Disclaimer: Don't own them, but wish I could. Alas, the dream is too far out of my reach. I do this only for enjoyment. Don't believe me? Refer back to other chapters.

Author's Note: Hey again! Well, it's been exactly one week and two days since I've last updated! Told you I'd be back! Well, here's the ninth chapter. The big finale is almost here is just a few chapters! I hope you guys enjoy. But, I don't want to get too ahead of myself here. A big thanks goes out to all of my reviewers for hanging in there and especially those who take the time out to review every single on of my chapters. You guys are very dedicated reviewers. Once again, also go out and read "Timeless" by Sweet-destiny3 and "Sinister Secrets" by Slickboy444. They are both as awesome as the next and deserve to be read. So go out and read their stories, I encourage you all to! Thanks again and don't forget (especially those who don't review) Read, REVIEW, and ENJOY!

Slickboy444: Yup, his name is Abaddon. What a creature, huh? Well, I'm so sorry for the long update… busy with school. But, I'm back and this chapter will answer more of your questions and hopefully be able to keep in suspense until the next chapter. As for the evil concept… I don't know how I truly came about it, y'know? I was in class one day and… well, it's a long story. I could tell you my inspiration was though… but gotta save it 'til after you find out what the ceremony's about. All the questions you asked will probably be answered in this chapter. And technically, six are needed, but the last one plays the biggest part. You'll see soon. Oh yeah, and at your request, more Jott in this chapter. Hope you like what I did with it. Thanks again, my friend, for your dedication in reading this story. You don't know how much it brightens my day whenever I get your reviews. Your so enthusiastic, and it makes me enthusiastic about my own story. I hope I don't disappoint. Well, your words are truly kind and I appreciate them completely. Thanks again and I hope you truly enjoy this chapter!

Diaz F: You're right. I won't answer the questions… you'll just have to read. Two of those questions, I'm sure you'll find the answers in this chapter. I'm glad you like this story. I don't think I've ever gotten a review where there are actual questions in order form. Wow! I've updated… hehe, and I hope you don't find that axe!! Thanks and I hope you enjoy!

Wen: Yes, last chapter, in the first scene… it was Jean's nightmare. Had to incorporate that in there because she was the last one to receive the nightmare, after all. Yes, more Jott coming in this chapter. Thanks and enjoy!

Mark C: Yes definitely a name and a motive… but there's definitely more than you'd think. I know we're all mad at the professor, but hey, what can you say? He had his reasons, I guess. About him telling the students, well you'll just have to read. Technically, all of them have to be in this ceremony of sacrifice, but there are reasons and well, all I can say is that you have to read to find out. Read on, thanks, and enjoy!

Sweet-destiny3: Why, thank you. I'm glad you think so. I love cliffhangers and love leaving people with them, so long as it's not me. Hehe! Yeah, you're right about Logan. This creature guy isn't even human nor mutant and let's just say that he knows what he's doing. Thanks for the compliments and I hope you truly enjoy this chapter!

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Sacrifice

By: pinkchick

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Chapter 9

"What the--" Logan cut his question off as the Danger Room lights flashed on and off. Logan sheathed his claws and walked forward, his nose in the air and his eyes searching the entire room. He walked forward, but then he suddenly stopped in his tracks when he sniffed something unfamiliar. He made a sour face as he looked around continuously. The lights in the Danger Room continued flashing like they had a mind of their own as Logan shifted his way through the Danger Room stealthily. A loud and resounding laughter filled the room around him and Logan turned around. There was nothing there. Absolutely nothing at all. Logan raised an eyebrow and let out a fierce growl of frustration.

Another wave of laughter filled the room, this time it was much louder. Out of nowhere one of the metal machines found its way out of the wall and over towards Logan. He ducked at the last minute and fell to the floor. Logan got up unsteadily and brushed himself off. What the hell was going here? He could usually hear anything behind or in front of him with his enhanced hearing, but he hadn't even heard the machine coming his way. There was something completely wrong with this. He was more angrier than ever now. "Who's in here?" he bellowed.

The laughter continued, but the flashing finally stopped. The lights remained dimmed and Logan continued to walk forward. Whatever was in here, wasn't going to leave. For that, he was certain. Everything around him went quiet. The machine stopped in its tracks and fell forward, crashing into the ground. The laughter died and suddenly-- Logan didn't even know how-- a simulation came on. The room darkened and shifted from its regular metallic walls to a giant cave. Out of nowhere, fire filled the room around him. Although simulations were meant to conjure up something close to reality, this was a little too real for his liking. In one quick flash, the lights went off and the fire disappeared. Logan turned his head in all directions, another growl escaping his lips. The machine once again made its way up, and without Logan noticing, it grabbed him around the neck as he struggled to get free. As he struggled to get free of the machine's hold, a voice laughed. Logan withdrew his claws, let out one loud growl full of rage and anger, and broke the machine in two.

"Show yerself!" Logan shouted through the shroud of darkness, stepping forward. He heard the machine come up behind him again and Logan immediately lunged for the floor, rolling over onto his stomach. "You son of a--"

"Tsk, tsk, tsk, Logan," a very cocky voice chastised. Logan's head shot up immediately and he stood up, carefully looking around through the darkness. He couldn't make out where the voice was coming from. It sounded like it was there, but wasn't. Logan shook his head. Maybe he was going crazy. "That isn't the type of language that we want to hear, now is it? It won't help you protect your precious students, now would it?"

"Who are you?" Logan shouted. "Show yerself, NOW!"

"Now, if I did that, you still wouldn't know who I am," the voice purred annoyingly. Logan's anger raged through him as the questions that he wanted answered were tearing at him. This mysterious man had something to do with what was going on around here. One name came to Logan's mind quickly. Abaddon. Of course. That's the only way the man could have gotten through the school's security systems. What he was doing in the Danger Room was beyond Logan, but he was ready to defend himself.

"Whaddya want from them?" Logan shouted questioningly.

The darkness ensued and there was no response. "What I want from them is none of your concern," the voice replied briskly.

"I think it is," Logan shot back.

"You know you're in way over your head, Wolverine," the voice taunted. "I suggest that you just give up now. You'll never defeat me."

"Never!" Logan shouted back, his clawed hands to his sides, ready in case of attack. "I suggest you leave now before things get really ugly."

"Oh," the voice said, somewhat surprised. "It is unfortunate to hear. After all, I was only here to collect what is rightfully mine."

"Those kids don't belong to anyone, you understand me?!" Logan yelled at him, his rage fully exploding.

The voice laughed and for a moment Logan was unnerved by it, but he wasn't about to let this guy get to him no matter what. He had to stay strong in order to keep this thing talking and maybe he could get some more answers. Unfortunately, that wasn't what the creature was planning. Not at all. It didn't have time to sit and chat… it had things to do. Evil things. Things that made people shrivel out of their skins. "You'll never defeat me, Wolverine. And trust me… I will be back. Back to get what I need. That is a promise, I assure you."

"We'll be ready," Logan stated, although he really hoped that he was telling the truth because if this guy was able to get past the security systems and down to the lower levels without being detected then this creature was definitely trouble. Logan had now seen it first hand.

"We'll see about that," the voice pressed. "Ah, now where were we." The voice seemed to ponder the thought before finally laughing. "Oh yes… you were struggling."

Logan didn't like the sound of that at all. He backed up, but before anything could cross his mind, the machine that he had sliced in two somehow made its way around him once again, attempting to squeeze the life out of him. As Logan struggled to get free once again. Then the lights came on swiftly, the simulation stopped, and Logan fell to the ground in a heap, getting up to find nobody there. The room looked as it should. Then, with the beckoning laughter in the distance, the voice spoke: "Good bye, Logan. For now."

…………………………

Ororo watched Evan sleep peacefully as she sat next to his bed. Finally, no nightmares and he didn't seem to be in any way injured. For that, Ororo was thankful. She was thankful that all the students were now safe. At least for the time being. Ororo sat down on the side of her nephew's bed and stroked his hair softly. The soft breeze outside seemed to create a rhythmic blowing as it hit the windowsill and blew past the trees, ruffling their leaves. Ororo looked out the window and noticed the darkening clouds and her eyebrows drew in closer. She got up and walked over to the window and peeked outside to find the moon hiding. A shiver ran down her spine and she wrapped her arms around herself. Ororo looked outside one more time before closing the window and walking back to Evan's bed. Cold air filled the room even though there didn't seem to be anything open in the room. Ororo thought it was strange. She had just, after all, closed the window.

Ororo sat down next to Evan once again and continued stroking his hair. He stirred, but didn't get up. Ororo closed her eyes and still tried to process all that had been said to her in the past couple of hours. She had never expected anything like this. Especially something involving the students at the school. How could something so evil exist to begin with? It seemed unreal to her, but she somehow had to face the truth. The professor's words haunted her even as she watched over her nephew. How could all of this have happened? She had no idea how to answer that question herself. She had pondered it for a long time and her anger had grown the more she thought about it. It didn't seem right and something was definitely not right about the entire situation. If this man had truly waited centuries to get the six specific people he wanted, the professor obviously didn't exactly make it clear as to why he wanted them. It confused her to no end and the more she thought about, the more it mind boggled her. Nothing like this had ever happened and she wondered why it had to happen to the people she considered family.

The room seemed to get darker and darker as the night's blanket wrapped itself tightly around everything outside. Ororo squinted her eyes in order to be able to see everything around her. It was getting darker in the room and the only thing that she noticed was the one pouring through the slightly ajar door. Ororo looked out and for one split second she could've sworn she saw a shadowed figure pass by. Then, she blinked and realized that it must have been her imagination the entire time. She closed her eyes again and pondered the situation even more. Her thoughts were suddenly interrupted when the professor sent an urgent telepathic message. I need you to come to my office quickly, something has come up. Ororo immediately got up and taking one last concerned glance at Evan, she left the room in an urgent hurry, hoping for the best.

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Jean Grey made her way through the hallways as stealthily as she could. She really didn't feel like getting caught, especially by Logan. There would be too many questions and not enough answers. She looked behind her and noticed Ororo coming out of Evan's room. Jean immediately hid in a corner and watched Ororo rush down the hall like she had never seen before. For a moment, Jean wondered where she was going in such a hurry and if it had anything to do with what was going on lately. That was why Jean was in the boy's hallway to begin with. It was all because of that stupid nightmare. She had tried to sleep, but it just plagued her the more she tried to get some night's sleep. After Ororo was completely out of her sight, Jean walked back out to the main hall and walked to the room that was her destination. She finally made her way to it and breathed a deep breath when she got there before she opened the door.

Slowly, she opened the door and entered. The little light that had entered when she had opened the door had disappeared when the door shut quietly behind her. Jean slowly and quietly crept over to Scott's bed, careful not to wake him. She knew that he hadn't had a decent night's sleep and she didn't want to disturb him. She just needed to be in his arms. She just wanted to feel safe again. Jean walked over to Scott's bed and when she reached it, she pulled open the covers and pulled her body under them. She turned her head around to find Scott's face right in front of hers. He didn't even flinch when she hopped into the bed. He was truly out like a light. Jean smiled for the first time in days and leaned into him, taking his hands and gently placing them around her waist. She placed her head into his chest and felt the beating of his heart synchronize with hers as his chest rose and fell. Jean closed her eyes for a moment and then looked back up at his face. He had such a handsome face.

She took her finger and outlined every feature, even his glasses. Jean looked down sorrowfully at the thought that she would probably never be able to see his eyes. That truly saddened her. She pulled off his glasses gently, knowing that Scott would never let her do it when he was conscious. He was too afraid that he would harm her in the process. She ran her fingers over his closed eyelids. Jean wasn't scared of what would happen if Scott accidentally opened his eyes. She trusted him completely. Her thumb caressed over both his eyelids gently and then she kissed them each softly and slowly. Then, just as gently, Jean placed his glasses back on his face. Jean snuggled in even closer to him and for that single moment, she didn't think about all the nightmares. She didn't think about all the strange things that had been going on. She just felt love and warmth from Scott and she wished that moment could have lasted forever.

Jean closed her eyes and in one final attempt, tried to go to sleep. The cold air swept into the room like a blizzard was blowing outside. Jean opened her eyes, obviously agitated and went to the window and closed it. Unfortunately, it made a loud noise when it closed and Jean jumped. Scott immediately got up from his slumber and turned to see what had abruptly caused all the noise.

"Jean?" Scott asked, shooting up into a sitting position as his eyes adjusted to the darkness. He saw Jean's outlined figure standing next to his window. He was confused. "What are you doing here?"

"I couldn't sleep," Jean stated and shrugged. She hugged herself and looked down. Scott got up and walked over to her, first instinctively making sure that his glasses were firmly in place. Jean didn't look up, she just looked down at her hands. She felt so helpless at that moment. "I--I, I…"

"Jean?" Scott asked as he finally made his way over to her and wrapped his strong, protective arms around her. He kissed her hair gently, rocking her back and forth until she relaxed beneath his touch. "It's ok, Jean, nothing's gonna happen, ok."

"No, Scott," Jean sobbed. "It's not going to be alright. Nothing is. I can feel it and something bad is gonna happen, I know it. I just know it, I just…" She cried harder into Scott's shoulder.

"Shh, Jean," Scott lulled as he continued rocking her. He turned her face upwards and gently brushed his lips against hers in a passionate embrace. This time it was his turn to comfort the only woman he loved in this world. She had done the same for him, and he would rather rot than to ever see anything but happy tears and a smile grace her face. Why did this entire situation have to be so complicated? Jean was a telepath, and she knew things. She knew things that Scott would never know or fully comprehend. Like their link. That was definitely something they both didn't understand and yet they still were able to know the true deeper meaning of it. Being a telepath, Jean also felt things. And if what she was saying was true, then Scott truly feared the outcome of what was to come in the near future. He swallowed a lump in his throat as he stroked Jean's hair. Everything was going wrong, so wrong. It was so hard to comprehend between everything that had happened up to the nightmares and beyond that. Scott's thoughts reeled at this and he couldn't think of a logical explanation. But, he had to agree with Jean, something was coming… and they were all powerless to stop it.

All of a sudden, Jean and Scott were interrupted by a loud bang of the door. Jean and Scott turned their heads to the sounds as the door was pushed open heavily. It made a large banging sound as it slammed into the wall behind it. Three figures appeared at the head of the doorway. Jean and Scott looked confused. They also looked very afraid. They both narrowed their eyes and realized that it was just their three friends. Right at the doorway stood, Kurt, Kitty, and Rogue. The three of them looked scared to death with their eyes wide open as they stared at each other. The wind howled outside and Kitty immediately flung the door closed behind her, making sure that there was nothing there. Then, she turned back and looked at Scott and Jean. They abruptly pulled apart and looked back at the trio that had come crashing into their room.

"What is it?" Scott asked, a peak of concern creeping into his usually monotone and commanding voice. "What's wrong?"

"I -- I mean, we couldn't, like, sleep," Kitty answered for them all. "We didn't know where else to go. We're sorry." Kitty's head sank down and her hands shook nervously.

"No, it's ok," Jean assured. "We couldn't sleep either."

There was a sudden silence that swept over the room. It washed over them as each and every one of their shivering intensified until it was all you could hear among the ever so still room. It began to get colder. The five continued standing in their positions, each questioning what was really going on and why it was happening. The harsh silence that had fallen over the room was interrupted with a low and quiet voice. It was a shaky, yet confident voice.

"What's happening ta us?" Rogue asked quietly, pulling at her gloves and then looking up. "We're all losin' it completely. Ah don't lahke it. Ah don't lahke it at all."

Those two sentences that Rogue had just spoken had pretty much summed up all of the fears and uncertainties that was lying behind each and every one of them. This was crazy and completely getting out of hand. Why were they all afraid? The nightmares had stopped, hadn't they? Weren't they all safe now? Wasn't the worst over? All those questions ran through all their minds at the speed of light. Nobody truly knew what was going on with them, did they? They all thought back to when they were back in the infirmary. Professor Xavier spoke like he was hiding something. Something that affected them drastically. Rogue bit her lip. All this was tearing each of them apart and no one even had the slightest clue as to why it was happening. Rogue shuddered. She had tossed and turned all night, but sleep just wouldn't come to her. All traces of the nightmare had vanished, but the images in her mind stayed behind and lingered there, torturing her.

Kurt's tail played back and forth. He hadn't said a word since he'd burst in here with his two friends. He was shaken and distraught. Kurt truly didn't know what to say. The images had haunted him since he'd seen them. His demonic figure didn't help him at all. When he saw the fire, he thought of all the angry villagers that threatened him with their torches if he didn't leave. A cold shiver ran up and down his spine. He had never wanted to be reminded of what happened to him. This nightmare did just that. It brought back old memories and wounds and Kurt didn't like what was going on at all. he just wished everything would go back to normal like the way it used to be before all these nightmares started to appear in his mind's eye. "He's coming, I know he is. He's coming… he's coming," was all that Kurt kept on muttering over and over.

Kitty looked at Kurt and gave him a sympathetic look. She really did feel for him. But, then again, she felt for everyone who was going through the same things that she was going through. Kitty scooted forward. For some reason, she didn't want to be anywhere near the door. She feared of what was behind it. Nothing could explain what was going through her right now. She was paranoid and scared all at the same time. She felt a sense of anxiety run through her and make her feel as though there was someone out there watching and waiting. Waiting to get them and do something they would've never imagined. She felt herself shudder at the sudden coldness in the room. She was sweating too. Kitty ran her hand over her face and felt the perspiration run down her face. She closed her eyes and just wanted to back up into a corner and cry. She turned to Scott and looked up at what she could see of his face in the dark. "Like… what do we do now?"

She heard Scott give a defeated sigh. She had never heard that before. Kitty realized the situation was obviously bad and out of all their control. She didn't want to think about what would happen if their leader didn't even know what to do in a situation such as this one. "I --" Scott looked down at his hands in defeat. "I really don't know, Kitty. I wish I did, but I don't. I -- I'm sorry." Scott immediately felt a sense of defeat and a burden run through him. He was the leader, he wasn't supposed to feel defeated. It was his job to make sure that everything was ok and that the situation would be able to be handled. But, right now, he felt as if the largest truck had taken itself and run over him three times. Scott felt so lost. He suddenly felt a gentle squeeze on his shoulder. Scott turned to look at Jean in regret. Regret that he wasn't able to do anything but sit around helplessly and be struck with something they couldn't even fight. Jean could feel the rush of emotions run through her. She knew how Scott felt because she also felt the exact same way about the entire situation. Ever since the beginning, there had been no answers. No nothing. It was a dead end and they all didn't know where to turn.

The heavy wind blew even harder outside and the X-men seemed to huddle together in the safeness of each other's presence. Silence ensued once again, but this time they all welcomed it. There was nothing either of them could say now. They obviously couldn't make the situation any better if they didn't know anything about it. They just stood there and listened to the wind howl at the moon, which had taken it's leave behind the ruffling leaves for shelter. "Maybe we should try to get some sleep," Scott offered. He felt he had to say something to relieve them and make them all feel better about everything.

"Like, no way!" Kitty protested.

"Ah agree," Rogue put in. "Everytahme Ah close mah ehys, I see it."

"See vhat?" Kurt asked, looking at her with a puzzled expression on his face as the bottom of his face remained between his legs.

Rogue glared at him harshly and coldly, letting her fear and anger of the situation get a hold of her. "Dontshoo act lahke ya don't know what Ah'm talkin' 'bout."

Kurt backed away from her immediately, fear in his usually bright golden eyes. "I'm sorry, Rogue. I vas just trying to make conversation. I know exactly vhat you're talking about." Kurt looked down and rocked himself back and forth as he held his legs to his chest. The others just watched the siblings, never saying a word.

Rogue blinked at him and just realized what she had done. She had let her fear and frustration control her. She had just yelled at her brother. What was this situation doing to her. She closed her eyes and picked at her gloved hands. "Ah -- Ah'm sorry, Kurt. Ah didn't mean ta… Ah'm sorry."

Kurt placed his three fingered hand on her shoulder and looked up at her. "I know you are, Rogue. Ve're all sorry. For everysing."

"C'mon, everyone," Jean spoke up. "Let's not do this to ourselves." She suddenly felt enraged inside at what this entire situation had caused all of them to become. She knew and felt that something was going to happen. Something bad. But, she wasn't about to let the nightmares get the best of everyone.

"Do what?" Scott asked, his head down, his staring fixated on the floor.

"We're feeling sorry for ourselves," Jean stated. "Is this what's become of us?"

"What do you, like, mean?" Kitty asked, intrigued at what Jean was getting at. She had her chin resting in her palm and she was staring at the window intently.

"This entire situation… these nightmares," Jean explained, standing up. "It's made us into something we're not. Scared. We can't let it get to us like this."

"Zere's nosing wrong vith being scared," Kurt stated triumphantly. "In fact, zis is ze perfect time for it." They all smiled sadly at him. For a moment, there was a hint of the old Kurt in there. The one they had known just about a week ago. There was no room for conversation left because a sudden noise interrupted them. The door to Scott's room burst open once again and Evan ran in. He was sweating and panting like he had been running a marathon. Everyone's heads immediately turned to look at him and they all got up with a sense of urgency suddenly sprouting within them. Evan closed the door quickly and locked it behind him. He speed walked to the center of the room where his friends now stood and looked each and every one of them in their faces. His face expressed one of fear and shock. But, mostly, what was there was a deeply rooted look of absolute fear running through his eyes. His body was shaking and his lips were quivering as he attempted to get what he wanted to say out of his mouth.

"He's coming. It -- it's him," Evan panted, swallowed and continued. "He's… coming. I -- I saw. Evil… help… coming… now."

"Calm down, Evan," Scott said. He held him by his shoulders and looked into his face. Scott tried to be the calm one in the situation because he could already hear his friends and fellow teammates start to shake in fear behind him. Scott tried, but deep down, he knew what Evan was getting at. Scott sadly knew who he was. Unfortunately, he also knew that every one of the X-men also knew. "Breathe. Now, tell us what happened. Who's coming?" Scott felt his stomach tightened as he asked that question. He knew he didn't really have to ask. It was all written on Evan's face. All of a sudden, Evan's eyes widened and Scott narrowed his eyes. What was wrong?

"I am," a sinister voice answered from behind them. All the X-men glanced and their eyes widened in disbelief and fear. The figure was hidden in the shadows of the night outside of Scott's window. And, inside, they all wondered how he had made it up to the second floor without anyone noticing. "I'm sorry I've failed to introduce myself. I, am Abaddon. Your fate… and your absolute worst nightmare."

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"What's the urgency, Professor?" Ororo asked as she walked in and sat down next to Hank in one of the chairs in front of the professor's desk.

"Yes, it sounded very important," Hank said. He had been afraid that when he got Xavier's message that it was about something that he had mentioned to him before about the sixth sacrifice. Maybe he was wrong.

"Yes, I'm afraid it is, my friends," Xavier explained. "Where's Logan?" he asked, looking around the room and not finding his Canadian friend. Hank was about to answer, but Xavier dismissed it. "Never mind, he'll have to find out later."

"Have you found anything, professor?" Ororo questioned, her calmness and patience fading slowly from her. To answer her question, Xavier showed them the book he had previously shown them. But, this time, it was something different. Ororo and Hank eyed the book and the words written on the page. "What is this?"

"This is the reason Abaddon wants the X-men," Xavier explained to a puzzled Ororo and Hank. "You see, I overlooked it before but now, I understand." He paused. "Abaddon needs certain abilities within the sacrifices in order to perform this ceremony."

"You mean mutant abilities?" Hank asked, certainly intrigued with this new information.

"No, not mutant abilities," Xavier continued. "Characteristics. Each of them posesses a certain characteristic that needs to be had in this ceremony. Or else it won't work properly. Also, the last sacrifice must have the ability to be used as a key. A key for what I do not know yet, but I'll try to find out. But, we must try and find out more answers before it is too late."

Ororo and Hank were shocked at this revelation. They both looked down at the book and looked at the six characteristics that were needed to perform this ceremony. As they looked over it, they realized that each of the six students possessed one of these traits, indeed. Ororo closed her eyes and suddenly felt the feeling of powerlessness rush through her again. If only these answers had come sooner, maybe they could've… She didn't get the chance to finish her thought before the door burst open and an enraged Wolverine plunged into the room. They all turned their attention to him.

"Logan?" Ororo asked.

"He was here," Logan ground out.

"Who was?" Hank asked.

"Abaddon."

There was a gasp in the room. Even Xavier's eyes were wide open. How could this have happened? Their security systems were state of the art and exceeded anything in this time period. Xavier shook his head. It didn't matter, not this time. They weren't dealing with anybody of the ordinary. This creature wasn't even a mutant. Xavier then looked up at Logan and the man's eyes confirmed his fear. This creature's plan was drawing into action and Xavier feared that it already was too late.

"Professor, I think we should inform the students," Ororo stated firmly. "I think they have a right to know about this situation."

"I think you're right, Ororo," Xavier agreed. "This has gone out of our hands and they need to be informed about this immediately. I will contact them right now." Logan, Ororo, and Hank waited patiently as Professor Xavier placed his hands to the sides of his temples, closed his eyes, and concentrated. He opened them abruptly, a shocked and worried expression on his face.

"What is it?" Logan asked, all patience lost on him as he stared at the professor intently. There was definitely no time to waste. Not anymore.

Xavier shook his head, his face having concern and worry written all over it. "They're gone."

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A/N: Sorry this took longer than usual to update, but I swear that school has been keeping me busy. I'll make you all a deal… the more reviews I get, I promise I'll try to update much quicker, because the end is near. I really want to hear what ya'll think and it totally makes my day a better one! Want to know what happens to the X-men… what the characteristics that are needed are and what the ceremony is really for? Stay tuned for the next chapter and I promise that there'll be more answers. Thanks once again for those who reviewed, as always, the comments were great. You guys keep me going. I know there are those who read and don't review… just so you know, I know who you are. Please, please review… the button's right there on the bottom to your left! And I don't care if you liked it or hated it, just tell me. Next chapter to be up soon! REVIEW!