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By
the last breath of the fourth winds blow
Better raise your ears
The sound of hooves knock at your door
Lock up your wife and children now
It's time to wield the blade
For now you have got some company
"Wait up! Goin to see the pretty-pretties Morriden?" yelled
the small girl running through the tunnel.
"No Sarah. I'm just looking for something I lost yesterday,"
stated the tall boy as he reached down to pick up the girl.
"Oh, was it ‘portant?" she asked, brushing a piece of pink
hair out of her face.
"A bit. It was something I found when I was scavenging. I guess
I've lost it. Better than someone taking it from me I suppose..."
He sighed as he turned to head back to the tunnels.
As he carried Sarah back to the main area shouts and yells started to
greet his attention. Carefully, he put down Sarah and went to check it
out.
The horsemen are drawing nearer
On the leather steeds they ride
They have come to take your life
On through the dead of night
With the four horsemen ride
Or choose your fate and die
Callisto was fighting! Why!? And who was that white-haired women?
"Scuse me, coming thru, Caliban! What's going on? And why are you
holding that girl?" He called as he pushed his way to the tracker.
"Sprite child hurt. Storm is fighting Callisto for ruling of
Morlocks" Caliban quickly explained while not taking his eyes off
the fight.
Morriden relaxed somewhat as he watched it. Callisto was winning. That
upworlder was going to die. Nothing would have to change and he wouldn't
have to leave again. He rubbed his face in relief, feeling the rock/bone
like protrusion that accented all the curves of his face. He wasn't the
ugliest of Morlocks. Nor was he even approaching normal. Tall and thin
with grey/blue skin and black/blue hair he cut and interesting picture.
One he tried quite hard to hide from others. He had only been a part of
the Morlock community for a little while. He was not going to allow it
to be jeopardised by it being usurped by some stranger.
"Caliban, who is Storm?"
"Storm is weathergoddess. Caliban is worried for her. She is
fighting Callisto to the death"
"Great, wonderful. Why are you worried for the upworlder, Caliban"
The word upworlder was said with an unusual amount of venom.
"Storm is Caliban's friend. That is why he worries for her,"
was the simple reply.
"Whatever. Heh. Cal just cut her face. Not long now"
"Caliban thinks Morriden takes too much happiness from this"
You have been dying since the day You were born You know it has all been
planned
The quartet of deliverance rides
A sinner once a sinner twice
No need for confession now
Cause now you have got the fight of your life
"I
will hate any who threaten Callisto. Remember that" He said in a
quiet voice. It hurt him slightly to be cruel to child-like Caliban. But
if it came to it, he would willingly kill him. Not that it would.
Morriden was considered weak by Morlock standards. He was nothing but a
scavenger and one who watched over children. Powerless and young he was
little more than dead weight the majority of the time. Not to mention
almost always managing to get lost. For some reason he kept coming out
of the wrong tunnels when he was heading somewhere completely different.
Cries from the rest of the people brought him back to the present. He
turned to look in time to see Callisto get stabbed in the heart.
As one the crowd yelled. Most in anger. And some, shockingly, cheered.
Morriden watched with a feeling of illness as Callisto fell slowly to
the ground...
With an almost audible wrench he turned around and ran in the opposite
direction of the fight. Hopefully, for once he would get lost
permanently in the tunnels. As he ran, he heard the monster who had
killed Callisto declare herself leader of the Morlocks...
"Run, run. Find somewhere else... Gone, gone. Never to be seen
again..." Were the sad words that ran through his head.
The
horsemen are drawing nearer
On the leather steeds they ride
They have come to take your life
On through the dead of night
With the four horsemen ride
Or choose your fate and die
Faster he went until it was mostly a blur. Or it could have been the
tears in his eyes. He thought he had found a place. One that would not
be destroyed. And now that beast ruined that. What gave her the
right!? She did not live here! She was beautiful... And, he decided,
hideous. Destroyer. Killer. Upworlder.
Unexpectedly he emerged into a lit area. Specifically, a very familiar
area. He had returned to the Alley.
"B-b-but, I couldn't have run in a circle... I was going
straight!" He yelled.
"Tovarisch. What are talking about?" questioned a voice from
behind him.
Morriden quickly spun around to find himself face to chest with a man
made of metal. Odd. He didn't remember this Morlock. Something
crystalized in his head. He was one of the upworlders! Slowly
Morriden moved into what he assumed was a fighting stance.
"Get out of the tunnels," he stated in a cold voice.
"What is wrong with you? I have caused you no ill-will,"
petitioned the confused man.
"Out!" Morriden cried while launching himself at him. Pity he
didn't think what a head connecting quite forcefully with metal does to
someone...
A couple of minutes later.
"He's coming to. Colossus, what did you do to him!?"
"Nothing Kurt. He hit himself"
"He... hit himself?"
"Da. Did he not hear Storm's announcement?"
Time
Has taken its toll on you
The lines that crack your face
Famine
Your body it has torn through
Withered in every place
Pestilence
For what you have had to endure
And what you have put others through
Death
Deliverance for you for sure
There is nothing you can do
"Leave!" He cries again, helplessly hitting the metal man
(Colossus?). "You are not welcome here!"
"I am their leader and Colossus and Nightcrawler may be here if it
so pleases me." A strong regal voice said. Morriden looked up to
see the woman, Storm, his memory supplied, standing above him.
Her very look made him feel as if he was dirty and unworthy to be in her
presence. So he did the only logical thing in this case. He tried to
attack her as well.
*Zzzzzt!* *Crack-Crooom!* Several rocks fell down from the force of the
thunder that accompanied Storm's attack.
"Augh!"
"Storm! He's just a child!"
"A child who is obviously not well mentally. If this is how the
Morlocks have been raised under Callisto, then my coming is quite
fortunate" Storm said, standing to her full height and readjusting
her newly acquired leather jacket. "Piotr. Kurt said earlier that
the Morlocks have a healer. Take the boy to him"
"I will take him instead, Storm," replied Kurt as he scooped
up the unconscious form of Morriden.
So
gather round young warriors now
And saddle up your steeds
Killing scores with demon swords
Now is the death of doers of wrong
Swing the judgement hammer down
Safely inside armor blood guts and sweat
"What happened to him?" Asked the healer.
"He tried to fight Colossus and Storm. It wasn't even a
fight..." Nightcrawler said guiltily, looking at the bruises and
singe marks from Morriden's brief battle.
"Poor boy. He cannot fight at all. I wonder what possessed him to
do this?" The healer wondered, then after a bit he turned to
Nightcrawler "If he's attacked once, he may do it again. It is
probably best if you leave"
"Ja, you're right." Said Kurt before *bamfing* out.
"Healer, what is Morriden doing here? He was on a scavenging
mission... Did he get attacked?" a rough voice questioned from the
archway.
"No Callisto. He was the one that attacked, apparently"
"Morriden? Attack? I thought he knew better..." Wondered
Callisto in surprise.
"Apparently not. Can you watch over him mistress? I have other
patients" Said the healer as he walked off.
"Wake up boy. What did you do this time you silly brat."
Callisto admonished shaking him.
Morriden mumbled a bit but did not wake.
The
horsemen are drawing nearer/
On the leather steeds they ride/
They have come to take your life/
On through the dead of night/
With the four horsemen ride/
Or choose your fate and die/
"You're alive!" He cried as he leapt from the cot that had
been laying in for the past few days, recovering from his wounds.
"This is news to you?" Said Callisto with a smirk as she
suffered his hug. "That weatherwitch couldn't keep me down"
"I thought you were killed... Does that mean she doesn't rule the
Morlocks?" Morriden asked in a voice filled with hope.
"No Morriden. The weatherwitch still rules." Callisto said
with a tone of anger in her voice.
Morriden drooped his head. "Oh" He slowly got up and left the
healers area.
Depression followed him like a cloud, he barely heard Tommy call a
greeting to him. Something about meeting some new friends.
He kept himself busy for weeks. Doing what he could not to think.
Callisto still had authority over the Morlocks, but that monster still
was the ruler. Even though she was never there. Slowly he felt what had
originally just been extreme resentment grow into full-fledged hate. It
grew whenever he heard of her. When Caliban lost Kitty Pryde again, he
almost attacked once more.
Months later.
Finally he was beginning to let go. Although it wasn't going to matter
if he doesn't get out of the tunnels... He was lost again. He had been
wandering through the tunnels for 7 hours looking for the Alley. He kept
turning onto familiar routes and ending up somewhere else. It was
getting very frustrating
"Maybe if I hold the wall..." He said, suiting action to
words. Placing his hand against the wall, he used it to help him stay on
course.
Slowly, the tunnels began to get more familiar. That's when he heard the
screams. He started running and came out to the entrance to the alley.
And almost face-to-face with a man as large as Sunder. He had fur which
was matted with blood, all of him was covered in blood.
"Well looky here. We missed one. Let's what your blood tastes like,
freak" The creature said in a gravelly voice. With a smirk he
suddenly leapt forward with claws out to tear out Morriden's throat.
Morriden turned and ran as if his life depended on it, which it did,
unfortunately he wasn't fast enough to avoid the claws completely and
ended up with a deep gouge in his shoulder. Grunting in pain and with
tears in his eyes he managed to stumble down a side tunnel.
"Keep runnin' kid. I'll catch ya later" Called the monster as
he killed a Morlock who had tried to take advantage of it's distraction.
Morriden finally started crying when he realized he wasn't going to
escape. Sinking against the wall he sobbed.
"It's not fair. I never got a chance. I spent most of my time
trying to find my way... Most times literally" He finished with a
bit of grim humour.
"There ya are kid. I've been lookin' for ya" Laughed the
monster as it came out of a tunnel.
Morriden stood up. If he was going to die, he didn't want it to be
sitting and crying.
"Die, monster"
"The name's Sabretooth. And that's your job" With those words
he raced at Morriden. And crashed into a wall. Where the boy had been
moments earlier, there was thin air.
"What the f---!?"
**********
"Augh, if this is the afterlife, I think I want to consider
reincarnation..." Groaned Morriden as he raised his head, ignoring
how much it hurt his shoulder, and unexpectedly had it forced down
again.
"Hi. What are you doing here?" Said a heavily accented voice
that belonged to a pair of slitted deep purple eyes. Morriden was
disinclined to examine further due to the sword placed against his
throat.
"I hate those tunnels" he stated as he passed out.
The horsemen are drawing nearer
On the leather steeds they ride
They have come to take your life
On through the dead of night
With the four horsemen ride
Or choose your fate and die
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