~~ Remy and Rogue ~~
"Why are we followin' this yahoo?"
"Wisht I knew, Cherie, but we gotta make sho' she don't hurt herself."
"Ugh." Rogue shook her head. It was crazy she told herself. Madness. The girl had just tried to kill them. But watching her dig like an animal through the dirt, crowing about some angel, was kind of depressing. She obviously had a screw loose. A very important screw, at that.
"Did you ever get one o' dose feelin's, like someting very bad was 'bout t' happen?"
Rogue looked at Remy, who was staring at the girl. Yep, that's exactly what she was felling now, but she was so confused...
"Hey, cut it out now." Rogue leaned forward and grabbed the girls' shoulder.
"It's close. I can feel-"
The ground erupted upwards before the weirdo could finish the sentence.
Everyone stared upwards as a man flew higher into the sky, propelled by something below.
"Did we wander onto a movie set o' someting?" Remy asked, wide-eyed.
The man started to fall, finally and they all followed his descent. The body jerked and Rogue realized he was still alive. Suddenly there was a loud snap and everyone's attention was returned to the ground. Or, to be more specific, to the hole. A giant pincher, like one on a crab, thrust its way through the ground. Phoenix took three steps back, eyes fixated on the claw. An arm forced its way up about twelve feet away, the hand flexing in the open air.
"It must be a horror movie." One of the soldiers said.
There was a dull thud behind them but no one moved, either for fear of what they would see or because they assumed it was the man from before.
The earth between the two limbs surged upwards. Whatever it was, it was coming out.
~~ Kitty ~~
"I don't get it. We're in the tunnel, right? We've walked for hours and haven't seen a thing. Where could they be?"
"They were here and left, in that direction." Mystique pointed further down the tunnel.
"How can you tell?" Kitty asked. "Oh."
There was a trail of blood leading in that direction.
"Let's go. They need us." Storm began running.
"You let those boys out of your sight for a minute and they try to kill each other." Mystique said as she and Kitty followed.
They couldn't run far, they were so tired that they could barely move. Instead they decided to stop and rest. If the other mutants had wounded members among them, they wouldn't be moving fast anyway.
Six hours later, they took off running again.
They rested and ran some more, three times they rested and then ran, each time they ran further and took shorter breaks. Finally they caught up with Todd and the rest of the mutants.
For a split second they just looked at each other, then the celebrating began. It was short-lived, however. Deep down, none of the women thought that the blood could have been from anything serious, but seeing Magneto dead, Scott and Evan near death and the others so exhausted they couldn't even sleep brought the awful truth home.
After trading stories and tears, they all sat down to think up ideas.
"I have no idea how long this tunnel is any way." Todd sighed.
"It's several miles long. We've been traveling down here for at least two days trying to catch up with you. It's really big too, I can't see walls on any side of us, but for some reason there's no echo." Mystique offered.
"Days... Impossible. That means we've been down here for four days at the very least. Probably more with us having to carry the Professor, Scott and Evan. We'd have died of dehydration by now."
"But don't forget, Valzinameku wanted us alive so we could release him. This may be his doing. Which means that we're getting so tired and beginning to feel the brunt of our little trip because he has no need of us anymore." Haiden spoke for the first time since they had found Scott and Evan.
"Are you sure? He's found a different way out?"
"So has your friend. They just broke through the surface."
"How do you know that?" Todd asked.
"I am more than just a mutant. I've been doing my best to keep these two alive, but I can't stop infections. I suppose it would have helped to have mentioned that earlier, but I just didn't have that kind of energy. I'm afraid my grasp is wearing thin. I'm working on so many things at once that its beginning to fall apart. Is one of you claustrophobic? That seems to be the worst problem right now. I can't keep these two alive and whoever is on the verge of panicking in line."
"Now that you mention it, I haven't noticed it at all." Ororo exclaimed. Her claustrophobia was one of her major faults and usual led to disaster in closed, dark spaces.
"I got her." Todd said as he walked followed Ororo's voice. Haiden gave a faint 'hmm' in acknowledgment. A moment later Storm quietly collapsed into Todd's arms.
"Great. What now?" He said as he lay her down carefully. There was silence. "Okay, I just had a really pleasant thought."
"What now?"
"We caved the entrance to this place in, didn't we?"
There was a chorus of moans.
"Hey, it's cool, though, 'cause Miss Kitty can walk through walls right? That way at least one of us will survive."
His attempt at humor was lost on the mutants. Only Kitty would survive? That was hardly fair, but if it was the very best that they could do...
"Why can't I just get all of us out? I can take people with me y'know."
"Because the entrance is in the middle of Fort Braddock and its too much work for you to run back and forth with people. Besides, they may have baited the place, put up inhibitors so we can't use our powers. Only you would survive that."
"This can't possibly be the only chance... I know, I'll go get the others and we'll-"
"Kitty. Leave it." Lance said. "Just leave it alone. Don't go all noble on us. 'Sides, you're the youngest. You've actually got a life ahead of you. The rest of us are old or freaks. Just leave it."
Kitty almost cried right then and there, but she had promised that she wouldn't forsake Lucifer.
"Nightcrawler?" Haiden asked.
"Ja." he answered dully.
"I was wondering what it's like to teleport."
"It's fast."
"How do you do it though? I read this one book about dragons who teleport. It's like they travel across this cold empty space to get to where they're going."
"I'm not a dragon."
"I know, but what do you see when you teleport." There was a sound of rustling cloth, and Haiden was suddenly staring right into Kurt's eyes.
"I just think about vhere I vant to be and I'm zere."
"Do you have enough energy to show me?"
"I'm too hungry to teleport."
"If I fix that, will you show me?"
"I can't go far..." Kurt backed away, uncomfortable with Haiden's sudden interest in him.
"It doesn't matter. I have an idea. If you teleport kind of like those dragons do, then you could stash us away in that alternate world. Then you'd teleport yourself someplace safe and whenever you're ready, you could get us out."
Kurt thought about all the ways it could go wrong, but pushed the negative aside.
"Sure." Haiden nodded, and pressed his hand against Kurt's forehead. Grinning, Kurt teleported a few feet away.
Or he tried. For some reason, he stopped moving halfway there. He could see Jean and Scott and everyone else, but they looked faded. "Vhat's going on?"
"It's even better than I thought. You can travel through the same alternate universe that I can."
The world moved around them and suddenly they were back in the tunnel.
"So vhat does zat mean?"
"That means that we have two tickets outta here."
"Really?"
"Yep. Now, am I to understand that you have companions waiting for you in a hospital or something like that?"
"Dr. McCoy." Kurt nodded. "Wait, who told you that?"
"It's my business to know your business. I've done extensive research on everyone who may have become an ally of Phoenix. I know everything about you mutants as there is to know. Pay attention to the matter at hand. You will teleport Scott and Evan to this doctor. I'm going to give you everything I've got, so as soon as you teleport, they'll start bleeding again."
"Got it." Kurt wrapped his tail around Scott's waist and picked Evan up. "See you in a minute."
"No, stay with them. I can't keep you up for more than one more jump."
"Oh. Okay." Kurt's eyes squinted shut. "Vhat aren't you telling me?"
"Go." Haiden's tone left no room for argument, so Kurt teleported.
"He won't be back. It'll be a miracle if he survives that, even with you helping him." Mystique intoned.
"I only gave him enough energy to get there. He'll collapse from hunger and have to be put on an IV."
"What now?"
"Let me think." All of a sudden the ground shook violently beneath them.
"Lance," Logan growled.
"That wasn't me, honest." There was another tremor and several large chunks of rock fell from the ceiling.
"Aw, damn." Haiden swore and dived for the two people closest to him, even as Storm and Mystique grabbed Kitty and Todd and Jean raced for the Professor. Haiden prayed it wasn't anything serious and teleported with Logan and Lance.
"Why are we followin' this yahoo?"
"Wisht I knew, Cherie, but we gotta make sho' she don't hurt herself."
"Ugh." Rogue shook her head. It was crazy she told herself. Madness. The girl had just tried to kill them. But watching her dig like an animal through the dirt, crowing about some angel, was kind of depressing. She obviously had a screw loose. A very important screw, at that.
"Did you ever get one o' dose feelin's, like someting very bad was 'bout t' happen?"
Rogue looked at Remy, who was staring at the girl. Yep, that's exactly what she was felling now, but she was so confused...
"Hey, cut it out now." Rogue leaned forward and grabbed the girls' shoulder.
"It's close. I can feel-"
The ground erupted upwards before the weirdo could finish the sentence.
Everyone stared upwards as a man flew higher into the sky, propelled by something below.
"Did we wander onto a movie set o' someting?" Remy asked, wide-eyed.
The man started to fall, finally and they all followed his descent. The body jerked and Rogue realized he was still alive. Suddenly there was a loud snap and everyone's attention was returned to the ground. Or, to be more specific, to the hole. A giant pincher, like one on a crab, thrust its way through the ground. Phoenix took three steps back, eyes fixated on the claw. An arm forced its way up about twelve feet away, the hand flexing in the open air.
"It must be a horror movie." One of the soldiers said.
There was a dull thud behind them but no one moved, either for fear of what they would see or because they assumed it was the man from before.
The earth between the two limbs surged upwards. Whatever it was, it was coming out.
~~ Kitty ~~
"I don't get it. We're in the tunnel, right? We've walked for hours and haven't seen a thing. Where could they be?"
"They were here and left, in that direction." Mystique pointed further down the tunnel.
"How can you tell?" Kitty asked. "Oh."
There was a trail of blood leading in that direction.
"Let's go. They need us." Storm began running.
"You let those boys out of your sight for a minute and they try to kill each other." Mystique said as she and Kitty followed.
They couldn't run far, they were so tired that they could barely move. Instead they decided to stop and rest. If the other mutants had wounded members among them, they wouldn't be moving fast anyway.
Six hours later, they took off running again.
They rested and ran some more, three times they rested and then ran, each time they ran further and took shorter breaks. Finally they caught up with Todd and the rest of the mutants.
For a split second they just looked at each other, then the celebrating began. It was short-lived, however. Deep down, none of the women thought that the blood could have been from anything serious, but seeing Magneto dead, Scott and Evan near death and the others so exhausted they couldn't even sleep brought the awful truth home.
After trading stories and tears, they all sat down to think up ideas.
"I have no idea how long this tunnel is any way." Todd sighed.
"It's several miles long. We've been traveling down here for at least two days trying to catch up with you. It's really big too, I can't see walls on any side of us, but for some reason there's no echo." Mystique offered.
"Days... Impossible. That means we've been down here for four days at the very least. Probably more with us having to carry the Professor, Scott and Evan. We'd have died of dehydration by now."
"But don't forget, Valzinameku wanted us alive so we could release him. This may be his doing. Which means that we're getting so tired and beginning to feel the brunt of our little trip because he has no need of us anymore." Haiden spoke for the first time since they had found Scott and Evan.
"Are you sure? He's found a different way out?"
"So has your friend. They just broke through the surface."
"How do you know that?" Todd asked.
"I am more than just a mutant. I've been doing my best to keep these two alive, but I can't stop infections. I suppose it would have helped to have mentioned that earlier, but I just didn't have that kind of energy. I'm afraid my grasp is wearing thin. I'm working on so many things at once that its beginning to fall apart. Is one of you claustrophobic? That seems to be the worst problem right now. I can't keep these two alive and whoever is on the verge of panicking in line."
"Now that you mention it, I haven't noticed it at all." Ororo exclaimed. Her claustrophobia was one of her major faults and usual led to disaster in closed, dark spaces.
"I got her." Todd said as he walked followed Ororo's voice. Haiden gave a faint 'hmm' in acknowledgment. A moment later Storm quietly collapsed into Todd's arms.
"Great. What now?" He said as he lay her down carefully. There was silence. "Okay, I just had a really pleasant thought."
"What now?"
"We caved the entrance to this place in, didn't we?"
There was a chorus of moans.
"Hey, it's cool, though, 'cause Miss Kitty can walk through walls right? That way at least one of us will survive."
His attempt at humor was lost on the mutants. Only Kitty would survive? That was hardly fair, but if it was the very best that they could do...
"Why can't I just get all of us out? I can take people with me y'know."
"Because the entrance is in the middle of Fort Braddock and its too much work for you to run back and forth with people. Besides, they may have baited the place, put up inhibitors so we can't use our powers. Only you would survive that."
"This can't possibly be the only chance... I know, I'll go get the others and we'll-"
"Kitty. Leave it." Lance said. "Just leave it alone. Don't go all noble on us. 'Sides, you're the youngest. You've actually got a life ahead of you. The rest of us are old or freaks. Just leave it."
Kitty almost cried right then and there, but she had promised that she wouldn't forsake Lucifer.
"Nightcrawler?" Haiden asked.
"Ja." he answered dully.
"I was wondering what it's like to teleport."
"It's fast."
"How do you do it though? I read this one book about dragons who teleport. It's like they travel across this cold empty space to get to where they're going."
"I'm not a dragon."
"I know, but what do you see when you teleport." There was a sound of rustling cloth, and Haiden was suddenly staring right into Kurt's eyes.
"I just think about vhere I vant to be and I'm zere."
"Do you have enough energy to show me?"
"I'm too hungry to teleport."
"If I fix that, will you show me?"
"I can't go far..." Kurt backed away, uncomfortable with Haiden's sudden interest in him.
"It doesn't matter. I have an idea. If you teleport kind of like those dragons do, then you could stash us away in that alternate world. Then you'd teleport yourself someplace safe and whenever you're ready, you could get us out."
Kurt thought about all the ways it could go wrong, but pushed the negative aside.
"Sure." Haiden nodded, and pressed his hand against Kurt's forehead. Grinning, Kurt teleported a few feet away.
Or he tried. For some reason, he stopped moving halfway there. He could see Jean and Scott and everyone else, but they looked faded. "Vhat's going on?"
"It's even better than I thought. You can travel through the same alternate universe that I can."
The world moved around them and suddenly they were back in the tunnel.
"So vhat does zat mean?"
"That means that we have two tickets outta here."
"Really?"
"Yep. Now, am I to understand that you have companions waiting for you in a hospital or something like that?"
"Dr. McCoy." Kurt nodded. "Wait, who told you that?"
"It's my business to know your business. I've done extensive research on everyone who may have become an ally of Phoenix. I know everything about you mutants as there is to know. Pay attention to the matter at hand. You will teleport Scott and Evan to this doctor. I'm going to give you everything I've got, so as soon as you teleport, they'll start bleeding again."
"Got it." Kurt wrapped his tail around Scott's waist and picked Evan up. "See you in a minute."
"No, stay with them. I can't keep you up for more than one more jump."
"Oh. Okay." Kurt's eyes squinted shut. "Vhat aren't you telling me?"
"Go." Haiden's tone left no room for argument, so Kurt teleported.
"He won't be back. It'll be a miracle if he survives that, even with you helping him." Mystique intoned.
"I only gave him enough energy to get there. He'll collapse from hunger and have to be put on an IV."
"What now?"
"Let me think." All of a sudden the ground shook violently beneath them.
"Lance," Logan growled.
"That wasn't me, honest." There was another tremor and several large chunks of rock fell from the ceiling.
"Aw, damn." Haiden swore and dived for the two people closest to him, even as Storm and Mystique grabbed Kitty and Todd and Jean raced for the Professor. Haiden prayed it wasn't anything serious and teleported with Logan and Lance.