(Eight)

Fallen flew them quickly over the bombed out city. She covered a lot of ground swiftly, spurred on by her anger. Logan watched the terrain go by in a blur, her scent telling him everything. She was hurt and angry, cursing herself for her honor. Like her, Wolverine was worried that she had made the wrong decision in sparing Valentin's life, but understood that it wasn't easy to kill. It wasn't Logan's place to judge her so he let it go.

Fallen dropped them off outside the ship and stomped up the ramp to the ship, saying nothing to anyone. Valentin watched her go, a strange look on his face. Logan was surprised to recognize it as genuine concern and shook his head. He would never be able to figure these two out in a million years.

Logan made his way stiffly up the ramp. He wanted to shower and see if he could get any more of the shrapnel that was still jammed in his guts out. He wouldn't get it all, it would ease out slowly on its own, making him itch like mad. He still had some red blotchy scars from where the debris had cut him and was smeared with dried blood, but the injury now looked worse than it was. Nothing that a good hot shower wouldn't fix.

He was making his way to barracks room when he passed Bruce in the Main Room. Bruce was wandering around Fallen's ship in a sort of daze, looking for something with a puzzled look on his face. He was bruised and battered from Valentin's abuse, filthy from their mad dash through the ruined city, and looked lost and confused. "You all right?" Logan asked him, concerned for the man.

"Yeah, fine," Bruce replied, clearly lying as his eyes shifted around the room. He realized that Logan was studying him and nervously made his way into the galley.

Wolverine watched him go, not sure what Bruce was up to. It vaguely occurred to him that Bruce was looking for the Siskans he'd heard chattering on the radio. Logan was aware that few, if any, of the Clansmen knew the true nature of Fallen's little program. She had asked Henry to keep their ability to come out in the hologram a secret and maybe there had been a good reason for that. Logan looked to the screen, but the control room there was empty, the twins were off hiding somewhere.

As if on cue to Logan's unspoken question, he heard Kimble and Fallen begin to argue loudly from below. The sliding trap door was closed, but Logan could hear them just fine. Kimble was put out over Fallen shutting the radio off on him and was making sure she knew it. He couldn't believe she had given up the one chance to be free of her tormentor.

Logan could hear Kimble's pain and sympathized in spite of his own reservations against the guy. Kimble could do nothing to protect her, not even from her own bad decisions and it was obviously driving the Siskan crazy. Wolverine paused and shook his head, chagrined at himself. How could he be thinking this way about Kimble? The guy wasn't real, his emotions were all programmed and artificial. Logan refused to see him as real, no matter how convincing the image. He was surprised Fallen allowed him to berate her so ferociously. He would have shut the guy down a long time ago.

Logan turned when he saw Valentin come up the ramp from outside. He was limping and sore from his injury, his wounded leg was still tied off with the belt and untended. Valentin paused when he heard Kimble let go with a spectacular stream of profanity, ending only when he started to bawl, his anger too great to hold back. Something slammed from below and the argument ended abruptly.

Valentin laughed. "Oh, he's got quite the temper doesn't he? Stupid child."

Logan stepped back when the door to the lower level slid open. Fallen came up in a huff, her face flushed and angry. She said nothing to them, but passed them to go into the galley. There was the sound of breaking glass and Bruce came out, Fallen's anger had frightened him from his hiding place. He quailed when he saw Valentin. He was out of the frying pan and into the fire.

"You!" Valentin snarled at him. Apparently he wasn't quite finished chewing Bruce's ass out and was more than ready to resume the man's punishment. "You allowed us to be seen! They know we will come again! Now we have to start all over again!" He slapped the man again, a heavy devastating blow. "All that time and planning wasted!"

Bruce crumpled and continued to grovel. Blood gushed from his nose again and he trembled uncontrollably. The poor man was obviously teetering on some kind of edge and looked ready to break at any moment. "My, Lord!" he begged, hoping uselessly for mercy. "The information I had came from your spies out in the field! They've never failed me before! Something unforeseen must have happened! It's not my fault, I swear!"

"I am not interested in your petty excuses! Get out of my sight!"

Bruce covered his face and fled, passing Logan without a glance.

Valentin snorted in disgust and limped into the galley, looking for Fallen. Logan followed him in case he started in on Fallen in his frustration, but kept his distance. He leaned in the doorway and watched as Valentin went to his pilot and attempted to console her.

Fallen stood over the sink, picking up the pieces of broken glass from her temper tantrum. There was plenty of it to pick up and room reeked of whiskey now. She was shaking with rage but doing her best to calm down. She tossed the glass into a bin and snatched another bottle from the rack, not letting one broken bottle keep her from her goal of blotting all of this out. She opened it with a claw and drank a large gulp of whiskey down as if it was nothing.

Valentin stood behind her and carefully put his hands on her shoulders. "Why do you keep this Kimble fool around if he angers you so?" he asked her quietly. "You should have scrapped him long ago, along with all the other junk that never worked right on this ship."

"He's not the one making me angry," she snapped.

Valentin grunted a laugh. "Surely, not I?"

Fallen found no humor in his joke, her voice was quite serious as she said, "My service to the Clan is coming to an end, Valentin. Things between us will change."

"How so?" He bent down and kissed her bare white shoulder.

"This. This will stop." She turned and pushed him away firmly but without malice.

He grinned. "No. I don't think so. You're mine and always will be."

She shook her head. "I've come to terms with what I've done. I don't need you any more."

"Really? You're releasing me from my duties?" he said with a contemptuous laugh. "I've grown much too fond of you, my dear. You'll not be rid of me so easily. Perhaps my hand has been a bit heavy, yes, but you've done well under it. You've come a long way from that snarling little she-bitch Cerebus dragged from the pens."

"I don't want to talk about that," she whispered and turned away.

"You brought it up, my dear. Now, enough of this foolish talk of change. Tend to me."

She looked back at him and saw that he was injured. His leg was still tied off with his belt and most of the bleeding had stopped, but it would need to be cared for. She nodded and helped him to undress, careful of his pants around where the piece of shrapnel protruded.

Valentin sat on the table, stretching his wounded leg out in front of him, the other bent over the bench. The wound was still fresh and blood seeped out onto the table, flowing now from the movement. Fallen stood easy beside him and lay her hands on his thigh carefully, examining him. She ignored him as he sniffed at her and closed her eyes. She was using telekinesis to 'feel' the metal shard and gently slide it out, it would be less painful than if she were to dig it out with her hands.

Valentin still grunted with pain in spite of this and grabbed a fistful of her hair, bringing her closer. He wasn't really pulling on her, he was simply bringing her up close, seeking her comfort.

Logan stood as he was, still watching them. Their body language spoke volumes. These two were bonded and in spite of their sick little game, had a relationship that was beyond abuser and prey. As brutal as Valentin had been to her before, now he was gentle and it wasn't just because he needed her to do something for him. Wolverine knew that in order to ensure Fallen would bring them home he would have to get her away from this man. Now more than ever, he regretted not killing Valentin. Funny how it was the gentleness that made Wolverine feel this way and not the vicious abuse.

Fallen eased the long sliver out and Valentin relaxed, releasing her. He smoothed her hair out gently, putting her back in order. "You're so very good, my Fallen," he said, licking his lips.

Fallen wouldn't meet his eyes and moved away. She tossed him the bottle of whiskey and ordered. "Drink this."

He took it and chuckled softly at her arrogance, he seemed to like it when she bossed him around. Fallen paid him no mind. She took out a med-kit and some fresh towels and she began to clean his wound, being careful and doing a decent job of it. She was drunk now, but it didn't seem to affect her ability to care for him.

Valentin petted her as she worked, smiling the whole time. He didn't acknowledge Logan's presence in the doorway even though he'd seen him there. Valentin's eyes were on her, glowing with a sick kind of love. He flinched once as she stitched him, but otherwise showed no sign that she was hurting him. She ignored his touch but didn't move away from him or avoid him. It was though she didn't care one way or the other. Logan shook his head. It was beyond his ability to figure these people out.

"Y' know..." Logan drawled, getting back to business. "...the Dognan knew we were there today. Of course we got our cover blown. I'm guessin' they think we're gonna tuck tail an run. Let's go back in few hours anyways. We got nuthin' ta lose."

Valentin rubbed his chin and looked at Fallen. "Can you reset the cloaks? We'll need at least twenty."

"Yes, my Lord. If it takes me all night."

He looked back at Logan, pleased that this alpha had read his mind. Again, he considered Wolverine's suitability for an officer's position. "First light, then?"

"First light," Logan repeated as a farewell and left. Before he got too far, he heard Valentin say to Fallen, "All night? I hope you've got some time to spare for me."

"Of course, my Lord," she whispered tonelessly.

Logan left them and went for his shower, not wanting to hear any more. Whatever this thing was between them, he wanted no part of it.

Wolverine freshened up and after a quick catnap, rose to find Fallen seated on the floor in front of the main room's big screen. The screen was blank, just swirling static. In one corner was a small window showing the control room used by Kimble and Seth. The chairs were empty, the brothers off in the system somewhere. Fallen sat, kneeling with her head down. The bottle of whiskey, now empty, sat in front of her. One of her wings was slightly bent and not folded completely, Valentin had bruised it in his passion. At least she was otherwise unharmed.

Wolverine stood in the doorway of the barracks, watching her. The ship was empty, all the Clansmen were settling down to sleep outside where there was more space. Logan walked over to Fallen and crouched down beside her. "You okay?"

"Kimble is angry. I need him to help me with the cloaks but he won't come."

"You can't do it alone?"

"He helped me build them. He knows them best," she explained in a soft trembling voice. She looked as though she was on the verge of tears, but it could just be the exhaustion. The stress of this was taking its toll on them all.

"He'll be back." Wolverine put a hand on her shoulder, concerned about her. Her white skin was very warm like she had a fever. She was also very drunk. "He seems to care about you."

"Do you like him?" she asked, proud in spite of her pain. Logan could see she'd been crying earlier, her eyes were red and swollen. "He's not all that different from you. My protector. It's why I made him look a little like you."

He shook his head with a smile, amused by her crush. He didn't buy into her reasoning, though. Kimble was a child and reckless with his emotions and anger, nothing like him at all. Still, he said, "You really know that much about me?"

"Oh, yes, I know all the legends. I knew of you long before I got taken. I know all about you X-men, how you would fight so gallantly for freedom and the rights of everyone." She sniffed, her smile wistful now. "Kimble's like that. He wants to protect me, look after me. Keep me safe. He takes it very seriously like you do. Only, heh, he's more of a clown than you are, more like my husband was."

"You were married before?"

"Yeah. Had some kids. They're all dead now. The Dognan took who they wanted, destroyed the rest," she said quietly. "It was a long time ago."

"I'm sorry."

"It's okay." She sniffed and wiped her eyes. "Now Kimble is mad because I let Valentin live. I deserve what Valentin did to me tonight," she said, flexing her wing slightly to reveal an ugly terrible bruise. "I should have let him die."

"It ain't no easy thing, killin' someone. But I suspect ya already know that, though." He paused, waiting for her to respond. When she didn't, he continued. "You don't deserve what he does to you, though. I can't understand why ya think you do, girl. I've seen it before, women thinkin' that they've done some terrible thing and this all they're worth. Yer better than this, Fallen."

"No, I'm not," she replied, keeping her eyes down. "You don't know anything about me."

"Enlighten me then. What's yer trouble, darlin'?"

She just shook her head and was silent.

Logan looked up at the screen and at the empty chairs. "Maybe you should get some rest. Tomorrow's gonna be a busy day."

"I'll wait here. Seth will come in his place if I wait long enough."

"Ya want me ta stay?"

She gave him a tired smile. "No, I'll be okay."

"All right, then." He stood and walked away towards the ramp, he wanted a little fresh air before going to bed for some real sleep. He looked back before he went outside, seeing her there. She was a tiny white figure crouched in front of that huge screen, lost. He didn't want to leave her, but there wasn't anything he could do to help her.

Just as Logan turned away, he heard Seth call her name, the young pilot had come back to the control room. Wolverine watched as Fallen stiffly rose and walked to Seth's small window. Seth had raised his hands up to the screen and she put her own hands over his, taking some small comfort from that strange contact. They began to whisper to each other, words of love and caring that revealed a whole other kind of love than what she shared with Valentin. Whatever this was, it was beautiful and real. They spoke in Siskan and Logan couldn't interpret what they were saying exactly, but it didn't mean he didn't understand. Seth was so terribly sad, his much too realistic artificial heart breaking, and his voice shook as he spoke. He started to cry and his Mistress soothed him, speaking to him with love and gentleness. She would fix this, somehow, some way.

It was the strangest thing Logan had ever seen. Unable to fathom it, he shook his head in exasperation and walked out, needing some fresh air.