A/N

Sorry about the delay again! ACT's came up along with other things, and I was dragged into the abyss. Sorry! Anyway, slightly short chapter, wanted to get this out of the way before starting on the next part, and I will do my best to update more often.


Jean set up the cup Scott knocked over for the third time. I felt pity for him. I knew he must have felt extremely frustrated. There was a strip of cloth covering his eyes (I don't know why- anything over his eyes and in front of him would be obliterated if he took a peek anyway) and it looked like giant moths had attacked his shirt.

Night had fallen faster than usual, and dull whines betrayed waves of magic snaking through the earth. They became stronger the farther north they came from. We all sat in a circle, not building a fire for fear it would attract things we didn't especially want.

A dull hiss in my mind told me the soldiers were still tromping in the same direction, joining up with several others along the way. It's getting easier to track people now. I don't know if it has to do with me finally getting used to this place or not.

Scott's account of what happened had been less than useful. His glasses had been lost straightaway, and to stop him from causing trouble, he had been knocked out repeatedly. From the times he was conscious, we all managed to piece together that he had been the only one of us to successfully been brought to the holding place (I'm guessing a certain tower with a thorn wall around it) before sacrificing.

"The main guy had this strange name I can't say." Scott said as he took a sip from the cup.

"Figures. Every bad guy has like, a weird name." Kitty said, rolling her eyes.

"Like Shadowcat?"

"Yeah—Hey! Shut up, Berserker!"

"Calm down you two." Ms Monroe scolded. "This is not the time or place. If this man took us from our world, he can send us back. The wisest course of action may be to find him."

"And how do we do that? We don' even know who he is!" Rogue protested.

"Following his soldiers would be my guess. They must be going all in one direction for a reason!" Jean turned to me. "They are still going in one direction, right?"

I nodded.

"Right. So they still are going in one direction, and I'll et they're going to meet up with this guy."

"Why didn't the soldiers stop to go after us then?" Sam asked.

"They aren't all that smart. I bet," Rahne said, checking her pack, "That those guys got one order and they follow it to the max, no matter what's happening right under their noses. Besides, they didn't get a good look at us anyway."

"We hope." Ray muttered.

Crepuscule yawned a little, and went back to keeping watch. In his monster form, his eyes were much better than ours. He could also see in the dark.

"So we're going after them, right?" Jean prompted.

"It may be the only way." Hank agreed. Everyone mutely agreed.

A slight twinge made me wince. A couple seconds later I realized it was a mental twinge.

"Something's coming." I said abruptly, cutting off Scott before he started speaking.

"What is it?" Jean leapt into action, the others struggling to catch up with her. We all stood tense at the prospect of oncoming danger.

"I can't tell. There's no one I can ask. All the animals are hiding and the birds flew away." It can be argued that they were infinitely smarter than we are.

"That's bad luck." Rahne commented.

"Can you tell which direction?" Jean asked.

"Same as all the other bad guys." Ray whispered.

"No. It's just…" the twinge made me wince again. "-a twinge. No, wait…Get down! NOW!"

I threw myself flat on the ground. The others followed suit.

Something heavy and unsteady flew over us. I felt suffocated as a rush of fetid, rotting air followed it. I saw Kitty retching, while Jubilee held a hand over her mouth to muffle the sounds she was making.

Whatever it was, it flew on, and soon left us behind. The air stayed vile, and several others, including Jean, ran off to go empty their stomachs.

"This is not a natural air." Crepuscule coughed beside me. "It smells like that monster at Alistair's castle."

"Funny how that works out." I said a little sarcastically. I was a little annoyed with the smell. I hated it. It didn't smell like dead things should. It smelled like the living dead, if that made any sense.

"What was that?" Kitty was still gagging. "Let's get out of here!"

"I second that emotion." Chorused Jubilee.

We all struggled away from the scent, even as it seemed to cling to our clothes.

"What was that?!" Kitty repeated.

"I think it burned the hairs in my nose." Ray said, scratching the bridge of his nose.

"Eww!" Kitty quickly put Rahne in between them.

"Quiet down!" Jean called. "While we have time, let's follow it."

"…I don't wanna follow that thing. Can we give it a day start?" Kitty asked.

"Our best chance at following them lies with that thing. It'll be easy to follow."

"I'll bet." Rogue muttered.

"Come on! Our best way to get home is to fight this guy and get it over with. Let's go!" Jean marched resolutely off after the stench, slowing only to help Scott.

The rest of us followed, Ms Monroe and Mr. McCoy warning that we shouldn't get to close, and that we had to gather information first, before attacking.

Jean told them she knew, but also argued that losing the trail wouldn't help our situation.

I was beginning to feel a little left out. It wasn't as if we'd lose them completely. I was here too.

But they kept going with fierce determination, so I followed to give what aid I could. I heard Rogue mutter that Jean was 'too into saving the world' as she fell in step behind Sam and Ray.

Thankfully, Jean either ignored her or didn't hear her, and everyone avoided an argument.

The smell was nasty, even almost ten minutes after the monster left. Crepuscule was giving it a wide berth, his nose like his eyes-better than human.

I let my mind wander outwards. I thought, I don't know why, it was just a feeling, that I'd have to keep my thoughts to myself as we got closer to the north.

The biggest clump of activity seemed to be a giant knot set in a mountain. Funny how dark Soulking lords like mountain retreats. Farther away, there was a distinct feeling of attraction and unrest, as if something was being drawn in against it's will.

I can only assume that to be a bad thing. And if virgins are needed to make all of this come together…I wonder if anyone else is in this world? Mr. Logan I have not seen, though I imagine he won't be in trouble with anyone doing virgin sacrifices…

Well, we're coming anyway, so we should be able to see everything firsthand.

I just hope this doesn't turn out badly for us.


PrincessOfWildfire: Furbies are furry creatures of doom? Well, I heard pokemon were the eight sign of the Apocalypse, so it all can make sense. Glad you enjoyed the chapter!

Raliena: I update as fast as I can! Glad you liked it!

Anongirl88: Glad you like that, Dex is one of the easier creatures, people, etc. to write for. Hope you enjoyed the chapter!

Asp: Yes, this is the entire group, as was kidnapped. I'm glad you like Dex, I'm very glad I started writing for him, as he's very easy to write for. I hope you like the chapter!

Herman will take the reviews!