Disclaimer: I don't own the X-Men
A/N: My first fic, please be nice and let me know what you think? #?# means telepathic speech. This is written using characters from Lamby and Corrinth's timeline though not actually set in it. All OCs are used with permission, Crystal and Jedda are mine. This story is set about five months after X2, in my own time line. Thanks to Lamby for proofreading my story.
01 – Drip, drip, drip
Drip. Drip. Drip.
Water? There is no water here is there?
Drip. Drip. Drip.
There it was. Definatly water. But how?
Drip. Drip. Drip.
This is the desert isn't it? Is it my mind going mad?
Drip. Drip. Drip.
No I can smell it now too. Somewhere to the left.
Drip. Drip. Drip.
I'm so thirsty. Where's that water? There it is.
Drip. Drip. Drip.
No that's just a tree. It's to the right now.
Drip. Drip. Drip.
Hang on, a tree in the desert? I must be dreaming.
Drip. Drip. Drip.
Ow! Nope not dreaming. Why am I here anyway? I can't remember.
Drip. Drip. Drip.
Won't it shut up already? ... Where's it gone? I didn't mean it to really go... Silence... I can't stand it anymore. Can't anyone hear me? Come help the poor girl lost in the desert. Please. Anyone? I'm all alone again like last time. When those men came. They weren't men. They were robots. But they looked like men. Oh I'm so confused. Mum? Dad? Anyone? Why did they hurt us? We're just normal people. We're not mutants.
Drip. Drip. Drip.
That's the water again! Where is it? It sounds like it's right next to me but it isn't. The same thing happened last time. I heard water and then it came. I wish I knew what was happening.
# Little girl. Little girl. Don't worry I'm here to help. #
Who's that? He says he wants to help. Mum said not to trust strangers. But Mum's not here, she drowned last time.
# Tell me your name little girl. #
That voice again. Is it my imagination? My name it asked for. What is my name? It's been so long. Crystal sounds right but that can't be it. It's not a proper name it's a rock's name.
# Crystal. Crystal. Tell me where you are so I can help you. #
I don't know. I'm in a desert. But who's this talking to me in my head?
# I'm Professor Charles Xavier. #
Who?
# I run a school for special people like you. #
I'm not special I'm just a girl who's lost in the desert and can hear drips and voices inside her head.
# You are very special. That drip is your power. #
Power? Like a mutant? I'm not a mutant. I can't be.
# You are and you're a special kind. You can control water. #
Water? So I could get some to come and it would stop me being thirsty. Oh I'm so thirsty.
# Yes but you need control. You remember what happened last time. #
Yes I do but that wasn't me, was it?
# Yes. You wanted those men to go away so the water took them away. #But I didn't want my parents to be washed away too.
# You just didn't have control. Now open your eyes. #
My eyes are open.
# Just trust me. Shut your eyes then open them again and I promise you will be all right. #Okay I'll try...
