What Has Gone Before: In Devil's Due, the X-Men were massacred by Sinister's Marauders. 'Nuff said. In Today is a Good Day to Die, almost everyone else died in a counter-attack on Sinister. Generation X survived as well, even though they lost Jubilee, Banshee and Penance. Chamber is now a being of pure psionic energy as a result of being scrambled by Scrambler. In the aftermath, only Cannonball, Wolfsbane, Pete Wisdom, Shadowcat, Warpath and Shatterstar remain to form the new X-Men, while Domino replaces Banshee as an instructor for GenX, which brings us to the present...

Muir Isle, a week after the X-Men's funeral...

Shatterstar was a man of honor. He was raised to defend that honor through whatever means necessary, ranging from threats to beatings and sometimes even death. That's why he did not like being mocked or insulted. That was why such things made him angry.

Pete Wisdom, on the other hand, was as rude and insulting as they came, often going out of his way to be obnoxious to those around him as a means to distance himself from them. He had gotten better over time, having learned to let himself be friends with his teammates in Excalibur, or at least some of them. But he still loved throwing off a sarcastic insult here and there, just out of habit.

So it should have been no wonder that these two men would despise each other.

So it should have been no wonder that Shatterstar had Pete Wisdom pinned against a wall, threatening death with a dual-bladed sword to the throat, as a result of one such insult.

So it should have been no wonder that Pete Wisdom had a spread of hot knives aimed an inch from Shatterstar's face, holding them back with calm concentration, ready to burn through the younger man's cranium at the hint of pressure to his throat.

"Let me make this clear to you, Wisdom, I do not take being insulted lightly, especially from a stranger such as yourself." Shatterstar threatened.

"And I don't like having big knives stuck in me face either, you stupid git." Pete replied. The two men stood at a stalemate.

"All right, BACK OFF!" Cannonball stepped in between the two X-Men and forcefully separated them. "Ah know things are a bit tense around here, ya'll, but nearly killin' each other ain't gonna solve nothin'."

"I dunno, I think a haircut would do him a world of good." Pete muttered. Shatterstar was held back by Warpath. Barely.

"Star, Ah know yer big on honor and all that, but we can't have ya threatenin' a teammate just 'cause he's more'n a little abrasive." Sam started explaining to his friend. "Ah'm sure he doesn't mean nothin' by it, it's just the way he is."

"And Pete, Ah don't know ya too well, but Rahne's told me a lot about ya. She says ya can be a nice guy when ya try." Pete glared at Rahne, who blushed under his gaze, then glared again at Sam. "So all Ah'm askin' is that ya try not ta step on Star's toes, and Ah'm sure he'll watch out for yours."

"If he asks us t'kiss and make up, I'll hit 'im." Pete mumbled to Kitty, standing next to him. She smiled softly, but he could tell her heart wasn't in it.

With the tension lowered to an acceptable level of mutual disgust, Shatterstar and Wisdom left the room in opposite directions, glaring at each other with fire in their eyes. Kitty followed Pete and Jimmy followed Shatterstar, both hoping to keep the fragile peace. Sam slumped in his chair, sighing heavily.

"Ah shoulda known better than ta think this'd be easy." Sam muttered, and Rahne walked over to offer him her generous support. "Ah thought Star stopped bein' so short-tempered a long time ago. Ah guess some people never change."

"D'nae take it sae hard, Sam. Pete can get anyone t'act up, even me, an' from what ye've told me aboot Shatterstar, A think yuir lucky he didn't gut Pete on the spot." Rahne said to her old friend, smiling encouragingly.

"Ah guess yer right." Sam breathed deeply, then decided to change the subject. "Didja ever think we'd be here?"

"Pardon?" Rahne asked, curious.

"X-Men. Back when we were still New Mutants, didja ever expect ta be an X-Man one day?" Sam thought back to his own days as a New Mutant. Of them all, he'd had by far the most difficulty in controlling his powers, no matter how hard he tried.

"Nae. A had such a hard time as a New Mutant, A never thought A would even graduate, much less become an X-Man -- or a member of X-Factor or Excalibur, for that matter." Rahne sat down next to him. "And A certainly never expected any o' us t'be leadin' the X-Men." He took her comment well.

"Ah never did, that's for sure." Sam ran his hand through his hair. "And Ah never expected it ta happen like it did, either." He thought of all the X-Men who had died, deeply regretting the fact that he had failed to get to know them personally in his time with them. Now he'd never get the chance to make any real friends among them, and that fact hurt. Losing his true friends in X-Force, especially Tabitha and Roberto -- hurt too much to think about.

"Me neither." Rahne looked down at her feet, a pained look on her face. "A never thought it'd hurt sae much."

Sam's brotherly instincts took over instantly, putting his arm around her shoulders, trying to offer his best friend what little comfort he could. "Ah know, Rahney. Ah know. It hurts me, too."

The residence wing's main hallway...

"Look Kitty, I don't see why I have to play nice to the twit." Pete was angry that he'd been asked to change his behavior. "If he can't take the heat..." He trailed off, lighting a cigarette with a hot-knife.

"I know, Pete, but Shatterstar's... a bit temperamental, from what I've heard. And things are tense enough around here as it is..." Kitty looked at her feet, her expression deeply sad. Pete picked up on it instantly and decided there were more important things that needed dealing with.

"I don't know what to say, Kitty." Pete said, honestly. "I know you losing the X-Men is like me losin' me mother, they were your family. And I know it hurts a lot, but death happens, and we have to move on..." Pete gently took her hand in his.

"But that's just it, Pete. I don't know if I even want to move on." She tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear unconsciously, then covered her eyes, pulling her hand away from Pete's. "You're right, the X-Men were like family to me, and losing them like this..." Kitty shook her head and then looked around nervously. "I don't know, I can't deal with this right now, I've got work to do." Kitty walked off quickly towards the computer lab, leaving Pete by his bedroom door.

He watched her leave with knowing eyes, fighting back the impulse to rush in and fix all her problems for her, because he knew he'd be pushed even further away. Everyone handled stress differently, and this way was Kitty's, but Pete knew enough to know that the road Kitty was going down led to nothing but trouble. He'd be there to help her turn back before it was too late.

The new Danger Room...

"That's still no reason to gut him, 'Star." Warpath said, lunging at his teammate, and again missing. The game they were playing was essentially 'tag', with Jimmy trying to lay a hand on Shatterstar. Despite his superior speed and strength, James was finding the task a lot more difficult than he had expected.

"He insulted my honor..." Shatterstar leapt up, dodging Jimmy's lunge, and using the Apache's head to leap up even further to the gymnastic rings above, formerly used by the deceased Nightcrawler.

"So what? We all do that!" Jimmy muttered a curse at seeing Shatterstar swinging above him, far out of reach.

"And the only reason that I allow you to do that is because you are my troopmates, and have earned my respect. Wisdom has not." Shatterstar bounded down the corner of the far walls. "And frankly, I do not see him earning that respect anytime soon." With a final leap, Shatterstar landed on the ground, prepared for James to make another rush.

"Well, since he is your 'troopmate' now, you're going to have to learn to like him," James dashed and missed. "Or at least learn to not take his insults personally."

"And what if he were to insult your ancestry, Proudstar? Would you simply let it go?" Shatterstar flipped over Jimmy, landing on the other side, then hit his lower back just hard enough to make him feel it.

"I'd break his nose over my knee, then tell him I'd do worse the second time." Jimmy spun and jabbed where he thought Shatterstar would be, but he wasn't. "But I still wouldn't kill him."

"So you admit that you'd retaliate with force to an insult, yet you find fault with my reaction?" Shatterstar rolled between Jimmy's legs, stood, then snapped a light kick to the back of Jimmy's knee, bringing the significantly larger man low. "I find it curious that you'd be so openly hypocritical."

"Shatterstar, making fun of the way you talk is hardly on par with making fun of my heritage." Jimmy swung his leg back, but missing Shatterstar as he jumped over it.

"It was an insult, and I reacted in kind." Shatterstar flipped backwards and landed on a pommel horse perfectly. "But the point is moot. I know that your world handles these situations in vastly different ways than mine handles them, and I will do my best to... respond as your world's customs would deem appropriate. Whether or not he will make the same allowances for my culture, I cannot say."

Jimmy stopped moving, looking at Shatterstar standing on the gymnastic equipment, then gave a defeated sigh. "All right, I admit it, I couldn't lay a hand on you. Game over. You win."

"Fekt. Just as I was getting warmed up, too," he muttered, then leaped up to the jungle gym of rings, bars and ropes stretched across the ceiling, continuing his workout.

Jimmy paused to watch briefly, then continued. "Hey Star, I was wondering, how are you dealing with Rictor's death? I know you two were pretty good pals and..."

"The man is dead, and he died honorably as a warrior. On my world, that is something to be proud of, and should be remembered that way by the living. I still do not understand why your culture mourns death so much." Shatterstar flipped from a set of rings to some uneven bars. "I have avenged his death by killing his killer, so now he can rest in peace." He twirled and straightened his body up in a vertical line. "Do I miss him? Certainly. He was my only friend on this planet for a very long time, and with him gone, I have none left. But he is dead, I am not, and there's nothing left to be done about it except move on."

"So the rest of us aren't your friends?" Jimmy was truly surprised to hear this. He had considered everyone in X-Force to be his friend, even Shatterstar, and thought the same in return. "Even Sam and me?"

"You are... my troopmates, yes, but to me, friendship is something that is not given lightly, and then only to those who have earned it. Not to offend you, but I would not consider us true friends." Shatterstar swung up to another bar and spun around it gracefully.

"Okay, so how does someone 'earn' your friendship?" Jimmy was starting to get truly interested now. This was a side of Shatterstar that he didn't often see.

"Meltdown earned my friendship by standing up for my claims during that Benjamin Russell debacle, as I had earned hers by respecting her privacy when the rest of you did not. Prosh was another I would consider a friend because, of you all, he was the only one who showed an interest in becoming as aware of my culture and history as I was of yours."

"Your history confuses me." Jimmy muttered, and Shatterstar ignored him.

"Rictor helped me to understand your planet in ways I never could have hoped to alone. Being his friend allowed me to fit in with this world, and when he left I feared I would be as overwhelmed by Earth culture as I had been before. And looking back on the utter mess my life became during his absence, I'd say my fears were justified."

"Hey, I was born here, and I still have trouble fitting in with everyone else. Trust me, you're not the first one to feel all alone in a crowd." Jimmy's tone reeked of depressed angst as his thoughts turned to X-Force, his brother Johnny, Siryn, the Hellions, his tribe and all the other close friends he'd lost over the years. Shatterstar leaped down to the ground and rolled to a standing position.

"That is good to know. I would discuss this with you further, but I have an appointment to keep." He picked up his sword case and started walking towards the door. "Same time tomorrow?"

"Yeah, sure." Jimmy waved to Shatterstar half-heartedly. Once the alien samurai was gone, Jimmy turned back to the gym, specifically the equipment designed for use by Colossus and Captain Britain. He still needed to let off some steam.

Moira's lab...

"What's the emergency?" Kitty grumbled, setting down what she called her 'first-aid kit for computers.' "I wasn't supposed to get to these until tomorrow."

"A know, but it's been actin' up again. A cannae seem t'get the blasted thing t'hook up with any o' me medical databases. There's something ye got oot o' Sinister's computers that seems t'be messin' things up." With her research facility leading the fight against the Legacy Virus, as well as her incredible pull within the medical community, Moira MacTaggart had access to every known medical database around the world to help with her mission. Losing that connection had seriously hampered her efforts towards finding a cure and, being infected with it herself, that presented a potentially fatal problem.

A moment later, the door to the room opened again and Shatterstar walked in, freshly showered from his workout. Moira turned back to Kitty and explained. "He's here f'r his medical exam. A've already got Pete, Rahne an' ye done, but A don't have many recent records on Star, Sam, Rachel or Jimmy. A'll be in there if'n ye need me." Moira went into the next room and started setting out her equipment, talking to Shatterstar at the same time.

"A remember that ye d'nae like scientists much, Star, but this has t'be done if the other X-Men and ye are goin' t'be stayin' here."

With the X-Mansion gutted by the Marauders shortly after they slaughtered the X-Men, Sam and Moira decided that Muir Isle would make a far better headquarters for the X-Men. Of course, Rahne's none-too-delicate assertion that she was not leaving her foster mother alone until she cured the Legacy Virus, Pete's own adamant opposition to moving to the States, the painful memories left in the mansion, and finally the growing threat of Operation: Zero Tolerance in America, made their decision to relocate the X-Men's headquarters to Scotland all the more simple.

The only part of the plan they were uncomfortable with was leaving Generation X there, in the U.S. Sam had thought of having them move into Muir Isle as well, for their own safety, but he knew that the kids would need a stable environment like the Academy to help get over losing Banshee, Jubilee and Penance, as well as Jono's own... problem. It remained an option for the future, assuming that Emma and Domino would agree, of course.

"I still do not see why this is absolutely necessary. My body heals itself without need of a physician, and you are correct, I do not like scientists." Moira ignored Shatterstar and took a blood sample.

"If yuir goin' t'be stayin' on me island, yuir goin' t'have this done. Not ifs, ands or buts about it." Moira peeked at Shatterstar, hoping to see a look of disgusted acceptance, but was disappointed to see no reaction at all. His face was as expressionless as always. She changed the subject. "A heard aboot yuir little scuffle wi' Pete this morn."

"That is correct." Shatterstar responded flatly as Moira put the sample in an odd contraption and activated it.

"A've never seen anyone react sae violently t'his insults before. A wonder if he'll back off or nae." She continued speaking with her back turned to him. "Nah, he'd give up drinkin' first. Want t'hear an alternative solution t'beatin' him up?"

Shatterstar didn't really, but knew that some conversation would help his exam go faster. "Go on."

"The best way t'shut Pete down is wi' his own medicine. Insult him back." She took his blood pressure and measured his heart rate. In truth, her real motive for suggesting this to Shatterstar was to prevent having to treat either he or Pete for injuries later, but she was also curious about exactly what the alien samurai could come up with for an insult. She also remembered the beating Colossus gave Pete when the Russian came to Muir, and how long it took to heal them both afterwards. She wasn't in the mood for a repeat performance though, if her own future went as she expected it to, she wouldn't have to worry about much of anything anymore.

"That is not the way a warrior handles things." Before Moira could respond, he continued. "But since permanently or even temporarily damaging him in any way is out of the question, I suppose insults would be an... adequate retaliation."

"That's the spirit." She smiled faintly and walked over to another machine, entering the information she'd just gotten. Before she could continue, however, a loud, angry trail of expletives was heard from Kitty in the computer lab.

"What is it now, Kitty?" Moira asked curiously.

"Whatever we got from Sinister's stuff has hit more than just your database access, Moira. It's infecting the entire system." Kitty typed away furiously, but to no avail.

"Have you tried rerouting its progress?" Shatterstar asked.

"Yeah." She responded without thinking, then turned to Shatterstar. "You know computers?"

"I am familiar with them, yes." He looked at the data running across the screen. "I think I recognize this problem, and it could be very dangerous." Shatterstar motioned to Kitty's keyboard. "May I?"

"And exactly what makes you think you can do something I can't?" Kitty snapped. She had tried almost everything she knew for isolating technical problems, and it had all failed. The presumptions of someone she barely knew and considered to be a stereotypical warrior-jock insulted her intelligence and pride. Besides, he'd threatened her boyfriend earlier and was now pretty low on her list of favorite people.

"Because I have seen this exact same problem before." Shatterstar said matter-of-factly, then sat down at another console and scanned the data before looking back to Kitty. "Back in X-Force, quite some time ago, Cable had a sentient computer program called Professor, later known as Prosh. Being such a unique program, it required very specific modifications that Cable's systems provided." Shatterstar glanced at the screen again carefully. "Whatever it is that's in your system is presently searching for those same modifications, and it is not finding them. Unless I am mistaken, there is a sentient program on here that is trying to talk to us."

"What's it saying?" Kitty asked, putting aside her instinctual contempt for Shatterstar's presumptuous attitude in her desire for any available information. "Do you think it's one of Sinister's programs?" That could be very dangerous. A last laugh from the now-dead geneticist. "Start analyzing, Shatterstar. I want to find out everything there is to know about this program." Kitty ordered.

Shatterstar was already typing away quickly, all his concentration focused on analyzing the program. Kitty herself started accessing the same files. She looked at the listings carefully, recognizing something vaguely familiar, then realized what she was seeing. She'd seen those files when she and the rest of Excalibur tore down Black Air. When she had been searching through the mind of her friend, Douglock.

"This isn't one of Sinister's programs." She looked to Moira. "It's Doug." The Scots noblewoman stared back in shock, but Kitty turned to Shatterstar.

"Shatterstar, I want you to make whatever modifications to the system that Douglock needs while I retrieve his files. Do NOT alter anything unless it is absolutely necessary." Kitty still didn't trust Shatterstar's computing ability, and she'd worked too hard constructing the Muir Isle computer network to let anyone ruin it.

Both she and Shatterstar worked away on their computers, Kitty rerouting files she recognized from Lock's database to a single directory and Shatterstar making the modifications necessary for a sentient program. A few moments later, they both sat back and waited to see if their labors paid off.

::It is good to be alive.:: The disembodied, computerized voice rang out over the computer's speakers. ::I was wondering when you would get around to it::

"But how'd you survive?" Kitty was stunned.

::Survive what?::

"The attack on Sinister? Scalphunter destroyed your body."

::Really? I had a body? My earliest accessible memories begin exactly six days and 11 hours ago.::

"So you don't remember anything at all?"

::Should I? This is all terribly confusing.::

"Imagine our end of things." Moira muttered under her breath.

Realizing that things were going nowhere fast, Kitty decided to change the subject quickly. "Shatterstar, are there any more modifications we need to make for... um...?" Kitty paused, trying to decide what to call 'him'. This wasn't just an amnesiac Douglock, Kitty could tell, but someone completely different. When she was asked later about why she chose the name she did, she could not answer because she honestly didn't remember. It just... fit. "For Cypher?"

"Yes, there are a few, but it would be more efficient for... Cypher, to make those alterations himself, without our interference."

"Then let's leave him to it, I'll tell Rahne and Sam. Oh yeah, and Cypher, the same thing I told Shatterstar applies to you, too. Don't alter anything that you don't have to and I want a detailed report of everything you touched. Everything." Kitty got up and left the lab. The two New Mutants had been feeling terribly guilty about their failure to protect Douglock from Scalphunter, and she hoped the news would help cheer them up somewhat.

Moira looked at Shatterstar and pointed to the examination table. "Move it on, lad, ye've still got t'get yuir exam."

Sam's room...

"Hello?" Sam said as he picked up the phone.

"Hey, Sam." Paige's voice had none of its usual strength, and Sam knew instantly that something was troubling his sister.

"There somethin' wrong?" Sam asked tentatively.

"No." Paige said a little too quickly. "Everything's fine, I just wanted to talk to you."

"What about?"

"Well, I... I cleaned out Jubilee's stuff today." Sam winced. He remembered when he had to put all of Doug's life into a simple cardboard box after he died, and how much it had hurt him. "And... I just don't know. I don't know what to do." Paige's voice was getting softer by the second. Sam knew better than to interrupt her, and let the moment of silence prompt her to continue.

"I just wish that everything could go back ta bein' the way it was before, y'know." Paige started saying. "Why'd this have to happen to us? What'd we do to deserve it? What'd Jubilee do to deserve gettin'..." She couldn't bring herself to say it. Jubilee had been raped.

"Nothin', Paige. No one ever deserves that."

"But then why! Why'd it happen?!" Paige's emotions started getting the best of her, which was something she rarely allowed. "And what about Penance? Or Mr. Cassidy? Why'd they have ta die?" Paige was fighting back tears with all her strength, but failing. "And then there's Jono." The comment hung in the air for a long time.

"What about Jono?" Sam prompted.

"He... even before the Marauders attacked, Jono always used ta be gloomy an' depressed, 'cause a' his powers. But now that he's lost his body, Ah think he's hit rock bottom." There was another brief pause. "He... he tried ta kill himself earlier this mornin'." Sam winced again, but let her continue. "His powers won't let him die. He tried to use Leech ta cancel his powers, but it didn't do more than weaken him."

"Should Ah come down? Do ya want me ta talk ta him?" Sam asked.

"No!" She said quickly. "Ah shouldn't even be tellin' ya this. Don't tell anyone Ah told ya, please?"

"Paige, Ah don't know if Ah can promise ya that. This is somethin' that needs ta be dealt with."

"And we'll handle it. Ms. Frost's been talking to him, and so has Domino. We'll handle it. It's our problem." Paige was getting defensive now.

"Ah won't interfere, Paige, Ah can promise ya that. Ah don't like keepin' secrets, and Ah think this is somethin' Moira needs ta know about, so she can maybe come up with a way ta help him." Sam insisted.

"Okay, Sam." Paige said, agreeing to the compromise. "And thanks for talking with me about this. I just needed someone to talk to."

"Ah'm always here for ya, Paige. Whenever ya need me, Ah'm just a phone call away."

"I'll call you tomorrow then, to let you know how things are working out." Paige said. "And thanks again for not interfering."

"Yer welcome." He said, knowing that certain things had to be dealt with internally and, by barging in with his own opinions, he'd only make matters worse. "Talk ta ya t'morrow." Sam said, then hung up the phone.

For a few moments, he sat and pondered the situation. If nothing else, all the death and turmoil they'd dealt with recently had helped to bring Paige and him closer together. Ever since she joined Generation X, there had been an uneasy tension between them.

Paige was always trying to outdo Sam at every turn or, at the very least, be everything to Generation X that Sam had been to the New Mutants. That ambition had driven a wedge between them, making them rivals of a sort, but now they were brother and sister again, and could depend on each other like the family they were. Despite everything that had happened to him and his friends only a week before, Sam found a fraction of comfort in that knowledge, and he was thankful for it.

With nothing left for him to do, Sam began wandering the Muir Isle facility, refreshing his memory of the large complex's layout. After a while, Sam had wandered to the area of Rachel's nursery, and heard her crying. With instincts somewhat more than brotherly, Sam went to check on the baby, to see what was the matter.

Meanwhile...

Much like her friend, Sam, Rahne was also wandering the halls of Muir Isle aimlessly. With so much on her mind, from losing most of her surrogate family to just finding out that Douglock's "soul" had survived, even if he was effectively reincarnated as someone else, Rahne needed a chance to sort out her thoughts -- to come to grips with what she was feeling.

Her thoughts then drifted to others who hadn't made it out of Sinister's lair alive, specifically the swashbuckling elf known as Kurt Wagner, The Nightcrawler. She remembered the way he spoke to her after they danced that time in the Danger Room, so many years ago, about not judging by appearances. When they next got a chance to talk about such matters, soon after her arrival in Excalibur, Kurt had been very impressed with how much growing up she'd done. They'd even danced again, without the need of the Danger Room's illusions. And now the silver-tongued devil was buried, along with the others, in the mansion's graveyard.

Her heart ached for them all, even those she never really knew. Rahne was an orphan, and ward of Reverend Craig, for almost fourteen years of her life. Growing up without a family had taught her how important families were, and losing any member, no matter how distant, hurt her deeply.

Lost in her thoughts, Rahne didn't realize that she had wandered to the gym, and was snapped out of her reverie by the sounds of something being beaten. Peeking in through the doorway, she saw Warpath pounding the life out of an inanimate punching bag.

"Jimmy?" Rahne asked tentatively. Jimmy spun to look at her, hellfire burning in his eyes. "D'ye want t'talk aboot it?"

"No." Jimmy said more harshly than he intended. Rahne felt hurt, briefly, at his angry reply. She thought about what to do next for a moment, then moved closer to him.

"Then maybe ye'd want t'listen?" Jimmy looked at the outwardly fragile girl and his anger cooled at the sad look on her face.

"Sure." Jimmy said, his released stress returning almost as soon as it'd been spent. He might not want help with his problems, but how could he refuse to help someone else with theirs? "What's bothering you?"

Rahne sat down on the gym floor and curled herself up into a ball, her chin resting on her forearms as they held her knees to her chest. Jimmy sat cross-legged next to her, listening.

"As a ward o' Reverend Craig's church, A never had a family. The other children in Kinross, they laughed at an' humiliated me wi' every chance they got, so A never had any friends, either." She remembered at how naive she had been on the first day of school, developing a crush on Roberto from a simple kiss on her hand. "Sae when A first came tae Xavier's school, everythin' was sae new t'me, and sae scary at the same time. A was completely overwhelmed. After almost fourteen years o' havin' nae family nor friends, A had both, an' plenty o' them, too. Includin' a mother in Lady Moira, which was a prayer come true."

Jimmy leaned in closer, remembering how much he had hurt after losing his family and friends. He understood what was troubling Rahne. "Nothing hurts worse than losing family, Rahne. Nothing." He put a firm hand on Rahne's shoulder. "When I lost Johnny, I sat in my room for over a week, not even eating, just sitting there, crying until I couldn't cry any more. I blamed Xavier and the X-Men with all my heart, hating them all for taking my brother from me."

It was Jimmy who now wore the sad look on his face as he spoke. "Then I found a way to get my revenge -- by joining the Hellions and learning to control my powers. I even kidnapped Banshee and tricked some of the other Hellions into helping me get my revenge. I never thought I'd be friends with any of the other students, but I did, eventually, start to care for them all like a second family. When I left the team to live with my real family, it hurt, but I just couldn't be a Hellion anymore." Jimmy put a large hand on his forehead and shut his eyes. The emotional dam he had put around himself was getting ready to burst.

"When they were all killed, I was furious. I had lost my best friends and I hated myself for not being there for them when they needed me most. If I hadn't already lost my family, my tribe, to some meaningless massacre, I probably would've tried to avenge them against Fitzroy, too." Jimmy was on the verge of tears now. "I survived the Camp Verde Massacre by less than a day, you know that? Cable had called me and arranged a meeting, to try and recruit me to the New Mutants, but I had refused. When I finally got back to the reservation, I found everyone burned and slaughtered. Everyone."

Jimmy's emotions had overwhelmed him completely. "I survived the Hellion Massacre simply by quitting the team a mere month before Fitzroy attacked. Then, as if that wasn't enough already, I lost Terry, someone I cared about more than I though I could. And when almost everybody else in X-Force died, I survived just because I was 'lucky' enough to have Cable watching my back. How many times will it happen, Rahne? How many times will I lose everyone I've ever cared about while I live on? Will the rest of you be next? It's not fair to them, to you, or to me. For all my second chances, I've accomplished absolutely nothing with my life." Jimmy looked at Rahne, his expression betraying all his painful emotions. "At least Sam has the excuse of immortality for this sort of thing. The only thing I've got is a cursed luck." Jimmy sat there, his heart and soul laid bare before the New Mutant.

Rahne hugged the Apache carefully, letting him cry on her shoulder. For all his immense strength and size, James Proudstar was a broken man. So weakened on the inside that even facing the day was difficult for him without an emotional shell. But where Jimmy was weak, Rahne was strong. She could help him more than anyone else.

"It's nae yuir fault, Jimmy. Ye d'nae have t'feel guilty, just because ye survived." Rahne's thoughts drifted back to her days in X-Factor, when the villainess Haven had managed to cure her of the Genoshan mutate bonding process, but had failed to cure Jamie Madrox, the Multiple Man, of his Legacy Virus infection. She'd escaped death when hundreds of other mutates and Jamie had not. For a long time, she had felt the same sort of survivors' guilt Jimmy was feeling now.

"Ye survived for a reason, Jimmy, never forget that. God has a special purpose for ye, something that only He knows, because He's watched oot for ye sae carefully."

"That's a shallow comfort, Rahne, to think that everyone I've ever really cared about had to be snuffed out just because I was meant to fulfill some 'special purpose'. Why not Johnny? He deserved this far more than me." Jimmy looked at Rahne, gaining control over himself once more.

"God works in mysterious ways, and it's nae for us t'ask why, but t'simply know that there are reasons beyond our ken for what He does." Rahne hugged him tightly then, and James returned it.

"I still don't know if I buy that or not, but thanks for your help anyway." Jimmy stood up with Rahne's help. "I'm not a Christian, Rahne, but I see where you're coming from, and I'll do my best to accept what you've told me."

"That's all A can ask o' ye." She said, then turned to leave, letting Jimmy be alone, to think things over. But before she left the gym, Jimmy spoke up.

"It sounds like Rachel's crying," he said.

Rahne shifted to her wolf-girl form, enhancing her own hearing, and heard it as well. "Och, I better see what's the matter." She shifted to full wolf form and darted up the stairs towards Rachel's nursery.

--Um... exactly when did Rahne become Rachel's mother?-- Jimmy thought, watching the door she left through in silence.

Rachel's nursery...

Rahne approached the open door quietly. Rachel's crying had stopped, but she decided to check on the baby anyway. She then heard a soft singing come from the room, moments before peeking in and seeing Sam there, singing a soft lullaby to Rachel, who was resting comfortably in his arms, while they rocked slowly in a rocking chair. After feeling a brief shame for her eavesdropping, Rahne sat down outside the door, listening to the Kentuckian sing his soft bedtime song.

Before she realized it, Rahne was lost in Sam's voice, listening to the song, her eyelids heavy. She felt so content, sitting there in the doorway, listening to the country lullaby. With his eyes closed, Sam sung the song again and again, drifting off to a hum as he, too, began to fall asleep. The trio of mutants rested peacefully, and probably would have remained that way until morning if things were to continue as they were. But they weren't.

"Come back you stupid flying rat! That's me last pack o' cigs!" Pete Wisdom yelled, chasing Lockheed down the hallway, who had a package of cigarettes in his jaws. "You'll be givin' those back right now or Kitty's gonna have a new purple leather purse come Monday morn!" The two disappeared down the hall, the noise of their passing going with them.

With a jolt, both Sam and Rahne woke up, then looked at each other in embarrassment, Rahne for her eavesdropping, and Sam for his singing. Fortunately, Rachel stirred for only a moment, but then went back to sleep quickly, trying to get back to the nice dream she was having.

Standing up, Sam carried Rachel over to the sock drawer that was being used as her bed and laid her down to rest, covering her with a thin blanket. Quietly tip-toeing out of the room, he shut the door behind himself, then looked to Rahne, a sheepish grin on his face. "Mah Pa used ta' sing that song ta me, when Ah was a young'un. Him singin' that song ta me is one a' mah earliest memories."

"Ye have a beautiful voice." Sam's embarrassment grew at the praise, and he couldn't find the words to respond. "Ye had me fallin' asleep, too."

Sam finally found his voice. "It's a great song. Even when Ah was older, and didn't need ta be sung to, Ah'd still pitch a fit before bed, just so mah Pa would sing that song ta me. Ah wonder if little Rachel is gonna pull the same trick on me some day."

Rahne walked from the nursery and over to her room, while Sam remained at Rachel's door, as it was his night to keep watch over the infant. At their separate doors, they turned to each other and smiled.

"G'night, Furtop," Sam whispered.

"Good night, Sam," she whispered back. For many moments, they both stood there and stared at each other, saying nothing. But eventually, they looked away and went to their beds.

Something was there that wasn't there before.

Further down the hall...

"And if you ever steal my cigs again, I'm goin' to make you drink Moira's coffee for a week." Pete said, pointing at the small dragon that he was holding by the scruff of his neck. Lockheed squirmed in Pete's grip, then Pete noticed an evil glint in the purple dragon's eye. Before Pete could blink, Lockheed bit down hard on Pete's pointing finger.

Following a long stream of profanities and threats of fatal violence, Pete grabbed his injured finger and sucked on it tenderly. Now free, Lockheed raced off for Kitty's room. He'd be safe there.

Kitty's room...

Kitty sat on her floor, tinkering with a computer system. It was the fifth she'd fixed that day, and far from the last. She had to work, and there was so much of it needing to be done. Or rather, there was so much work that Kitty needed to do. To keep herself, and her thoughts, busy. Anything else other than dealing with the loss in her heart.

Lockheed raced in and dodged Kitty's arms to get under her bed. His head peeked out a second later, a smug grin plastered on his face. Not that he had much choice in the matter, since Lockheed's jaws were always set in a wide grin, but that's not the point.

Pete followed suit a second later, rushing into Kitty's room. "Bloody 'ell!" He skidded to a halt just inside the door, noticing the large spread of computer pieces on the floor. "It's almost two in the morning, Kitty, what're you doin' working on this stuff?" He'd deal with Lockheed later.

"Couldn't sleep." She didn't want to tell him that every time she tried to sleep, she woke up from a nightmare in a cold sweat.

"Couldn't or wouldn't?" Pete asked.

"Pete, I just need to do this."

"It can be done in the morning."

"No, it can't."

"Why not?"

"Because it has to be done."

Any suspicions Pete had had before were dissolved by that point. He knew she was getting defensive, and any attempt to help her now would only mean she wouldn't let him help her later, so he decided to let things lie there before they got any worse. "Just remember, when you want to talk about it, you know where to find me."

Pete left the room and got ready for bed.

To Be Continued...