Disclaimer: If the character isn't someone who's ever appeared in a Marvel comic and/or X-Men movie, then it's someone who belongs to me...especially Angela, Echo, Totem and Atlas...and more to come later...they get touchy if strangers try to play with them, so i don't suggest you try it...:)

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Interlude

High above the forest, he crouches on an outcropping of rock, his keen eyes scanning the vista below. Someone has been after him, someone he needs to avoid at all costs. He doesn't know who there are and only one of them has a familiar scent. It's too vague to call up anything from his memory, but his instincts tell him they are dangerous and to keep some distance between them. But their pursuit was relentless, single-minded and he finally took to the low mountains in this area in an attempt to throw them off his trail.

They almost had him two days ago. They'd been close enough to touch him, had they known where to look. He'd hidden himself in a cave that stank of another animal, its scent covering his own and they'd passed him by, undetected. He'd waited until they passed with an almost preternatural stillness, waited until they took the false trail he'd laid for them before doubling back and making his way to this mountain. He had waited until the sun came and went twice before moving on.

Now, he crouches on this rock, observing the new group below him. The wind blows their scent away from him, but he can see them just fine even from here. There is the one who flies. The one who is strong. The one who changes. And HER. As he watches her move, he hears things in his head he cannot explain, sees things that he thinks he should remember.

She's crouched in a tree at night, her glittering eyes watching as the sentry moves away from the door.

She's lying on a beach listening to the surf, the stars jewel-bright above them.

She's buried her claws into a man's throat, tearing it out with a feral snarl.

She's lying still beneath a tree in a rain-soaked jungle, lightning cracking the sky above.

She's cradled in his arms, blood pouring from her throat as she smiles up at him.

She brings him a beer and straddles the chair next to his. "On the house", she says.

She rises above him, moving in rhythm with him, moonlight silvering her hair. "I love you."

There are more images, so many that he clutches his head and grits his teeth, trying desperately to drive them away. But they won't go away, they keep coming one right after the other, faster and faster until he throws his head back and howls with frustration. He falls to the ground and curls up into a ball, willing the memories to go away until he doesn't have to feel them anymore. Willing the animal to come back and run away with him so he doesn't have to know what it's like to be a man. Eventually, he succeeds. But not soon enough.

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Chapter 4.

Totem made it through his encounter with Asp, which was a huge relief to all of us, Chasca most of all. We'd been out here a little over two weeks and I was increasingly frustrated with our lack of progress. We'd had Storm fly us to a point that I figured would put us a little ahead of Logan's path in an attempt to head him off. That had been about two days ago, two days after our encounter with Asp and Tigress. Storm had radioed back as she left that a helicopter had come and picked them up, heading to the southwest. Their failure at our hands had been spectacular and I didn't give them very good odds for being sent back out here. I hoped we had at least another five days before they'd send another team to look for Logan. I was willing to bet I'd been added to the search by now, but I could have cared less. Logan was all that mattered to me.

It was late on the second day when I heard it. I'd been scouting to the southeast, looking for any signs of his passing. I knew how tireless he could be, especially if he thought he was being hunted. If my instincts were correct – and they usually are – he should have been within two days of us when we arrived at our new location. I'd sent Chasca to scout the small mountains that were becoming more frequent, but she hadn't seen anything that was of use to us, nothing that indicated Logan was up there. I didn't blame her. If he doesn't want to be seen, he won't be.

We'd all just gathered back in the small clearing we were using as base camp to compare notes for the day. The sun was sinking below the horizon and I could tell that my companions were disheartened by the lack of new evidence. Totem understood why I was following my gut instincts, but Sam and Chasca wanted to hike all the way back to where we lost the original trail and start again from there. My temper was short and I'd just started to get a good rant on when I heard the howl. My head snapped up to the small mountain that was nearby, the peak of which was barely visible above the trees. Tears sprang to my eyes and I said a single word. "Logan!"

"What?" Sam asked, clearly confused. He probably hadn't heard it.

"Totem, did you hear that?" I asked.

He nodded. "Yes, I did." We both scanned what we could see of the mountain from here, but nothing stood out. "I do not see anything."

"You wouldn't, if he doesn't want you to." I chewed on my lip and made a quick decision. "Chasca, fly up there but if you see anything DO NOT APPROACH. Report back what you see and that's all. Try to keep your distance."

"Yes Angela." She said and leapt into the air.

I turned back to the others. "Sam, I want you and Totem to stay here and watch the camp. And call Storm, have her bring the jet." I turned to leave but a hand on my shoulder stopped me.

"Angela, no!" Sam said, almost snapping. "You can't climb up there alone in your condition! It's too dangerous."

"I'll be fine. I've climbed higher and I have my own pitons." I slid my claws out to illustrate. "Let me go! I don't have much time!"

"Leave Totem here. Chasca will be back soon enough and he's as unstoppable as you are. I'll take you up."

I gaped at him for a second, then shook my head. "No, I have to go alone. I can't risk anyone getting hurt."

"He won't hurt me. Let me do this for you."

I sighed in frustration, running my fingers through my hair. "Fine. Let's go. Totem, call Storm."

We took off through the trees towards the base of the mountain. It really wasn't that big, maybe a little more than a thousand feet, but to a flatlander like me, it was huge. I wasn't sure where to start climbing, but I heard another howl that was followed by Chasca on the com. "Echo to Hellcat."

"Hellcat here, what you got?"

"I found something up here. I thought it was just rubble but when I landed…there's claw marks all over. He was just here, he had to be."

"Roger that. We'll see if we can't find him further down." I tapped my earpiece to deactivate it, then Sam and I took off running along the base. About five minutes later, I heard another howl and a few loose rocks came tumbling down. I looked up, then nodded to Sam. "Come on, we'll go up here."

I slid my boots off and stashed them behind some scrubby brush that clung to the base. Sam crouched down and I climbed onto his back, gripping him around the chest and waist with my arms and legs. He grabbed the nearest handhold and we started our ascent. It only took about ten or fifteen minutes for us to get to the first ledge, which was only about eighteen inches wide, but I knew we were on the right track when I saw the three parallel slash marks in the rock in front of me. He'd been the cause of the slight rock fall.

I motioned Sam over to me. "Stay here." I whispered. "I'll keep the com on, but for the love of the gods, do not follow me unless I give you the word."

He nodded and I made my way slowly along the ledge, following the rock face along the mountain. The going was tricky and I lost my footing a couple times, but after about fifteen minutes I came to a place where it widened out into a small plateau. There was a large crack in the rock face that looked big enough to be a cave and I whispered this information over the com. I took another look around before taking a position near the edge of the plateau, crouched on a boulder easily ten feet across and half again as tall as me. I made sure that I was facing the narrow ledge I'd used to get this far, which would hopefully force Logan to put his back to it, on the off chance that I'd need to call Sam in. I spent a few precious seconds calling up my own inner animal, knowing I would need that to relate to whatever came out of that cave. I grabbed a couple smaller rocks and tossed them inside the crack, and waited.

A heartbeat later, Logan came out of the cave in a rush, claws out, crouched low in a classic attack position. I didn't move a muscle, I simply sat and stared at him, watching as he prowled warily back and forth in front of me. The seconds ticked by as we watched one another, my heart beating furiously in my chest. Of all the time I've known him, this was the first time he ever looked like the animal he feared he was. I shouldn't have been surprised, but I was. He'd been living like one for over two weeks, after all. I carefully schooled my expression to keep from showing any of my surprise. I didn't want to spook him any more than was necessary.

He looked terrible. He was clad only in the tattered remains of the pants from his X-suit, his hair was matted with dirt and blood. He wasn't as filthy as I'd expected him to be, but there had been a few streams here and there along his path. If he'd been trying to throw off his other pursuers, he would have instinctively traveled along at least one of them to confuse the trail. His eyes glittered in the dying light, a brighter green than the usual muted hazel I'm used to. They also lacked any semblance of humanity. Logan had surrendered completely to the animal within.

The wind shifted momentarily, blowing my hair into my face and I resisted the urge to brush it aside. However, it must have carried my scent to him because he suddenly ceased all movement. He simply stood there, sniffing the air and looking at me curiously. His claws slid quietly away and he took a tentative step towards me, then another. The wind shifted once more and he stopped again and sniffed. He cocked his head to one side and it was all I could do not to smile at the gesture. With a sudden burst of speed, he closed the distance between us and leapt up on the rock next to me. It took me unawares and I flinched, but managed resist the urge to bolt.

I shifted my position so I was looking at him head on, our faces less than a foot apart. He leaned in a little and sniffed me again, his brow furrowed in confusion. I wanted so badly to reach out and touch him, but I was still afraid to spook him. I let my animal side take further control, that part of me that was trying desperately to get her mate back. I leaned in towards him, closing the distance to just a few inches and stared intently into his eyes. 'Logan', I pleaded silently. 'Please, just recognize me.'

We sat like that for what felt like an eternity, but was probably less than a minute all told. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him raising his hand slowly, bringing it up towards my face. I held my breath, not sure what was going to happen next. With a gentleness I hadn't expected from him in this state, his fingers brushed my cheek. I couldn't help myself, I instinctively leaned into his hand. He jerked it away and scurried back to the edge of the rock, baring his teeth. Damn it, I fucked up.

I took a deep breath and relaxed my stance a little, lowering myself slowly into a kneeling position, never breaking eye contact. I placed my hands on my knees with the palms up; a gesture I hoped would show him that I was not a threat to him. After another very long, very tense moment, he calmed down and approached me once again. He didn't come as close as he had before, but his eyes once again held that curiosity I'd seen before. I knew that somewhere deep inside he recognized me, that his inner animal was trying to tell him who I was. But he'd retreated so far into himself that I was literally trying to coax him back out, treating him the same as any other skittish animal. As long as he kept his claws retracted, I had a chance.

The sun had set almost completely when Sam took it upon himself to disobey orders. Logan and I were still locked in our battle of wills, neither one of us looking away from our staring contest. It would soon be too dark for Sam to attempt to climb back down, but I was not willing to give up this chance to get my lover back. The wind was picking up a bit, bringing the scent of more snow with it and I cursed to myself. The last thing we needed was another snowstorm to delay us. Fortunately, the sound of the wind howling around us had masked the sounds of Sam's approach from even my ears and the only warning I had to his presence on the ledge was a whispered word in my earpiece. "Incoming."

Before I had a chance to react, a boulder about a third the size of the one we were crouched on came speeding out of the gloom. Sam had managed to maneuver himself along the rock face to a position that was roughly parallel to the large boulder and the rock he'd chucked hit Logan on the side of his head and shoulder with enough force to send him tumbling uncontrollably off the boulder and over the edge. I uttered a strangled cry as I watched him fall, his own howl of pain and fury cut off suddenly as he hit the ground at the bottom with an audible thud. I whirled around and leapt off the boulder.

"What the fuck do you call that?" I shouted as I stalked over to Sam. "I was getting through!"

"Listen to me!" He retorted. "Storm called on the way in to tell us there's another big snowstorm on the way. It'll be here within the hour. There was no more time to wait!"

"You had your orders, damn you! He recognized me! I know he did!"

"Fine! But we still have to get off this mountain." He peered over the edge of the precipice. "However, I'm also sure that he'll be out for a long time healing the damage that fall just did to him. So call it your best chance to get him back to that hidey hole of yours, ok?"

I glared at him. "Who said you're allowed to be right?"

"No one. It's just something I do."

I shook my head and sighed. "Come on, let's get down there and see what kind of shape he's in." I walked over to the edge where Logan had fallen and started to climb. I heard Sam protest, but I was already out of his reach by the time his face appeared above me. I just looked up at him with a wink and made my way slowly to the bottom.

Logan was sprawled over another large boulder at the bottom, his face and torso a mess of bloody cuts where he'd bounced off the side of the mountain. I knew how the healing factor worked for him, repairing the really serious internal damage first and leaving anything on the surface for last. By the look of him, he'd be out for at least seven or eight hours. But he was still breathing and although his pulse was a little weak, it was there. I let out a sigh of relief and stroked his forehead tenderly. "Oh, Logan. What happened to you out there?" I whispered, a tear trickling down my cheek. "Can I get you back? I have something to tell you, lover and I want you all here when I say it, ok? Hang in there, I'll bring you back. If it's the last thing I do, I'll bring you back."

I heard the rocks shift behind me and Sam appeared at my side. He looked Logan over and turned away with a low curse. "God Angela. I'm sorry." He said.

"Don't be. You shouldn't have disobeyed your orders but…well, it looks like it was the best decision." He looked back at me with a pained expression and I laid a hand on his arm. "Grab him and get him to base. Storm'll be here soon and we have to be ready to go."

Without another word, he gathered Logan into his arms and made his way carefully back to base camp. I stayed there for a moment, looking around me. It was true night, the moon barely a sliver in the sky and the landscape around me was more shadowed than light. I found it ironic that I would be trying to rebuild my lover even as the moon above me was rebuilding itself and I took it as a sign. With a last look around me, I picked my way over the rocks and went back to the camp to wait for Storm.

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By the time Storm arrived, it had started to snow. Not wanting to waste any more time, we abandoned the tent where it was and packed everything else up. Storm gasped in horror when she saw Logan, but a hard look from me shut her right up and we bundled him onto the jet without comment. Once there, I cleaned up his wounds as well as I could and bandaged them. Anything more than that would have to wait until we were at the cabin.

When I told Storm that's where we were going, she immediately tried to protest. "The Professor told me to bring all of you back to the mansion. Hank says…"

"I don't give a shit what Hank says!" I shouted. "Or Charles for that matter. Logan's dangerous right now. It would be monumentally stupid to take him back to the mansion like this. Trust me, this is the best choice. I'll keep the communicator and check in every couple of days, but this is something that I have to do my way!"

"But Angela, we have the resources at the mansion to help him. The Professor can help telepathically, Hank says we can keep him sequestered in the infirmary for as long as it takes."

I clenched my fists in frustration. "Look, I know you mean well, all of you. But this is something I have to do. I doubt Charles would be able to reach him anyway. He's as far gone as he can get and messing around in his head won't help. Just, trust me ok? You have the coordinates, take us to the cabin."

"Ororo, I think you should listen to her." Sam said quietly. "Let her try it her way first. If she doesn't make any progress in say, three weeks? We'll come get them and do it the Professor's way."

Storm sighed. "All right, fine. I'll do it. But I really don't like it and the Professor won't either."

"I'm not doing this for the Professor." I said. "This is for Logan and for me." And for our child.

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AN: Whew! We found him:) We'll be back to my usual format soon enough, so hang in there...:) Special thanks to my beta readers, Zac and Turiel Tincdaniel for their assistance and support...Extra Special thanks to DBK(tm) for no longer humping my leg like a rabid terrier for more chapters...Super Special thanks to my readers for sticking with me this far...and Super Swanky Special thanks to those who reviewed, which for Chapter 3 were reeltreble1031, Miss Lover Girl and Ineluctability (if you haven't caught her stories, "Deviant Strain" and "Anomalous Vessel" yet, go read them NOW...they're excellent!)...also to joegood2003, who's just now getting around to reading this part of the saga (if you haven't caught HIS story, "Picking Up the Pieces" yet, then you need to read that one too!)

Now please click the little button that says "go" next to where it says "submit review" and you'll get a shout out too!