*-*-* Weeping Willow *-*-*
*-* Chapter Thirteen *-*
"If you judge people, you have no time to love them."
~ Mother Theresa
*-*-*-*-*-*-*
"Where is everyone?" muttered Willow, her voice breaking the eerie quiet of the base.
"I don't know. Be on your guard," Jean said. Willow looked nervously over at Kurt, who looked just as worried. Another large door slid open on their right. Jean and Storm lead the way cautiously. They looked into the room and found that it was only Mystique. She was digging around in the dam's computers when the others entered. The room looked to be some sort of surveillance center. The whole front wall was covered with screens. Each showed a different part of the base. Some showed down corridors where guards stood vigilantly, and others showed empty, cavernous hallways.
"The Professor is in Cerebro as we speak. There's not much time left. It's located about three floors down," Mystique said. Willow's eyes were still scanning the screens, and she was suddenly shocked to see some of the kids from school locked in what looked like a dark, damp, prison cell. They were trying to get out, but every time they did, it looked as if they were being electrocuted. A face stared straight into the camera. Willow gasped.
"Jubilee," she murmured.
"The children...," Storm whispered. "Where are they?"
"They're in a containment cell a level down," Mystique replied.
"Can you teleport inside?" Storm asked Kurt.
"No," he said, shaking his head. "I have to see vere I'm going. Othervise I could end up inside a vall."
"Alright, we'll have to find it on our own. Will you come with me?" asked Storm. He nodded. Storm then turned to Willow. "Willow, we might need you."
"Me? What for?" asked Willow.
"Because if worse comes to worse, we may need your fighting abilities," Storm said. Although she would much rather fight with her plants, something that she could totally control, Willow knew that this situation was far bigger than her petty preferences. This involved millions of lives.
"Alright," she said finally.
"Then we'll go try to find the Professor and Scott," Jean said.
"Right. Let's go," Storm said. Kurt and Willow followed her out of the control room and down a corridor. Willow wondered if Storm really knew where she was going or if she was just heading somewhere, hoping she'd end up in the right spot. Willow decided that it must have been the second one. The halls were dark, cold, and they smelled of mildew. Their quick-paced footsteps echoed loudly off the walls. The lamps above them gave off only a dim, eerie light. Willow could see that the bulbs were dirty and probably about to go out. She wondered for the second time why no one was present to ward them off. They traveled on for several minutes in no particular direction.
"We have to find some stairs or an elevator," Storm said with a strong, but worried voice. The children meant a lot to her. To lose them would be devastating.
"I think we've gone the wrong way," Willow said gingerly.
"Let's just keep trying with this way," Storm said. "Just for a little longer." Willow was beginning to doubt the existence of any stairs in this part of the base. They'd been searching for almost a half an hour, and all they seemed to be getting accomplished was getting lost in the dark labyrinth of hallways.
"Here!" cried Storm. They'd found the stairs. They followed them down to the floor below. It was considerably more mildewey down in this part, and the shadows seemed a little deeper. Willow was surprised at how well Kurt blended in with them. Storm sped up from a quick walk to a jog as they reached the end of the hallway. It forked at the end. She could hear them now. The children were crying for help.
"This way!" cried Storm as she took a left towards the voices. Willow and Kurt could hear them now too. The hallway ended abruptly and left them inside a room with a low ceiling and a large, circular iron grate in the floor. The kids were beneath it. "Children!" Storm said.
"Storm!" cried a few of them. Willow counted six kids inside the dark cell. Some of them were wrapped in thin blankets, but others were without. "Get us out! Please!"
"We'll get you out," Storm assured them. With a soft bamf of imploding air, Kurt disappeared. He reappeared inside the cell. He was first concealed in the shadows. When he stepped out of them, the kids backed away with a gasp.
"I von't hurt you," he promised them. He wrapped his arms around one of the frightened children and teleported him out of the cell. One by one, all six kids were escorted above the grate.
"Willow, what're you doing in here?" asked Jubilee. Her teeth were chattering, and there were goose bumps on her skin.
"Helping to save you guys," Willow said.
"Never thought I'd see you as an X-man," Jubilee said.
"Me neither," Willow agreed. A horrible vibration along with a hollow groan of metal and concrete issued from somewhere above them.
"What was that?" asked one of the younger kids.
"I don't know," Storm muttered. Willow suddenly felt strange. It was almost like someone was reading her mind, but instead of just sifting through her thoughts, it felt like they were being thrown aside roughly. A shrill, earsplitting noise erupted in the air around them. Willow clutched at her ears and dropped to her knees. She could feel her eyes glowing like crazy. The pain in her mind was almost unbearable. This is it, she thought. We've failed. The others didn't look like they felt any better. Kurt was starting to disappear into a dark blue haze. He was losing control over his teleportation. Willow found his hand and held onto it. He grasped it tightly and came back into full focus. After almost a full minute of this, Willow felt like she wanted to die. But as soon as she was about to give up, whatever it was stopped. She felt better in an instant. As soon as she recovered, a large drop of water hit Willow on the head. It soaked through her hair and onto her scalp. She reached up with a gloved hand and felt her hair. She looked at her glove as she got to her feet and saw that there was moisture on it. She looked above her and saw a crack that had just opened up in the cement ceiling. It was dripping with water. She tried to think of why there would be water dripping down on them. Maybe the vibration minutes before had ruptured a pipe? Or maybe...Willow put two and two together.
"The dam's breaking," she whispered. "The dam's breaking!" she said louder. Willow began to panic. Her face flushed. She could just imagine what would happen when it broke. She could just see the entire dam caving in on them, showering everyone inside with concrete and metal, followed by a horrendous tidal wave of frigid water. They had to get out. To come so far just to fail seemed too tragic for Willow. Why did this have to happen? They had freed the kids, and evidently, Jean, Logan, Mystique, and Magneto had stopped Stryker's machine. She couldn't think of anything that she could possibly do to remedy the situation. Nothing that would help. But suddenly, she had an epiphany. What if she could stop it? What if she could use vines, ivy, whatever it took, to hold the dam up? What if she could save the lives of the people she loved? Although the idea seemed crazy, she felt that she had no other options. She had to save her friends, even if it meant dying in the process. She wondered if she had a snowball's chance in hell of succeeding.
Another sickening groan filled the air around them, followed by a rumbling vibration that shook the base again. The wall next to them cracked a little and sent little chunks of the wall tumbling onto the floor. Willow bit her lip. It was time to make a big decision. Trying something like this could easily kill her. But it seemed unimportant. It was time to help the team. It was time to protect her family. She looked at Storm. "I've got an idea, but it's kind of bad, and I don't know if it'll work."
"What is it?" asked Storm.
"I think if I can get outside in front of the dam, I might be able to hold it together with plants, giving everyone else a chance to get out," she said. Storm stared at her for a second.
"Are you sure you'll be able to do it?" asked Storm. "Are you sure it won't take too much out of you?" Willow said nothing. Storm waited for a response, but spoke again when she got none. "Whenever you work out in the garden, you come in and fall straight to sleep," she pointed out. She was right, of course, but Willow hoped that if she tried hard enough, she wouldn't fall asleep in the middle of it.
"I have to try. It's the only thing I can think of to do to help," Willow said. Storm looked skeptical and worried. "Please," Willow said. "I have to do this." Storm looked into the young woman's determined, yet pleading eyes. Ever since Willow had come to the mansion, Storm had known the kind of inner strength that resided within her. At times she had even admired the girl's endurance and will to go on. But such a feat might require more than Willow possessed. Still, Storm could not deny Willow the chance to help them. If indeed Willow was able to hold it together, it would give them the time they needed to meet up with everyone and get out.
"Can you get Willow outside, Kurt?" asked Storm softly. She couldn't help but feel that she was sending Willow to her doom.
"I vill try," he said. Kurt looked at Willow with sadness and devastation in his eyes. Here stood his best friend, his companion, and his shoulder to lean on, willing to risk everything for the sake of everyone else. His heart ached at the thought of losing Willow to the dam. But he had to take her. He had to do something right for her. He embraced her tightly, and she him. With a bamf and a cloud of curling, dark blue smoke, they were gone.
Willow held onto Kurt tighter than she ever had. She knew how risky it was to try to do what she was about to attempt. She knew that she might very well die from a strain like this. She knew she might never see Jackie, or Rogue, or Bobby ever again. But worst of all, she knew that if she failed, she would never see Kurt again, and it broke her heart to think of it. Willow could suddenly feel the harsh mountain wind pummel her. They were outside the spillway. She tried to pull away, but Kurt held onto her. His hand pressed on the back of her head gently. She rested her cheek on his shoulder.
"I don't vant you to go," he whispered. He couldn't stand the thought of losing her.
"I have to," Willow said.
"Please," Kurt said desperately. "Please don't do zis."
"You have to go help the others. They need you in there," Willow told him.
"Come back vis me," Kurt said miserably, his eyes entreating her silently.
"No," Willow said softly. "No, I have to do this. If I don't, we might all die."
"Vat if you don't come back?" he said in a voice that was bearly audible.
"Then you guys'll have to live without me," Willow said. It hurt her so much to tell him something like that. But it was true.
"I don't vant to live visout you," he said.
"Go back inside, Kurt," Willow told him softly in his ear. She hated the way he was making her rethink her decision. "Please." He took a deep breath, his chest expanding against her. When he let it out, he shuddered. He was trying not to cry. He hugged her tighter for a moment, then let go. Willow couldn't stand the horribly sad expression he bore. "Pray for me," Willow said. "Pray that everything goes well."
"I vill," he said quietly with a nod.
"Goodbye, Kurt," she said, a note of helplessness resonating in her tone.
"Goodbye, Willow," he said, trying his best to make the English 'W' sound, his voice horse. Her name stuck out like a sore thumb. It was the first time he had said her name in English since they had met. Her eyes filled with tears upon hearing it, for some reason, and a lump grew in the back of her throat. She turned away from him and ran at full speed through the snow towards the breaking dam. Kurt watched her go. He shook his head and prayed as he teleported back inside the dam.
The dark gray clouds churned above Willow's head as she ran through the trees. The freezing mountain air ripped up and down her throat as she became more out of breath from running through the dense snow. After a few minutes, she burst through the trees. A river of steel gray water flowed in front of her. The dam, her first and final opponent, loomed in front of her. She took a deep breath and approached it. She looked first for signs of damage. She stopped dead in her tracks when she saw a crack spread across the cement. Not yet! She cried in her head. She closed her eyes and focused. She focused on the ground below her. The harshness of the air around her seemed to disappear. All that mattered were the plants. She could feel them writhing beneath the earth. She waited. She waited until she could feel them grow stronger. She waited until she could tell she had absolute control over them. She put her hands down at her sides, her palms facing the dam. She took one last deep breath and prepared to hold on for dear life. Willow thrust her hands straight up into the air, flinging her head backwards. Vines of ivy and creepers that were larger-than-life burst from the frozen soil on either side of the river. She opened her eyes. They glowed green brighter than they ever had before. She began moving her hands quickly, but carefully, directing the plants, telling them where to go. The ivy spread over the front of the dam, it's roots gripping onto the cement that was beginning to fall away. It helped keep the broken pieces in their places. More was starting to crumble. She brought her right hand upward swiftly and then thrust it outward, directing a creeper that was approximately two feet in diameter to the broken part. It pushed the chunk of concrete back into the place where it had started to fall. She made ivy grow over the top of it to secure the piece. She waited for a moment. Nothing was moving. Is that it? Wondered Willow. The dam was silent. Not a single crack could be heard. Creepers waved and swayed in the air like snakes ready to strike. The twisting of the vines and the whistle of the wind through her ears were the only sounds that could be heard. Just as Willow began to believe that she had actually done it, a horrible groan ripped through the air. It shook the ground below her. The pieces of cement she'd secured only moments earlier leaned dangerously on the plants that were holding them before tearing through the ivy and falling into the river below with loud crashes. Her insides exploded in pain when her plants were destroyed. She gritted her teeth.
"No!" shouted Willow through them. She sent the other vines to catch the pieces that were quickly falling away and set them back into place. More ivy coated the patched spot. The cold was getting to the first wave of plants. Willow could feel them start to die. She put all her energy into making them live for a little while longer. Not yet! Not yet! Her mind cried. Her muscles in her arms were starting to cramp, and her hands shook violently. She focused her energy and steadied her hands. The ivy held on tighter. One of the sections that jutted out into the river cracked and slid off into the water. She couldn't save that one. She quickly spread more ivy over the section where it had broken free. Every time she focused on a new breaking point, the other parts would grow a little weaker, causing the loose pieces beneath them to grow looser. She was starting to feel exhausted. The dam was breaking everywhere at the same time. It was overwhelming, and she didn't know if she could hold it that much longer.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*
Kurt and Storm, who had been joined by Scott and a very injured Jean Grey stood outside the grungy door of Cerebro. The kids were behind them as well. A whirring sound could be heard on the inside. It was now or never. The dam was breaking, and the Professor was still being held prisoner.
"What's going on in there?" asked Storm.
"There's another mutant...he's creating some sort of illusion...," Jean said, trying her best to sense what was going on while pain shot up her body from her broken leg. She concentrated harder. Her eyes grew wide when she was able to grasp what was going on.
"What is it?" asked Storm.
"Magneto's changed the direction of the attack. It's not targeting mutants anymore," Jean said.
"Then who is it targeting?" asked Storm.
"Everyone else," Scott said.
"We have to get him out of there," Jean said. "Before he starts to kill people." Storm looked at Kurt who was gripping his rosary beads as if he were hanging on for dear life. He was whispering words that she could not hear.
"Kurt?" she asked. He looked up at her with tear filled eyes. "Can you get me inside?"
"I told you, I have to see vere I'm going, or at least have been zer before," Kurt told her.
"I trust you," she said. "I have faith in you." Kurt thought about this for a moment. If there was one way to save Willow, it was to save the Professor, and get out as quickly as possible.
"Don't believe anything you see in there," Jean said. "Nothing." Kurt got closer to Storm.
"our Father, who art in Heaven, hallowed, be zy name...," he said as he put his arms around her. He continued the Lord's prayer as he focused on teleporting. "Zy Kingdome come, zy vill be done on Earth as it is..," he said right before they disappeared. Kurt was amazed to feel substance beneath his feet. "As it is in Heaven!" he said through an astounded sigh of relief. He had done it! But something was wrong. The whirring that he'd heard on the outside of Cerebro was completely gone. Instead, there was complete silence. He looked down the walkway and saw a little girl there, probably only ten or eleven. She was in a white nightgown and had one blue eye and one brown eye. She looked at them quietly.
"Hello," she said, her voice ringing through the circular room. "Who are you looking for?" Kurt began to step forward to try and talk to her, but Storm held her arm out to stop him.
"Don't listen to her," Storm said.
"But she's just a little girl," Kurt said.
"No she's not," Storm said. She looked around. "Professor? Are you in here?" she shouted. The girl looked at Storm like she was crazy.
"Who are you talking to?" she asked. Storm looked back at Kurt.
"Kurt, it's about to get very cold in here," she said.
"I'm not going anyvere," he assured her. Storm's eyes became white as she held up her arms. A frigid wind began to pick up around her. It swirled around them, becoming colder and colder.
"What are you doing? Stop it!" cried the girl. Kurt felt like he was about to freeze to death. He fell to his knees and shivered profusely. He wished that Willow were there with him. He wished that she would have agreed to come back inside the dam. But more than anything else, he wished that she would have stayed at the mansion rather than come with her teachers to apprehend him. If she dies, it is all my fault, he thought miserably as all the moisture on his skin froze. He looked up at what was happening between Storm at the girl. The girl looked around in a panic as she shivered.
"Oh no, he's going to be so mad at me!" she said before letting out a bloodcurdling scream. Suddenly, she was gone. In her place were two men sitting in wheelchairs. One looked like he was in a trance, the one with the sort of helmet on. The other, who was in the exact spot that the girl had been standing, was drooped over and shivering with cold. His eyebrows and around his mouth and nose were coated with frost. The ceiling began to crack. Kurt watched as parts of it began to fall down around them. He teleported to the Professor, grabbed him, and teleported back out. He handed him over to Scott while he went back in for Storm. He grabbed her too just before a large chunk of ceiling crashed onto the spot where she had stood a moment later. She and Kurt held up the Professor, who was completely out of his trance and ran towards the exit.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*
Willow's insides were screaming at her to stop. This is futile! Her mind shouted at her. Stop before you kill yourself! But she couldn't listen to her mind. Not now. Not if she wasn't sure if Kurt and everyone else made it out safely. Large pieces were falling off, ripping through her plant barriers, faster than she could grab them. Exhaustion seized every inch of her body. Her knees were shaking and were threatening to buckle beneath her, but she forced herself to stay erect. With one final blast of energy from deep inside her, she coated the dam from top to bottom with one last, exceptionally strong coat of ivy. She crumpled into the snow below her, and was barely able to breathe. She gasped for breath as her whole body shook as if it were having a seizure. She waited in agony and pain for the end.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*
"We left the jet right here," Storm said, her voice slightly panicked. They had gotten out. They were so close to succeeding, to going home. And now the jet was gone.
They had since been joined by Logan who was carrying one of the children who had not been able to walk on his own any further. All of the kids were freezing cold, and they had no where to go to escape the frigid air. They looked around helplessly for a moment. A roar of jet engines could be heard not far off. The jet careened into view. Whoever was piloting it did not have much experience. It flew to one side wildly before touching down with the least amount of grace possible. They hurried towards the jet. They got the kids in and sat them all in seats. Storm and Kurt set the Professor down in one of the seats and buckled him in. Jackie and Bobby were already sitting down. Jackie looked terrified, and Bobby looked concerned. Storm went to help Rogue, who was the one flying the jet before. She was scared stiff and was shaking something aweful.
"It's alright, honey, you can let go...you can let go...," Storm said softly. She helped Rogue let go of the steering wheel and helped her back into a seat. "Okay, let's get out of here," said Storm. She tried to start up the jet but nothing happened. A knot formed in her stomach. Don't you dare not work, she thought. She tried again, and again, but the jet remained lifeless. "Jean, come here," Storm said. Jean came over to help Storm fire up the jet.
"Where's John?" Bobby piped up.
"Pyro? Where the hell did he get to, anyway?" wondered Logan.
"Last time we saw him, he left the jet," Jackie said.
"He's with Magneto," the Professor said.
"Are you sure?" asked Logan. He nodded weakly.
"What about Willow? What happened to Willow?" asked Jackie. Kurt's heart stopped.
"Mein Gott!" he cried before disappearing from the jet. His mind was racing. Was she still holding the dam? Was she even still alive? He reappeared in a dense wood before teleporting again. He appeared in front of the dam. It was completely covered with dying vines, ivy, and creepers. He could see water spurting out from the cracks in the stone. He felt sick with anxiety and worry. He looked around for any sign of her. Then he saw a figure lying sprawled out on the snow, shaking terribly.
"Weide!" he cried. He teleported over to her. Her eyes were still glowing. He picked her up into his arms. He took one last look at the breaking dam before teleporting the both of them back inside the jet. He set her down on the floor and everyone looked to see what had happened to her. Jean and Storm, who had been trying to bring the lifeless jet back into commission, stopped and looked over at the scene that was unfolding. Willow had stopped shaking for the most part, but she was breathing in short gasps.
"Willow?" asked Jackie. Willow didn't answer. "Willow!" cried Jackie. Willow was silent. Willow blinked, making the glow die down enough in her eyes for Kurt to see the outline of her irises. She looked at him, her vision severely blurred. The pain inside her was horrible, and the exhaustion in her body was crippling. She could barely speak.
"Kurt," she whispered with a weak smile. "I tried," she said. "I tried...but it's not going to hold. I'm sorry." Kurt shook his head as he cradled her in his arms.
"You did vonderfully," he said softly.
"I'm so tired...," she said. "I have to go to sleep now."
"Please don't leave me," Kurt said.
"I won't....I just have to sleep," Willow murmured. She closed her eyes and was about to give in to sleep. Suddenly, her body became stiff. A look of pure pain took over Willow's face. Her eyes glowed blindingly bright. She uttered a few deep gasps before letting out a long, low scream of agony. She repeated this a few times to the horror of everyone in the jet. Her body writhed, and tears slid down her face as the plants covering the dam were ripped to shreds. Kurt was horrified to witness this. His mouth hung open and his eyes were wide in terror. Several of the younger kids began to cry in fear. Willow's pain subsided slowly. Her body slowly became limp, and she managed to say one more thing.
"The dam is gone," she breathed. "I'm sorry." Her breath caught in her throat. Slowly, the glow in her eyes died, and they rolled into the back of her head. Her breathing completely stopped. Kurt waited anxiously for her chest to begin to rise again. But it didn't.
"Willow?" asked Jackie, panic stricken. She was shaking, and tears were welling up in her eyes. "Willow!" she screamed. "Willow, quit fuckin' around! Wake up!" Everyone in the jet looked on in horror as Kurt held her motionless body in his arms. He looked up as if to ask God 'why?' A moan of undiluted grief and sadness issued from deep inside him. His head dropped slowly. It met Willow's sweat soaked forehead and rested there gently. Tears of absolute despair fell onto the soft skin of his friend and his companion as he rocked back and forth with her. Not Villow. Please God, not Villow... he prayed to his God in heaven.
"Vake up...," he whispered to her. "Please vake up!" His body shuddered with painful tears. Don't take her from me! He pleaded to God. He tried to talk to Willow's motionless figure again. "I don't vant to live visout you.... Please, I don't vant to be alone," he sobbed miserably. "Don't leave me, Villow...Come back..." Almost everyone in the jet was in miserable tears, but Kurt's sorrow was greater than all of theirs combined. Storm tore her eyes away from Kurt and Willow. This is all my fault. I should have never let her go, Storm thought. She began to try more things to get the jet going, but none of them seemed to be working. Logan and Scott came by to try and help Storm. Jean stood and looked at Willow sadly. She looked at Kurt and how devastated he was over how dead Willow appeared to be. Jean could tell that Willow was alive, but only just. The ordeal had very nearly killed her, and if she didn't get treatment soon, she would probably die. Jean could not let her friends, her family, and her husband drown. Not after Willow's crippling attempt to save them. She mentally prepared for what she was about to do. She formed a strong mental block so that the Professor could not stop her. She limped over and pressed the button that let down the hatch. She climbed down the steps, pain shooting up her side every time she put any pressure on it. Scott turned around and spotted his wife descending down the hatch steps.
"Jean, no!" he cried. He raced towards the hatch, but it closed tight before he could get there. He pounded on the hatch button in vain. Jean limped out in front of the jet. She closed her eyes. Here senses were alive. She could feel the wall of water approaching them. She could hear all the wild thoughts going on in everyone's heads. Thoughts of trying to save at least a few of them. It made Jean sad that she was going to leave them all behind. She could hear Kurt, loudest out of everyone, pleading with God to give Willow back to him. Kurt, she thought to him. Kurt's head snapped up inside the jet. Kurt, Willow is alive. Don't give up hope just yet. When you get back to the mansion, she needs to get medical attention as soon as she can. She felt Kurt become considerably less sad and far more hopeful. Sank you, she heard him think. She smiled, happy to be able to help one person. Now she had to say goodbye to Scott. It was the most painful thing she had ever had to do. She focused in on the Professor.
"I have to do this," she said through him. Scott looked around at the Professor. "It's the only way."
"No, Jean...," said Scott sadly. "Don't."
"Goodbye," the Professor said. He blinked his eyes and Jean was gone from him. Jean could feel Scott's heart break. But it was the only way. She had to save them. She could see the water now. She concentrated, building up her power to dangerous levels. With the only strength that she was able to spare before the water came, she said goodbye to everyone individually.
The water loomed over her, and with every ounce of energy in her, she seized the jet with her mind. It came to life. She held the jet in her control with one hand. She could hear the rushing of the water as it drew nearer. It was almost there. She turned around and thrust one of her hands in front of her when the wall of icy water was only a few feet away. The water parted and roared past the jet like a freight train. She raised her hand slowly, lifting the jet into the air. The landing gear tucked themselves back under the jet as it cleared the water. Jean could see Ororo and Logan's faces staring down at her. She locked eyes with each of them briefly before closing her eyes and letting the water take her.
Logan stood back from the windshield. He couldn't believe what had just happened.
"She's gone," he said quietly.
"Don't you say that!" yelled Scott coming over to him dangerously.
"She is," Logan said to him.
"No!" Scott cried grabbing Logan like he might hit him.
"She's gone," Logan said, his voice trembling. Scott sobbed onto Logan's shoulder. Logan was too shocked to cry. Storm fought back tears as she drove the jet back towards New York.
Kurt held Willow close the whole way back, muttering prayers for all of them. He prayed to God that Willow would live to grow another flower.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*
A/N: Ack! Numbing suspense!! Woo, that was entertaining...
