Sitting at breakfast with Logan had been like a dream that was interrupted when Athena finished her breakfast, and saw that Logan had done the same. Sighing, she took both her and Logan's plates to the sink and started washing them. He only watched her, both relaxed and stirred by her ethereal beauty as she stood in front of the sink. Logan rose, as carefully as he could without her noticing, and walked towards Athena, surprising her a bit when he put his hands around her waist and started to kiss her neck. Her skin was as smooth as silk and smelled like lavender again, since she had just showered. Logan felt a fire begin to burn within him as he gently nibbled on Athena's neck. Athena's fire was stirred as well; she let out a small cry of pleasure as he began to nibble her neck. Athena knew then, no matter how long her soul might want to wait, that Logan wanted her. Now. And there was a part of her that wanted to give in—to lie in his arms and concede to his gentle but wild touch. But she knew that now wasn't the time, though she now knew that she was destined for Logan—their match was one that had been preordained by the powers that be.

Athena put down the plates in the sink and started to gently turn towards Logan. She kissed him deeply, letting his tongue wrap around hers and capture her heart. Logan pushed her, in a way that was both gentle and filled with passion, against the wall. He pushed himself against her lovingly, and they could hear each other's hearts beating wildly. Athena could feel Logan's desire against her own. "I want you," Logan whispered, his lips just inches away from Athena's full red lips, so like an unpeeled apple in Logan's eyes. Athena was stirred, there was no way she could deny that; she wasn't so stirred yet, though, that she would give in to Logan. "I want you too," Athena said, letting her lips gently caress his without kissing him. "but . . . my father will be coming soon. We just . . . can't." Athena swallowed, this denial being harder than any other she had ever made to any other man. She hoped he knew how difficult it was for her, and that she would've loved to give in to him . . . but despite all her desire, there was something inside of her that said that this wasn't the way in which she was supposed to make love to Logan. It would be soon, but not just yet.

Logan could read this in Athena's eyes, and he smiled, kissing her passionately once more, and ending it with a strangely chaste kiss on her cheek. "I know, " he said, masculinity shining in his eyes, "and . . . I know that it's getting harder for you to resist me." Logan's eyes smiled, though no smile was on his face. Athena smiled, breathing deeply to regain her sense of reality, and she walked towards the sink to wash the dishes that hadn't been fully cleaned. Sighing, she could still feel Logan's touch on her skin, and hoped that her heart would let her concede to him the next time he wanted her.

Athena placed the wet, but clean dishes on the table. She was about to dry them, but to her surprise, Logan was standing next to her and started to dry the dishes. "Logan," Athena said, touched by his gesture, "thank you." Logan looked at her, captivated by the now lavender eyes that looked up to him. When he had finished drying the plates, Logan stroked her completely black hair. "Athena, what happened to your hair? I thought you had highlights."

"I did," Athena said, as she looked into Logan's animal-like brown eyes. "I think the brown washed off, and the white you saw was just something left over from my shower. I cleaned up all of my forms, and the white must have been left by my Parisian wolf form. I have black hair . . . always have, even when I was alive." Logan let his hand run through the length of her hair, until his hand rested on top of her right hip. He didn't let it remain there for long, though; Athena soon turned away and took out her cell phone from her pocket.

"So, what do you want to do today? I can't study or do anything like that until my father and brothers come through the door to join houses. Plus, the others aren't here. I wonder where they . . . " Athena would've finished her sentence, but she noticed a small white piece of paper near the kitchen phone, which was mounted on the wall. She took it, opened it up, and found a note from Xavier and the others. "Dear Athena and Logan, We've all gone to Xaphania. Your brother, Keanu, invited us there to meet all of the supernaturals. He probably just wanted you two to have a little time alone, too. We'll be back before the day is out. Have fun, your friends. P.S. from Scott: Logan, I guess you can take my motorcycle. Just don't forget to fill the tank when you get back. Treat Athena right." Athena read the note from her friends of the Academy. She smiled and glanced at Logan. "What about a ride on your motorcycle somewhere?"

A mischievous look was in Athena's eyes, and Logan couldn't help himself. He loved this woman, adventurous and wild, who had walked into his life. He walked towards her. "Does it matter where we go?"

Logan was close enough that Athena could smell his aftershave. "Not one bit."


Athena enjoyed the press of Logan's muscles against her waist and arms when she wrapped her arms around his own waist. She'd left her trench coat at the Academy, and loved the warmth that Logan offered her as the motorcycle sped along, and the wind blew against her arms and fragile frame. She admired the speed of the motorcycle, and all the beautiful scenery that passed by them. Logan, though he was keeping his eyes on the road, couldn't help but look at Athena occasionally as she glanced at all of the nature that lay in front of them. It was a beautiful, though progressively more humid, summer day, and all of nature was in bloom. When Athena admired all of the animals scurrying in and out of trees and across the meadows, Logan was admiring the beauty that the sun brought out in Athena's face, and how her excitement made her radiant lavender eyes almost like a piece of art. She was a truly beautiful woman, and he felt even luckier than before to have her love him, and for her to admit her weakness only to him. Logan remembered what had happened that morning just after breakfast, and felt centered—whole. Athena was his, and he would never let her go.

Logan glanced at the fuel gauge on the motorcycle, after riding for what must have been more than five hours. It was more than half empty; the nearest gas station wasn't very close, so he knew he had to get there and back home soon, before the gas ran out. Logan slowed down, and parked just off the small back road. Athena was almost asleep, lulled by the sounds of the motorcycle and the sound of her love's heart, which she could hear because she was pressed so closely to him. "Logan," Athena said, floating in-between a state of awareness and dreaming, "why did we stop?"

Logan stroked Athena's hair and picked her up, wanting to shift her around to his front; he wanted her to lie in front of him as he rode the motorcycle to the gas station and then back home. "It's time to go home. The tank in the motorcycle's almost empty . . . and the nearest gas station is pretty far. Plus, if you're almost asleep, I want to have you in front of me so that I can keep an eye on you. I don't want you to get hurt, baby." He spoke as gently as he could, knowing that she wasn't quite fully awake. He sat on the motorcycle, with Athena's arms draped carefully across his shoulders and her legs straddling his hips. It was a position that stirred Logan's senses—so much so that he had trouble riding the motorcycle at first. He wanted to go home before he thought about what he wanted to do with Athena, though; he knew that she needed sleep—even though he knew little about the supernatural world, he had a feeling that she would have a good deal of work to do when a good deal of the supernatural world came to the Academy.

Logan revved up the motorcycle and rode as quickly as he could to the gas station, letting Athena sleep on the motorcycle's seat while he filled up Scott's tank, like the mutant had asked. Logan normally wouldn't have obliged Scott's request, but he didn't want any more confrontations to occur than were likely to occur between Athena's family and himself. Logan wished things would be simpler, and that he could just live out his life with Athena, as he wanted. But so many things were in the way . . . a war that seemed determined to distress Athena almost permanently, his love's past which tormented her, and the permanent truth that lay between them. Logan would always live here, in the Academy in New York. This would always be his home—he was a mutant, after all. But Athena . . . she was almost like a goddess to her people, it seemed; she lived in London, across the sea. She made her living there, and liked what she did. Her father and two brothers lived there. Her whole life was in London. It seemed that their meeting had only been chance; if there had never been this war with her and Siete, then he might have never even met her. Logan was torn; he wanted his relationship with this amazing woman to always be, but he wanted to live his life here, as she would no doubt want to continue her life in London, doing what she was meant to do.

As Logan rode home, Athena in his arms as before, he couldn't help but wonder what would happen to them. Were they really supposed to be together? Or was Ewan right . . . did she belong with him, in the world of werewolves and vampires, who were really her people?

Logan had never been good at answering these questions. He wanted just to love Athena . . . to love her, and nothing else. He hated life for being so complicated, and wanted to have just the simplest moments in life. Logan savored the feel of Athena's body as he carried her inside the Academy, having finally reached home. To his surprise, they didn't come home to an empty Academy; as it turned out, all of the supernaturals and mutants had returned. The supernaturals, including Athena's two brothers, Kris and Keanu; Ewan and the third matrix (the second matrix was Keanu); the second and third matrixas, Alexis and Risika; and, last but not least, Lupin Solcannis, were greeted with the image of Logan holding a slumbering Athena. Most of their hearts were warmed at the sight, but Kris and, of course, Ewan, were unhappy at the sight—it was clear by the looks on their faces. Tension was brewing because of the unhappiness of Kris and Ewan, and Lupin decided to break it.

"Well, Logan, it's good to see you again," Lupin said warmly, "is Athena asleep?"

"Yeah," Logan said, his voice informal, "she fell asleep when we were out on a motorcycle ride."

"Really?" Lupin said, smiling down at his daughter. "Was it your motorcycle?"

"No, it was mine," Scott interrupted Lupin, saying curtly to Logan, "Did you fill up the tank?"

Throwing him the keys, Logan said, his voice rough, "Yeah." Logan was careful to put Athena down on the couch so she could sleep. "I thought you told me you were coming tomorrow to join the houses when you came this morning," Logan said to Lupin, his tone of voice somewhat impersonal and business-like.

"Yes, I did. I'm sorry if I changed my plans without telling you. But it seemed that there's really no reason to wait until tomorrow to join our houses. I also wanted to make sure all of the mutants were wearing the Phoenix Tear pendants. I had them delivered here before I knew that Keanu had invited all of the mutants to Xaphania to acquaint them with most of the supernaturals that would be involved in the joining of two great schools." Lupin turned to his sleeping daughter as she shifted a bit in sleep and called out Logan's name, though her voice was a bit muffled. "Will she wake up soon?"

Logan walked over to her, answering her call. He kissed her gently on her cheek, and said to Lupin, "I don't know. She fell asleep a while ago, though, so she should be waking up soon."

"I hope you didn't hurt her," Kris, the young supernatural who was a little younger than even Athena's apparent form, said, his blue eyes regarding Logan coldly. "she's not used to guys like you."

"So, tell me," Athena said, one of her lavender eyes opening, and a smirk on her face, "what kind of guys am I used to?" Athena blinked, forcing herself awake. She knew she had to handle the tension between Logan and her family, otherwise Logan would use force instead of words. Athena had never seen a moment where Logan was terribly violent, but she knew that he wasn't a terribly rational and cool person. Athena wasn't, by nature, a rational person either; however, she'd learned to become one over the millennia. "Kris, I'm your older sister. Let me take care of you, and mind your own business. I know you care for me in your own way, but you have your own future to worry about." Athena stood, her eyes looking at Kris in almost a motherly way as her arms were crossed. "Is it true that you failed your entrance exams again this year, or am I just going crazy?"

Kris looked down. He couldn't believe that she'd found out about that. "So what?" He said, trying to act nonchalant. "What matters more is your happiness."

"What matters most is your future. Kris, I won't be here forever, and neither will Keanu or your father, though we are immortals. We can't provide for you forever. I know you wanted to be a matrix, and fight in the army, but . . . you never worked hard at your combat. You missed the boat on that opportunity. Being a tracker for the army is the next best thing. Do you know how many shifters and vampires would kill for the opportunity to go to tracking school? And here you are, failing your entrance exams, even though some of the greatest matrixs and matrixas are helping you. It seems like . . . like you don't even care." Athena felt the desperation of her youngest brother's situation once more, and approached him in a sisterly manner. "Kris, what's wrong? You know I'll love you no matter what. Just . . . it makes me so sad to see you doing poorly."

Logan saw Athena's sadness, and wanted to make her feel better. Everything was so unfair to her; she hadn't slept soundly for a while now, and when she'd finally slipped into a comforting sleep, Athena had to deal with her brother's problems. He walked over to her and gave her a simple hug, kissing her on her cheek. Athena smiled, glanced at Logan, and said to her brother, "Kris, you're going to stay here, though you won't fight in the war. I forbid you from fighting . . . I don't want to lose you. I can arrange a room for you, and can ask a professor from the tracking school to come and help you. Please, listen to him; I may not be able to get many tutors anymore since you've failed your exams three times in a row. Even an earthly goddess has limits on how long her influence lasts. Have Keanu bring you back to Xaphania so that you can get your things, and when you get back, you'll have a room to study in and your tutor will be here . . . hopefully." Athena smiled at Kris, though a pain was evident in her smile. "Just remember, Kris. I'll always love you . . . no matter what. You're my little bro. I believe this is what the Americans call 'tough love'. Believe me, it won't stop until you shape up and gain some focus in life."

"Okay," Kris said, as he looked at Keanu, who was getting ready to take his younger brother back to Xaphania, since Kris had never been good with any type of traveling magic. Kris knew that everything his older sister said was true, and that he had some buckling down to do. However, before they left, Keanu walked briskly over to Athena and Logan, who were still embracing happily.

"Um, Athena, if I may . . . " Keanu took Logan's hand, and somehow gently pulled him out of his embrace with Athena. " I just wanna say it's nice to meet you, Logan. I know you'll make my sister happy." Keanu grinned at Logan, and Logan could only answer with his characteristic half-smile. They nodded at each other, and then Keanu left with his younger brother. Athena whispered a quiet blessing in Spanish for her brother Kris, and then looked back at Logan, clutching his hand in an almost innocent manner.

As they did so, Lupin smiled, his heart jubilant at the sight of his happy daughter. "Well now, why don't we start the process officially?" The powerful werewolf knelt down to open the box that he had had delivered by Ewan to the Academy that morning. It opened easily, with the help of a knife that he always carried with him. After opening the discreet brown cardboard box, Lupin started to hand out the Phoenix Tear pendants to all of the mutants and supernaturals present (who weren't already wearing them), and handed two to Athena and Logan as well. Logan grabbed one from Athena, not in a forceful way, but tugging them away from her. Before Athena could put her own pendant on, Logan's hands were already slipping the light purple pendant down her neck.

"You look beautiful. It matches your eyes," Logan smiled, and she soon realized that he was right. Before she could say anything, he had already planted quick kisses just beneath her lavender eyes. Athena blushed, and Logan grinned slyly. He had caught her truly off guard— something that was hard to do. Even when he'd kissed her that morning over the kitchen sink, he'd known that she knew all about his thoughts and motivation. For once, he'd been able to take her completely by surprise.

Athena was about to say something when Lupin turned to her and said, "Why don't we go outside? Athena, have you selected an appropriate spot?"

"I have. There's a lot of land in this area of New York, so it shouldn't be a problem at all."

"What shouldn't be a problem?" Scott said, his 'American' voice standing out against Athena and Lupin's British accents.

"Well, we can't very well have the entire army stay and sleep in this Academy. So what we're going to do is create a house near here that'll be the real home for our supernaturals." Athena said, a slight but proud smile on her lips. "It'll be less than a breath's distance away from the Academy, but will give us all the space we need to house everyone. Is that okay?"

"Yeah. Just wanted to know what you were doing, is all." Scott smiled a bit, as Jean started to hold his hand as she stood next to him. She made him glance at Logan and Athena, and recognize that they were still holding hands. Storm and Kurt, as well as Bobby and Rogue, were holding hands too, as Jean realized when she looked at them while they were standing side by side. The sight of so many happy couples made Jean happy; it made the future brighter, and she hoped that all of the pairings would last for many years. Jean smiled, but soon realized that Scott was gently tugging at her arm, since they were all walking outside to watch Lupin and Athena create a large complex with nothing but dirt, soil, and magic.

This should be interesting, Rogue thought. No one there had ever experienced such miraculous things, never mind thought they were possible. All of the mutants were uncertain of what would happen to them. Kurt, however, thought of Athena as a sign that anything was possible in this world . . . and that there were no limits to what a person of any background could do.

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Athena reluctantly slipped her hand out of Logan's when she found the perfect spot for the new supernatural house near the Academy. She'd managed to pick out a vast plot of land— one that would allow for a complex that was almost as big as Xaphania all the way back in London. Lupin was satisfied with her choice, and started to think about how many rooms they would have to allow for, in order to house everyone comfortably.

"I think a thousand-room complex should do it. What do you think, Athena?"

"That will be more than enough." Athena yawned as she looked out on the setting sun. Dusk would fall soon, and the full extent of her powers could be used. "We can start when the moon rises. In the meantime, I need some blood. I'm exhausted." Rubbing her eyes, Athena walked over to Logan so that she could rest for a while in his arms—having to function without genuine blood was tiring for Athena, and she became even more tired with every passing hour.

"Your brother will have some—or else a sacrifice— when he gets back. I hope he won't forget." Lupin saw his daughter's fatigue, and continued, "If he does forget, then I'll go back and get some."

"Thanks, Lupin," Athena turned over in Logan's arms so that she was looking at her father as she smiled. Athena buried herself in the essence of Logan; she wanted to forever smell his alluring aftershave and his distinctive scent. Athena wished that life were always this simple, and that everything could be solved with love.

But the reality was that not everything could be.

Athena blinked her watery eyes, laden with fatigue. "I'm worried about Kris. I hope he gets into tracking school this time . . . and does well. He did well with the simulation Keanu and I gave him a few months ago. I don't know what's wrong. I just hope he can accept everything in his life and move on . . . he's a great kid. Not the hardest worker, maybe, but he can be selfless." Athena slowly revealed her worries to Logan, and then looked up at him. "He's got so many problems, but he still worries about the other people in his life. He just . . . needs to learn when to think about himself, and when to think about the well being of others. Kris is a good person; it's just that he runs away from his own problems by looking into other peoples' problems. He's running away from his exams even now by concerning himself with my happiness. Kris was worried that I would be lost without Lestat; he didn't trust you." Athena reached up and kissed Logan's cheek. "I hope he can accept us, and do well for himself. I hope he didn't offend you back there. He's better than petty insults and trash talk. Just give him time."

Logan kissed Athena's hair. "I will," he said, his voice as rough as gravel, "if only for your sake." Athena thanked him with her eyes, and looked out with him at the sunset. She let her eyes wander, even while he held her. Athena saw the love between Storm and Kurt, as well as the love between Jean and Scott. She wished that she and Logan could be like Jean and Scott one day—that they could be happily married. As she glanced at Rogue and Bobby, who cared for each other despite Rogue's mutation, she remembered her own experiences with young love and hoped that it would turn out better for these two than it had for her.

While Athena was lost in her reverie, she faintly sensed her brother Keanu's presence. Shifting out of Logan's embrace, she was glad to see that he had brought a sacrifice, as well as some blood wine. However, she was a little alarmed not to see her youngest brother Kris. "Where's Kris?" Athena said, worry echoing in her voice.

"Oh, he's just back getting some things together, before the complex is built," Keanu said, a little out of breath as he ran, "he wanted me to get these things to you. You look so pale and tired." Keanu handed her the bloodletting servant, as well as the blood wine. "The blood wine is a present from that German blood wine maker. He says it's for your birthday."

Athena smiled. She'd forgotten when her mortal birthday even was, and was touched by his kind gesture. "Tell him thanks, if you see him again when you go back for Kris. I really needed both of these." She put down the pack of blood wine, and examined the young servant. He wasn't more than twenty-five years old, and was nothing but human . . . sometimes bloodletting houses gave her humans that were partly supernatural. Athena only liked to drink from pureblooded humans, though she always asked for criminals. Humans always had the most potent blood; this was a fact that Athena had discovered after many years of hunting and killing her prey. "Um, well," Athena was a bit tongue-tied as she looked back on the rest of the mutants. Now that she was holding one of her victims in her very hands, she couldn't help but realize that she was a monster—she was taking human lives for her own benefit. It didn't hurt her inside; it was a fact of her life and existence, after all. Athena just felt so distant from the other mutants. They wanted to be included in the human world, after all, and the human world was just what Athena took advantage of to survive. "I'll be right back, I guess," Athena said briskly, roughly handling the young servant as she brought him to a secluded part of the property. Before leaving the mutants and her two family members to their own devices, however, she took one bottle of the blood wine pack. If she was going to perform some powerful magic, then she had to have a lot of blood.

As Logan glanced at Athena as she was practically dragging the servant with her to a discreet place, the second matrixa separated herself from her kind and walked up to Logan. "Hey," she said, her voice kind and cheerful, "so you're Logan, right? My name's Alexis—I'm the second matrixa. Athena and I have been friends since . . . well, since forever. I'm almost as old as her." Logan took a single glance at her, a little distracted as he spoke. "Really? How is that? You're not a vampire, are you?" Logan finally lost sight of Athena, and thought about what she was doing right now. She was going to kill that guy she was dragging off with her. The thing that was strangest about that was that Athena needed to do it; otherwise, she would eventually be so weak that anybody that wanted to would kill her. He didn't love Athena any less because she was a vampire, and that her need for blood had finally caught up with her; Logan just realized how different they were . . . and similar too. They were each tormented in their own way; he was a mutant that had been experimented on by the military, and she was an Egyptian princess that had been put through hell and worse. But even though they were similar, her blood need made him realize that they were very different. While his torment was something intangible, hers was tangible; it lay within her vampiric teeth and powers that were meant to kill humans. Logan could see the pain in Athena's eyes as she had walked off to take her blood meal, and knew that she still hated her vampiric self—she wanted to be a good person, after all. Good people didn't kill others; he and Athena both knew that. But Logan knew that if he was ever going to fulfill his promise to her of helping her out of the misery of her past, he was going to have to convince her that her vampiric nature wasn't something she could control. It wasn't her fault. But even though he loved her deeply, he wasn't sure he could do that successfully. He wondered if love would be enough to continue this relationship. Were they meant to be? Was he meant to be her savior?

Only time would tell as the Sun went down, and the moon rose to greet her children.


"What took you so long?" Keanu said, both worried and annoyed. By the time Athena had gotten back, Kris was already with them. The moon had risen a half hour ago, and the stars were already shining like so many diamonds. Athena looked stronger, and the drowsiness was gone from her eyes. Her skin was less pale, though still as beautiful as ivory. She walked gracefully, but power lay within her frame, and she stopped right in front of Logan, though she was turned towards her brothers.

"I'm sorry. I just needed to . . . clean up, is all. I had to make sure that I have enough energy to make this magic work. It's not easy, y'know." Athena turned to look at Logan, but didn't dare look into his eyes. She was too ashamed of her animalistic tendencies, and the thought that she had just buried a body in the woods somewhere. However, she didn't count on Logan taking her into his arms and looking into her eyes. He noticed that her lavender eyes almost glowed under the moonlight, and kissed her lips with haste. Logan could see that she was about to try and explain her actions, but he stopped her and interrupted, "Don't say a word. I missed you . . . and you must be cold without your trench coat." Logan wrapped the trench coat around her, keeping her warm. Athena looked into his brown eyes, and found the same comfort that was there the night that they'd spent together as wolves. She felt thankful for all his love, and kissed his neck before she went to join her brother Keanu and Lupin to finally create a house that the supernatural world would call its own in the mutant domain. "Are you ready?" Lupin said, kindness in his voice and demeanor. Athena and Keanu nodded, and then Athena pulled out a small piece of parchment. All three of them gathered around the small piece of paper, and recited a spell that was as old as Athena's biological father's bloodline, comprised of powerful mages and witches that had done so much for the world since almost the beginning of time. "Out of man's design comes something new; not of steel, but of the purest soul. Give us something that will be all that we need, mold something from the Earth and the sun's rays—an Isle of golden flowers' bloom; something to start the beginning of the end, to shield us from the cold of the earth, and show us the magic that the truth began . . ."

Athena bit her lip and closed her eyes, but to her pleasure and to her brother and father's surprise, a magnificent house sprung up out of the ground, more beautiful and lavish than any of them could have imagined. It was a five-story complex, and when they stepped inside, all of them saw that the rooms were already furnished, and that the entire group of supernaturals could move in immediately.

"Well then, hurry up," Athena said, her British accent curt and almost impatient. "let's get all the supernaturals moved in."

"What about you?" Kris said, curious about his sister's arrangements. "Where will you sleep?"

"Oh, I'll keep living with Logan. Other supernaturals need these rooms, and I'm perfectly happy with him." Athena stole a kiss from Logan's lips, and smiled slyly at him. Logan grinned at her, remembering the reason why he fell in love with her.

Before Athena would finish her work, however, she knew she had to have the mutants managing the groups of supernaturals. The vampires that came, her close friends and children, would answer to Athena and Athena alone. But she knew she could create a structured environment by having a few mutants manage the groups of werewolves, matrixas, matrixs, and shapeshifters. "Listen up, all you supernaturals," Athena raised her voice, without any anger. "All the shapeshifters will report to Storm and Kurt, all the matrixs will report to Scott, all the matrixas will report to Jean, and all the werewolves will report to Logan. If I'm not around, that is." Athena, as she pointed to the respective mutants as she mentioned them, knew that this would make things easier. When she was dealing with something else, every type of supernatural would have someone to help them train for combat, and to help them with a problem. In addition, when the time came for the war, every supernatural would have a sort of commander. If Athena was fighting Siete, one of her soldiers could speak to one of the "X-men", as they cleverly called themselves.

Athena took the supernaturals as satisfied when she saw them raising glasses of fine silver moon wine and cheering, "Here here!" She smiled at their revelry, and looked over at Jean. The young telepath was a bit alarmed when Athena looked at her, but the matrixa made her intentions clear after she smiled. "Now then, why don't we deal with your little problem now? I'm sorry it took so long . . . preparing for war is so tedious. I hope you'll forgive me."

Jean remembered that Athena was talking about Siete's hold on her mind, and smiled. "There's nothing to forgive. I forgot about it myself. Where should we go?"

"Back to Xaphania. My father's books can help for this sort of thing. Lupin and Keanu can come too . . . and of course the Professor is always welcome. In this sort of situation, the more powerful minds present, the better. Professor? Won't you come along with us? We could use the help." Xavier smiled at his goddaughter and looked up at his old friend Lupin as they prepared to go. "Papa," Athena said informally, addressing Lupin, "I'll be right there. I just . . . have something to take care of."

"Go ahead," Lupin said, "we can't use any of those books without you, anyway." He smiled, knowing that his daughter wanted to bid farewell to Logan— at least for now. They nodded at each other, and he left. She waited until he was a good distance from the door to talk to Logan.

"Hey you," Athena said, as she turned to look at him. Before she could say anything more, he had her in a tight embrace and was kissing her with everything he had inside of him. She actually had to struggle to get her words out as he kissed her ferociously.

"Mm—I'm sorry for—not being able—to spend—time with you," She barely got out. Athena's tongue felt so exhausted she almost felt like panting. But she knew that was just what Logan wanted, so she would deny him that pleasure-for now.

He kissed her one last time, and replied as he held her close, "It's okay. You warned me you would be busy like this, when we first started going together. It's not as if you didn't tell me about it. Besides, you're doing important work. You're saving the world." The pair grinned at each other, and Athena wrapped her arms around Logan's neck, pressing her chest up against his. A devilish look spread across her face, and she whispered, "When I get back, we're going to have a nice dinner – or will it be breakfast...? – together. No interruptions. And I'll give you something afterwards that you'll really like."

"Any hint as to what it is?" Logan said, hunger in his eyes.

"Now, don't be such a bad boy. That would just ruin the surprise," Athena laughed and bid him adieu for the moment. She followed her brother, father, Jean, and Xavier back to the Academy, and all of them quickly slipped through to the other side- to Xaphania.

Jean was stunned by the beautiful halls of Xaphania; it almost looked like a building in Venice, amongst all the dramatic Roman architecture rather than a school. Though Jean was shocked by the beauty that seemed beyond compare, Athena, Lupin, and Keanu were unimpressed by it, at first. They just entered normally and walked to their desks, seeing if any messages had come for them. The only one of them who showed any appreciation for the beautiful building around them was Athena. Sitting at her desk, and spinning a bit in her office chair, the young matrixa stretched her arms and said, almost like a purring cat, "It's so good to be home." She smiled, and then turned towards her computer and checked her e-mail. Athena had only one from a distant friend in France who was a vampire, and had performed in the Theatre des Vampires long ago with her, as well as with Lestat. Her friend, named Jacqueline, would be coming to Xaphania within the next few days, according to the e-mail. Athena was excited to see her old friend again; it had been four years since they'd last met, at Jacqueline's daughter's birthday party. Jacqueline, since the end of her rather long stint as an actress, had been courted by the son of a wealthy werewolf family, and had fallen in love with him unexpectedly. She hadn't given up her immortal life, but lived in a way that seemed strange even to Athena— Jacqueline had become not much more than the wife of a werewolf noble, and had bore him two children. One of them, to the delight of Jacqueline and Athena, had more vampire traits than werewolf ones. Though Jacqueline loved her husband and his family, and Athena thought her husband and his family was a fine and warm family to marry into, they were both happy to see some of their own illustrious line carried on into the next generation.

However, though Jacqueline characterized herself as a wife and mother first, she was anything but whenever she came to Xaphania. Athena's friend always left her children and husband behind; their young family was wealthy enough to hire a nanny for the time that Jacqueline was away. Jacqueline always enjoyed her visits with Athena, though she hadn't had the chance to in a few years. When she visited Athena, they both remembered old times and the fun they used to have together. Jacqueline was always a good fighter, though not a matrixa, and Athena liked to spar with her whenever her friend was willing. In Xaphania, the chance to spar with Athena was a rare one; Athena hardly let anyone who asked fight with her. She smiled at herself, and reminded herself just how lucky she was – she had gone from being a princess practically in exile to fulfilling her mother's wishes. Athena remembered all of her suffering, as well as her triumphs; strangely, the suffering seemed more valuable to her. That pain had made her stronger and made her appreciate the good things in her life . . . like the fact that she had Logan.

"Athena, you okay? Did you get any bad news?" Keanu smiled as his sister slipped out of her reverie, and turned towards him, her cheeks still a little red from her thoughts.

"Yeah, I'm okay, and no. Quite the contrary. Jacqueline's coming in a few days," Athena said, as she started to connect back with reality, and printed the e-mail from her friend.

"That's great! We haven't seen her in . . . what, four years?"

Athena nodded. "We talked a while back. I think she might be coming to visit and to fight."

"To fight? She's not a matrixa."

"She may not be a matrixa, but she's a damn good fighter anyway. Jacqueline and I are old friends, and we go back to before I met your dad. I put myself on the line a couple times for her, so she might be doing this for me. Who knows?"

Lupin, Jean, and Xavier listened to the conversation between Athena and Keanu, when Lupin realized that Jean must be quite bored. "Jean, please, lie here," the kindly, but evidently powerful, Lupin said, motioning to the comfortable bed in front of her. "Athena usually sleeps here when she works late, but I think you can use it for the time we're here." Jean smiled and lay on it. Lupin removed the covers so that she could lie comfortably on the bed, and when he saw that the two mutants were ready, he approached his two children.

"Athena, Keanu, you'll have time to talk later. Can we get to the work at hand, please? I think we're all a bit tired and have a desire to go to bed before sunrise."

Athena and Keanu nodded, and approached their father, Athena stopping at the bookcase full of her biological father's books on magic. She had memorized many of the simple spells her father kept within these books, but the book Athena slipped from its spot on the bookshelf was a book of difficult spells. It took some power and skill to cast them; Athena felt lucky and blessed by her father's spirit to still have the power of his line and to be able to use all of the magical knowledge he left to her.

Athena turned the musty pages of her father's book, until she reached a page that was titled, "How to Exorcise Unwanted Demons From a Person's Mind." She paced around the bed; eventually sitting in a chair next to Professor Xavier when she'd finished reviewing the instructions in her mind. It was then that she started to read them to everyone present.

"Exorcising a mind is, without a doubt, the most difficult sorcery one can perform. Extreme care must be taken. If care is not taken, then the poor subject's mind will be lost between the here and now and the thereafter. Do not perform this spell alone; it should involve at least three people of strong telepathic power.

Firstly, take the afflicted one and get them to relax. To wash everything from their brains that is hateful. If hate is still with the person, then one of the casters could be hurt by it, no matter for whom the hate is meant. After the person is calm, chant these words for the duration of this magick spell: Inhibituia seta kabish paradus. This will allow the mind's power to be truly calm beyond the tangible.

While the mind is calm, have another caster infiltrate the calm mind and pick out the part that is afflicting the calmed person. If the afflicted person is of considerable strength, it is best to have two people perform this difficult task; at least one of the people who infiltrate the mind should know the afflicted one very well. After plucking out the affliction, be sure to disconnect gradually from the mind and slowly stop the intensity of the spell, including the chanting of the words mentioned earlier. Let the formerly afflicted one rest, and when he wakes, all his afflictions will have left him."

Athena laughed at the book, written with the assumption that everyone involved was a man. "Almost comical," she said, smiling a bit. "So, shall we begin? Why don't you and Papa chant, Keanu," Athena said warmly, "and Xavier and I will deal with Jean's mind?"

"That sounds alright." Lupin smiled in a somewhat roguish way at his son. "Ready to do some magic, m'boy?" Keanu exchanged a grin with his father, and they began the pace of the spell as soon as Jean said she was ready. The young telepathic mutant didn't even feel nervous; she was willing to endure anything to get the horrible creature Siete out of her mind. When the time came, Jean wanted to kick Siete's arrogant ass around sometime, though she knew that the pleasure of causing Siete's death was sure to be Athena's, since he was her half-brother, after all.

Jean fell into the lull of a blissful sleep, and didn't even notice when the father and son werewolves started chanting.


It was late – well, depending on how you looked at it. As Logan stood at the entrance of the supernatural house near the Academy, he could see the first signs of sunrise. Most of the vampires that had come to New York to fight in this war had already sought shelter from the sun that was infamous for the ability to kill most of them – except Athena. The werewolves, who were nocturnal creatures only by habit, had mostly returned to their human forms for the coming day. The few young werewolves staying in the complex, apparently teenagers, were already getting ready for a day of studies and tutoring. Logan had already seen the tutor that Athena had sent for Kris; he was a teacher from the school that Athena's youngest brother was trying to enter, and one of the last teaching resources that Athena could possibly tap for her dear brother. Logan figured that her brother would probably stay in his room for the whole day with his new tutor; Athena would've probably demanded that, in an effort to salvage her brother's future. The mutant had never had any siblings, but he could grasp what his love was feeling – she wanted Kris to be happy and to succeed in life. Logan knew the feeling well, because he had once felt it . . . when he brought Rogue to the Academy. He didn't care about himself; he just wanted her to be happy and safe. Now she was, and he felt like something had been accomplished . . . even when she had gone back with all of the other mutants to the Academy to get some semblance of rest, he could see the happiness shining in her eyes.

Logan was a bit restless, since the matrixs and matrixas had also gone to rest, or to practice fighting for a bit in the spacious dojos that were on the upper floors. He wished Athena would arrive at the complex already; her promise of dinner/breakfast was tantalizing his senses and imagination. Her beauty had indeed gotten to his heart, and despite all the things she did, and everything she was, he loved her. That was the truth that Logan would always have.

The sun had just begun rising when a figure started to walk towards him, which he couldn't see because of the rising sun's rays. Logan raised a hand to his forehead, trying to see despite the almost blinding light, but the figure ran towards him and planted a kiss on his cheek and hands. A rare smile curled on Logan's face; it was Athena. She was as beautiful as ever, though simply dressed in a blue shirt and blue jeans. In her arms was a book, bound in thick leather and, apparently, heavy, from the way Athena carried it on her right hip. Logan didn't think to ask her about the book as he focused on her wonderfully curvy hips, and how they matched the rest of her body. Athena blushed as she realized that Logan was admiring her figure without any restraint in his eyes; she had never been admired so shamelessly in her life . . . not by her first love, nor by any of the innumerable suitors that had come to woo her after.

Her lavender eyes were soft as she said, her voice barely more than a whisper, "I hope I didn't take too long." As she glided into his arms, Logan almost choked up with tears of happiness. Here she was with him being here with her, and nothing else mattered. He wasn't used to sweetness like this, and Logan wasn't quite sure what to make of it. He decided to try to make it last for as long as he possibly could.

"No, you didn't," he said, his rough voice matching the volume of hers. He wrapped an arm around her waist and led her inside the complex. The entire first floor was empty, since everyone had gone upstairs to pursue their own devices. A table was set, with beautifully black tablecloth, and a simple breakfast was made. Scrambled eggs, blueberry pancakes, and French toast sat on each of the plates, and neither of them spoke. It seemed that words were so much less elegant that what sat in front of them and what each of them could feel – along with the fact that they were so aware of the other's emotions. Athena wanted Logan, and Logan wanted Athena. There was nothing else more important than that. But despite her longing, Athena would wait . . . just a few more minutes. After all, she and Logan had waited for so long – what were a few more minutes?

Athena kissed Logan, and pulled him towards the table so they could eat. "Who did this?" She spoke simply, not wanting to complicate the beauty of the time that they spent together.

"A werewolf. I guess he was thankful for you doing something for him in the past, and he wanted to return the favor." Logan looked up at Athena's eyes – eyes he wanted to sleep inside and kiss. They were the portals into the woman that he had found so mysterious, and that he loved.

Athena smiled slightly. "There are so many I helped . . . I have to find him and thank him. This is a wonderful breakfast." She picked up a fork and knife and started on the pancakes, cutting them up into small pieces and trying to be graceful as she put them into her mouth. Athena looked at Logan as he started to eat, and couldn't help but want his handsome face – all of his features seemed so perfect that she couldn't help but wonder if he had been made as an answer to her prayers. An answer to all of those nights she had been up, crying, and mourning the love that seemed to elude her grasp.

Now that Athena knew that, in a way, he had – thanks to the strings of destiny that her mother had pulled – she couldn't keep that information from him any longer. She glanced at the book that she had placed on the uncovered portion of the table, which she had taken from her father's book in Xaphania. It held all the information that confirmed Athena's revelations. Now she had to share that with him.

As Logan started on his eggs, Athena reached across the table and touched his hand. They looked at each other, and Logan felt something was wrong by the small tears that were slowly becoming visibly on the surface of her eyes.

"Logan," Athena whispered, "we should go back to our room. I have something I want to tell you . . . and show you."

Logan reached out to Athena's face, and kissed her hand. "Is there a room we can use here? The other mutants are at the Academy."

"Yeah," Athena said, her voice informal as the tears gently rolled down her face. She let them be, because they were tears of joy. Now she would share all of herself with Logan, and he would truly know her better than anyone who had ever lived.

Logan brushed her tears away, and followed her up the stairs, keeping his hands on her waist. He kissed her hair and face, and wished that what she had to tell him wouldn't destroy the sweetness he was feeling in his heart.