Author's Note: Kind of short, but this I've done all I wanted to do with it, so it's up now. And….uhh….that's about it. Too distracted watching alternate endings to X-men 3.
Chapter Twenty
There was blood on her muzzle, but it wasn't human. The last trace of human blood had vanished a few days ago. At least the physical traces, anyway. It was still pretty fresh in her mind. She had a brief flash of blood dripping, her friends screaming, and she shook her head before dipping it into the lake to wash off the deer's blood. When she was satisfied that it was mostly gone, she sat back on her haunches, staring across the lake to the trees lining the other side.
The soft flapping of wings caught her attention and she turned to look at the bird landing in a tree near-by. She knew instantly that it was Samantha, even though the tree was downwind from her. Few hawks tended to have black feathers and green eyes, after all. Anorra sat silently, waiting for the other woman to speak.
Samantha shifted back into human form first, then quietly offered, "Hey."
How'd you find me? Anorra asked. I didn't think anyone knew where this was.
"Animals tend to talk. Especially squirrels." Samantha said. "And a big silver dragon is something to talk about."
Anorra nodded, and silence stretched between them.
"Made any progress?" Samantha asked finally, going straight to the point.
Anorra looked at her for a moment. Yes. I think I'm back in control now.
"Okay. Good." Samantha said. There was another long pause before she jumped down from the tree. "Let's go home."
Anorra cast her gaze over the lake once more. I grew up here, you know. This is home.
Samantha followed her gaze. "It was, once. But you don't belong here, Anorra. Your home's with us."
I belong where I won't hurt anyone. Anorra replied, her mental voice slightly bitter.
Samantha shook her head. "You're not the first person who lost control of her powers, and you won't be the last."
They don't turn into a rampaging dragon and try to kill their best friends when they lose control. Anorra said. They don't cause the damage I do.
"Sure they do. You think the mansion would still be standing if Scott didn't wear his glass constantly? Or if Rachel started conjuring tennis balls like crazy, or Gambit started blowing up everything he touched, or Bobby froze everyone? And Hank, Logan….they've got animal inside them. Enough that, if it came out, bad shit would happen." Samantha paused. "And there's me. I don't always have the best control, either."
You had enough to control me. Now the bitterness in Anorra's voice was obvious.
"No I didn't." Samantha said. "I had your help. And Amp's."
You were still able to contain what I couldn't. Anorra said.
Samantha could tell that the argument was pointless, so she dropped it. "The point is, all mutants run the risk of losing control and hurting people, destroying things. That's what happens when you're born with a special power. It kinda sucks sometimes. And some times, you need some time away to deal with that. But eventually, you have to come home. Hiding out here forever isn't going to fix things."
Anorra moved her gaze from the lake to glare at Samantha. I never said I was going to stay out here forever. I'm not hiding. I'm getting my control back so-
"I know." Samantha interrupted. "I know why you had to leave. And I understand why you did. I just wanted to let you know we love you. And we miss you."
Anorra dropped her head, letting her chin rest on her front talons. She had a feeling not everyone would miss her.
"And, you know, if you're going to try and learn how to keep your power under control, what better place than a mutant school? That is the reason Xavier created it." Samantha said softly.
When Anorra didn't say anything, Samantha rested her hand affectionately on the dragon's shoulder before letting it fall back to her side. "Come home. Please." With that, Samantha disappeared back into the forest, presumably heading back to the mansion.
The next day, Anorra left the forest. As she flew over New York, in dragon form, she spotted some of her friends gathered at an outdoor café. She swooped lower and realized they were in the middle of a fight with some of the Brotherhood members. She recognized Pyro and Charm, but there were two other girls and a guy that were unfamiliar. The guy launched a blast of red out of his hands at Rachel and Anorra tucked in her wings, dropping down to land hard in front of Rachel. The blast hit Anorra in the side and she winced, knowing she'd have a huge bruise there later.
"Anorra!" Samantha called cheerfully, grinning.
You guys looked like you could use some help. Anorra commented.
"Aw, hell, that's no fun." Charm said. "The dragon's here."
"Come on guys, let's go." Pyro said, pausing to stare at Bobby long enough that Anorra wondered what the hell had happened between them.
"Leaving again, Johnny?" Bobby asked, smirking at him.
Pyro sneered, but took off with the other Brotherhood members.
Cassandra grinned. "Good job, Anorra. See, this is why we keep you around. Big dragon scare off yucky people." She beamed innocently at Anorra. "You wouldn't want to fly us home by any chance, would you?"
Zephyr was in a fairly good mood, at least a lot better than she had been recently. About a week had passed since everyone had been rescued, and Anorra had come back to them today. Sure, Rachel and Anorra were sort of avoiding each other, but that didn't matter. Her family was finally all together again.
Now she was hanging out in Warren's room, lounging on his bed while he searched for something in his dresser. He must have found whatever he was looking for, since he turned to face her, holding something behind his back.
"I, um." Warren said hesitantly, pausing to push his hair out of his eyes. "There's something I wanted to give you."
She blinked at him, then smiled. "You bought me something? You didn't have to do that."
He shook his head. "I didn't buy you anything, it's…" He trailed off and held out his hand.
Zephyr reached out and picked up what he held. It was a man's ring, silver and inlaid with sapphires. It rested on a thin silver chain. Her eyes widened as she stared at it. "Warren…"
"It was my grandfather's. He gave it to my grandmother, who gave it to my father. My father gave it to my mother, and she gave it to me." Warren told her. "I want you to have it. It matches your eyes. And your hair. And…"
Zephyr was torn. She wasn't sure she could accept the ring. It had been in his family for generations, she couldn't just take it….But she could read the look in his eyes. She could see the fear in them. He was worried that she wouldn't like it, that she would refuse him. And she just couldn't do that.
"It's beautiful, Warren." She told him. "Thank you."
When the alarm sounded, they gathered briefly in the main entrance. Some of the Brotherhood members were attacking them. So far, they hadn't made it past the defenses built into the grounds, but they were slowly approaching the mansion itself. The attack didn't really seem planned, though. Bobby had mentioned the fact that they had won a fight earlier that day, and the Brotherhood hadn't exactly been pleased.
Logan was pissed. Damn kids and their revenge gigs, invading his territory. He left before Scott gave him the go ahead, not even listening when One-Eye yelled after him. He unsheathed his claws, charging out with a roar. Everyone had just gotten back here, they deserved a fucking break. Apparently they just couldn't get one.
He was already locked in battle with some redheaded girl when he sensed the others joining him. Wolverine gave a feral grin and dodged the girl's punch, kicking her in the abdomen. Bobby went right to Pyro, and the two separated slightly from the main group, locked in a battle that Wolverine was pretty sure neither of them would win.
Angel had taken to the air, but after that Wolverine had to focus his attention on his opponent. She was trained, enough that she was almost a challenge for him. Almost.
He felt wind tugging at his shirt and he turned to see what looked like a tornado forming. Zephyr was sucked up into the center, spiraling towards the sky. After a few moments, the tornado suddenly stopped as the cause of it, a white-haired boy, slammed into an invisible wall. Wolverine grinned a bit. Good on Zephyr, figuring out how to use her powers to get her out of there.
Unfortunately, Zephyr had been up pretty damn high by the time she had been able to stop him. She started to drop, plummeting towards the ground until Angel swooped in to catch her. He flew along with her in his arms, but one of the boys on the ground shot something similar to Scott's eyebeams out of his hand right at them. It hit one of Angel's wings, causing feathers and blood to spray out. Angel flapped his wings in a desperate attempt to stay in the air and the wing that had been hit tore free, leaving only a small stump.
"Go Havok!" Charm shouted, giving him a grin.
The red beam boy, who was apparently Havok, grinned back at her and shot another beam. This time Angel saw it coming. He threw Zephyr aside and the blast hit him in the torso. He fell to the ground, landing with a sickening crunch.
Zephyr fell, too, but before she could hit the ground she stopped. For a moment, she was in mid-air, lying on some invisible shield. She looked puzzled, then the surface disappeared and she fell the rest of the way to the ground. It wasn't too far, though, and she was more or less unhurt. She managed to pull herself up so she was on her hands and knees, and the first thing she did was crawl to Angel, kneeling by his side.
He wouldn't stop bleeding. Oh, God, why wouldn't he stop bleeding? She didn't know which wound to try and stop, his wing, or his chest, or….She let out a choked sobbing sound and abandoned what remained of his wing, moving the cloth to the wound on his abdomen. The bundle of cloth that had been there was dark red, already nearly soaked through. It had been someone's shirt, once, but Zephyr didn't know whose. It didn't matter.
She pressed hard against the wound, but the blood still seeped into the cloth. She tried to see it as hopeful. If blood was still flowing, it meant his heart was still pumping, and he was still alive. She just, she just had to make sure his blood kept pumping inside of him, not into the cloth and on her hands. God, there was blood everywhere. There was just too much. How could he have this much blood in him?
His hand reached up, pale and shaking, and somewhere inside of her she knew that he was dying. His fingers grabbed hers, pulling her bloody hand away from his chest to clasp it tightly.
"I don't remember." Warren murmured, his voice soft and slightly distant. "Did I ever tell you that I loved you? Because I do. I love you so much."
Part of her wanted to be angry with him. He picked now to tell her this, now that she could still feel his life spilling out over her hand? But there was no more room for anger inside her. Her chest already felt like it was going to explode, and there were tears on her cheeks that she hadn't realized she had shed.
"I love you." She replied quietly. "So you see, you're not going to leave me. I'll keep you here, okay?"
He closed his eyes and swallowed wetly, a small trickle of blood leaking out of the corner of his mouth. "I think there's blood in my lungs." He said absently.
"Oh, God." Zephyr said, holding Warren's hand tightly and wondering how the hell she was going to make him stay. "Please."
"I'm sorry." He told her.
She shook her head wordlessly and threw herself to the ground next to him, burying her face in the crook of his neck.
"I know it's gross." He said. "But, would you kiss me?"
Without hesitation, she lifted her head up and pressed her lips against his. He was weak, she could feel it in the kiss, and she could taste blood in his mouth. But she didn't stop. She didn't want to break the kiss. As long as they were like this, as long as she was holding him….
Zephyr knew the second Warren died. His chest stop moving under her, his lips stopped responding to hers, and his grip on her fingers went limp. Her heart stopped for a moment, at the same time his did, but hers picked back up again while his remained silent. And something inside her broke.
Samantha's jaws were clamped down on Havok's throat, and if she didn't let go soon he most likely wouldn't survive. Wolverine wondered if she had ever killed anyone before, but he couldn't let that distract him. These people had been on his territory long enough. He let out a feral roar and threw himself at the nearest enemy, claws flashing in the artificial light.
Wolverine didn't know who it was, but he knew the person didn't belong here. His claws slashed and he could smell more blood in the air. He heard two roars, one that sounded like a lion and another one that was half dragon and half human. Samantha and Telepsa. Whatever they were doing must have worked, because the enemy pulled back.
He would have chased them, but the sight of Angel's broken body caught his eye. Zephyr was lying half on top of him, her lips against his, but Wolverine could tell that he was dead. Fury filled him, but he could smell the grief on Zephyr and his claws sheathed themselves.
One of Angel's wings lay a few feet away, torn and bloody, and Wolverine absently wondered what they would do with it. They should bury it with the kid. At least he'd be whole, in the ground.
They buried him the next morning. Zephyr was still in shock. It was like her brain had just gone on vacation, leaving her only half functional. She spent most of the night staring off into space, responding only on the second or third time someone called her name. After awhile, people had stopped trying to talk to her. The other girls stayed with her, but none of them said anything. They didn't even sleep. They all just sat in Zephyr's room, silently grieving.
Now they all stood in an open field on the mansion grounds, watching the casket standing above the freshly dug grave. Cassandra's fingers were laced through Logan's, and he didn't seem to care. Bobby had his arm around Rachel's shoulders, and her arm was tightened around his waist. Rogue looked near to tears, and Gambit stood behind her with his arms draped over her. Samantha was holding Zephyr's hand, and Anorra stood close on Zephyr's other side. Kurt was griping Samantha's other hand while Piotr was standing next to Anorra. Scott, Ororo, Hank, and Professor Xavier stood with them, staring sorrowfully at the casket.
Behind them, rows of chairs had been set up for all of the students. Many of them were crying as the priest stood over the casket, speaking in Latin. He finished speaking and stood aside so everyone could see the casket behind lowered into the ground. A soft, sad song began playing, and Zephyr gripped the ring around her neck tightly as she watched dirt being shoveled on top of the casket.
We stood outside in the summer rain
Different people with a common pain
A simple box in that hard red clay
Where we left him to always remain
Let your love cover me
Like a pair of angel wings
You are my family
You are my family
With that, Zephyr broke down. Tears streamed from her eyes as she shook her head, unable to understand why he had left her. And it just seemed as though nothing mattered much anymore.
Samantha's arms wrapped around her in a tight hug, and it wasn't long before the other girls were hugging her as well. For a moment Zephyr let herself be comforted. Then, she gently extracted herself from the group hug.
"Zephyr…" Rachel started.
Zephyr shook her head. "Don't. Please. I…I think I need to be with him."
She moved over to his grave and kneel by the tombstone. Her hand lifted up and she rested it on the cool stone. Then she just sat there, staring at his name engraved in the stone. The others watched her, unsure what to do. Finally, they slowly began to head inside, until only Zephyr remained.