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Bellion's mind was trapped in a world of pain. Images that he had long ago banished from his mind were flooding him until he could think of nothing else. His father was a common image that he saw. He and his mother's crying face. He felt another wave of pain as a memory filled him.

"What kind of son have you given me Karlin? He sits and stars at the sky all day! He makes no weapons…he has no desire to learn how to hunt… What use is he?"

Bellion watches his past unfold before him as his beautiful mother hurries to cover the ears of his younger self. It doesn't matter. His mother tried to protect him but he always knew that his father resented having him as a son.

"He is marked as the next Shaman! He will become important to the tribe…give him time." As she speaks she strokes the younger Bellion's loose white hair. Shamans were 'marked' by unusual features and since the day of his birth Bellion's snow white hair gave him one path in life. At that time he had only earned two small ornaments rather than the numerous ones he wore today.

His father shook his head, his body broad with strength, easily marking him as the lead hunter for the tribe. He was one of the Chief's most trusted men and while in the eyes of the rest of the tribe he was a proud and caring father. Only Bellion and his Mother knew of his anger.

The younger Bellion pretends he hears nothing as he continues to look at the clouds. His mentor says that he can use the universe to seek out answers and he looks at a passing cloud and wonders if he will ever make his father proud.

He begins to see a vision that has promise but it is crushed when he can hear his father's muffled voice say "He is not … and never will be my son."

XXX

Scott dodged another vicious stab in his direction from Bellion as his mind tried to find a solution to this problem. There was very little time to actually made a decision, and his choices were limited. He could either hurt Bellion…or kill him.

Scott knew that killing had never been and never would be an option for him. So his only realistic action would be to incapacitate Bellion. That way they could complete their mission of rescuing the children and then find a way to reverse the effects of the drugs and torture he had endured. Somehow…

He knew that one of the most important parts of being an effective leader was being able to make the correct decision quickly. He closed his eyes behind his visor as he made his choice. It was one of the rare moments that he was tempted to abuse his position as leader and order one of the other mutants to take out Bellion.

However…he could not do that. It was partially his fault that the intruders were able to bypass his security and break into the school. It was his responsibility to help Bellion in any way that he could…even if that meant hurting him for the time being.

He waited for the controlled Shaman to come close and he reached forward and pulled Bellion against him as he pressed his fingers deftly against a sensitive nerve in the neck. He appeased his conscious as he watched as Bellion slipped painlessly into unconsciousness.

He gently cradled the Shaman against his chest before Hank came forward to carefully take him. He turned his narrowed eyes to Stryker only to find the man missing. He knew that Bellion was nothing more than a diversion and that thought only increased his age. That the gentle Shaman had been tainted in such a way as only a minor part of the corrupted man's plan.

He didn't hesitate as they followed the only path left to them and try to rescue the children. The rest of the team followed quickly making sure to protect Hank as they moved so he could begin a basic assessment of the Shaman.

XXX

Logan found himself falling to the back of the moving group, making sure they were covered from behind as his mind went over what had happened. He had been surprised at his own reaction when Magneto had pointed out they had no choice but to neutralize the Shaman.

He had found himself both interested in what course of action the pompous leader would take; and irritated that it was the calm Shaman that was in such a position.

What surprised him even more was the rush of rage he felt as Scott took the correct course of action. Watching the Shaman go limp and weak affected him more than he had thought. He wanted to tear off Scott's hands himself but he snapped out of it as Hank had come into his vision.

Logan wondered where these emotions were coming from. He was only just accepting the fact that he could stand the Shaman. Because of his lifestyle he usually wasn't fond of people who just let life happen to them.

Bellion was the type to just let the punches of life roll off of him while Logan would give a few right hooks back. It took him time but he had come to admire that trait of the Shaman. It was admirable in its own way. Logan's life was a constant struggle against a rushing river, while Bellion seemed to easily float on the surface of chaos.

It made him wonder just where he had learned that skill, and what had possibly caused him to need it.

XXX

Scott found himself looking back at Hank more than once; and not to check his position. His gaze constantly fell to the immobile form in his arms. His heart clenched every time he saw Bellion's slack emotionless face and he found himself asking 'How could I do it?'

Soon the tunnel led them to what he assumed was the outside of the motherboard for the underground facilities system. They used Mystique to take Stryker's place as they made orders that would make the man's task of getting to the children more difficult. While at the same time giving them a key to the hole they were being kept.

He hoped for Stryker's sake there was a way to undo the mess he had made of Bellion's mind. If not…Scot wasn't sure what he was going to do. That in itself was a shock to him. He always knew what he was going to do… he always had a plan of action and a course to take. Why had meeting Bellion changed that?

XXX

Xavier found the children that were being held and a quick glance through their minds told him that they were all frightened, but safe and well.

Looking through the guards they had come across he had been horrified to find that Stryker wanted to create a mutant army that was under his control. With them he planned on creating panic and chaos giving the President no choice but to take decisive action against Mutants everywhere.

He shook his head and wondered if the man could see that it was own grief that was causing his reckless and harmful actions. Charles doubted it, being a telepath gave one a unique insight into people's actions. The perspective was often hard for the person themselves to see or even understand.

They found the children and Magneto destroyed the door. An alarm sounded but they were already headed back for the jet. Magneto and Mystique pulled away. They had helped the X men as much as they could… they still had their own plans to fulfill.

Charles understood their choice and bowed his head in thanks for their help restoring the children. He knew that Eric had more of his humanity in him than he liked to think. However in its rare appearance it could be brilliant when it showed through.

XXX

Magneto watched Charles and the children run to safety and found himself wishing them well. He honestly appreciated Charles's vision…and at one time thought it to be the hope of the future. Time and humanity had shown him that Charles's dream would never work as long as people like Stryker, mutant hating humans, were in the world.

He turned to Mystique and said graciously "I believe there is a serum we need to collect."

Mystique smirked at her malevolent leader and followed him down another hall.

Magneto had no time to think about the damage to the door he caused, or the fact that the way he did it had accidently caused a tear through one of the main support beams. The alarm sounded later, but seemed to blend in with the other alarms that were wailing at this point.

XXX

The X men made it to the Jet and Scott never thought that he would be happier to see the machine. With the children safe at the mansion the Professor and Hank could begin their work on cleaning Bellion's system and his mind.

It wasn't until Storm took the controls that panic started to rise "Something is wrong. We can't lift off…"

Scott frowned; it was true that the Jet had been through much during this span of time. However he wondered what had caused it to malfunction in such a way. He wasn't too concerned, they could hold this ground if they needed to while the repairs were done.

His sense of urgency was quickened when the saw what one of the alarms had been about as Rouge spotted the large cracks in the dam that had formed and were now tearing apart. "What should we do?" He heard whispered from the back… He didn't know…

XXX

Jean was watching with wide eyes filled with fear and understanding as the Dam began to break apart. The water would consume the valley and everything in it. The jet wouldn't be able to withstand the pressure and most…if not all of them… would drown in the flood.

She knew then with earth shattering realization what her vision had been about. She was meant to do this…she was meant to save everyone and only at the cost of her life. She found herself kneeling by Bellion who was laid out on one of the benches and carefully strapped in.

"Hello…" She whispered softly as she gently brushed some of his fallen hair out of his face. "I didn't realize how much I have to say to you before now… I hope you can hear me….please take care of him for me."

She felt hot tears begin to well up in her eyes but continued "He needs someone…and I'm afraid that I always needed him more than he needed me… Maybe I wasn't strong enough or too selfish."

She shook her head, it was past too late for regrets now "He really is stubborn… he'll be broken for a while because of what I have to do…but please be there for him…" She clutched Bellion's cold limp hand for a moment before looking at Nightcrawler "Teleport me out of here and then come right back understand?"

Scott looked down at the control panel going through every program he could think of to restart the jet. It shocked him when the Jet came to life, but understanding suddenly came crushing down on him like a cold shower as he looked out the window and saw Jean standing and concentrating deeply. Outside of the jet.

"Jean!" He gasped realizing that she was the reason the controls were coming back online. He turned to Storm and said sharply "Take us down! We are not leaving without her."

It became clear then that this was not a choice for her. Storm had no control as the Jet continued to rise up into the air and the giant wave of water came crashing towards them. Nightcrawler's ability wouldn't let him transport to the outside, Jean was holding everyone where they were. Scott wondered what Jean had planned and the sickening feeling deepened when he saw the wave slow down.

Jean was doing all of this, but she wouldn't have been able to concentrate enough in the Jet to do it. He felt tears beginning to trail out of his eyes as he whispered softly "Jeannie."

He felt her softly enter his mind and clutched to her transmission "Scott I have to do this…please let me. I love you. Don't worry, you'll be happy. I know it."

Scott had no time to reply as the connection shut down and he watched from a fading distance as the wave of water swallowed the valley and everything in it.

More to come! Hope you enjoyed the update!