Phew, took awhile to get this chapter up! I hope it was worth the wait and thanks for reading :)
Jean picked up Rahne off the floor and cradled her like a child, the young girls body was shaking with sobs. Swiftly, Jean carried her to the farthest wall in the room, Tabitha following her and bringing the unconscious Amara. The four huddled together, trying to draw comfort from one another. Rahne had come so close to experiencing every girls worst nightmare and only Rouge's quick thinking had saved her for the time being. Jean murmured comforting words, though they were drowned out by Rouge's reluctant wails of pain.
Jean chanced a glance to the other side of the room. Rouge's crimson blood could be seen one the starch white wall and she herself was balled up on the ground with Remy's trench coat draped on her. Kitty was trying to use her body as a shield between Animusereptur and her own back was sporting deep long cuts. The girls were clinging to one another, weeping from the pain.
'Oh God,' Jean thought, gazing at her friends as if through a fog. She wasn't sure when she had started crying, but thick tears trailed the way down her cheeks and fell heavily on to Rahne's unkept hair. Rahne was clutching at Jean, curled up in her lap as her head rested on her Jean's breast. It was all over now. Jean had failed at keeping her loved ones safe. She failed at protecting them. Her heart seized violently in her chest and a sob was ripped painfully from her throat as she clutched more tightly on Rahne. Tabitha was surprisingly quite, stroking Amara's hair gently.
"Jean," Rahne whimpered. "I don't want us to die."
"Shh," Jean cooed as she squeezed her eyes shut. "I know, I know." Jubilee was standing stock still in the middle of the room, shaking violently and Jean motioned for her to join the small huddle, but the girls legs folded underneath her and she sank to the floor, her sheath of black hair falling around her like a curtain.
Kitty let out a great yelp as Animusereptur grabbed her by the hair and hauled her off of Rouge. He tossed her aside with a strength that was surprising for his size. Kitty collided with the wall and screamed as her torn back took the brute of the hit.
Animusereptur grabbed Rouge and hauled her to her feet by the collar of the trench coat. She whimpered in pain but remained limp in his arms, blood trickling from her mouth and down to her chin.
"Think you pull a stunt like that and get away with it?" He snarled as he shook her roughly.
Jean's mind narrowed as her frantic brain put two and two together and she realized what he was about to do. She scooted Rahne off her lap and was on her feet in a second, willing her legs to reach Rouge before Animusereptur's mouth did.
The air shifted abruptly in the room and Jean fell to her knees, watching in horror as Animuereptur's mouth claimed Rouge's. Her mind had always been sensitive to other mutations, she could feel how powerful they were and how strongly the attack was. When Animusereptur's lips met Rouge's, a great tremor passed through the room and for a moment the world stood still.
The current that was passing through Rouge and their soon to be murderer took Jean's breath away, made her clutch at her chest as she fought to keep her heart from erupting. This clash of mutations swirled around her, swallowing her up as she froze in horror. every detail and element of the struggle that the two were fighting against one another stabbed through Jean.
She could feel Rouge draining him, stealing his energy and at the same time she could Rouge's mind and essence being drawn into him, painfully making Rouge an empty shell. The air seemed to have been drawn out of the room and the very energy shifted drastically. Both of their skins had an eerie glow, grey and murky, as though they were in the deep sea with only a flashlight. Rouge was desperately trying to cling to herself, not let herself be taken by him. The battle of the mutations came to a sudden stop as Rouge began convulsing, her eyes rolling back into her head. A flash of brilliant passed through them and Jean knew Rouge's soul was no longer her own. Animusereptur broke the kiss and staggered away from her, gasping as he clutched at his head.
Rouge's body was still for a moment, the murky glow was gone and she looked ashen and devoid. Small wisps of silvery light were trailing from her mouth, dissipating slowly through the air. Her body glided to the floor, falling gracefully on to the hard concrete floor.
The heavy air in the room shattered almost painfully and Jean gave a gasping breath. She felt free now, the constant tightening in her chest was gone and the projections of her friends came upon her in sudden nauseating waves. She felt her mind, felt everyone else's mind in the room. Jean shot up on the her feet and let out her telekinesis in great waves, rattling the room.
'Taking Rouge must have been too much for him! He lost control of Wanda for a moment!' Jean acknowledged as Tabitha began tossing bombs at the locked door.
Wanda was clutching her head, screaming as she fought to push out her possessor and gain control. Jean sent her mind forth, attacking Animusereptur's violently. He was coming back into control, stripping Wanda of her self control and Jean's body flew back as he gave her a telepathic stab to the stomach.
All around her the girls were in a flurry. Jubilee and Rahne were trying to bring Wanda back to herself as she hexed them over and over again. Kitty was attacking Animusereptur physically and failing horribly, her body becoming more bloodied with each of his violent attacks. She was staggering and gurgling up blood but refused to allow herself to succumb to the pain that was coursing through her veins.
Jean crumbled under another telepathic onslaught and pull franticly at her mind. She drew up her telepathic power and launched it from her body, pushing it out from her chest. Her mental power personified as a silvery silhouette of her body with a bow and arrow. Jean's telepathic counterpart drew back the bow and arrow and a moment later it sung through the air, hitting Animusereptur in the chest as he raised his hands to mutilate Kitty once more.
He let out a roar and sent his own mental incarnation at Jeans, his black and shadowy. Jean closed his eyes and fought past his barriers, straining to break him down as their mental beings attacked one another viciously, psychic swords drawn. Distantly, she could Rouge calling out to her, desperately trying to get her attention and fight to break through the surface of Animusereptur's mind.
"Rouge!" Jean screamed both mentally and physically. Her mental fingers brushed against Rouge's own reaching mind and briefly, Jean felt at peace as her mind merged with hers.
'Get out! Get the others out now!' Rouge was pleading with Jean franticly.
'Rouge, no, we're not running from this! We have to help you!' She could feel Rouge being pulled away from her and clung on to her frantically.
'No, just go! Run, you can't win this Jean and he'll kill you all!' Rouge was pulled suddenly away from her and Jean felt a mental sword plunge deep through her chest. Her telepathic figure drifted away them, drawing back into her body painfully.
She crumbled to the floor and coughed up blood, her chest and mind screaming defeat. He was too strong for them, any of them. Wanda was controlling Tabitha's powers and bombs were going off everywhere. Rahne had been knocked unconsciousness by being blown back by one and Jubilee was using her own body as a shield for the unconscious Rahne, Rouge and Amara. Kitty was a bloody mess and Jean was amazed that she was still conscious.
Rouge was right, they needed to leave. Which in turn meant leaving her, something Jean did not want to do, couldn't even imagine doing. The very idea of abandoning Rouge cut deeply into her, ripped at something in her core.
Jean felt something burn deep within her, slowly boiling to a point where it would erupt. She wasn't going to let this be their end, she refused to let it happen. Dying wasn't an option. The burning sensation throbbed within her and Jean focused it, concentrating it to it's full potential until she was sure that it was going to rip her apart inside. It burst from her chest in flames, leaving Jean gasping and feeling oddly bereft, as though something from her very core had just left her. Dimly amazed at her sudden exertion of telepathic strength, Jean watched as the flaming figure of a large bird swept around the room, leaving a stream of red in it's wake. Distantly, she heard a light and mesmerizing tone and was temporarily enchanted by it. Never had she felt more out of control in her life. She felt terrified and oddly safe all at once. It was as though she knew this entity that had stripped itself from her core. Like it had resided within her before she even was born to this earth.
Her reverie was shattered when she saw Animusereptur tearing into Tabitha and her angered snapped. The song she had been hearing became distinctly more threatening and harsh and her psyche bird plummeted through the air like a bullet, ripping through Animusereptur's telepathic figure before plunging through the physical man himself. He let out a great shout and fell to his knees. The bird came out his other side and returned to Jean, pushing back into her chest as though that was it's natural perch.
As the bird melted back into her, Jean's vision was met with a brilliant flash of gold and her body felt as though she were fire, not being burned, but burning from within. As suddenly as it came, it was gone. She felt suddenly drained and weak. Her mind was throbbing in a severe ache.
Jean glanced around her. Tabitha was whimpering on the ground and Wanda seemed to be in a slight trance, as though she were stuck between becoming herself again and slipping back into possession. Jubilee was trying to rouse the unconscious girls and Kitty was struggling to sit up.
"Kitty," Jean rasped out as she mentally probed at the seemingly unconscious figure of Animusereptur. He was quickly gaining consciousness and this was their only chance of escape.
"Jean, what do we do now?" Kitty gasped, her hands sticky with her own blood.
"Get away, we need to get away. I'm too weak to use my telekinesis," Jean moaned out as her mind pounded against her skull. Whatever she had just done with the whole bird trick left her in a very bad state.
Kitty nodded and looked around her, biting back a scream of pain. Her body felt as though the flesh had been shredded from her bones violently "I think I can get us out of here... can you lift him so he doesn't follow us?"
Jean nodded weakly and gathered her strength, suspending Animusereptur off the ground as Kitty placed her hands palm down and strained. A familiar shimmering sensation took over Jean and she felt herself sinking slowly through the floor. Kitty grunted painfully, before the girls slipped completely through the floor and then onto the floor below them. Jubilee snapped her fingers and they sparker to life, bathing the room in a glowing rainbow of color.
"Damn it, Kitty," Tabitha moaned as she struggled to sit up. "Little warning next time."
"Sorry, is everyone okay?" Kitty grumbled.
"Well, other then Amara and Rahne being knocked out and Rouge currently with no soul in her, we're all great," Jubilee sighed as she shifted her unconscious friends to more suitable positions.
"Wanda? Can you hear me?" Tabitha said to the Scarlet Witch, shaking her slightly. Wanda remained unresponsive, her eyes glazed over and her body stiff.
"She's in a trance right now. Possession takes a lot of mental toll," Jean said as she pulled herself off the floor. "I'm going to have to put her under."
She stumbled to Wanda and placed her fingertips against her temples. Jean kept her mental shield strong, trying to protect her mind from Wanda's terrible memories of being in a mental hospital and her tumultuous past. She felt the intense projections of her friends, each trying to keep it together and not crumble under their pain and tightened her mental differences more, pushing into Wanda's mind. She allowed her fingers to ghost across the planes and locked doors of her mind before giving a small push.
Wanda's eyes focused for a brief moment before she crumbled and Jean caught her in her arms and lowered her gently.
"What did you do?" Tabitha demanded.
"Basically I short circuited her mind. She's too dangerous, and being in an asylum makes her mind susceptible to control," Jean replied.
"Hold still Jubes," Kitty said imploringly as she ripped savagely at her pajama clad leg. The soft pink flannel tore off and she limped over to Jubilee, picking her way through the dark room. Kitty dabbed at Jubilee's open cuts as the younger girl hissed quietly before mumbling a small thanks.
"Fuck, we have to get out of here," Tabitha swore as she paced. She stopped and placed her hands against the wall, trying to gauge the density and support struts that the wall hosted.
"Are you kidding me? He has Rouge! We're not going anywhere!" Kitty snapped out, pressing a little harder then necessary at a cut on Jubilee's chest. "We're fighting for our friend!"
"And what about your other friends! Four of them are out, there's no way we'll survive if we have to fight again," Tabitha reasoned as she placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. Kitty let out a mewl of frustration and begrudgingly allowed Tabitha's comfort. The three girls turned to Jean for leadership, their faces cast in the eerie glow of Jubilee's colorful plasmic
Rouge's early words echoed through Jean's mind. Her plea with Jean to leave her, to get away and make sure the others were safe. Jean took a sweeping glance over her friends, noting their bruised and battered forms before looking down at her fallen peers. Wanda seemed peaceful, asleep almost as Amara mumbled incoherently next to her. Rahne had a trickle of blood running from her forehead down her neck. And Rouge. Rouge was a shell, empty and gone. Tabitha was right, they were too exhausted and weak to fight anymore.
Jean trembled slightly as a new presences began stirring a floor above her and she knew that Animusereptur was coming to awareness, ready to find them and make them pay. She closed her eyes and grasped for the right answer and the proper plan of action. Rahne whimpered almost inaudibly and Jean made her decision.
"Tabitha, make us a door. We're leaving," she murmured, staring steadily into Kitty's suddenly furious blue eyes.
"So that's it! We run away like chickens and leave Rouge!" Kitty demanded, throwing down the now blood soaked flannel cloth. It made a sickening splat as landed on the cold concrete floor.
"Yes, that's it. We run to survive," Jean closed her eyes against the tears that threatened to spill. "And we leave Rouge because we have to."
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Scott was dimly amazed that they were traveling so fast. But still, it didn't seem fast enough. He fidgeted in his seat, much like all the other guys in their jet. With the Blackbird gone, the X-Men had to borrow one of Magneto's. Currently, they were flying parallel to Magneto's personal jet and cruising at extreme speeds thanks to a combination of Storm's controlled winds and Eric's own manipulation of the metal jets.
An hour ago, the Professor had mentally called everyone to his study as the other adults rushed from the mansion. The professor had told them that cerebro had found the girls, though he refused to give them anymore information except that the girls were located in a valley nestled in the mountains of Nebraska.
A million concerns were pulsing through Scott's mind. Two emotions were at war in his head. Relief that they had finally found the girls and concern about what they would find. He was ready to fight, ready to hold the girls, ready for this all to be over finally.
Remy was shuffling his card beside him, his look unreadable. Bobby was already iced up, cold pouring off him waves. They were all quiet, all steadying themselves, steeling themselves for the fight to come. Scott was slightly curious as to what each of the guys were thinking. Which of the guys were revving themselves up for the fight, and which of the guys were struggling for self control to keep themselves from ripping Animusereptur to shreds when they found him. He knew he was the latter section.
Scott was a fighter. A leader, yes. But a fighter first. It was what he knew, what he was comfortable with. He thought briefly on the girls and which of them were fighters, which of them were handling their torture the best. Rouge he knew was, fighting was her protection and what she was good at. And Jean understood the importance of battling for what you believe. Rahne was such a soft, sweet girl, fighting did not come naturally to her and Scott was sure the trauma of the past few days would weigh heavy on her, if she was still alive. Kitty was a protector by nature, not only because of her defensive power but because of the level of emotion she fought with. He hoped with all his heart that the girls were still fighting, that he wouldn't step of this plane to be greeted by their mutilated bodies.
Kurt was murmuring in Latin beside him and Scott watched as he clutched the necklace of the Patron Saint Archangel Michael.
"Sancte Michael Archangele, defende nos in proelio; contra nequitiam et insidias diaboli esto praesidium. Imperat illi Deus; supplices deprecamur: tuque, Princeps militiae coelestis, Satanam aliosque spiritus malignos, qui ad perditionem animarum pervagantur in mundo, divina virtute in infernum detrude. Amen. (1)"
"Praying for protection in this battle?" Scott mumbled, remebering that Saint Archangel Michael was the Roman protector in battle.
Kurt took a gasping breath and shook his head. "Protection, yes. Not for myself though. I know my friends, I know myself and I know that this man will need all the protection he can get when we find him. I pray for our self control and for those that are at the recieving end of our wrath."
Scott raised his eyebrows and looked at the usually gentle teenage boy who he felt as close to as his own brother.
"You make it sound as though you're like Logan, about to lose it any second and go wild."
Kurt offered him a bitter grin. "I was born with the appearance of a demon, fearful that I belonged in hell rather on Earth. What I want to do to this man, truly shows how demonic I am capable of being."
"We're all capable of being something dark, capable of doing sinister things. Do you always feel like you belong in Hell?" Scott asked, thinking about he own desire to tear this man apart and how that probably earned him a spot next to the devil himself. and it would be worth it too. He'd lie in hell forever with a smile on his face if it meant giving this man what he deserved.
Kurt nodded in agreement and wrapped his tail around his arm, sighing.
"Often times I do. But then people remind me I have a heart, that who I am is not defined by how I look," Kurt said firmly.
Scott took a moment to look at Kurt. Really look at him. The first time Scott had rested eyes on Kurt, he was shocked, but not frightened. And then after that initial meeting, Kurt's unusual looks never really registered to Scott. He was always smiling, or laughing. But there had been the rare few instances were Kurt became something so much more then the funny guy. His eyes would glow, his fur would bristle and he would growl. Kurt was right, there was something deep in him, a monster of sorts. But then again, don't we all play host to inner demons? Scott certainly knew that he did.
Scott rested his head against his seat, the strain of three stressful days burning at him. But more then that was the rage and adrenaline to fight, to hold Jean again and kiss away the pain that she must have faced. That is, if she's still alive. She could already be gone.
Something tugged at Scott's heart and he pushed the thoughts of Jean being dead out of his mind. He would know if she died, he would feel it as keenly as his own death. She was a breathing, living part of him, under his skin, into his bones. Her death would signal the crumbling of the universe, or at least his universe.
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Kitty was livid. She was humiliated, violated and in pain. But above all that, she was furious. They were suppose to be a team, fight and defend one another, but now they were going to leave one of their own to a fate worse then death. She understood the logic of why they were leaving, why they had to escape but her blind fury made it hard for her to reason right.
"Leave Rouge?!" Kitty hissed quietly, keeping in mind that Animusereptur was probably searching for them.
"Yes, you heard me. Kitty, look at us! We couldn't even help Rouge if we went back, he has her soul and we have no idea how to get it back!" Jean reasoned, as she placed her fingertips on Rahne's forehead, trying to coax her to awareness.
"She's right," Jubilee mumbled, wiping away tears. "This is our only hope for escape. And Rouge's best shot is if we go and get help, which we can't do if we're trapped here."
"So, it's settled. Can I blow this wall to hell now?" Tabitha asked, patting her hand against the wall that she had decided could be sacrificed.
Rahne began to stir and Jubilee helped her to her feet as Jean moved on and tried to wake up Amara.
"Never mind making a door. I can sense that he's close, we'll never make it out of here if he knows where we left from," Jean sighed as Amara's eyelids fluttered softly. "Come on Princess, we need you awake."
"I can take us through," Kitty offered as she took Jubilee and Rahne by the hands. She walked to the far wall and phased her head through, checking to make sure she wasn't about to phase them off the face of a cliff.
She almost wept as she felt the cold night air on her skin. Freedom, finally. She felt compelled to simply run. she saw a lake shimmering through some trees and smiled in appreciation. It felt so good to be out. But Rouge wasn't out and that knowledge cut away at her heart.
Kitty hauled Jubilee and Rahne through the wall, wincing with the effort it took to even use her phasing ability. Her body still burned in the places where Animusereptur had sliced open her skin and she wanted to sink in the lake and scrub off her skin, off the memories of his hands and his mouth.
"Go hide in those trees," she instructed to the two girls as she took a quick look around.
Satisfied that they would be safe for now, she slipped back into the wall and helped steady a staggering Amara.
"I'm fine," she mumbled. "Just very tired, a little dizzy. Remind me to thank Rouge later."
Kitty inhaled sharply as she shook her head. "Can't. Rouge's gone." she said sharply.
Amara's postured straightened abruptly and she accessed Kitty through bleary eyes.
"What do you mean? She's right there," she nodded to Rouge's limp body, which Tabitha was carefully positioning on her shoulders.
"What you see there is a shell, Rouge's soul and mind are gone," Kitty said in a harsh tone, glaring at Jean who was bending down to pick up Wanda. "Come on, Amara. You need some fresh air."
Kitty ghosted through the wall, catching Amara as she swayed in the cool night wind.
"Wow, I was beginning to think I would never see outside again," Amara sighed as she staggered away from Kitty and fell to her knees. Jubilee and Rahne rushed from the cover of the tress and helped up their friend.
Two more phasing trips later and all the girls were gathered on the outside of their own personal hell, crouching in the grass and out of sight.
"Okay, we need to get away fast," Jean began. "He's not at full strength yet, but he will be soon and then he'll be able to telepathically locate us."
"And why can't I just burn the place?" Amara asked.
Kitty bite down hard on her tongue, reminding herself that all the girls were exhausted and not thinking properly. "We need him alive. We don't know what effects killing him will have Rouge's soul, and we can't take any chances."
"Kitty's right," Jean nodded. "We need to get away from him, but we're weak right now. So, we're going to have to remember Logan's training on stealth and hiding."
"Speak for yourself, the badger failed me for that lesson," Tabitha mumbled.
"I guess our only option is to go by foot," Rahne said.
Jean nodded as they all got to their feet. "Yea, we better get started."
Kitty turned from her friends and back towards the asylum. "Go and be careful."
Jean gasped. "Don't even think about it Kitty!"
"Sorry, but even if he does steal my soul, at least Rouge won't be alone," Kitty said as she pressed her palms against the brick wall and rested her forehead on it. She breathed the fresh air deeply, trying to memorize the feel of freedom before she gave it away again, and maybe for the final time. The air around her tightened and Kitty struggled to turn her head and look amusedly at Jean.
"You and I both know that holding me telepathically is useless."
"Kitty, you're being irrational! Just listen to me, it doesn't do anybody any good if you go back in there! And we do not have the time to stand here and argue about this, you're coming with us!" Jean pleaded as the other girls nodded.
"Jean, tell me honestly. If you weren't responsible for all the girls safety and leading them, would you be doing what I'm about to do?" Kitty asked, knowing that Jean wanted to go back to fight for Rouge just as much as Kitty did. But Jean had to be responsible, all the girls were relying on her and there was no room for rash and dangerous situations, at least not in Jean's case. Kitty was a different story.
Jean didn't answer her question but instead tried a new approach. "You're right, I'm responsible for you. Listen to me, and come with us!"
Kitty shook her head and began phasing out of Jean's telepathic chokehold and through the wall. "Maybe next time you see I'll be a real ghost," she joked weakly.
"So not funny Pryde!" she heard Jubilee hiss before she left her friends behind.
I'll try and get the next chapter up soon. Hope you enjoyed it and review of you like.
Author notes:
1. Saint Michael the Archangel, defend us in the battle, be our safeguard and protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil; may God rebuke him, we humbly pray; and do thou, O Prince of the heavenly host, by the power of God, thrust into hell Satan and all evil spirits who wander through the world seeking the ruin of souls. Amen.
One of my personal favorite prayers, once again lots of emphasis on Kurt's religion.