x~*~
Nightcrawler held out his arms.
Sprite rushed into them and sobbed into his chest, "We're never going to get home now!"
Wolverine by that time had reached them. Peering into the dumpster he saw what had once been the machine, along with other things. Numerous wires and scraps of metal lay dejectedly on top and mixed in with other pieces of trash. Other skeletons of thrown away inventions had been dumped there, so even if they gathered up all the shards of metal and wires they had no way of knowing what went with what.
"It looks pretty trashed, but Forge is a wiz kid with stuff like this. It's not hopeless." Wolverine lied feebly. Sprite was still crying, and Logan knew that the machine was beyond repair.
"Shh Kätzchen, Ruhe nun," Nightcrawler tried to sooth Sprite, while looking at Wolverine for a sign that he wasn't telling Sprite a lie. Wolverine shook his head, the machine could never be fixed.
Nightcrawler sighed deeply, willing the depression that threatened to overpower him away. First they had to get out of Magneto's hideout and back to the Institute. Then they all could deal with their new future.
Sprite's sobs slowly abated, and she stepped away from Nightcrawler. Rubbing the remaining tears out of her eyes she said, "Sorry I broke down there."
"Think nothing of it. But ve best be on our vay." Nightcrawler peered into the dumpster. Wolverine opened up small pouch on his belt and pulled out a thin mesh bag.
Knowing he shouldn't bother trying to pick out pieces of what he thought could have been the machine, he did anyhow, for the benefit of Sprite. "Help me fill this thing, and then we'll go."
Soon they had a bag of metal and wire trash. Sprite didn't mention that there was no way they knew if they had missed anything important. She played along with the two men's fake optimism, and smiled damply. "Okay, looks like we got it all, lets go."
~*~x~*~
"Ya destroyed it!?" screamed Rogue, her gloved hands clenched at her sides.
"Why keep a useless object?" Magneto asked, smiling slyly. "Come, my Acolytes, let us see how much our base as been damaged."
Just then Wolverine, Sprite, and Nightcrawler came out of the door. "Ah, so you two are what all the fuss is about."
Nightcrawler and Sprite stared at the man that had caused them so much trouble. A fury took over Sprite's mind and before she knew it she was about to spring at the smirking fiend, her hands poised for a chokehold.
A tri-fingered hand clamped down on her shoulder. "That vould accomplish nothing, Liebchen" Nightcrawler said as he stared directly at Magneto, his yellow eyes narrowed into slits. "Though I sympathize, for once, vith the desire to commit a homicide."
Sprite hadn't noticed the worried glances that had flickered quickly across Colossus and Gambit's faces. What were they to do if Magneto ordered them to fight?
Nightcrawler had. Now was not the time for revenge. That would come later.
"You are wise, Kurt Wagner. I will let this little break in go, but do not cross my path again. Next time I will not be so forgiving."
With that, Magneto, Colossus and Gambit swept into the base, the door locking behind them.
Before anyone had time to say anything, Pyro came sprinting up to the group and surveyed the scene.
Glancing from the closed door to the X-Men he asked "I missed somethin', didn't I?"
~~~~~~~
Translations: Ruhe nun- "peace now"(I think). I tried to find something like "it will be alright" or "hush, now" but the German language wouldn't cooperate.
I AM SO SORRY THAT THIS CHAPTER TOOK SO LONG AND THAT IT'S ONLY SIX PAGES WHEN I PROMISED MORE THEN EIGHT PAGES!!!!! I am a horrible person....
I was rereading one of my chapters (because I had forgotten what it was about, lol) and I noticed how many horrible spelling errors it had in it. It made me want to cry....You would think I would be a great speller, since I read so much...*sigh* Go figure.
I can't say enough about how sorry I am about how long this took me. I had major writers block, and since the series has been canceled *sob* I've had no new inspiration. Also, school is a constant nuisance, and won't leave me alone.
And then there is planning for college... "College? I should have a college in mind already? You're soooo funny Mrs. Guidance Counselor...Oh, that wasn't a joke? Oh dear." Then there's this art scholarship thing I've been nominated for...But I'm worried about it since all I draw is cartoons....
Okay, okay, enough excuses for my slovenliness....Oh, that reminds me! The SAT! I need to take that! Arrrggg!
I know you all hate me, but please review. And you would rather have a short chapter now, then wait for a longer one, right? Please say yes....^-^;
~:b~
roguehobbit
Shout outs: amanda- glad you enjoyed the last chapter so much! Have some cupcakes! *showers pastries*
Nightcrawler03- thank you!
De-Femme- lol, you liked those scenes? I was so worried about how they would turn out...
Auramistealia - I'm sorry this took so long! I bet I do have many irate reviewers...
StormHeart- thank you, and you should update your story! Yes, you should!!!
bamfling - glad you like, thanks for reviewing both stories ^-^
FrodoGirl- lol, hope you enjoyed it! Wow, someone printed out my story...With all its spelling mistakes...Well, thanks for reviewing!
Everyone clap for my beta readers! Take a bow Nightcrawler03 and KittKatt001! Without you two I'm beginning to realize my writing looks like it was composed by a six year old...a six year old with a very extensive vocabulary, but nevertheless...
Chapter 19: Beyond Repair
"Crap," said Cyclops after hearing the Professor's answer.
"Professor, what are we going to do?" asked Shadowcat, as she sat up in the chair and unbuckled the seatbelt.
The Professor closed his eyes, contacting someone. Then he wheeled himself to the lowered gangplank of the plane. "Stay inside."
Cyclops was going to argue but Jean woke up at that moment, so he was distracted.
Nightcrawler and Shadowcat stared out the window shield at the Professor, who was joined by Storm. Evan and Rogue came into view and Storm told them to get in the plane.
Even from inside the plane Shadowcat could see Rogue's mouth set in a stubborn frown. Spyke started arguing with his aunt, until the Professor turned his head and spoke.
Rogue and Spyke reluctantly started towards the entrance to the plane. But they didn't walk very fast, so when Magneto arrived they were still outside.
~*~x~*~
The door swung open and the three X-Men stared inside.
Nightcrawler slowly entered the room with Sprite following and Wolverine bringing up the rear. Sprite felt along the wall and found a light switch. She flicked the switch up, and the room was filled with a dull, harsh light.
The room was very Spartan, only a bed, a desk and chair, and a dresser as furniture. There was a door on the far side of the room that was most likely a closet.
The dresser was by the bed and a couple books lay carefully stacked on the surface.
"Not quite vhat you expected, is it?" Nightcrawler whispered to Sprite.
She whispered back "No, not at all. I don't know what I expected though. Something more bad-guy-ish, I guess."
"Why are you whisperin'?" whispered Wolverine.
"I don't know." Sprite said, a little louder. She wandered over to the dresser staring at the books.
Nightcrawler continued looking around the room. "I never really vondered vhat Magneto did in his off hours."
"I never thought he had off hours."
Wolverine opened all the drawers on the dresser and searched them thoroughly. After completing that he stared thoughtfully at the dresser top. "The machine was supposed to be there."
"Are you sure?"
"That's what Gumbo said." Wolverine headed purposely for the closet, and flung open the door.
"Gumbo?" asked Nightcrawler. Sprite mouthed "Gambit".
"No bats?" asked Sprite, looking over Wolverine's shoulder into the closet.
"Bats?" he asked, looking back at her with a raised eyebrow.
"It's one of the bad-guy-like things I half imagined would be in here."
"No bats. Just some clothes. So far, anyway." Wolverine walked into the closet. There was no light source inside, so the very back was in shadow.
Sprite got down on her knees and looked under the bed. A few dust bunnies were there, but otherwise the floor was bare.
"Nightcrawler, get in here." Wolverine called from the back of the closet.
Nightcrawler found Wolverine staring into the darkness. "I can't see nothin', and I didn't feel anythin', but I wanted to be sure. What do you see?"
Nightcrawler surveyed the area. "Nothing."
Both men exited the closet and found Sprite kneeling on the ground by the bed. "Nothing here."
"Vhere else vould the machine be?" Nightcrawler asked Wolverine.
"Gumbo said Magneto had a sort of office, but he didn't say that the machine might be in there."
"We're going to have to search the whole place, aren't we?" Sprite asked.
"Looks that way Squirt."
~*~x~*~
Rogue stared at the three forms coming towards them. Her right foot was on the gangplank leading into the plane, but she didn't continue walking up it. Spyke was right behind her, and had also stopped moving.
Magneto was looking directly at the Professor, but Gambit and Colossus were not. Gambit found Rogue with his eyes and locked gazes.
The look in his eyes seemed to communicate an apology. Rogue wondered if that was for what was happening now, or for what was going to happen. If Magneto ordered them to attack....
Rogue lifted her foot off the plank and walked over to where Storm and Xavier were. Spyke followed and stood by Storm, while Rogue went besides the Professor.
Xavier glanced slightly in her direction. ***Rogue, I told you and Spyke to get in the plane***
***Ah'm not leaving ya. Get over it***
The Professor sighed wearily and put his gaze back on the advancing Magneto. He didn't even bother to try to make Spyke leave his aunt. Shadowcat, Nightcrawler, Cyclops and Jean stood on the ramp, watching their enemy and his two Acolytes approach.
~*~x~*~
Nightcrawler, Wolverine, and Sprite were getting frustrated. They had searched Magneto's office, and discovered no trace of the elusive machine. They had also searched three other rooms, to no avail.
"We're going to need backup. We need more then three people to search this place." Wolverine muttered, rifling through yet another cabinet.
Sprite wondered into an adjoining room. This one was huge, like a hanger, and contained several large metal spheres.
"Hey, come look at this," she called.
Nightcrawler and Wolverine hurried into the hanger. Wolverine explained "This is how he transports his lackeys. The balls are hollow, and he makes them float behind him."
At the far end of the room were giant doors, and to the right of them, what looked like a dumpster. Sprite had a hideous foreboding.
Without a word, Sprite ran over to the big carton, and lifted the lid.
Nightcrawler teleported over to her just as she started sobbing.
~*~x~*~
Magneto stopped about twenty feet from the small group of X-Men. "Breaking and entering, Charles? I always thought that common house burglary was beneath you."
"The situation demanded it, Magnus. What possessed you to kidnap them?"
"I wouldn't call it kidnaping, that seems a little to harsh. Where are those two individuals, by the way? Ransacking my home perhaps?"
"They have a right to return to their universe. I assume that you did not intend to bring the Kurt Wagner and Kitty Pryde of that universe here. Why not give us the machine so they may return home?"
"A pity you did not simply ask me first, Charles. I'm afraid that sending them home now is impossible."
Gambit and Colossus turned and looked at Magneto. Colossus, his metal face expressionless, said "I though you were going to use it again."
"I changed my mind. It was a risky procedure anyway, and it failed the first time."
The Professor's face had drained of color. "Magneto, what have you done with the machine?"
"Charles, you look distressed. You should be pleased. You now have two new members for your X-Men."
~*~x~*~
Nightcrawler held out his arms.
Sprite rushed into them and sobbed into his chest, "We're never going to get home now!"
Wolverine by that time had reached them. Peering into the dumpster he saw what had once been the machine, along with other things. Numerous wires and scraps of metal lay dejectedly on top and mixed in with other pieces of trash. Other skeletons of thrown away inventions had been dumped there, so even if they gathered up all the shards of metal and wires they had no way of knowing what went with what.
"It looks pretty trashed, but Forge is a wiz kid with stuff like this. It's not hopeless." Wolverine lied feebly. Sprite was still crying, and Logan knew that the machine was beyond repair.
"Shh Kätzchen, Ruhe nun," Nightcrawler tried to sooth Sprite, while looking at Wolverine for a sign that he wasn't telling Sprite a lie. Wolverine shook his head, the machine could never be fixed.
Nightcrawler sighed deeply, willing the depression that threatened to overpower him away. First they had to get out of Magneto's hideout and back to the Institute. Then they all could deal with their new future.
Sprite's sobs slowly abated, and she stepped away from Nightcrawler. Rubbing the remaining tears out of her eyes she said, "Sorry I broke down there."
"Think nothing of it. But ve best be on our vay." Nightcrawler peered into the dumpster. Wolverine opened up small pouch on his belt and pulled out a thin mesh bag.
Knowing he shouldn't bother trying to pick out pieces of what he thought could have been the machine, he did anyhow, for the benefit of Sprite. "Help me fill this thing, and then we'll go."
Soon they had a bag of metal and wire trash. Sprite didn't mention that there was no way they knew if they had missed anything important. She played along with the two men's fake optimism, and smiled damply. "Okay, looks like we got it all, lets go."
~*~x~*~
"Ya destroyed it!?" screamed Rogue, her gloved hands clenched at her sides.
"Why keep a useless object?" Magneto asked, smiling slyly. "Come, my Acolytes, let us see how much our base as been damaged."
Just then Wolverine, Sprite, and Nightcrawler came out of the door. "Ah, so you two are what all the fuss is about."
Nightcrawler and Sprite stared at the man that had caused them so much trouble. A fury took over Sprite's mind and before she knew it she was about to spring at the smirking fiend, her hands poised for a chokehold.
A tri-fingered hand clamped down on her shoulder. "That vould accomplish nothing, Liebchen" Nightcrawler said as he stared directly at Magneto, his yellow eyes narrowed into slits. "Though I sympathize, for once, vith the desire to commit a homicide."
Sprite hadn't noticed the worried glances that had flickered quickly across Colossus and Gambit's faces. What were they to do if Magneto ordered them to fight?
Nightcrawler had. Now was not the time for revenge. That would come later.
"You are wise, Kurt Wagner. I will let this little break in go, but do not cross my path again. Next time I will not be so forgiving."
With that, Magneto, Colossus and Gambit swept into the base, the door locking behind them.
Before anyone had time to say anything, Pyro came sprinting up to the group and surveyed the scene.
Glancing from the closed door to the X-Men he asked "I missed somethin', didn't I?"
~~~~~~~
Translations: Ruhe nun- "peace now"(I think). I tried to find something like "it will be alright" or "hush, now" but the German language wouldn't cooperate.
I AM SO SORRY THAT THIS CHAPTER TOOK SO LONG AND THAT IT'S ONLY SIX PAGES WHEN I PROMISED MORE THEN EIGHT PAGES!!!!! I am a horrible person....
I was rereading one of my chapters (because I had forgotten what it was about, lol) and I noticed how many horrible spelling errors it had in it. It made me want to cry....You would think I would be a great speller, since I read so much...*sigh* Go figure.
I can't say enough about how sorry I am about how long this took me. I had major writers block, and since the series has been canceled *sob* I've had no new inspiration. Also, school is a constant nuisance, and won't leave me alone.
And then there is planning for college... "College? I should have a college in mind already? You're soooo funny Mrs. Guidance Counselor...Oh, that wasn't a joke? Oh dear." Then there's this art scholarship thing I've been nominated for...But I'm worried about it since all I draw is cartoons....
Okay, okay, enough excuses for my slovenliness....Oh, that reminds me! The SAT! I need to take that! Arrrggg!
I know you all hate me, but please review. And you would rather have a short chapter now, then wait for a longer one, right? Please say yes....^-^;
~:b~
roguehobbit