There are absolutely no excuses for this delay. I haven't been updating for a year! I feel so ashamed, really, I do. I hope you forgive me and that you'll like this chapter, although Scott and professor Xavier might seem to be quite OOC.

Have I, by the way, told you that I don't like Evan? I think he is kind of boring, that's why I let him stay at the Institute.

Thoughts

Telepathy

Chapter seven: Fleeing

After slaying two more bats, the L-group was getting kind of bored.

"Won't this tunnel ever end?" exclaimed Kitty. "We've been walking for ages! And I am, like, sick of this freaky rubber material!" She poked the wall with a disgusted face expression.

"Listen, half-pint", growled Logan, "I don't like this more than you do, but we won't get out any sooner because of you complaining. Shut up and let me think!"

Kitty opened her mouth to argue, but both Kurt and Jean gave her 'the look', the one that meant 'don't mess with Logan'. It was usually most used on Kitty and Evan – Kitty because she was stubborn, and Evan because he simply didn't understand when he was crossing the line. Kitty kept her mouth shut.


The P-group wasn't doing much better. Xavier seemed to be lost in thoughts, which annoyed Rogue, and Scott was fighting his claustrophobia. He was afraid of closed spaces, although he never told anyone – everyone thought of him as the 'cool' guy, and he wanted to keep it that way. But now, he was having a hard time not whining and calling for his mum. Rogue noticed his pale face.

"Hey Cyclops, what's up?"

"Eh, pardon?" Hate these tunnels, hate these tunnels, hate these tunnels! Must get out!

"Well, you do look like you've seen Alvers dancing strip-tease. Sure you're all right?"

"Eh, I'm fine, don't worry 'bout me…" Maybe that wall would explode if I blast it?

Rogue raised an eyebrow. "You're not claustrophobic, are you?"

That remark made Scott break up from his mental pictures. "What? Me? Forget it!" Rogue smirked at him and he gave her a glare and turned to Xavier, mainly to change the subject. "So, any idea how to get out of here, professor?"

Xavier didn't get time to answer before they heard footsteps.


"I've heard that if you're lost in a labyrinth, you can make your way out by keeping your hand to the right wall and always follow that", said Jean in a voice that was meant to sound merry. "Turn right whenever the tunnel parts in two and such."

"Yeah, but that wouldn't help us much, now would it?" hissed Shadowcat. "First, we should have kept to the right from the very first beginning, and second, we, like, don't even know where we're going!"

"Sorry, just trying to cheer us up a bit", said Jean, offended. "I cannot see you working very hard to – "

"Girls, stop it", interrupted Nightcrawler, who had seen Wolverine's eye twitch. "I don't zink – "

ZAP!

A purple blast hit a torch and turned it to ashes. Kitty gulped, since her head had been two decimetres under that torch. Kurt gulped too, of the same reason.

"RUN!" roared Logan and took off. Jean, while running as fast as she could, decided that this was the kind of situation that the professor would like to know about. Professor Xavier! PROFESSOR!

When she received an answer, she was surprised to hear that Xavier's voice wasn't as concerned as she had supposed, but kind of irritated. What is it, Jean? Hurry up, we're a little busy at the moment!

Sorry, but we're being chased by the Vrogor! Jean ducked when another blast came her way.

Oh really? What a coincidence, so are we!


Let's go back in time a few minutes…

When the P-group heard the footsteps approaching, they turned their heads around. They saw something purple moving in the end of the tunnel, and then looked at each other, whereupon Scott said:

"Now we're in deep shit."

Then he grabbed the wheel chair and they all started running. Pushing a twenty pound wheel chair with 140 pounds of professor in it is quite hard, but 'fear give you strength', as some people say. Scott managed quite well. Rogue had a look over her shoulder, and saw three raging Vrogor before losing them out of sight when the P-group turned left. She winced. Bugger, bugger, bugger! We'll never make it! We're lost, Scott hasn't got his visor, not to mention that we're having a bloody wheel chair to care about!

It was in this moment Jean contacted the professor and told him about their difficult situation, and was informed of the P-group's as well.

Oh. So, we'll just keep running, then?

Yes, that's better than trying to put up a fight. They're on the home ground right now, and –

The professor was interrupted as they turned a corner and he collided with Kitty, who gave him a look and then blinked. "Oh, hello professor! Like, nice to see you again."

Logan seemed to have recovered quite quickly from running into Scott. "There is no time for greetings! We're surrounded!"

Kurt, of course, started to blame himself again. "Zis is all my fault. If I hadn't – "

"Hey, blue boy! Look up!" shouted Rogue, and pointed to several iron bars in the ceiling. "You think you can climb up there?"

Upon hearing this, Nightcrawler looked up, and broke into a smile. Without a word, he climbed up the wall and then clung to the ceiling to the bars and pulled them off quite easily. He stuck up his head through the hole, looked around and gulped. He knew this room.

"Kurt! Come down and help us!" Scott's voice was heard. Kurt pulled himself together and jumped down to his friends. It was a matter of seconds before the Vrogor would catch them, but with a little help from the fuzzy guy's teleporting powers they all got up in time. Jean quickly pulled a purple (predictable?) rug over the hole, so that the Vrogor that were chasing them wouldn't notice the light that came from the hole. Kitty noticed that Kurt didn't look very well. She put a hand on his arm.

"Kurt? You all right?"

Kurt nodded nervously. "I know vhere ve are."

"So, where are we then?" growled Wolverine.

"Ve are in Varok's, the Lord of the Vrogor, office."

Varok wasn't there at the moment, but Kurt recognized the red chair which the big, purple, heartless creature had been sitting in. If he squinted, he could almost see, through his eyelashes, that horrible smile with the yellow teeth. He went back to his little conversation with the boss Vrogor in his mind.

"I guess you know why you are here."

"Oh yeah. You vant me to fight zat Vodash zing, zat's vhy I'm here, isn't it?"

"Correct. You will meet the Vodash tomorrow at dawn."

Kurt shuddered. Kitty noticed this and frowned, but said nothing. Professor Xavier called her attention. "Kitty, would you mind taking a look outside this room? I'd rather not open the door, since we don't know what's outside."

Kitty nodded and phased her head through the door. The other x-men saw her neck moving, first to the right and then to the left – then she quickly pulled her head back and turned around with frightened eyes.

"Watch out!"

Before anyone got the time to say 'for what?' the door opened and one of the Vrogor rushed in and slammed the door shut. Wolverine's claws came out with a "snit!" but the Vrogor put its hands up. "Stop, listen to me! I mean no harm, I'm on your side!"


I told you that Scott and Xavier would be OOC… I don't think that Scott really is that claustrophobic, and the professor wouldn't be so snappy towards Jean, even though he was chased by Chewbacca-copies who wanted to kill him…

Short chapter, I know. But please, PLEASE review! Or I might lose all courage and not update at all!