He didn't know how long he had been running, but there was still no sign of a living soul. Frustrated, the claws normally hidden in his hands pushed their way out between his knuckles. Logan looked down at the bone claws, and the same thought that always entered his mind surfaced: If only they were adamantium. In the darkness Logan could not see the doorway open before him until it was too late.
* * * * *
Tes'ral laughed as he watched the second victim wake into the world that could have been, had things worked out differently.
* * * * *
Logan felt...old. He stood on the mansion grounds from where he'd been napping just minutes before. That ain't right. The thought flowed through his head as he grasped for what wasn't right about the whole situation, then it hit him. Smoke! What th' hell! It was his last thought before the entire building burst into flame before his very eyes. "Merde!" he heard someone say as they ran up behind him. "Logan, we gotta get dem outta dere!" Somewhere in his mind the 'them' registered as his teammates and Logan took off at a run behind the flowing trenchcoat of the Cajun.
The heat off the building was unbelievable, the brick was actually starting to melt. "NO!" Logan shouted as Gambit began to climb through a window. "I need you out here to get the injured. This," he indicated the flames pouring out of windows with a sweep of his arm. "It can't hurt me." The Cajun nodded and without a second thought Logan dove through the window.
The heat took away almost any oxygen that Logan could have taken in, leaving him with barely enough to survive. That would have to be enough. Claws unsheathed automatically, and he reveled in the feeling of the metal cutting clean through his skin. Then he stopped, looking at his hands, his claws had not been metal since before Magneto ripped the adamantium out of his body. I don't know what game you're playing Onslaught, but I'm not playing anymore. Instinctively he made his way towards the underground, knowing that if anybody had survived that initial blast they would be in the lower levels. The going was slow, Logan found himself running into more debris than passageway, but at all costs he had to get down there, had to see if anybody was still alive. Where had they all been when this happened? The War Room. As fast as he could, Logan ran towards the War Room, hoping against all odds that somebody was still alive.
She took his breath away, standing in the center of the table, surrounded by the ashes of those who had once been friends. But she was no longer the same woman who had captivated Logan's every thought since the moment he'd laid eyes on her. Her red hair glowed with dark flame, mimicked cruelly in her eyes. She was no longer Jean Grey. Now and forever she was the Phoenix. She said no word as she reached out to him with fingers of death. Logan's last thought was, ironically, a prayer. Dear God, let the Cajun make it out of here alive to spread the news and get revenge.
* * * * *
A low growl escaped Tes'ral's throat as yet another scenario evaded their purpose. The hologram of his Master made a soothing sound as it faced him. "Do not become discouraged Tes'ral." It said, moving to sit on a chair that the skrull could only imagine. "As I said, we yet have many possibilities to explore."
* * * * *
"Whoa, wait. Let me get this straight." Bobby said, holding up his hands defensively. "The Guard went to check out the Crystal and disappeared. Logan, Rogue and Sam went to check out the Crystal and disappeared. Now you want to send more of us down there to rescue them? What's gonna stop us from disappearing, Cyke?"
"T'ird times a charm?" Gambit spat sarcastically at Iceman.
"We can't just leave them down there, Bobby." Cecilia remarked from her spot at the table.
Bobby glared at the two of them. "I'm not saying we should, it's just that..."
"Three of our teammates have gone missing and need to be rescued." Scott finished for Iceman. "And we do what we have to do to bring them home safe. Unless somebody else has a better idea of how to reach them, going into the Crystal is the only way."
"So it simply becomes a matter of who shall go, and who shall remain behind." Hank commented from his perch atop his chair.
"You realize I cannot let you do this." Lilandra stated simply as she stared out the window. "It is my job as Empress to protect the M'Kraan Crystal. Had I known you were sending team members in to begin with I would have forbid it."
"Lilandra." Charles moved to her side. "You must understand my students..."
"Never should have ventured near the Crystal to begin with." Lilandra shook her head, turning her gaze to the floor. "I am sorry my beloved, but my duty to my people comes before your students."
* * * * *
"So you don't know where mah friends are?" Sam asked, following Jahf around as he meandered through the cavern like a man lost.
"It's like I told you Sam, it's not quite as simple as that." Sitting down abruptly Jahf grabbed Sam by the sleeve and tugged him down onto the floor too. "It's not like looking at a map, where I can ask you where North Dakota is and you point it out. Lately the Crystal has...well...I guess you could say freaked out. Its been capturing people from the real reality and using them to access alternative realities. Like its searching for something. So you see, finding your friends isn't as simple as they're in North Dakota. You have to find out which North Dakota they're in, got it?"
"Ah think Ah understand." Sam said, shaking his head trying to get all the information to settle properly. Satisfied Jahf stood back up and continued making his way through the cavern. "So, Jahf, what exactly are yah doin' anyway?" Sam asked as the little man looked around the room for a second then continued on his way.
"I'm looking for the problem." Jahf stated. "This is the heart of the Crystal where all the realities are stored. And somewhere in here, two of them are getting tangled. Or I should say one of them is getting tangled with the real reality."
"Real reality?" Sam asked, feeling more lost as the conversation progressed.
"Remember the Koosh ball Sam?" Jahf asked, waving his hand in the air then moving on again. "The real reality is the string that you're holding onto, and if something major happens you grab a different string. See reality couldn't care less if you have ham or turkey for lunch. Unless you end up dying if you eat the turkey because it was poisoned, reality won't change. But when something happens that makes a reality impossible to maintain it folds upon itself and another string gets designated as the real reality." Sam shook his head uncomprehendingly. "I know it makes no sense, I'm simplifying it too much for you to really understand it, but if I told you the whole truth," Jahf paused for dramatic effect. "Your head would explode, then we'd switch realities, and I'm not allowed to affect reality directly, therefore I must keep your head intact." For some reason Jahf found this fact exceedingly funny, and he chuckled as he continued to weave his way around the cavern.
"Well at least Ah don't haveta worry 'bout yah killin' me." Sam muttered, continuing to follow Jahf around the 'center of the Nexus of All Realities.'
* * * * *
The sound of the shower cut out just as Rogue had finally mustered up enough nerve to confront her 'husband'. He stepped out of the bathroom, hair longer than she remembered it being for a long time disheveled from the vigorous treatment it was getting from the towel. Muscles were more refined than they appeared through fabric, his lean frame much more apparent. A thin line of hair ran from his navel down past his towel, and Rogue blushed slightly for looking. "Quoi?" Remy asked, his line of vision no longer obstructed by his unruly hair. Rogue blushed even harder, bringing a smirk to quiver along the edge of Gambit's lips. "Y' lookin' at me like y' seein' dis f'r de first time, chere." He laughed. Turning to the closet, he grabbed a combat uniform randomly, then went over to the dresser to get underwear and such. Tossing all but the boxer/briefs onto the bed next to her, Remy unceremoniously removed the towel from his waist. Rogue gasped in shock, even earlier when he had been nude, the blankets had covered parts unmentionable. Now there he stood completely in the buff, and Rogue couldn't help but stare.
Remy had heard her gasp, and turned slightly at the sound, but didn't approach her until he had, thankfully, put on his underwear. "Rogue," he said forcefully, grabbing her chin and making her look him in the eyes. "What is wrong?" He clearly enunciated every word, letting her chin go on the final syllable, then stepping back.
Tears threatened to fall down her cheeks as Rogue looked at the pain she was obviously causing him swirl through his fiery eyes. "Ah'm sorry, Remy." She whispered from where she sat on the bed. "Ah just don't remember any o' this."
* * * * *
"So WHAT den?!" Remy shouted, bringing all his anger into his words. "We jus' sposed ta leave dem down dere? I don' care what galaxy you Empress of, I ain' leavin' Rogue ta some Crystal." If it were possible sparks would have flown from the Cajun's glowing eyes.
"Nobody is saying we are going to, Remy." Ororo murmured calmly into his ear. Gambit backed down slightly and returned to pacing the confines of Lilandra's chamber.
"I am afraid I am saying you will have to." Lilandra contradicted.
"Not like this, Gambit." Hank said, placing restraining hands on the Cajun's shoulders and holding him in place before he could lunge for Lilandra.
Similar arguments were going on around the room, while the Professor sat in his hoverchair, hands steepled in thought. Finally, Charles mused he had reached his breaking point. "I have had enough of this game, Lilandra." Charles said slowly but evenly cutting through the rest of the noise throughout the room. Lilandra opened her mouth to protest, but Charles did not let her get a single sound out. "You know what game I am talking about, Lil. You ask my students to leave their home and be your bodyguard, you ask favors of them, ask them to do your bidding because it is convenient for you, because you need their help. They risk their lives looking for your Imperial Guard..."
"I did not ask them to." Lilandra replied defiantly.
"NO!" Charles answered, raising his voice dangerously. "But they do so anyway, they do it for you! My students owe you no allegiance, Lilandra. We humans are not a part of your wondrous Shi'ar Empire. An empire you rule because my students helped you maintain your throne. I will not have you use them simply when it is convenient, only to cast them aside when it is not. You may be my love, Lilandra, but my students are my hopes, my dreams...my life." He looked past her to each of his pupils momentarily before returning his focus to her. "In the end there is no question as to which I value more." With that Charles Xavier turned his back not only to the love of his life, but to the most powerful woman in the known universe. "My X-Men, I believe we have teammates that need our help."