Yo. (:
Thanks for the reviews, as always. They make me joyful. :3
Question: What's your favorite holiday?
I like Christmas. Everyone's so cheery. (:
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Danny followed, hardly able to keep up with Logan—but he still hadn't gained even the slightest twinge of hope towards Blair. Logan couldn't bring back the dead….
[Blair/Victor]
The pain just wouldn't subside.
Blair still wasn't dead, and she could hardly believe it. Maybe she was dead and the pain had just followed her into the afterlife…maybe…maybe….
However, that was quite a farfetched thing to believe. Followed her into the afterlife? Yeah, righhttt. She was just depressed that Victor hadn't finished her off yet.
Blair suddenly felt another twinge of pain in her leg, meaning Victor had done something else to her. It had hardly hurt at all, though. Or maybe it had hurt so much she couldn't feel it. Nonetheless, no matter what he had done, it was nothing compared to the damage he'd already inflicted. Blair was a bloody mess—and she would die from blood loss if Victor didn't just finish her off soon. But that's what he wanted for her, right? A slow and painful death….
Then he should be pleased, Blair thought bitterly, her head spinning.
But her thoughts were interrupted by Victor's voice. To Blair, it was hardly a whisper, although he was speaking rather loudly. Her head was aching so badly she could hardly hear a thing….
"Good news, Blair, I'm finished," she heard him say. She couldn't see his expression anymore—her eyes were closed. Not that that made the pain any more bearable.
"But," he continued manically, "the bad news is I'm going to leave you here to die instead of finishing you off—so then you'll suffer." Blair heard him laugh, and the fact that he could be so amused by her pain sickened her.
And now she wanted to cry harder than ever. He was going to leave her there to bleed to death? Really? He was that cruel? That heartless? She was lying there on the ground, sobbing, bleeding, whimpering—and he couldn't give her the simple gift of ending her misery?
Blair wanted to reply to Victor's conscienceless decision, but she couldn't. It was painful to speak—to even breathe. Victor had done his job well. She was broken—and in more ways than physically. She actually wanted to die. That wasn't healthy—but, really, who wouldn't want the pain to stop?
Blair's head was still throbbing miserably, but she happened to catch Victor's voice again. It was hardly audible, but she thought she heard him say "Enjoy dying" or something along those lines. Then she heard Victor's footsteps slowly fade into the distance, and she was alone.
For what seemed like the longest time, she was trying to come up with ways to die faster—but none came to her mind. What was she supposed to do? Knock herself unconscious with a rock? As if she could even move enough to retrieve a rock….
Why couldn't Victor have just killed her quickly like he'd originally planned? Why'd he have to make her suffer? It was the cruelest and coldest thing anyone had ever done to her. It was probably one of the cruelest things that could happen to anyone. But really. To her? A powerless fourteen-year-old girl who'd done nothing to him? And on her birthday? He was an absolutely hideous person—if she could call him a person.
All Blair could do was bleed on the ground. She waited patiently for death. She welcomed it—but it just wouldn't bless her and come. She seemed to lie on the ground for hours, waiting. And during her waiting, she heard footsteps in the distance slowly advancing towards her.
At first she thought that she must be hearing things—unless Victor was coming back. Did he change his mind? Was he going to finish her off himself after all? Blair prayed it was indeed him, then the pain would stop….
But it wasn't him, and Blair knew as soon as the footsteps stopped and someone—two people, actually—hovered over her. Then they both fell to their knees. One of them was sobbing, while the other was simply choked up.
"Is—is she alive?"
the younger one cried. Blair recognized the voice…Danny?
"Hardly," the older figure replied painfully. Blair recognized that voice, too. Logan? Logan and Danny? They were here…they were conscious and free…but how? And where was Gambit?
"Hardly? What are we going to do!?" Danny panicked.
Logan swallowed hard and replied in a clearly choked up voice, "I…don't…know…."
Something seemed to explode within Danny. He was sobbing nonstop, hardly able to speak. "But…you…have…to…do…s-something—" Danny gasped, clearly having a breakdown.
"Hey, kid—kid," Logan said, sounding somewhat concerned—although he was speaking to Danny. "Relax…relax…lemme try and talk to her…." Logan scrutinized Blair's face before saying, "Blair—can you hear me? Blair?"
Oh yes, Blair could hear him. Just hardly. But she didn't know if she could reply…she could barely breathe, after all.
"Blair," Logan repeated loudly, sounding more desperate this time.
Blair tried to respond. She tried oh-so-desperately to open her mouth and say something back, but she couldn't. She was in too much pain…but it seemed to be slowly subsiding…she was dying….
"Blair!" Logan shouted, now sounding both angry and desperate. "Blair, say something!"
It was becoming gravely quiet. Logan's voice and Danny's sobs were becoming less and less audible until Blair could no longer hear a thing. Then Blair opened her eyes for only a moment. She was squinting, for she could not fully open her eyes without causing herself a great deal of pain. So she squinted, stared up at Danny and Logan for a moment, wishing she could say something, then closed her eyes again. It was no use. She couldn't speak, couldn't move. She was useless. And her death was settling in. Blair could feel the life slipping away from her. Her mind was completely blank—no thoughts revealed themselves to her any longer. She couldn't hear a thing now. She was alone within herself, and she was dying. Just barely alive….
And then she was dead. The pain disappeared. Blair couldn't think, speak, or move. She was gone…all she expected now was to witness a bright light….
Danny looked up at Logan, his tear-streaked face pale. "Is she—is she—?"
Logan seemed to be holding back tears himself. He clenched his teeth in sorrow and fury and said, "I—I think so…."
Danny nodded. He'd expected this. He'd expected Blair to be dead—so why was it such a shock to him? And why did it have to hurt so much?
Logan was crying now, too. He was crying in a very strained and constricted way—but he was crying. Whether they were tears of anger or sadness, they were tears nonetheless.
Then he stood up off his knees. "Hey, Danny, listen…we've—we've got to go."
Danny's eyes widened. "Leave? Blair just died and you want to leave!?"
"What are we supposed to do!?" Logan snapped.
Danny's face became thoughtful as he paused for a second. "I don't know…I just—how can Blair be dead? She can't be dead…." He stared down at Blair. Her face was no longer constricted with pain—it was peaceful, as if she hadn't a care in the world. And she didn't. Not anymore.
"Listen, kid," Logan said irritably, wiping the tears off of his face, "I can't bring back the dead…. Neither of us can…."
"I-I know," Danny stammered. "I just want—I need—she—wait…Logan—look!" Danny gestured frantically to the deep scratches that were indented into Blair's revealed arms. "The—the blood's slowing down—isn't it? And it seems like the cuts are…are disappearing."
Logan blinked rapidly. He couldn't believe Danny's words—so he looked for himself. To his amazement and relief, the wounds were disappearing. And the blood had stopped flowing entirely now. And slowly, moment by moment, the cuts on the rest of Blair's body began disappearing as well. "This…this isn't possible," Logan stammered, hardly believing his eyes. "It can't be…she—she died…she had no pulse…."
"How do you know? Did you even bother to check her pulse?" Danny replied, his eyes widening in wonder.
"Well—well—Blair…Blair, can you hear me?" Logan fell to his knees again and eyed Blair up and down. She was breathing noticeably now, and, although she was still covered in blood, fresh blood had stopped contributing to the mess.
"Blair…" Danny whispered desperately, shaking her shoulder. "Blair…say something…please….."
Then, very abruptly and what could only be caused by a miracle, Blair sat up and gasped as if she'd never breathed before in her life. "Danny…Logan…" she panted, staring down at her torn shirt and blood-coated body. "Wh-what happened? I—I was dead, wasn't I? I died…it was all dark and silent and…and…the pain was gone…and…it's still gone…but I'm…alive."
"Blair…oh my God…oh my God…" Danny gasped, staring at Blair as if he didn't believe that she was actually there. He quickly turned to Logan, "How—how is sh-she alive?"
Logan, however, did not respond. He was staring at Blair disbelievingly, too. Maybe she wasn't really there…maybe he was hallucinating…. "Blair…" he said slowly, "how are you—how did—"
"I guess I just—healed," Blair replied simply, wobbling as she stood back up on her feet. Danny and Logan followed her lead and stood, too.
"That doesn't make sense," Logan disagreed, shaking his head. "Are you sure you're not a ghost?"
"No," Blair snapped. "I don't know what happened—did you happen to touch me?—maybe that healed me—"
"No, I didn't, I was careful not to," Logan interrupted. "I thought that, since the claws make you bleed a lot, that it wouldn't help anything…I thought it would contribute to the bleeding…."
"Oh." Blair shook her head. Why was she alive? Victor had done everything tragic and heartless to her except ripped her into tiny shreds—which he might as well have done. She should be dead…gone….
"Hey, Blair," Danny said quietly, a slight trace of interest and yet panic crossing his face. "Hey…what's up with your hands?—Blair—are your nails—sharper?" he gasped.
"Wait—what?" Blair said carefully. "I don't think—" Blair cut herself off and glanced down at her nails with much curiosity. Danny was right. They were sharper. Sharp enough for someone to notice without much effort, at least.
Logan and Danny both exchanged nervous glances.
"Are you sure you didn't steal Victor's power?" Logan asked, staring at Blair's hands.
"No…I can't…he's been using this…this formula that Stryker developed…so I can't use my power against him," Blair explained, eyeing her nails anxiously.
"Well, maybe Stryker's formula isn't as full-proof as he thinks," Logan snorted.
"I never said it was full-proof," Blair murmured, still interested in her hands that were now slightly clawed. "Anyway, if I had copied Victor's power, which I obviously haven't, I think, then I would have the teeth to match the claws—and the claws would be…er, sharper."
"Maybe you copied, um, half of his power?" Danny butted in, sounding unsure of his assumption.
Blair giggled humorlessly. "Because I can so do that," she remarked sarcastically.
"Well—" Logan began slowly, "maybe you can…how long have you had your power, kid?"
"Er…" Blair hesitated, counted absentmindedly on her newly-clawed fingers, and then said, "Um…two years, maybe three."
"Believe me, Blair, you don't know everything about your power yet," Logan assured her, smiling slightly.
"How would you know?" Blair retorted disbelievingly.
"I just do, all right?"
"Okay, for argument's sake, let's say I did copy half of Victor's power—what about the healing? Was that his, too?" Blair mumbled unsurely.
"No," Logan replied immediately. "Well, he does heal…quickly, but you were really screwed, Blair. I don't think his stupid healing ability could've saved you, especially since you said when you copy someone's power it's a little weaker. But my healing ability, on the other hand, could've saved you…so it could've been me…" Logan's voice trailed off.
"But I didn't take your power," Blair argued. She shook her head, her expression highly confused. "This doesn't make any sense…."
"No, it doesn't," Logan and Danny both agreed.
"Okay…okay…" Blair said, sighing uneasily. "We'll figure this…this creepy power thing out later, all right? Let's—wait, where's Gambit?"
Logan and Danny both stared at each other unsurely, biting their lips. "Erm…uh…uh…well…" Logan said slowly, "me and Danny, well, it was Danny's idea to leave him behind—"
Blair's eyes widened in horror. "You left him behind? Are you insane!? Now Victor and Emma are going to take him to the island! Alone!"
"Actually," Danny interrupted, "Emma left…Victor'll be furious…."
"No, he won't," Blair disagreed flatly, "he hates her. He told me…."
"Oh, that must've been an interesting conversation," Logan replied, slightly amused. "'Oh, Blair, I hate your sister—okay, I'm going to kill you now.'"
Blair rolled her eyes absently. "Not quite," she said hotly. "It was more like—'I'm going to kill your sister and I want you to take her place and help me kill people. Oh yeah, and if you don't agree, I'm going to make you die a slow and painful death.'"
Logan's amused expression dropped entirely. "Wh…what? He wanted you to help him?"
"Yeah…I said no though, obviously…," Blair murmured, shuddering delicately at the thought of all the pain she'd gone through only minutes ago.
"That's—" Logan started to say. However, he never concluded his sentence—because he was interrupted by a piercing scream that emitted from the distance. And it wasn't Gambit's scream—it was a female scream.
It was Emma's.
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Oh boo, Emma might be in trouble. –evil cackle-
Anyway, this chapter is, like, supperrr confusing. xD I'm sorry. :p
Of course, it's supposed to be confusing. So I guess I'm not sorry…. [weird face]
…
(;
Hope you liked it anyway. Review. (: