Chapter 15

The side of the mountain was tall and in places hard to climb and it had gotten colder as they went up and snow had even started to fall but the x-men, especially the Black Fox, were determined to reach the top. On the way up however, Theressa and Knole were higher than Wolverine and Scott when all of a sudden, Scott slipped and began to fall.

"Scott!" Theressa cried seeing her fellow x-men fall. She had the power to save him but if she did the cure may not be given to her and Michel would die. She hated that she had to chose but she had to do what was best for her son and Scott knew that.

Wolveirne must have seen Scott fall as well because he jumped off the mountain side in an attempted the catch Scott.

"Dad!" Theressa screamed about to cry.

"Theressa, won't Logan's healing factor save him from the impact of the ground?" Knole asked as they clung to the mountain side for dear life.

"Usually but it's never been tested against such heights. For all he knows his healing factor could actually have a limit that he's never discovered because he's never been this high before."

For more than three minutes Knole and Theressa didn't speak to each other and couldn't see or hear Wolverine or Scott and just when Theressa thought all was lost her com-link began to beep and then came the voice she wanted to hear.

T you all right? Wolverine said thinking that the mountain may start to crumble.

"Yeah, Knole and I are fine but what about you and Scott?"

Cykes here with me and he's fine. I'm hanging on to the side of the mountain with my claws and I can't get back up to where you are with having to pull Cyke up as well. The rock that I've pushed my claws into is flat faced. You and Knole go on ahead and we'll see you back at the cabin. I love you T and good luck.

"I love you too dad." Theressa said as she allowed Knole to climb higher than her, so that she could catch him if he fell and then she began to climb.

Finally, the test was over and the two remaining x-men made it to the top of the mountain. The top was very beautiful, you could see the sun setting in clear clean air and there was snow that was falling all around and was sticking to the ground. Theressa had never seen snow stick to the ground before. Back in Texas it would only snow once in a blue more and then for it to stick that was more rare. Back in New York it would snow but Theressa always seemed to be on missions and never got to play in it, which didn't seem fair but in life not many things are fair. In the midst of the sun setting and the snow falling there was a small cabin, smaller than the one Madam Tulia had down at the bottom of the mountain.

Suddenly, the door to the cabin opened and Madam Tulia herself came out and walked over to them.

"How did you get up here?" Knole asked, "We left you at the bottom of the mountain."

"Knole, she a teleporter and by the looks of it a very skilled one at that. She maybe better that Nightcrawler, himself."

"That is true Black Fox. When I left you and Cyclops in my cabin I teleported to the first test and watched you and then it was I that pushed Cyclops off the mountain early this morning so that you could save him."

"What about just now?" Theressa asked, "Did you push him off the mountain that time so Wolverine could prove himself?"

"No, that was his own doing. He maybe a leader but he is very clumsy."

"Madam Tulia we passed all you're tests so may we have the cure now?" Knole asked before Theressa could. Knole was worried about Michael as well seeing as how the boys were friends.

"You have not passed all of my tests." Madam Tulia said as she walked on to the porch and was followed by Theressa and Knole.

"We passed the test of wisdom, courage and strength, Madam Tulia what else is there?" Theressa asked almost angry at the elderly woman for not giving her and Knole the cure right away.

"What else is there? My dear what is left is the test of self sacrifice." Madam Tulia said as she picked up vile that had a clear liquid in it. This was when Theressa realized that what Madam Tulia had in her hand was the cure but it would kill one to save many.

Theressa was about to ask a question when Madam Tulia spoke once more.

"This is the cure for the legacy virus but it is just as deadly as the virus itself. It needs a mutant vessel in order to get into the air and once in the air the cure will spread across the glob and the closer the vessel you are the quicker you are healed but by this time the vessel will have died. The cure kills one to save many but the vessel can not be infected with the virus, at least not greatly infected."

Theressa turned to Knole and looked at his face which was smooth and his eyes were blue but this was not his real face. Theressa reached for his watch and turned off his image inducer that Charles Xavier had given him and when that image was gone a young man with a face full of scars and skin as pale as snow stood in front of Theressa. She wanted to look at the real him while she told him what she was about to say and not the hologram that Xavier had given him.

"Knole I won't ask you to do this." Theressa said, "In fact I don't want you to do this. I know how much Andi means to you and I can talk to her for you if you want but if you do this and be the vessel and die I don't know how Andi would take it."

"Theressa, it's because I love Andi so much that I'm going to do this. She may love me but she loves her brother and her mom more than anything in the world. I should know from the way she talked about you when you weren't there. If either of you were to die she couldn't go on but she will go on with out me."

Tears were rolling down Theressa's face when Knole mentioned that Andi talked about her when she wasn't there for that year. Knole hugged Theressa one last time and then walked over to Madam Tulia and took the vile and drank it. At first he didn't feel bad but with in a minute of the cure being in his blood stream, Knole lost his sight and fell over.Theressa went to him, placed his head in her lap and tried to calm him. His arms and legs were shaking violently, he had a fever that was increasing and his breathing was shallower with every second that passed.

"Knole I want you to know that you have been a son to me and I treat you as my own. I'll watch over your brother for you, okay?" Knole could barly move his head and then he managed to say a few last words.

"Theressa……tell…..Andi that……I'll always……..be with her." Knole said, took one last breath and was gone. Then suddenly his body was transformed into energy and was taken away by the winds to cure the world of this virus.

Slowly Theressa stood up and looked at Madam Tulia who said, "You may now use your powers to get down the mountain."

Theressa nodded her head as she flew into the night sky and headed for the cabin.

A/N: I hope you enjoyed it! I'm almost done but I can't seem to get the last chapter right adn I don't want to turn this story into the story that never ends by adding and adding chapters. If you have any ideas please tell me and soon.